Bob's Creator's Thoughts on Darker Theories

Happy Saturday, Fanaticals! In our first week, I mentioned some findings about Ms Rowlings thoughts on some fan theories. Today, I present to you some things that I found regarding Mr. Loren Burchard, creator of Bob's Burgers. If you remember from our welcome post, I mentioned that sometimes I would do some deep research with our theories. While these findings weren't found with deep research, I did manage to find them by happenchance.

Today's theories are a bit darker in nature, but Mr. Burchard has made comments about them which just makes it so much more real! Of our two theories, he denies that one exists but can firmly understand where it came from, and the other he confirmed as actual truth! I cannot express how excited I was to see his words about these theories, as it is a fan's dream to have creators actually address fan theories regarding their works.

Before we go any further, as mentioned in the title and above, these ARE some dark theories about the show; they include death and even cannibalism. If you are uncomfortable with either of those, I encourage you to stop reading here; keep in mind I would not be offended, as I know not everyone can stomach darker theories. If you wish to continue reading, then let's see what the Bob's creator's thoughts are about these!

The Family is Stuck in a Painting

For those who love this show, you know there is generally a Thanksgiving episode every other season, sometimes even back-to-back seasons. In one of the craziest Thanksgiving episodes, straight out of Season 3, Calvin Fischeoder comes and offers Bob free rent in exchange for letting his family pretend to be his as his ex-girlfriend is coming over, and she has a kink about being a homewrecker. He prepares for this clear down to even having a "family" painting commissioned of him, Linda, and the kids that he hangs above the mantel of the fireplace.

After arriving at his home, the kids change into "costumes" that all look alike, think similar to the Von Trap family from "Sound of Music". After they change, Calvin turns the evening into a game for them; whoever does a good job convincing his ex that they are his children receives carnival tickets and whoever has the most tickets at the end of the night gets a prize of their choice. The evening descends into complete and utter chaos after Bob drinks some Absinthe that he finds in the kitchen.

By the end of the night, Bob is almost shot as the turkey, aka "Lance", shields him from a gunshot when the truth fully comes out that they are not Calvin's family. Before heading home, Louise remembers that she won the most tickets, and she knows exactly what she wants. The final scene shows her hanging the painting in the kitchen. Now, where the theory that the family is living in the painting comes from is when Louise makes the comment that she might grow old but the Louise in the painting will "stay 9 forever". The theory stems from the fact that while Calvin's ex is shooting everywhere trying to get ahold of Bob, that she hit the family and they are now living IN the painting, dead.

While we established on Wednesday that there is the theory behind the opening credits that each incident was the death of one of the kids, there are actually several theories out there that all have the same underlying theme: the family is actually dead. While theories run rampaged that the family is actually dead, Mr. Burchard has, in fact, stated that while it is not true, he can actually understand the theories.

When I first heard that he felt that way, I did some research and found that he had given an interview with The Huffington Post where he talked about understanding the idea of the theory due to the "Groundhog Day"-type feel that the show gives: birthdays every now and then, a Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas episode in just about every season, but yet no one gets older... He admitted that even though the characters are not dead, he can understand where those thoughts come from as if they were alive there would definitely be a feeling of something being wrong since they obviously are not exploring time in a normal way.

It's interesting that so many theories regarding Bob's include the family being dead and that there is a "Groundhog Day"-type feeling, when so many other adult animation shows (Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, AMerican Dad, ect...) have been going on for years and you clearly see the "progress of time" when it also seems like time is in a standstill. I love that Mr. Burchard can understand where his fans come from, even if it's not true.

The Pilot Episode Holds the Truth

Now THIS was an absolute shock to me, and I would love to know your reactions to it as well! Adult animation shows all have some crazy pilot episode, but I believe that the Bob's Burgers one takes the cake. For those of you who haven't seen the show, the pilot episode starts out with Bob explaining how it is their biggest weekend of the year, it's "Beef Boom"; it is the first day after the Christian holiday called Lent that consists of the 45 days leading up to Easter. Most people give up meat for Lent, and therefore this weekend immediately following Lent is when everyone goes out and buys a burger.

This is where we first meet Hugo the Health Inspector, and it comes out that they are there investigating the accusation that Bob makes his burgers from human remains. Of course, it's lovable Louise who spreads the rumor in Show and Tell at school. In the end, it is proven that the burgers are made from 100% beef. For some, this may seem surprising. It was entertaining for certain, but the surprise actually came from Mr. Burchard, himself.

While I don't have the direct source for the interview, I have found MANY references to him stating that this was actually supposed to be the whole premise of the show! His original pitch WAS a show about a family of cannibals who made their burgers with ground human remains. I was super surprised when I found this out, but suddenly there was a lot of things that made sense; including the scene at the beginning where they show Louise's Show and Tell, she was so open and candid, and it didn't faze her to say that they burgers were made that way. I mean, if you're telling the truth about something like that it wouldn't faze you at all would it?

How often does she so offhandedly mention death, that seems borderline obsessive? Or how Gene is so open about his body fluids and bodily functions? When you're a cannibal, I can't see death or body fluids really being much to gross you out. When you take into consideration that this was actually the truth behind the family originally, Mr. Burchard not batting an eye at the fan theories that revolve around the family being dead makes sense.

We all would love to hear actual confirmation or denial from the creators of our favourite fandoms, but how crazy were these revelations to YOU? Come join our community and talk about it! Meanwhile, come back next week as we spend the entire week encased in the darker theories of one of the craziest shows from our childhoods. Until then, keep on theorizing, Fanaticals!