Doctor Who: The Star Beast (2023 Special 1)

I mean, I'm going to be emotional no matter what about seeing David Tennant and Catherine Tate back on my screen as the Doctor and Donna Noble. To be frank, this episode didn't have to be that good to draw me in and make me sentimental! Let's see how it went.

Cons:

I think the little prologue thing where we get reminded on the history of Donna and the Doctor as characters was a little strange. I almost would have rather just had a "previously on" with Tennant doing voiceover or something. Especially since the Doctor later explains the whole "Donna took in the mind of a time lord and had to have her memory erased" bit, on screen, to another character.

While I overall want to praise the way pronouns and gender were quite casually discussed in this episode, I did think the fact that Rose was the one to speak up and basically say "did you just assume this alien's gender" was a little clunky. I wish the Meep had just corrected the Doctor outright instead of the one trans person in the room needing to intervene? That's the smallest of nitpicks, though.

Bob's Burgers: Wharf, Me Worry? (14x08)

Aww, an episode about the kids' grandpa! That's a fun concept.

Cons:

I don't have a ton to say in the "con" category here, to be honest. The gift of this show is that if certain characters take the a backseat, we know we'll see a bigger focus on them soon enough. So the kids didn't have a TON of character moments in this episode, it was really mostly about Bob's feelings with his dad, but that's okay because we'll get back to the youngsters more in another episode!

Pros:

I guess I'll start with the subplot here: Linda helps Teddy back at the restaurant to take an actually good picture of himself to advertise his business online. I loved the comedy of both Bob and Linda grimacing in horror when they'd seen the pictures he'd taken so far. He's holding a hammer and it looks like he's a serial killer, not a handyman! This is deeply relatable to me as a person who is bad at getting my picture taken! The bit with the woman in the diner who was shown example pictures was funny too. She tried to push back against her instincts, but yeah, based on what she was seeing of Teddy, she wasn't about to let him into her house alone. In the end, the key to success proves to be to snap a picture of Teddy right after he's taken a bite of a burger! I thought that was sweet, a way of focusing in on the fact that Teddy is their most regular customer and really gets some true happiness out of the food and company.

Bob's Burgers: The (Raccoon) King and I (14x07)

This one was so fun! The return of Little King Trash-Mouth!

Cons:

I don't really have many complaints, other than that I thought the shenanigan-level could have been higher with the kids? When Louise realized her bid to sell a concert experience for candy wasn't going to work out as planned, I was sort of expecting her to go way more wild with it. I wanted those kids sneaking around backstage, tripping over wires, interrupting the concert, all that jazz. As it was, it was a dinky little subplot that was just fine, but nothing special or memorable.

Bob's Burgers: Escape from Which Island? (14x06)

This was a fun one! Whenever Mr. Fischoeder gets involved you know it's going to be a wild time.

Cons:

I did think that the subplot with Linda and the kids could have had a better punch line. There were lots of funny jokes within the scenario, but the conclusion was just, Tina is stressed out about how to be a proper adult, then realizes she's memorized all of Linda's advice, so she's set. That didn't really land for me.

Pros:

But starting with that subplot, I loved the comedy of Linda being self-aware about bad cocktail party etiquette because she definitely has been that bad guest many times in the past. At first I thought maybe the joke would be that she gives bad advice because she's no good at it, but actually it's that she gives good advice because of all the practice she has at being an inconsiderate guest.

Bob's Burgers: Bully-ieve It or Not (14x05)

Hey, I've been saying for the past four weeks that I wanted a school-centric episode and I got it. I'm happy!

Cons:

This is just a personal thing but the gross-out humor that this show sometimes employs is not my favorite. The pee stuff, fine, but then licking the booger wall and the idea that Zeke might throw up? I did have to look away from the screen during that part. Not a fan.

Pros:

I liked how both the subplot with the kids and the plot with Bob back at the diner had like, real life lessons to learn, but it never felt after school special-y. This show can sometimes decide to tackle a real issue in a way that still preserves the comedy and still remains broadly palatable and enjoyable.