The Belcher family’s patty-flipping patriarch has certainly looked better. Poor Bob (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) is taking a big risk for the kids as Season 16 concludes on the animated sitcom. But with a neck brace, helmet, and herbs shoved in his nose, plus the Wonder Wharf hippo plushie he’s clutching, we are more than a little concerned for the guy. Linda (John Roberts), can’t you stop this?!
The action all begins when thousands of dead fish wash up on the beach the same week that the Belcher’s hometown is set to host the historic annual Lighthouse Fire Hoax Night, one of the kids’ favorite traditions. “Why they have it is less important than what it means to the kids, which is an excuse to stay up late and set something on fire,” Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard tells us with a laugh.
But the smell from the fish is staggering (Bob uses his nose-herbs to block it out), and the machine needed to remove them isn’t coming for another week. And with a packed calendar, there’s just no room to reschedule the fire.
“Edith and Harold [Larry Murphy and Sam Seder], the curmudgeons of the Ocean Avenue Business Association, are ready to punt right away. Bob’s caught in the middle, and the kids want to solve this problem,” says Bouchard. “Mr. Fischoeder [Kevin Kline] plays a deciding role. The guy with the money, the guy with the amusement park — he weighs in, in a very particular way.” Bouchard continues: “When do you let smart, motivated kids try to tackle a big problem?”
In the end, Bob chooses to “put his body physically on the line to help make this kid’s solution to this stinky fish problem happen,” the creator notes. “He takes a very big chance.” Well, him and Hippie Potamus.
Check out an exclusive clip from the finale episode, “Smellbound,” where the kids explain the wacky origins behind Lighthouse Fire Hoax Night, above.
Bob’s Burgers, Season 16 Finale, Sunday, May 17, 9:30/8:30c, Fox