theromanticscrooge

[theromanticscrooge]

Late night lab shenanigans between everyone's favorite mad scientist husbands.

[theromanticscrooge]

These are my top 10 favorite episodes of the burger man show. It's all Bob. No Beefsquatch but Gene is definitely here!

Teddy's Christmas in the Car storyboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkwqeYIO9zo Topsy's Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topsy_(elephant)

[theromanticscrooge]

Top 10 Favorite Bob's Burgers Episodes

In my not so humble opinion, Bob's Burgers is the best animated American sitcom currently airing. It's managed to recreate the charm a lot of nostalgic Millennials and Gen X have for early Simpsons episodes followed by their own uniquely lovable sitcom family and peripheral set of equally fun, wacky characters.

A lot of the dialogue feels organic in large part because of the off-hand banter and improvised lines. The humor is couched between shameless 80's references, the most ridiculous "you shouldn't say that out loud" lines, and playing one kind of relatable awkward against another. There's recurring regulars like Teddy and Mort as well as one episode wonders like the Sofa Queen that I'd love to see make a return. Bob's Burgers can be really fun and dumb, absurdist to the point it pushes the envelope of its more grounded setting, and sweet in a way that reminds you of your own family or makes you wish you were part of the Belcher family. Or at least that their restaurant was down the street so you could pop in on their wacky slice of life shenanigans.

These are my top 10 favorite episodes. Considering how often I watch through this series, these were picked because a certain character moment and song stood out or I think the episode did something especially interesting. And especially interesting is saying a lot since this series consistently goes very odd and unexpected places. Without further ado:

10.) "Art Crawl" -Season 1, Episode 8

Viewers are introduced to Linda's unhinged younger sister Gayle. Gayle is eccentric, overly sensitive, lives in her own world, and can be more unpredictable than most of the cast. It's especially eyebrow-raising when she's the voice of reason considering her life is held together by strings, duct tape, Linda's enabling, and her herd of cats. How Gayle lives alone in her one-room apartment with no consistent job and vet bills is as much a mystery as how Dan from Dan Vs isn't behind bars yet. Bob skirts by on his weird relationship with his landlord. Gayle doesn't have an in-universe explanation other than she's an audience favorite and so entertaining the story will hand-wave practical details about her life in favor of headlining her weird, scene-stealing shenanigans.

In "Art Crawl," Linda forces Bob to let Gayle hang her animal anus paintings around the restaurant. He's initially against it because the paintings deter customers from their already treading water business. Then the surly proprietor of the local art store and chairman of the local Art Week Edith expresses how much she hates the paintings. She insists that Bob has to take them down because of how 'obscene' they are. Edith in general provokes the pettier, schoolyard bully side of Bob's personality that viewers see most often when Jimmy Pesto antagonizes him. Edith is forceful and stubborn about her beliefs and attitude with everybody. Jimmy goes out of his way to be an ass to Bob specifically. The bulk of the episode is Bob doubling down on squicking out Edith and getting egged on by his kids to lean further into his immature antics.

Of course the highlight is the Pinnochio pink elephant inspired montage featuring a horrified Linda surrounded by Gayle's anus paintings. Linda can't handle Gayle's unappreciated artistic genius and this establishes how much of a running gag "Linda refuses to straight talk with her sister" becomes. Any Gayle episode will hinge on miscommunications and how much Linda loves and grossly enables her sister. This one just happens to foil Linda's sisterly bond with Bob's penchant for petty. It's fantastically set up.

This episode made my list solely because of the "butts" song, though.

9.) "Christmas in the Car" -Season 4, Episode 8

Linda is absolutely the kind of person that belts Mariah Carey the minute November starts. She brings a similar overzealous energy and enthusiasm to Christmas that Bob does with Thanksgiving. The episode starts with a montage of setting up a Christmas tree too early only for a shriveled, browning mess to get dragged out to the dumpster before Christmas day. Fed up, Linda drags the Belchers on a misguided venture to pick up a new tree last minute. Where Bob seems to keep his Thanksgiving spirit restricted to the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Linda's need for the full, genuine article can come up at any time and for any reason. When she wants a quaint bed and breakfast or the perfect family portrait, she will bend everyone and the world around her until she either gets talked down or reaches a satisfying conclusion.

Unlike the bed and breakfast or her portrait quest, the Christmas tree debacle is derailed by a candy cane truck, pastries, and the threat of an overcooked ham vs Linda herself. The threat of getting run over by an oversized candy cane is the star event. Its a horror movie premise repackaged as a crazy Christmas caper. There's no clear shot or reveal of the truck driver until the tail end of the episode. He's a weird, tired man that uses bad turns of phrase and just needed a little Christmas pick-me-up. The candy cane truck is accented by the B plot of Teddy getting caught in a novel Santa trap attached to the fridge and the best-animated slapstick gag out of this entire cartoon. There's a sequence of pencil roughs to clean-up and full color of Teddy trying to wriggle out of the trap on YouTube. "Christmas in the Car" is a playful reminder that holiday spirit can be anywhere, it can be shared with anyone, and "Jingle in the Jungle" should be thrown in somewhere among the endless Drummer Boy covers.

8.) "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal" -Season 3, Episode 5

Arguably, all of the Bob's Burgers Thanksgiving specials are a surreal treat in their own right. Most cartoons have the obligatory Halloween or Christmas special. Bob's Burgers has those, too. But in other cases, those Halloween or Christmas specials are one of the all-stops-pulled-out episodes. Bob's Burgers makes up for how underutilized Thanksgiving episodes are period. Each one is enough of a spectacle that a Bob's Burgers marathon absolutely fits between a Halloween horror movie marathon and the tradition of Rankin Bass stop-motion movie re-runs up until Christmas Day.

While it's hard to pick just one Bob's Thanksgiving, "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal" gives viewers unwanted insights on who Calvin Fischoeder's ideal woman is. And an absinthe-induced hallucination where Bob and his family experience a Thanksgiving-flavored My Neighbor Totoro fantasy.

Calvin asks to "borrow" Bob's family for the day so he can paint a fake portrait of domestic bliss that he's a settled man with a wife and kids. He wants to entice Shelby Schnabel, a gun-toting firebrand that strives to be the ultimate homewrecker. Shelby loves drama and has built her life around realizing her fantasy of being that ridiculous villain in a long-running soap opera. She'll steal the lead woman's husband...until she gets bored and looks for an even flashier, more controversial target. Shelby is the perfect complement to Calvin's oblivious life as the missing James Bond villain who desperately wants a friend. They both live so far out of reality that it's safer for everyone to avoid getting pulled into their orbit if they're not ready for a stint in the latest schlocky, off brand Lifetime original.

Its fun to see Bob's Burgers set a soap opera drama as what ultimately ruins Bob's favorite holiday this year. The highlight is the aforementioned Totoro parody, though. It's cute. It's weird. It belongs on a shirt and emphasizes Bob's undying obsession with this holiday mixed with how much he genuinely loves his family. Playing off of the creative, fantastical imagery unique to Ghibli adds an extra something here. Ghibli movies are beloved for how evergreen and imaginative they can be; they resonate with someone's sense of wonder no matter what age they are. Bob's sense of wonder comes out in the kitchen and during food prep. Thanksgiving is the perfect canvas for whatever Ghibli fanboyisms Bob has.

In short, this Thanksgiving features one of Calvin Fischoeder's worse hits and a chaotically drunk Bob Belcher.

7.) "V for Valentine-detta"-Season 8, Episode 8

Limo driver, the world is a small place networking extraordinaire, and Louise's life goals role model Nat Kinkle gets introduced in "V for Valentine-detta." Nat is the connective tissue between ridiculous, harebrained scheme and the resources, people, and ambition needed to realize that scheme. In any other cartoon, she'd be the underappreciated second-hand man to a Saturday morning cartoon villain. Instead, she's the realized image of a confident single woman living her best life. She's the adoptive gay aunt every kid wishes they had. She supports them no matter what; even if their end goals are a bit misguided. And as charismatic as Louise is, her parents' influence and her own moral compass are the difference between another Dan from Dan Vs or an ethically dubious but ultimately force-for-good Reigen Arataka.

"V for Valentine-detta" follows a heartbroken Tina dragged on a girls night out adventure in the hopes of raising her spirits. Well, Linda wants to cushion the blow that Tina was slighted by her on-again, off-again love interest Jimmy Jr. These efforts are contrasted by Louise and Nat spitballing increasingly bad ideas for vengeance against Jimmy. When Linda discovers that Jimmy used a thoughtful picture frame Tina gifted him for a different girl's picture, she's onboard with petty revenge schemes. Linda is usually the ball of chaos that has to be grounded in some way. Bob is more likely to be the straight man or the closest any character is to reigning in someone else's antics. Here, Linda shows more restraint and care than she would otherwise. Nat is close enough to Louise's wavelength on "anything goes" that Linda is forced to be the mature one in the room.

From the moment she's introduced, Nat is a very welcome sound board to the Belchers and an absolute delight every time she appears. More Nat antics for what she adds to the character dynamics in general, please. I'm holding out hope for a contrived situation where Nat is somehow involved with a grenade pin-pull set of Gayle nonsense.

6.) "Topsy" -Season 3, Episode 16

Louise tries to skate by on her science fair entry with a previously constructed and presented baking soda volcano. The obnoxious Edison-fanboy substitute teacher not only shoots down her volcano, but mercilessly destroys it in front of the class and strong-arms her into an Edison-focused project. Mr. Dinkler is a fantastic antagonist; he's immediately unlikeable and it doesn't take much to want to see him taken down a few pegs. While Dinkler is a jerk, Louise has been established as a morally dubious gremlin. When she beefs with a teacher or bully or otherwise, the interesting part is whether she takes the high road or escalates. She fluctuates between her bark is worse than her bite and an earnestly intimidating threat when she's pushed far enough. Her tenacity and resourcefulness are some her biggest strengths. "Topsy" is the more extreme end of where Louise's determined pursuit for petty means can go.

Louise decides to format her entire science project around the story that Thomas Edison electrocuted Topsy as part of the war of the currents. Supposedly, Topsy's death was an example of how dangerous and ineffective DC current was when compared to AC current. While Thomas Edison has done plenty of controversial and questionable things, he didn't electrocute Topsy. He wasn't even physically present at the event and the war of the currents happened ten years prior. If you're curious about the real story behind Topsy, check out her Wikipedia page.

That said, this episode relies on this myth about Edison. Louise's project features an ambitious musical flavored re-enactment with a life-sized alternator. She has tunnel vision about the end goal of humiliating Dinkler; she callously dismisses Gene's input and redirection with the musical number and comes up with ridiculous mental gymnastics to continue despite Tina almost getting murdered via electrocution. Ultimately, Louise is forced to rethink how much she prioritizes her pride and ego. She compares her reckless quest with the mad scientist depths and depravity Edison would go to prove a point. Louise is still a gremlin, but she refuses to become a true villain that prioritizes personal glory over everything else.

On a separate note, "Electric Love" is an absolute banger. I think it'd be a fantastic supplementary piece for any history teacher that wants to correct the Edison myth about Topsy.

5.) "Glued, Where's My Bob?" -Season 6, Episode 19

A prank war goes wrong and leads to Bob stuck on the restaurant toilet via an unmarked, mystery goop Louise applied to the seat. The mystery goo is something from Teddy's home-brewed set of handyman solutions. It will take something serious and unconventional to get Bob un-stuck. Plus the clock is ticking. Bob's humiliating set of circumstances coincides with a big Coaster's magazine interview that could net Bob's Burgers some much-needed positive press.

"Glued, Where's My Bob?" is a classic nightmare scenario where the humor lies in how much worse things can escalate. Bob's a few steps down from Orin Scrivello dentist Dr. Yap is recruited in the various attempts to remove him. Everybody Bob knows, maybe even the entire town, sees him in this compromising position. Jimmy Pesto is ready to lob insults as the sprinkles on a shit cake. It even looks like Coaster's passes on his interview. Despite what looks like a net loss, Bob's family and customers try to pull together and paint a more positive image of the beloved, local burger man. He's a good cook, a beloved father, and considered fondly by most members of his community. It's a bizarre, but sweet story about the community banning together to help someone during one of his lowest moments.

This is also another case of Louise feeling conflicted. She blames Gene's interrupted routine despite knowing that this is her fault and should be the end of gooping shenanigans. An extra layer to this is how much Louise genuinely admires and looks up to her dad. She doesn't lean into her usual contrarian "the worse, the more entertaining it is" mindset. She immediately regrets her actions and shifts towards solutions-mode. The contrast between Bob's flimsy optimism and Louise trying to reassure herself is captured beautifully in the music number "Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom."

Bob gets a win with a positive, albeit embarrassing, article about his toilet stint in Coaster's. While not the press he wanted, framing Bob as a celebration of an awkward and eccentric figure is an accurate reflection of Bob's Burgers period.

4.) "Sacred Couch" -Season 6, Episode 9

Bob's Burgers has so many one episode characters with lives and dramas that would be so fun to follow up on. The Sofa Queen is my personal pick for an unexpected spin off or a feature in one other episode. The Belchers meet the wacky faces behind the poorly thought out local commercial. Linda has reverence for the Sofa Queen in the way so many people carry ironic fondness for the store owners in the East Hills mall commercial. The Queen and her staff gladly commit to the roles of furniture royalty on screen and off. Its the best parody of and love letter to cheeky, overly gimmicky commercials for smaller local businesses in general.

The Sofa Queen easily carries the episode but the Couch Burners are an added bonus. I really appreciate that everyone supports this teen punk band. Nobody calls it ridiculous or writes them off like other sitcoms do. Instead, the bar manager hosting their next gig makes an honest attempt to keep up with their name changes, Teddy fully intends on going to their show, and Bob helps take pictures for their promo art. The focus is on the nostalgia for the gross couch, but I love the candid approach to the up and coming teen punk band.

The core of the episode is the Belcher family's overly sentimental attachment to their couch. For them, the stains may as well be pictures in a scrapbook and the couch is somewhere between an heirloom and a family member. If there was a sequel series following Louise taking over the restaurant, the couch would definitely be present. "Sacred Couch" features an example of what it looks like when Louise pulls Bob into her schemes. She expects him to be on her wavelength. Sometimes he is but when he isn't, it's likely that he'll play along with whatever she cooks up.

This is easily more about the peripheral events and characters than the main plot for me, though. The Sofa Queen is just that iconic.

3.) "Something Old, Something New, Something Bob Caters For You" -Season 8, Episode 21

Bob is experiencing some self-doubt and existential dread around his life choice to become a grill cook and start a restaurant. He feels like grilling burgers doesn't compare to how important a war zone doctor is. Then Bob is asked to cater last minute for the young couple Connor and Farrah's upcoming wedding. They tell him his burgers are a key part in how they met and Bob takes this as an opportunity to prove himself. He unilaterally decides that his burgers are the ultimate centerpiece of the wedding, if not the lynchpin for Connor and Farrah's future success as a married couple. Bob's personal career angst is contrasted against Connor and Farrah's doubts about their ceremony and marriage. The young couple's special day is a series of disasters. It's so windy that it messes with the A/V equipment. There's dead butterflies. The Belchers accidentally drop and smoosh the cake.

Linda tries to reassure Bob that their catering isn't as make or break as he thinks it is. She also expresses her concerns about how quickly the young couple is jumping into married life. Linda's commentary is pitted against Bob's inner monologue in the number "This Wedding is my Warzone." This is one of the strongest and catchiest musical numbers in the series. It's a mix of whimsical, melancholic, and Linda as somewhere between the voice of reason and moral support. Ultimately, Bob and the young couple are course-corrected when Linda gives Connor and Farrah a pep talk. They persisted despite every misstep and bad omen. If they can navigate a nightmare wedding day and still want to be together, then they can build the resilience and cooperative troubleshooting long-lasting couples have.

She reminds Bob that he shouldn't compare his life with a war zone doctor. He should focus on being the best Bob that he can be. He isn't responsible for someone else's happiness; he can and does contribute to others' life in a positive way. But his contribution shouldn't be a game of comparison. It should be what he can offer because he can and he wants to.

2.) "Radio No You Didn't" -Season 13, Episode 20

Bob shares the story of his great-grandmother Gertie thwarting a Russian spy. The episode cuts between Bob recounting the story and flashbacks featuring Gertie, her daughter Lily, and her mother. Similarly to the higher stakes in the Bob's Burgers theatrical movie, this is another example of Bob's Burgers' ability to shift between goofy and legitimate stakes. Viewers are sat on pins and needles as much as the laser-focused Louise. Bob is hinted as a compelling storyteller if his words are enough to paint the vivid picture of what a slice of Gertie's life looked like. There's enough present for a glimpse at how brave and resourceful Gertie was as well as how snarky and judgey Gertie's mother could be. The Belcher kids would never meet Gertie but they have a solid mental image of who this woman was; enough to keep her alive through the art of vocal storytelling.

Gertie's story is tied to her old radio. When the Belchers first find the radio, Linda and the kids want to throw it out or pawn it. After hearing Gertie's story, the kids fight over who will inherit the piece. This is a great example of what weight, gravity, and meaning stories or history attach to heirlooms or even art. A lot of overlooked art installations take on new life and importance when someone takes the time to read the attached description or story. Overall, this episode is a fantastic case for sharing family history if not the smaller, more mundane stories about people in general. Its a good idea to record big events but smaller, domestic stories help paint a picture of what life looked like at that earlier point in time. It adds a very accessible, intimate dimension to history that otherwise gets lost in the rote list of facts and dates.

Also, I love the 1940's big band flavored cover of The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." It's so thematically fitting.

1.) "Amelia" -Season 13, Episode 22

I wouldn't be surprised if this episode was someone's inspiration to become a historian or sparked a more earnest interest in history at the very least. "Radio No You Didn't" shows how compelling family history can be. "Amelia" shows how recording both the life and feats of an important historical figure echoes through history. Louise is faced with casual sexism from her classmate. He insists that men are the most key figures throughout the history of flight from airplanes to space travel. When Louise locks in choosing Amelia Earhart as her report topic, she refuses to erase or overlook women's contributions to that part of history. Its one thing for women to be highlighted during women's history month or lightly featured in general lists. Its even more important for women like Amelia to be specifically spotlighted, discussed, and focused on. When faced with one of the more understated consequences of a patriarchal system, Louise pushes back with a full arsenal of creative solutions. She pulls help from her siblings, a classmate that knows how to craft and work with puppets, and even asking for advice from Linda. Pushing back against sexism, even subtle, makes a bigger impact as a group effort vs just a solitary voice.

I consider this one of the best Louise episodes in general. Its an example of the more proactive, positive side of how determined and resourceful she can be. Usually, she has a petty or low stakes goal. While this is framed as another spat with a classmate, its more about his insensitive, ignorant comments and the larger systemic issues those comments stem from. Ultimately, Louise shows how powerful a mix between careful research and her artistic talents can be. There's many examples of this part of her character but this one is my favorite because of the social commentary attached.

I hope Bob's Burgers continues awhile longer in a media landscape that has endless Simpsons and Family Guy. Bob's Burgers doesn't need to up the spectacle or drum up worse or increasingly offensive shock humor. To me, its hope that thoughtful character writing and characters that act like real people have a place among adult cartoons. It doesn't have to be more strictly satire writing. Ideally, its parents that wanted to be parents, parents and kids that make dumb decisions, and people that make mistakes period. But at the end of the day, they can be vulnerable to each other, adults can admit when they're wrong, and they try to talk things out more often than not.

As long as animated sitcoms are a thing, I'd like to see more like Bob's Burgers. Please.

[theromanticscrooge]

I don’t know what to say… i know the fundraising landscape has changed rapidly ever since this october, since we’ve hit the one year mark of the u.s.-funded Palestinian genocide, since the u.s. election, but it still feels like a slap to the face to see Mohammed Ayesh’s fundraiser (@ayeshjourney) stagnate like this, especially since he dedicated months of his life to traveling to where families are to talk with them and verify them face to face.

Mohammed has stopped being online as much for health reasons (chronic lung spasms and more from his health care work) but also because he feels as if he is speaking to an uncaring crowd. People who have once promised him they will check in and boost his fundraiser has stopped responding, and so he withdrew because he did not want to be a burden.

I want to ask you all for your help. A few campaigns are doing exceptionally well because they are boosted daily by blogs with huge followings. Many families like Ayesh’s do not have this privilege.

Only 1 donation in almost 4 hours. Mohammed asked if we could help him get to 30k (halfway of his 60k campaign) soon, let’s rally behind him.

£25,055 / £30,000 short term goal still. There’s still £4,945 that we need to raise ASAP towards this goal

[theromanticscrooge]

this is definitely NOT the moon girl episode with a trans character that disney shelved and has no plans on airing and i am definitely NOT advising you to spread it around like wildfire in retaliation to this stupid-ass chickenshit coward decision. i repeat, i am DEFINITELY not encouraging you to spread this episode around like crazy to show disney that trans people will not bow down to the whims of the people that want them dead. definitely DON'T do that. definitely

[theromanticscrooge]

tumblrinas need to see this

[theromanticscrooge]

favorite character from any media BUT it has to be a woman. in the tags now go (pls talk to me about your favorite fictional women pls pls pls pls)

[theromanticscrooge]

Everyone's favorite coffee pun comedian Joe Cuppa!

Joe Cuppa comes from the sink or swim world of comedy…It takes the effort of a well-meaning fan turned friend to help boost him back up.

[theromanticscrooge]

Custom thumbnail art for my video on Foxtail. It was a bit rough working on this one considering certain events....

A discussion about Foxtail becoming an authoritarian, the overall problems with POINT, and the idea of what makes the 'ideal' hero.

[theromanticscrooge]

to all my american mutuals - remember to vote! your vote is important, the results of these elections will affect us all globally

[theromanticscrooge]

The fundraiser for @abood-gaza7 is now at 95% !! Abood needs less than $2,200 to help reach the goal for him and his wife! Help Abood by matching my donation of $10

[theromanticscrooge]

I'm a transman. I'm pansexual. My pronouns are he/him. I support all parts of the LGBTQIA+ community, marginalized communities period, and our right to exist no matter where we are in the world. I'm tired of hiding. I don't care what the risks are. I'm publically coming out in every part of my life today.

I'm not going back in the closet. I'm not backing down. And I hope I can help build a world where other people can do the same.

[theromanticscrooge]

Joe Cuppa: From Washed-Up Hazbin to Rising Superstar

There's a few guides and even interviews from stand-up comedians talking about how they got started. Even if they have a clever set that they spent weeks practicing and polishing, stage presence is another dimension to their act. Their delivery, charisma, relatability, and an ability to roll with the punches are a huge part of what clinches the act. What makes something funny isn't a fully teachable skill. Most comedians learn what works and what doesn't through a combination of throw spaghetti at the wall experiments, practice, feedback from friends or audiences alike, and general experience. Like any other kind of artist or performer, comedians have an approach or set unique to them. They may cover similar topics and themes to someone else, but their tone, delivery, and other hallmarks about their act are specific to them.

It's fun when a cartoon plays with the idea of one of the characters going into or trying stand-up. The Hey Arnold! episode "Helga's Show" follows Helga roasting the other students in her class as her comedy set during a weekly talent showcase. Helga's roasts are an interesting intersection between her harsh, rude front and her more insightful, detail-oriented creative side. She's a child prodigy when it comes to analyzing visual art or writing books full of lovesick poems. Unfortunately, Helga has little support at home and hides behind being more blunt and aggressive than she really is. She mixes her bullying tendencies with clever wordplay on stage. The goal is to entertain with a more playful elbow bump rather than intimidate with a fist. While the episode's approach to exploring the fine line between a direct insult and a cheeky roast is shaky, it's still interesting to see what Helga's approach to stand-up looks like.

There's a running gag in the Bob's Burgers episode "The Deepening" where Mort the mortician tries his hand at stand-up comedy. He enjoys puns and plays with the premise of poking fun at the more morbid parts of his profession. In general, Mort has a very easygoing attitude and approaches life with a grin and lame dad jokes. Mort wants to be liked and part of the crowd, but he can be awkward in a way that it's followed with too much silence after, a frown, and dropping things in a rough, brusque way. When Mort tries to smooth over awkwardness, he pushes the joke further; he continues to beat a dead horse. A smooth recovery after an awkward beat is an art in and of itself. Because Bob's Burgers is full of ridiculous characters that all revel in their own brand of awkwardness, it's more fun if Mort never learns how to properly segway after awkward moments. He's the understated complement to fellow diner regular Teddy's more manic, loud, and chaotic social faux pas.

In the case of Joe Cuppa in O.K. K.O., he's a formerly successful stand-up comedian. The minute he walks on stage at the Plaza, he carries the confidence and presence of a true seasoned professional. The toon itself establishes this with the dramatic contrast between Joe and the amateur that went before him. The amateur comedian was a sweating, nervous wreck that had a loose idea for a set, but it was dubious how well-thought-out and prepared it really was. He presented as someone starting a comedy career on a whim vs genuine interest. A more generous take is that the previous act was going into his very first on-stage performance. He was at the bumbling start of a potential career where Joe has hit a proverbial wall. Its one thing for a wannabe to try something off the wall at an open mic where anyone and everyone can get on stage. Its somewhere between a failure and a splash of cold water realization for a professional like Joe performing to rows of empty chairs.

Joe has a tried and true set that used to work. He was popular enough that he had shows recorded and syndicated on TV. He was a household name that gathered crowds and easily filled seats. Now, he's an echo of his former glory. Rad is familiar with him but neither Enid or K.O. recognized him or even knew he existed. Considering that Rad knew him from re-runs, his parents were probably fans when Joe was still a more known name. It's possible that Joe had a very particular niche in the world of comedy too.

Joe's act relies on cheesy coffee puns that are varying degrees of clever to painfully forced. Its in the same vein as classic dad jokes. The jokes themselves are very simple and basic; anyone can make these surface level observations and cracks. What makes Joe's act stick is his full commitment to the act. He has an every man, personable charisma to him between his business casual shirt with rolled-up sleeves and frumpy tie to his playful and slightly obnoxious banter. He's lame, he knows he's lame, and he owns this with the earnest energy that makes a suburban dad charming and likeable. It's all about meeting his audience at their level in such a way that feels natural and affable.

Its interesting that Rad is such a big Joe Cuppa fan. In general, Rad is very closed-doors about his interests unless its a hobby like fitness, sports, or dumb stunts that directly support and embellish his desired image of the stoic macho man. Rad's public persona is a try-hard dudebro but stoic macho man is the goal. Usually, Rad gets overly defensive or even outright denies his interest if someone teases him about it or it falls under descriptions like 'soft, vulnerable, feminine.' He's reluctant to push back against the status quo if the cool kids think something is lame. Enid is very blunt about how unimpressed she is by Joe and his jokes.

Rad owns how much he loves Joe and his jokes. Joe's comedy is one of the few 'dorky' interests Rad has that he wholeheartedly endorses and backs up. Maybe part of Joe's appeal for Rad is that Joe is open and realized in a way that Rad hopes to achieve for himself someday. Similarly to how a comedian's set reflects who they are and how they handle daily life, someone's interest in a comedian or artist reflects what they might aspire to be like or even some of what their personal values are. Rad is characterized as someone that can be as lame and dorky as Joe; he just doesn't have the confidence to match what Joe brings to those parts of his character yet.

This difference even carries over to the tone between the slapstick gags that play out with Rad or Joe respectively. When Joe gets thrown through the front shop window or looks shell-shocked by the general chaos of a retail setting, its followed by a moment of earnest sympathy and reflection for Joe. The episode ends with a series of absurdist and ridiculous cartoony slapstick directed at Rad. The convenient karma of the cartoon world matches how badly a character needs a win or light comeuppance. When Rad has earnest moments that share the same thoughtful and self-aware gravity Joe has, the Universe is kinder and carries a lighter touch. He's still a lightning rod for cartoon antics as one of the immediate comic reliefs, but the antics are appropriately sidelined for character moments.

Overall, Joe's story focuses on a celebrity after their 15 minutes of fame are up or even an older person that just retired from their job after 20 years. Audiences don't connect with Joe's act anymore. After his latest flop at the Plaza, Joe seriously considers giving up on comedy altogether and the immediate need for some kind of change or even a new direction altogether. While exaggerated, Joe paints a depressing picture: Comedy put food on the table for him. Coffee puns paid his pills, kept a roof over his head, and sustained his livelihood as much as it served as self-expression and an artistic outlet. Performing at the Plaza's open mic was a last-ditch effort to revive his dead career. Otherwise, Joe is in such a desperate position that he sleeps in gas station bathrooms, abuses free samples, and tries to shoplift in shoddy disguises.

When Joe tries his hand at retail, he gives a legitimate effort to adapt and fit in with a role so outside of his wheelhouse. He tries to refurbish coffee puns into his customer service. He doesn't know enough about the available inventory to give pointers on what helps heroes, but he can brighten people's days with a laugh and a smile. Outside of cartoon logic, it does take time to learn store inventory and to build up enough product knowledge to answer even generally asked questions. Customer service also requires the ability to approach someone with a carefully crafted persona that's polite, friendly, informative, and has business friendly polish. Its a different enough arena from being an entertainer that while acting skills can carry over, its still a notably different skill.

Joe tries to give customer service the same boisterous energy he brings to stage. When a retired person has to enter retail or tries to break into a different industry after 20 years of something else entirely, there's going to be a significant adjustment period. With time, effort, and active learning, a person will figure out how to fill a role to the best of their abilities or that the role just isn't a good fit for their particular skills, demeanor, or otherwise. In an ideal set of circumstances, people find work, coworkers, and culture that is both a good fit for them and somewhere that grows and changes with them in an organic way. Unfortunately, most people are stuck in positions where very few things are a good fit or it's the struggle of shoving a circle shaped peg into a square shaped hole long enough to pay bills. This ongoing challenge affects someone whether its a young adult just entering the working world or an older adult trying to stay in the working world out of sheer necessity.

Customer service is a shove a circle shaped peg into a square shaped hole for Joe. He understands the surface level assignment, but isn't sure how to approach this task in a way that meets even the bare minimum. When he helps with the Shannon fight, he's given a challenge that requires an out of the box solution and creative thinking that better matches the on-your-feet challenge of stand-up. He's able to retool his coffee puns into something entirely new: coffee-themed super powers and attacks. This is exactly what Joe needed; something that plays to his strengths but updates and refreshes his comedy act in a very different way. This is that rare moment where a retired handyman brings his years of electrical or plumbing experience to patching holes or fixing little maintenance issues around the store. An older accountant helps her son-in-law with taxes and starts up her own one-on-one business that helps other people file taxes.

Too many people can become stagnant. Something works to the point they become comfortable and it becomes routine. Its an unexpected blow when they lose their job, when new problems come up that require new skills or solutions outside of their current skill set, or an event that catastrophically disrupts the status quo. After this blow, a person can feel like a failure or they're obsolete. They have done the same thing for so long and gotten so used to doing this thing a certain way, it's hard to look at their situation from a different perspective or even if they're trying new approaches or actively taking advice, it still takes awhile to find the new something that works.

Another part of Joe's story is that he takes suggestions and puts himself out there despite being at his lowest because he has support from K.O. Sometimes, an older person needs a reminder that their age doesn't have to be and shouldn't be a barrier. Learning and growing are lifelong. More people than ever live into their mid to late 80s or even to 100. Some of the most inspirational people are fine artists that started learning how to paint in their late 50s and the 70 year old that went back to earn her bachelor's degree just because she wanted to. Joe is restricted most by the idea that he's washed up. His comedy career ended but there's still so many other things he can do and try. And lucky for Joe, he gets recruited for a movie and starts an exciting, glamorous new position as a movie star.

Most people won't become famous or movie stars. But there's still value in older people finding a new direction in life. The humbler counterpart to Joe Cuppa the celebrity is Mr. Gar the business owner and active example of a healthy, positive male role model. K.O. inspires both Joe and Mr. Gar in their unique journeys that their continued efforts to grow and change are both for their benefit and someone younger that may end up at a similar crossroads to what they do someday. Healthy moves towards self improvement lead to results like Joe the movie star vs Joe the washed up comedian. Life throws curve balls, but someone can meet those curve balls more readily when they believe in their own ability to continue learning.

[theromanticscrooge]

Joe Cuppa comes from the sink or swim world of comedy…It takes the effort of a well-meaning fan turned friend to help boost him back up.

It's the return of my favorite classy, royalty free elevator music! Only the best for my favorite coffee-themed lounge loser! c:

[theromanticscrooge]

Joe Cuppa: From Washed-Up Hazbin to Rising Superstar

There's a few guides and even interviews from stand-up comedians talking about how they got started. Even if they have a clever set that they spent weeks practicing and polishing, stage presence is another dimension to their act. Their delivery, charisma, relatability, and an ability to roll with the punches are a huge part of what clinches the act. What makes something funny isn't a fully teachable skill. Most comedians learn what works and what doesn't through a combination of throw spaghetti at the wall experiments, practice, feedback from friends or audiences alike, and general experience. Like any other kind of artist or performer, comedians have an approach or set unique to them. They may cover similar topics and themes to someone else, but their tone, delivery, and other hallmarks about their act are specific to them.

It's fun when a cartoon plays with the idea of one of the characters going into or trying stand-up. The Hey Arnold! episode "Helga's Show" follows Helga roasting the other students in her class as her comedy set during a weekly talent showcase. Helga's roasts are an interesting intersection between her harsh, rude front and her more insightful, detail-oriented creative side. She's a child prodigy when it comes to analyzing visual art or writing books full of lovesick poems. Unfortunately, Helga has little support at home and hides behind being more blunt and aggressive than she really is. She mixes her bullying tendencies with clever wordplay on stage. The goal is to entertain with a more playful elbow bump rather than intimidate with a fist. While the episode's approach to exploring the fine line between a direct insult and a cheeky roast is shaky, it's still interesting to see what Helga's approach to stand-up looks like.

There's a running gag in the Bob's Burgers episode "The Deepening" where Mort the mortician tries his hand at stand-up comedy. He enjoys puns and plays with the premise of poking fun at the more morbid parts of his profession. In general, Mort has a very easygoing attitude and approaches life with a grin and lame dad jokes. Mort wants to be liked and part of the crowd, but he can be awkward in a way that it's followed with too much silence after, a frown, and dropping things in a rough, brusque way. When Mort tries to smooth over awkwardness, he pushes the joke further; he continues to beat a dead horse. A smooth recovery after an awkward beat is an art in and of itself. Because Bob's Burgers is full of ridiculous characters that all revel in their own brand of awkwardness, it's more fun if Mort never learns how to properly segway after awkward moments. He's the understated complement to fellow diner regular Teddy's more manic, loud, and chaotic social faux pas.

In the case of Joe Cuppa in O.K. K.O., he's a formerly successful stand-up comedian. The minute he walks on stage at the Plaza, he carries the confidence and presence of a true seasoned professional. The toon itself establishes this with the dramatic contrast between Joe and the amateur that went before him. The amateur comedian was a sweating, nervous wreck that had a loose idea for a set, but it was dubious how well-thought-out and prepared it really was. He presented as someone starting a comedy career on a whim vs genuine interest. A more generous take is that the previous act was going into his very first on-stage performance. He was at the bumbling start of a potential career where Joe has hit a proverbial wall. Its one thing for a wannabe to try something off the wall at an open mic where anyone and everyone can get on stage. Its somewhere between a failure and a splash of cold water realization for a professional like Joe performing to rows of empty chairs.

Joe has a tried and true set that used to work. He was popular enough that he had shows recorded and syndicated on TV. He was a household name that gathered crowds and easily filled seats. Now, he's an echo of his former glory. Rad is familiar with him but neither Enid or K.O. recognized him or even knew he existed. Considering that Rad knew him from re-runs, his parents were probably fans when Joe was still a more known name. It's possible that Joe had a very particular niche in the world of comedy too.

Joe's act relies on cheesy coffee puns that are varying degrees of clever to painfully forced. Its in the same vein as classic dad jokes. The jokes themselves are very simple and basic; anyone can make these surface level observations and cracks. What makes Joe's act stick is his full commitment to the act. He has an every man, personable charisma to him between his business casual shirt with rolled-up sleeves and frumpy tie to his playful and slightly obnoxious banter. He's lame, he knows he's lame, and he owns this with the earnest energy that makes a suburban dad charming and likeable. It's all about meeting his audience at their level in such a way that feels natural and affable.

Its interesting that Rad is such a big Joe Cuppa fan. In general, Rad is very closed-doors about his interests unless its a hobby like fitness, sports, or dumb stunts that directly support and embellish his desired image of the stoic macho man. Rad's public persona is a try-hard dudebro but stoic macho man is the goal. Usually, Rad gets overly defensive or even outright denies his interest if someone teases him about it or it falls under descriptions like 'soft, vulnerable, feminine.' He's reluctant to push back against the status quo if the cool kids think something is lame. Enid is very blunt about how unimpressed she is by Joe and his jokes.

Rad owns how much he loves Joe and his jokes. Joe's comedy is one of the few 'dorky' interests Rad has that he wholeheartedly endorses and backs up. Maybe part of Joe's appeal for Rad is that Joe is open and realized in a way that Rad hopes to achieve for himself someday. Similarly to how a comedian's set reflects who they are and how they handle daily life, someone's interest in a comedian or artist reflects what they might aspire to be like or even some of what their personal values are. Rad is characterized as someone that can be as lame and dorky as Joe; he just doesn't have the confidence to match what Joe brings to those parts of his character yet.

This difference even carries over to the tone between the slapstick gags that play out with Rad or Joe respectively. When Joe gets thrown through the front shop window or looks shell-shocked by the general chaos of a retail setting, its followed by a moment of earnest sympathy and reflection for Joe. The episode ends with a series of absurdist and ridiculous cartoony slapstick directed at Rad. The convenient karma of the cartoon world matches how badly a character needs a win or light comeuppance. When Rad has earnest moments that share the same thoughtful and self-aware gravity Joe has, the Universe is kinder and carries a lighter touch. He's still a lightning rod for cartoon antics as one of the immediate comic reliefs, but the antics are appropriately sidelined for character moments.

Overall, Joe's story focuses on a celebrity after their 15 minutes of fame are up or even an older person that just retired from their job after 20 years. Audiences don't connect with Joe's act anymore. After his latest flop at the Plaza, Joe seriously considers giving up on comedy altogether and the immediate need for some kind of change or even a new direction altogether. While exaggerated, Joe paints a depressing picture: Comedy put food on the table for him. Coffee puns paid his pills, kept a roof over his head, and sustained his livelihood as much as it served as self-expression and an artistic outlet. Performing at the Plaza's open mic was a last-ditch effort to revive his dead career. Otherwise, Joe is in such a desperate position that he sleeps in gas station bathrooms, abuses free samples, and tries to shoplift in shoddy disguises.

When Joe tries his hand at retail, he gives a legitimate effort to adapt and fit in with a role so outside of his wheelhouse. He tries to refurbish coffee puns into his customer service. He doesn't know enough about the available inventory to give pointers on what helps heroes, but he can brighten people's days with a laugh and a smile. Outside of cartoon logic, it does take time to learn store inventory and to build up enough product knowledge to answer even generally asked questions. Customer service also requires the ability to approach someone with a carefully crafted persona that's polite, friendly, informative, and has business friendly polish. Its a different enough arena from being an entertainer that while acting skills can carry over, its still a notably different skill.

Joe tries to give customer service the same boisterous energy he brings to stage. When a retired person has to enter retail or tries to break into a different industry after 20 years of something else entirely, there's going to be a significant adjustment period. With time, effort, and active learning, a person will figure out how to fill a role to the best of their abilities or that the role just isn't a good fit for their particular skills, demeanor, or otherwise. In an ideal set of circumstances, people find work, coworkers, and culture that is both a good fit for them and somewhere that grows and changes with them in an organic way. Unfortunately, most people are stuck in positions where very few things are a good fit or it's the struggle of shoving a circle shaped peg into a square shaped hole long enough to pay bills. This ongoing challenge affects someone whether its a young adult just entering the working world or an older adult trying to stay in the working world out of sheer necessity.

Customer service is a shove a circle shaped peg into a square shaped hole for Joe. He understands the surface level assignment, but isn't sure how to approach this task in a way that meets even the bare minimum. When he helps with the Shannon fight, he's given a challenge that requires an out of the box solution and creative thinking that better matches the on-your-feet challenge of stand-up. He's able to retool his coffee puns into something entirely new: coffee-themed super powers and attacks. This is exactly what Joe needed; something that plays to his strengths but updates and refreshes his comedy act in a very different way. This is that rare moment where a retired handyman brings his years of electrical or plumbing experience to patching holes or fixing little maintenance issues around the store. An older accountant helps her son-in-law with taxes and starts up her own one-on-one business that helps other people file taxes.

Too many people can become stagnant. Something works to the point they become comfortable and it becomes routine. Its an unexpected blow when they lose their job, when new problems come up that require new skills or solutions outside of their current skill set, or an event that catastrophically disrupts the status quo. After this blow, a person can feel like a failure or they're obsolete. They have done the same thing for so long and gotten so used to doing this thing a certain way, it's hard to look at their situation from a different perspective or even if they're trying new approaches or actively taking advice, it still takes awhile to find the new something that works.

Another part of Joe's story is that he takes suggestions and puts himself out there despite being at his lowest because he has support from K.O. Sometimes, an older person needs a reminder that their age doesn't have to be and shouldn't be a barrier. Learning and growing are lifelong. More people than ever live into their mid to late 80s or even to 100. Some of the most inspirational people are fine artists that started learning how to paint in their late 50s and the 70 year old that went back to earn her bachelor's degree just because she wanted to. Joe is restricted most by the idea that he's washed up. His comedy career ended but there's still so many other things he can do and try. And lucky for Joe, he gets recruited for a movie and starts an exciting, glamorous new position as a movie star.

Most people won't become famous or movie stars. But there's still value in older people finding a new direction in life. The humbler counterpart to Joe Cuppa the celebrity is Mr. Gar the business owner and active example of a healthy, positive male role model. K.O. inspires both Joe and Mr. Gar in their unique journeys that their continued efforts to grow and change are both for their benefit and someone younger that may end up at a similar crossroads to what they do someday. Healthy moves towards self improvement lead to results like Joe the movie star vs Joe the washed up comedian. Life throws curve balls, but someone can meet those curve balls more readily when they believe in their own ability to continue learning.

[theromanticscrooge]

I've been dealing with some really rough real life shit. That's why I've been inactive for the last two weeks. I'm currently working on a script for a Joe Cuppa video and hope to get that done over the weekend.