Sheesh! Cab, Bob?
Bob drives a cab to fund Tina's birthday party.
The sixth episode of Bob's Burgers' first season, "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?," aired on Fox on March 6, 2011. Bob drives a cab at night to fund Tina's 13th birthday party, while she plans a kiss with Jimmy Pesto Jr. Despite being a critics' favorite, the episode is controversial for its mistreatment of trans people.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Bob's Burgers
- Season
- 1
- Episode
- 6
- Director
- Jennifer Coyle
- Writer
- Jon Schroeder
- Production
- 1ASA09
- Air date
- 6 March 2011
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Tina Belcher's thirteenth birthday is coming up, and her mother Linda suggests to Bob that they make it extra-special, specifically wanting a romantic moment with Jimmy Pesto Jr. Bob believes they cannot afford what Tina wants, but Linda insists. Bob asks their landlord Mr. Fischoeder for an extension on their rent; Fischoeder refuses, instead offering Bob a job as a taxi cab driver. Bob accepts. On his first night, Bob befriends three transvestite prostitutes: Glitter, Marbles, and Cha-Cha. Tina invites several classmates, including Jimmy Jr., who needs permission from his father. Jimmy Pesto Sr. forbids his son from attending; Tina refuses to have a party without Jimmy Jr. Bob tries to change Pesto's mind, and Pesto says he will allow Jr. to attend only if Bob shaves his mustache so Jimmy can keep it as a trophy. Bob refuses, causing a rift between him and Tina. After a night out with the prostitutes, Bob returns drunk. Linda tells Bob that Tina has agreed to attend the party, but only for a few minutes. Bob passes out in the restaurant kitchen, waking up half an hour into the party, and finds it is not going well: the boys and girls are not dancing, and Mort's magician act fails to impress. Several of Bob's taxi customers arrive, whom Bob had apparently invited while intoxicated and subsequently forgot. Tina is mortified. Bob excuses himself to shave his mustache to give in to Jimmy Pesto's demand and redeem himself. Glitter and Marbles tell Tina that Bob is a good father who worked two jobs to pay for her party. Upon Bob's return, Tina apologizes for her lack of gratitude and says he already made the party perfect, even without Jimmy Jr. present. However, the sentiment comes too late to save his mustache. Before he turns over his whiskers to Pesto, the sex workers tell Bob they recognize Jimmy as 'Baby Num Num', a 'diaper lover.' Bob brings them over to Jimmy's restaurant and threatens to publicly expose him. Pesto concedes, and Jimmy Jr. attends the party. Tina and Jimmy Jr. kiss under the disco ball, and Gene plays the song 'If You Were Here'.
Production
The episode was originally titled 'Bob After Dark', but was later changed, making it the second episode of the show to have a working title changed, the first being 'Sexy Dance Fighting', originally titled 'Capoeira.' Being an early episode, Mr. Fischoeder's eye patch is incorrectly colored as black; it is unknown whether this is a coloring error or an early decision that was later changed. This would be strange, though, as 'Burger War', which aired later but was produced before this episode, has his eye patch colored the correct white color. The song 'Lifting Up the Skirt of the Night' was written and performed by John Roberts, with series creator Loren Bouchard singing backing vocals. The episode was made as the first season's ninth episode in production order, but aired as the sixth episode in broadcasting order on Fox.
Reception
In its original American broadcasting, 'Sheesh! Cab, Bob?' was viewed by an estimated 4.91 million viewers and received a 2.7 rating/4% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, an improvement from last episode and became the highest rated episode of the season to be aired after the first two episodes. Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A−, saying 'As funny as the episode is, it's also genuinely sweet by the end, with Bob and Tina bonding over how much work he's done. Of course, that just makes his drunken bender with sex workers that much funnier, as well as Louise acting as Tina's kissing coordinator and sending her to boot camp.' Lillian Brown of Vulture called the episode one of the 20 essential Bob's Burgers episodes in 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed Sheesh! Cab, Bob??
Sheesh! Cab, Bob? was directed by Jennifer Coyle.
Who wrote Sheesh! Cab, Bob??
Sheesh! Cab, Bob? was written by Jon Schroeder.
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