Here at Pop Culture Spin we refuse to accept that Halloween is only one day. We’re going to be celebrating Halloween all month, by highlighting one of our favorite Halloween episodes every day. Today’s we’re looking at the Bob’s Burgers episode “Tina and the Real Ghost.”
Basic Info
Directed by: Boohwan Lim and Kyounghee Lim
Written by: Steven Davis and Kelvin Yu
Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 2
Where to Watch It: iTunes
Why It’s Awesome
The character of Tina Belcher has allowed Bob’s Burgers to explore what it’s like to be in your early teens with an unusual level of sensitivity. In this episode, Louise uses a ouija board to prank everyone into believing a teen boy is haunting the restaurant and things get out of hand when Tina develops real feelings for him, even calling the ghost her boyfriend.
But, what’s unique about “Tina and the Real Ghost” is that the story isn’t told in a way that embarrasses Tina. Everyone in her family, even Louise, is understanding of the fact that her emotions are real. She ends up being the most insightful person in the episode and, ultimately, is not punished for feeling things as hard as she does.
Why It’s Full of Halloween Spirit
This episode explores ghost stories from just about every angle. Louise thinks exploiting people’s desire to believe can make a hilarious prank, Bob is a complete skeptic, many people in the episode react with fear towards ghosts and, well, Tina falls in love.
Halloween is simultaneously scary, silly, cheesy, annoying, dull, or romantic. There are many ways to feel about it and this episode captures a lot of them.
Costume Count
Gene is Turner and Hooch
Louise is Ryan Gosling from the trailer for Drive (yes, she specifies that it’s just from the trailer)
