Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Not Too Keen On Gene

Bob's Burger, S02E09


Bob got a spot on a cooking segment on a talk show, but the real appeal of the show was not Bob's culinary skills but Gene's goofing off while he dawned a Sasquatch mask.  The two soon battled against each other, with Louise's help, for a larger piece of the fame.  Eventually Linda's inappropriate exposure brought an end to their fight before it escalated any further.  A boy named Nathan was also stalking the host of the show and dated Tina briefly to get closer to his target.

I don't think that Gene is too annoying usually, but when he was wearing a Sasquatch mask it really amped up his middle-child neediness for attention.  His latest attempt to get someone to notice him might have passed by like his other uninteresting stunts, but thanks to Chuck and Pam's show, Gene became a local celebrity and continued acting like a hamburger version of the damn Cookie Monster or something.  I wouldn't have minded Gene cutting up if it seemed like he was adding to his father's image instead of making him merely a subject for Gene to humiliate.  So for a while, I enjoyed that Bob was getting revenge by making Gene eating things like kitty litter and hair burgers, but Bob was getting his fair share of pranks in return, so it quickly became meaningless.  I usually don't say this but thank goodness for Linda who pulled out her boobs.  Their stupid brawl would have become a show within itself if she hadn't.  Gene and Bob are much better when they are fooling around in the kitchen rather than on some TV show.

The best thing about this story was also the creepiest.  From the moment Nathan started talking to Tina, I felt like I was seeing her male twin.  It was obvious that he was after Pam, but I didn't think he was the crazy, scheming type of stalker.  Which is why I didn't think he would ask Tina out, especially because she (even though she is so bizarre) was so creeped out by Nathan moaning like a weirdo.  It was funny to see that Tina is not desperate enough to date a boy like him long enough to be used.  This is one of the reasons I like Tina because she's aware of her value, even if others' can't see it.  However, the only thing that Nathan saw in her was that she was someone who had access to Pam, and when she wouldn't help him get close enough to "lick her hair," he decided he would dress up like Tina.  That was disgusting for some reason, even though he could easily pass for her (since I believe that most people don't watch Tina close enough to know exactly how she looks).  I liked that after Tina found out and took Nathan down, both she and Nathan were removed from the show's set by security.  Nathan was unbalanced, but at least he made the episode a tad bit funnier.

This episode didn't make me a fan of a Gene-centered story, but I'm willing to see another one before I write him off because perhaps he can be a little more entertaining when he's not acting like an animal.  I'm starting to think it will become a pattern that a Tina side story will strengthen many of the weaker main stories.  This time, it definitely did, and I'm sure that it will happen again.  I wonder if next time they might do a Louise-centered story.  Although I don't find her as interesting as Tina, I think that would be a much better story than what was shown this past Sunday.

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