Burger of the Day: Katie's Back-to-Back-to-Bacon Cheeseburger (Bob's Burgers - TV-14)

I spent all day Tuesday under the firm assumption that it was Monday. Fellow Netflix-bingers, I know you feel my feels. After a certain while, the hours bleed together and the transition from day to night blurs until you find yourself thinking, "How is it one in the morning? What season am I on? Just five episodes left? I can finish that before bed, easy!" Basically, I've started re-watching the entire X-Files series and it's going to be the death of me.

But never fear! Today is Friday and a new review is here!

I've got a funny one served up for you today. You have likely already heard of Bob's Burgers due to its popularity akin to shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. Those comparisons may have either encouraged your interest in taste-testing the show or steered you away if you're not so into the flavor of adult cartoons, but when I started watching the show a year ago, it quickly became a favorite of mine. Seasons 1-4 are currently available for instant streaming.

GIF credit: www.buzzfeed.com

Bob's Burgers centers on Bob Belcher, his wife Linda, and their three kids Tina, Gene, and Louise. The family owns a burger joint through which the show explores workplace comedy, marriage and family dynamics, and awkward tales of childhood and growing up. The show does great work taking an average American family and making them relatable and funny - without dumbing any of them down.

Video credit: Animation Domination, YouTube

If you're looking for a "D'oh!" kind of father, Bob is not your guy. The thing I love most about Bob's Burgers is how far it strays from the typical tropes of TV families. In fact, Bob's depicts a family where members lift each other up and support each other instead of tearing each other down for a joke. The show's humor is based in antics and relatable awkwardness, rather than the expense of a character's confidence and dignity. For example, any time Gene goes through a slight identity crisis his family is pretty supportive, encouraging him to be himself.

Video credit: Qyzbud, YouTube

Each of the characters separately is dynamic as they deal with their own issues - which is a credit to the writers as well as the voice actors developing the characters' personalities. The kids especially crack me up, while still being beautiful souls that I adore for their total quirkiness. Gene walks around the house in his underwear and still demands to be taken seriously. He's always pushing the socially constructed boundaries of gender and expression and he's a cheerleader for his sisters - LOVE. Louise, my personal favorite voiced by Kristen Schaal, believes she could easily conquer the world and she does not take crap from anyone. And of course, there's Tina - the voice of a generation. While Tina experiences the true-life teenage struggles of boys, friends, and fitting in, she's crazy confident with a passion for coffee, butts, and erotic friend-fiction. She's a total feminist and unapologetically unique and people love her for it.

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Rating: 5/5 pints of Ben & Jerry's - easy. Coming up next week, I have reviews for Orange is the New Black and Nightcrawler on the menu. I'll see you here next Tuesday and Friday for those new reviews...as long as I can continue to keep my days straight from here on out.

Also, please tell me you thought this post's title was funny...like back-to-back-to-back episodes, get it...?

Also, also! If you're interested in what I mentioned earlier about Bob's Burgers as a cutting edge show breaking away from typical TV tropes and introducing more progressive ideas about family dynamics and supportiveness... YouTuber Laci Green discusses these aspects of the show as well as an added element of feminism in her MTV spot that you can watch below!

Video credit: mtv braless, YouTube

Forget Your Troubles (House M.D. - TV-14)

Dr. Gregory House (played by the infamous Hugh Laurie) is an insanely tough doctor with a problematic God/guilt complex. He's one of the best doctors in the United States and... he's addicted to vicodin. While I'd seen an episode of House M.D. here or there on television, it was never a show I kept up with weekly. My friend recommended that I give it a go on Netflix (all seasons, 1-8 are available to stream instantly).

Image credit: www.impawards.com

The show starts out simple and entertaining. Dr. House has a dry sense of humor, but he's so brilliant that his pranks (purely for his own amusement) are complicated and captivating.

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The characters quickly convince you to hate the rules of the medical system as much as they do, and you will find yourself cheering them on as they cheat the system to save a life. Of course, it doesn't always work out, because the reality is that not every life can be saved. If we wanted to choose one theme to encompass the entire eight seasons of House M.D., it would simply be ethics. What does it mean to be ethical? Are ethics flexible? When is it okay to violate ethics?

It's the root of every struggle the characters face in House M.D. Patients lie. Doctors lie. Each doctor has to face a battle with loneliness. But perhaps the greatest struggle in this show is Dr. House's struggle with happiness. He believes that being happy makes him a worse doctor.

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The show quickly takes on some darker themes of morality and mortality.

The coolest thing about this show is that I have experienced love and hate for each character. This show will force you to see the dynamic good and bad in every person - and that sometimes it is necessary to break the rules of morality for the sake of mortality. Rating: 4.5/5 pints of Ben & Jerry's.

P.S. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD HUGH LAURIE SING? YOU'RE WELCOME.

Cue the Musical Montage. (Glee - TV-PG)

I used to watch Glee religiously. It actually fostered my interest in joining theater in high school. I was looking for community. Glee depicted a family of cutthroat drama lovers...exactly what I found in high school...and I loved it.

First of all, Glee is downright funny. The wit and the sass make me smile non-stop.

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Glee also tackles some of the serious social issues definitive of high school. These topics include sexuality, school violence, insecurity, college fears, bullying, parent pressure, peer pressure, anxiety disorders and mental illness, and physical disabilities, just to name a few...

Video Credit: Major Gleeks, YouTube

Plus the Christmas music is my absolute favorite.

Video Credit: AnskyLun, YouTube

I always found Glee to be thoroughly entertaining. Who could guess that this show is produced by the same man who makes American Horror Story? And while the most recent seasons took a bit of a plummet, mainly due to the cast additions not being incorporated well, the show still cranks out some awesome covers that will make you want to turn on the subtitles and sing along. Seasons 1 - 4 are available to stream instantly on Netflix. Rating: 4/5 pints of Ben & Jerry's.

Who's that girl? Sadly, not me. (New Girl - TV-14)

As a huge fan of Zooey Deschanel [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, (500) Days of Summer] and Jake Johnson (Safety Not Guaranteed, Drinking Buddies), I had high hopes for this show from the get-go. And I have not been disappointed. Yes, the show is sitcom-y and some episodes are better than others. But I have squirmed and giggled and squealed like the ultimate girl the whole way through.

Image credit: www.viewersguide.ca

It's a-typical, it's imbalanced, and it's slightly controversial. Basically this show is just the best case scenario of a girl living with three (later four) guy roommates. This dynamic permits some really awkward moments of hilarity. The writing is just so witty! I find the jokes genuinely funny and I laugh or roll my eyes at each one.

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Lemme let you in on a little secret... 

I like to imagine myself in New Girl....basically just as Jessica Day...because she's my spirit animal. She's full of inner feist and still believes in the good of humanity. She just wants to be herself and make people happy. And that's admirable. She's straight up weird but she has awesome people in her life that love her anyway.

I just really wish I could get into mini-misadventures with this troupe. And I most definitely want their apartment. I dream of toasting english muffins and brewing tea in their kitchen. 

Image credit: amandashoesmaker.wordpress.com

If you're looking for a cutsie show that's also funny enough to make your significant other laugh, New Girl is your jam. Seasons 1-3 are available on Netflix. Who's that girl? It's JESS. Rating: 3/5 pints of Ben & Jerry's.