One of my favorite rag-tag families to watch on TV consists of Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene and Louise… aka the Belchers! In their animated family antics while raising three equally rambunctious kids and owning a semi-successful burger joint, there is never a shortage of comedic chaos. For this spooky season, I decided to watch all the Halloween episodes of Bob’s Burgers and rank them from best to worst.
*NOTE: Seasons 1 & 2 did not contain a Halloween episode, and it’s too early into S11 to know if they will have a Halloween ep, although it’s highly likely*
Additionally, my rankings will not be in series-chronological order.
BEST
1. S5, EP 2: “Tina and the Real Ghost”—Tina is so incredibly funny in this. Through all her tribulations to find a boyfriend (same girl), she starts a torrid love affair with a “ghost” that she nabbed from the restaurant’s basement. And we all know, there’s nothing like pining after a fast-food-eating apparition to get you in the spooky spirit. To add to the hilarity of a hamburger-eating-ghost, Bob also attempts to use Tina’s otherworldly beau to drive business, which is quality father-daughter bonding.
2. S6, EP 3: “Hauntening”—This episode is scary and heartwarming. Louise, convinced she’s never been scared on Halloween, is in for a wild ride at a haunted house. The heartwarming aspect comes from how far her parents, Bob and Linda, went to give their little girl a fright of a lifetime. The antics of her siblings aid to the high ranking.
3. S4, EP 2: “Fort Night”— This episode was carried by the kids’ quest to trick-or-treat and is thwarted by their kidnapping by Louise’s arch-nemesis: Millie. It’s full of childlike adventure on how to escape the locked fort and rests on the true horror: not getting any candy on Halloween!
JUST OKAY
1. S9, EP 4: “Nightmare on Ocean Avenue Street”—Much like S4, this episode rests on its laurels as a candy thief terrorizes the Wonder Wharf. Lousie and company go on a mission to retrieve the missing loot; uproarious laughs ensue, but it’s not as strong as the other three episodes above.
2. S3, EP 2: “Full Bars”—This episode featured the kids in the search for the best Halloween candy, which everyone knows is a full candy bar, like the title suggests. Bob and Linda get sucked into attending a Halloween party of their best (and only) customer, Teddy. However, horror takes place when Bob accidentally kills Teddy’s guinea pig Francine while wearing a borrowed costume. It’s just sort of lackluster in terms of laughs.
3. S7, EP 3: “Teen-a-Witch”—The kids are involved in a costume contest at school and Tina’s on the hunt for her first win. But, she decides to really commit to her costume of sand-witch (sandwich) and be a witch. Tina is so relatable in (almost) immediately reading and performing love spells on her crush Jimmy Jr., and it’s actually sweet that she comes to the conclusion that she needed more self-confidence and less spells to feel good about herself that Halloween. Bob falls under attack by a pumpkin thief. Although he thinks it’s his arch-nemesis, Jimmy Pesto, it ends up being his landlord Mr. Fischoeder, who was making a gourd-geous Jack-o-Lantern-Land with the stolen pumpkins.
WORST
1. S10, EP 4: “Pig Trouble in Little Tina”—Tina is haunted by the ghost of a pig she dissected in science class. It made me sort of squeamish and more sad than scared considering how frequent this is… the dissection, not the haunting, to be clear.
2. S8, EP 3: “The Wolf on Wharf Street”—The town comes under attack by the “Wonder Wolf,” so Linda and the kids go on a trick-or-treating adventure / search for the creature. Meanwhile, Bob, who hurt his knee trying on old restaurant pants, has to stay home with Teddy, who is dressed in a sexy nurse costume, all night. The hunt for the wolf wasn’t as comical as other Halloween night adventures, and Bob’s paranoid pain-pill-induced thoughts weren’t entertaining.
If you’re in the mood for some good spooky snickers, this show is definitely the one for you. I hope this list of Halloween episodes puts the B(oo) in Bob’s Burgers for you all.