Uncle Teddy (''Bob's Burgers'')

"Uncle Teddy" is the 14th episode of the fourth season of the animated comedy series Bob's Burgers and the overall 59th episode, and is written by Dan Fybel and Rich Rinaldi and directed by Don MacKinnon. It aired on Fox in the United States on March 23, 2014.^[1]

Plot

Bob and Linda go out of town to attend a Burger Convention made up of Bob's online burger forum friends. Unable to find a suitable sitter, Teddy volunteers to watch the kids. While ordering them take out at Reggie's Deli, Tina becomes enamored with the delivery boy, Jonas. He gives her a ride back to the restaurant on his moped, though Teddy, asking the kids to think of him as "Uncle Teddy," thinks this is unsafe. Jonas, realizing that Tina's family own a burger joint, convinces her to let him and his friends hang out there after hours and get free food. Teddy, who bonds with Gene and Louise via his plumbing skills, discovers Jonas and his friends in the restaurant. He kicks them out, which embarrasses and angers Tina. Before he takes off, Jonas tells Tina to meet them at the lighthouse and to bring them more "free" burgers. Teddy grounds Tina for misbehaving, but she sneaks out and meets the boys at the lighthouse. Tina is still enamored with Jonas, though it becomes apparent that his interests and habits are aggravating to her and his friends. In a last-ditch effort to come up with something cool to do, Jonas suggests they break into the lighthouse. They hoist Tina up to the window, but after she climbs in, a police officer catches the boys, abandoning Tina,without waiting for her. She then moans,scared,and is then caught by the officer.

Meanwhile, Bob and Linda check into the hotel for the convention, only to learn that the other attendees hate Bob. Due to his lack of experience in online communication, the others mistook his frequent jokes and posts to be insults. Bob tries to explain that he likes them and didn't intend for his posts to be insulting, but the other attendees snub him. Attempting to cheer him up, Linda suggests that they just enjoy the hotel and its amenities together. However, the other attendees continue to harass them as they wait for their turn at the hot tub, forcing Bob and Linda into a standoff. When the attendees complain to the management and have them forced out, Bob and Linda retaliate by dumping the convention tubs of mayonnaise and relish into the hot tub and are kicked out of the hotel.

After speaking to the deli owner, Teddy, Gene, and Louise go to the lighthouse and spot Tina in the back of a ranger squad car. Teddy is able to negotiate with the officer, explaining that Tina is a good kid, and she's let go. Tina apologizes to Teddy and thanks him. They see Jonas sneaking back to get his moped, but Teddy is furious that Jonas had only been using Tina all this time and he throws Jonas' moped into the sea. Bob and Linda are returning early and call Teddy to let him know. His plan of racing them back to the house is quickly thwarted when Bob and Linda overhear him and spot him at the beach from their car. Teddy quickly tells the kids that it's bedtime, and the kids happily oblige, with Tina calling him "Uncle Teddy".

Reception

Pilot Viruet of The A.V. Club gave the episode a A-, saying "The best moments come at the end of the episode, when Teddy loses his cool and throws Jonas’ motorbike into the water. Teddy seamlessly transitions into the role of a concerned, protective guardian (and really earns the “Uncle” title he’s been gunning for) for Tina. Bob and Linda would’ve given Tina a pep talk that makes her feel better, but Teddy’s immediate go-to is to punish the boy who hurt her. It’s funny and warm, like all of my favorite Bob’s Burgers episodes, and it’s comforting knowing that Tina—and the rest of the Belcher kids—have so many people who care about them."^[2] Robert Ham of Paste gave the episode a 9.3 out of 10, saying "As rough as he is at the job of babysitting, it’s endearing to see him try to be a huge part of the Belchers’ lives. Even after he rescues Tina from the park ranger, he tries to hurry the kids home to bed before their parents can find out, but alas, they all get caught. Here’s hoping we see some more Teddy-centric episodes this season and next."^[3]

The episode received a 1.2 rating and was watched by a total of 2.45 million people. This made it the fourth most watched show on Animation Domination that night, losing to American Dad!, The Simpsons, and Family Guy with 4.38 million.^[4]

References

External links

• "Uncle Teddy" on IMDb
• "Uncle Teddy" at TV.com