Friends with Burger-fits

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

“Friends with Burger-fits” is the third episode of Bob’s Burgers season 5 (the 70th overall). It aired on November 16, 2014, was written by Dan Fybel, and directed by Tyree Dillihay. Guest stars include Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Huskey, Tim Meadows, and Tim Heidecker.

Plot
Teddy’s health check reveals serious problems, so Bob decides to cut Teddy off from burgers. Teddy vows to exercise so he can keep eating them, and Bob reluctantly joins in out of guilt. Teddy misreads this as Bob claiming he’s his best friend, while Bob mostly sees Teddy as a loyal customer and doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. They sign up for a grueling “stunt man” boot camp. At one point, Bob tells the boot camp leaders that Teddy isn’t really his friend, just his customer, and Teddy overhears. Upset, Teddy starts visiting Dusty’s Feedbag, which runs a high-stakes burger challenge called the “Belt Buckle Belly Buster”—a five-pounder that’s free if finished in 30 minutes. Bob tries to intervene, but the manager serves Teddy anyway. A fight breaks out, Bob is knocked through a window, and Teddy helps him up. Teddy then tells Bob that he does value his kindness, and the two reconcile. Bob admits Teddy is his best friend after all.

Subplot
Meanwhile, the Belcher kids turn a freezer basement into an improvised ice rink and invite classmates to play a game they invent. Linda gets excited and turns it into a cage-match-style event called “Freezerdome,” with Linda as referee and a championship belt as the prize. Louise wins the belt.

Reception
The episode got mixed-to-positive reviews. The A.V. Club gave it a B, noting the main plot was a bit weak but still funny. Paste magazine rated it 8.8 out of 10, praising how it balanced absurd humor with emotion. It drew about 3.35 million viewers and was Fox’s fourth most-watched show that night, behind Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Family Guy, and The Simpsons.