TV Review: Bob's Burgers

Fans of FX?s Archer may have trouble hearing star H. Jon Benjamin playing such a wildly different character on Fox?s new cartoon Bob?s Burgers, but they should stick around for the whole episode; Bob?s Burgersturns out to be equally as loony as that hilarious FX show, albeit in a very different way. In keeping with the rest of Fox?s Sunday animation line-up, Bob?s Burgers focuses on a ragtag family. But unlike all those Seth MacFarlane shows, which rely on non sequiturs for their comedy, Bob?s Burgers actually features a clever script and plot. The pilot finds the struggling titular eatery further threatened by a lovelorn health inspector, who was jilted by Bob?s wife Linda years before, and who has caught wind of a rumor started by Bob?s youngest child that they use human remains from the crematorium next door in their patties. The Flintstones, this is not. The voice acting is almost on a par with the still-much-missed Daria, particularly from Benjamin and Dan Mintz as oldest daughter Tina, who serves as the family fry cook when she?s not busy scratching down there. And there?s something refreshing about a network cartoon that doesn?t strain to push boundaries or buttons. Created by Loren Bouchard, creator of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, the show has an off-kilter sensibility that feels happily organic, just the brainchild of one deliciously weirdo man.