A Father's Day Tribute to Bob Belcher, the Best Dad on TV

The family life of Bob’s Burgers’ Bob Belcher is never simple. His eldest daughter Tina is in the midst of her sexual awakening, his middle child Gene is a loud and proud weirdo, and Louise, the youngest, is a burgeoning criminal mastermind. Despite these challenges, Bob is a great dad.

Like any human (cartoon or otherwise), Bob has his flaws. He experiences jealousy, is wildly competitive, and often gets lost in his vision of owning the most successful and artful burger restaurant in the Northeast. But when push comes to shove, Bob is always willing to put aside his pride or greed and do what’s best for his family.

Bob’s bolder acts of love—like when he went undercover at Equestra Con (Bob’s Burgers’ play on BronyCon) to defend Tina after she was scammed by an older Equestranaut or encouraged Louise to destroy his plot in the community garden because his ardor for fresh produce was getting in the way of his relationship with his daughter—are worthy of praise, but where he truly excels as a father is in the day-to-day minutiae.

Never does he make Tina feel bad or ashamed for her love of erotic zombie fan fiction or her obsession with butts. Rarely does he tell Gene to put away his keyboard (programed with fart sounds) and stop expressing himself artistically. Though he often tries to talk Louise out of her wild schemes, he’s always there to help her when things go wrong. In return, he gets three kids who admire and adore him.

Of course, Bob wouldn’t be able to do all this without his wife, Linda. The pair are a team and a model of what marriage and raising children should look like. They’ve taught their children to be morally upstanding, brave, and confident. They’ve also demonstrated that it’s safe and okay to show your weaknesses to the people who love you because that love is unshakable. We should all be so luck to be a part of a family like the Belchers.

So while your celebrating or not celebrating Father’s Day this Sunday, take some time to treat yourself to one of Bob’s signature “Cauliflower’s Cumin From Inside The House” burgers and raise a glass to Bob, TV’s number one dad.