Seaplane!

"Seaplane!" is the 3rd episode of the fourth season of the animated comedy series Bob's Burgers and the overall 48th episode, and is written by Dan Fybel and Rich Rinaldi and directed by Jennifer Coyle. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 3, 2013.^[1]

Plot

Linda tires of boring dates with Bob and signs up for flying lessons, but when he refuses to join her she finds herself in the crosshairs of a charming pilot known as "Upskirt Kurt."

Reception

Critical reception

Caroline Framke of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+, saying "Bob’s Burgers isn’t big on tricks, nor does it have to be. Instead, the team behind Bob’s has created a world so richly weird that much of the fun comes from just throwing the characters together and watching them gleefully bounce off each other. “Seaplane!” cashes in on seasons of character building and therefore doesn’t suffer as much from being so aggressively straightforward as other shows might."^[2] Robert Ham of Paste gave the episode 9.0 out of 10, saying "Some folks will likely point out the parallels between this plotline and that of The Simpsons episode “Life in the Fast Lane,” wherein a silver-tongued bowling instructor (voiced by Albert Brooks) tries to seduce Marge. But such comparisons are unavoidable when it comes to animated sitcoms. And in Bob’s Burgers, there’s only the semblance of a happy ending. That is if your idea of a happy ending is Bob and Linda threatening to screw in the cabin of a seaplane after forcing their children to swim to shore. To me, this is a perfect example of how the show provides that perfect midpoint between the often-heartfelt approach of The Simpsons and the all-out assault on good taste of Seth MacFarlane’s shows. There’s enough of each sensibility—and a hearty push/pull between the two—to keep the show bubbly, acidic and infinitely watchable."^[3]

Ratings

The episode received a 1.8 rating and was watched by a total of 3.75 million people. This made it the fourth most watched show on Animation Domination that night, losing to American Dad!, Family Guy and The Simpsons with 5.43 million.^[4]

References