The Best Bob's Burgers Thanksgiving Episodes, Ranked
11/22/2023 11:29 pm EST
#11 - Gayle Makin' Bob Sled
Season 6, Episode 4
Original Air Date: November 8th, 2015
Gayle is one of the more divisive characters in Bob's Burgers as she's best used as a device in small doses, but often can show new sides of each member of the family as they interact with her. This is the case with "Gayle Makin' Bob Sled" as Bob helps her when she's injured, only to end pulling her in a makeshift sled in the snow until her cat, Mr. Business, escapes and she subsequently reveals she can walk just fine. It's one of Gayle's worst moments as she faked an injury and caused the situation to get much worse, but it was played off because she believed she was broken up with. It's just not as fun of a dynamic to watch Bob struggle through the episode (though it does lead to the rest of the family trying to cook the Thanksgiving dinner) compared to rest of the specials on this list.
#10 - An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal
Season 3, Episode 5
Original Air Date: November 18th, 2012
"An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal" kicked off Bob's Burgers' string of Thanksgiving episodes that we would enjoy throughout the rest of the series, but it's at this spot by default because future specials would end up improving on the ideas that began here. This episode introduced Bob's love of the cooking holiday and his serious adherence to certain traditions, and had the family coming together as it all came to an end like the best iterations of these holiday specials. But with its heavy influence from Mr. Fischoeder and a character we never meet again, it just doesn't hit as hard as the later seasons' specials.
#9 - Stuck in the Kitchen With You
Season 12, Episode 8
Original Air Date: November 21st, 2021
While Bob's love and seriousness over the Thanksgiving holiday resulted in some of the best specials, it's also gone the other way as well. "Stuck in the Kitchen With You" shows Bob at his worst as a "Thankszilla" as the rest of the family notes how serious he gets in the kitchen during the holiday. It's why when Louise ends up helping him, she gets annoyed at the fact he pushes her away the more he starts to cook more elaborate meals for the retirement home they're volunteering at this year. This episode makes up for it with the rest of the plots, however, as the kids make a great parade out of medical supplies and Linda gets paired with Sergeant Bosco (which is one of the most fruitful pairings in the entire series).
#8 - Thanks-Hoarding
Season 8, Episode 5
Original Air Date: November 19th, 2017
When Bob's Burgers highlights aspects of Teddy's anxious personality, it's generally a good thing but a very, very heightened time. You feel Teddy's anxiety each time, and it's not always the best experience watching through. It ends up in a very sweet way with "Thanks-hoarding," however as not only do fans get more of an insight into Teddy's past, but also find out he's got a lot more anxiety than fans would have expected. It's a good showcase of how well intentions could go south as the Belchers end up trying to "fix" Teddy's hoarding, but ultimately find out that there's a lot more going on that it was symptomatic of. It was just a sweet look into Teddy, and that usually makes for some of the best episodes.
#7 - Now We're Not Cooking With Gas
Season 10, Episode 8
Original Air Date: November 24th, 2019
Bob's intensity over the holiday walks a very fine line, and that's what makes the great ones truly special. In "Now We're Not Cooking With Gas," Bob's more manic desire to cook a fancy turkey makes him build a fire pit in the alley, and it sends the rest of the family scrambling throughout on some very fun tangents. This was also one of the specials that has a very fun ending in which the Belchers technically still get beaten down by some bad luck, but there are smaller victories in the fact that his very destroyed turkey is still pretty delicious at the end of it all. And it's always nice to see it come around in the end.
#6 - Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid
Season 11, Episode 7
Original Air Date: November 22nd, 2020
Bob's Burgers has some of the best anthology episodes in animated sitcoms in general, and the Thanksgiving iteration of that idea is no different. But while the main draw are the food based movie parodies that the rest of the family tell Gene to try and make him feel better when he's battling the stomach flu, it's ultimately a sweet story about Bob and Gene's bond. As Bob explains, Gene's really the only one who is ever interested in new foods and creative menus. And as we know about Bob and Thanksgiving, that's what he considers a win at the end of the day. Only a series like this one can make a diarrhea episode so sweet.
#5 - The Quirk-Ducers
Season 7, Episode 6
Original Air Date: November 20th, 2016
One of the best Thanksgiving episodes isn't set on Thanksgiving at all. "The Quirk-ducers" involves Wagstaff in the story as Tina, Gene, and Louise wait for the upcoming time off from school, the kids put on a play with the intention of making it as terrible as possible to end the school day early. Using Tina's Erotic Friendfiction as a base, this ends up being a rather fun episode for Tina as she gets to have a big victory despite everyone being covered in turkey guts. She saves the play on the fly, and it goes to show just how great of a character Tina is overall. Once again, it's always great to see the Belchers get a win.
#4 - Putts-giving
Season 13, Episode 8
Original Air Date: November 20th, 2022
But even when the victories are great, sometimes the losses are just as compelling. That's the case with "Putts-giving" which not only gives the Belcher family a completely new environment to play around in and basically have free reign of due to them visiting a mini-golf course on Thanksgiving itself. While Bob and Linda don't get a lot to do this episode in particular, it's always great seeing the Belcher kids making a mistake then trying their best to fix it. And as usual, things go south. It's just a fun watch as Tina ultimately helps her brother and sister and they end up facing consequences as a family. It just feels so different than many of the other episodes.
#3 - I Bob Your Pardon
Season 9, Episode 7
Original Air Date: November 18th, 2018
Speaking of episodes that feel different than the others, "I Bob Your Pardon" is one of the big adventures that the entire family takes on during the holiday. In their attempt to save a turkey from the slaughterhouse, the Belchers end up mixed in a political scandal (which has one of the best hard cut gags in the entire series), have a car chase, face danger from coyotes, and there's just tons of fun an intrigue throughout. It's a full Thanksgiving adventure, and Bob gets a much deserved win at the end as he finally gets the fresh cranberries he'd been searching for the entire time. It just all comes together.
#2 - Turkey In a Can
Season 4, Episode 5
Original Air Date: November 24th, 2013
"Turkey In a Can" is likely one of the best Thanksgiving episodes ever, Bob's Burgers or otherwise. Not only do we get to see more of Bob's love of the holiday (going as far as buying multiple turkeys to make sure to have the best presented dinner possible), but we get more sides of Bob himself. We find out a bit more about his sexuality, find out his distress over how much Tina is growing up, and get to see that manic fun side of him as well when he goes through great lengths to keep the turkeys from being tossed in a toilet. It has one of the most chaotic climaxes on this list, and the emotional depth to keep it all grounded. Plus it's got some great moments for Teddy, and that's always a plus.
#1 - Dawn of the Peck
Season 5, Episode 4
Original Air Date: November 23rd, 2014
But even with all of the great episodes already on this list, each of which could have arguably taken the top spot, "Dawn of the Peck" feels like the Alpha Turkey. Not only does it have an opening that's much different from every other episode (holiday or otherwise), it's got something fun for all of the characters. We get to see the town interact in new ways as new mix ups for the characters are involved in the same story for an extended time (like Teddy ending up in the same story as Andy and Ollie, for example). All the while we get more of manic Bob getting drunk and deciding to cook anyway, finally bringing him into the story in a proper zombie movie like fashion. It's honestly just the most fun to rewatch each year simply because of how zany it all is. And when you're full of turkey, that's all you need.
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