Bob’s Burgers Season 16 Episode 4 Review: The Skids in the Hall

Bob’s Burgers Season 16 Episode 4, “The Skids in the Hall,” pits Tina against the crooked hall monitors who set her up to lose her position.

The episode exemplifies the unbreakable bond between the Belcher children, as they try to get to the bottom of the scheme and clear their sister’s name. It’s hard not to love watching the kids genuinely have each other’s back.

The episode immediately establishes itself as a crime drama parody, framing Tina as the one honest hall monitor amidst a sea of corruption.

Tina takes her job deadly serious, expertly playing the disgraced beat cop role, in hilarious contrast to her far more down-to-earth peers.

But this episode would be nothing without Louise and Gene stepping up to help her. They take on detective roles, uncovering a web of candy bribery and illegal sock racing!

Bob’s Burgers has always stood out among other adult animated family sitcoms thanks to the Belchers themselves. Unlike other families in the same genre, they consistently care for each other.

Obviously, they have their issues from time to time, but at the end of the day, they look after each other. That aspect of the show is still genuinely refreshing.

Louise suspects the hall monitors set Tina up, so she makes it her mission to help clear her name. Not because she cares about the rules, but because she cares about Tina.

The actual scheme to get Tina fired is a bit convoluted.

The idea that the other hall monitors clogged a water fountain, knowing that Tina would leave her post, feels a bit silly — and not in a good way.

The kids might just be overthinking it, which is very possible given the Belchers, but it isn’t as clear as it should be for viewers.

Regardless, the scene of Tina getting fired and Louise suspecting foul play serves its purpose. It isn’t even noticeable unless you overthink it yourself.

Meanwhile, Bob has made an appointment at the DMV to renew his driver’s license. You’ll be relieved to learn that this episode is not about Bob waiting in line at the DMV.

Instead, this episode messes with something truly sacred: Bob’s mustache.

If you thought Bob without a mustache was cursed enough on its own, you haven’t seen Bob with a pencil mustache. Suddenly, the setup of Bob having to get his driver’s license renewed makes a lot more sense.

The episode doesn’t spend too much time on Bob’s new John Waters-esque look, but it does give way to some funny one-liners. Including an incredibly accurate observation from Teddy, who said, “It just makes the rest of your face look too big.”

If nothing else, it shows the audience why none of the main characters have had any changes to their designs over the course of sixteen seasons.

Additionally, the episode features a bunch of sock-racing sequences with really fluid animation. The kids are skidding around, gaining momentum, and fighting against the lack of friction.

It’s hard not to agree that, yeah, it does look kind of fun.

But in the end, they get their evidence and not only blackmail Tina back into the hall monitors but also earn her the role of head hall monitor.

The actual hall monitor ranking system has proven inconsistent, but Tina’s role as one hasn’t. Her new promotion will hopefully come up again in a future episode.

This outing could benefit from tightening up its plot hooks, especially in its first half. Regardless, “The Skids in the Hall” brings the heart and eccentricity we’ve come to adore about Bob’s Burgers.

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Bob’s Burgers airs Sundays at 9:30/8:30c on Fox.

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