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Bob and Margaret

150 statements
28 feature instances
14 referencing feature instances

Bob and Margaret	type	TVTItem
Bob and Margaret	label	Bob and Margaret
Bob and Margaret	page	BobAndMargaret
Bob and Margaret	comment	Bob and Margaret is a British/Canadian animated sitcom produced by Nelvana in association with Channel 4 and Global Television Network. It was created by the husband-and-wife animation duo of Alison Snowden and David Fine, being based on their Academy Award-winning 1993 National Film Board of Canada short Bob's Birthday.The show focuses on Bob and Margaret Fish, a middle-aged middle class couple living in Balham in South London. With the show being a very grounded series, Bob and Margaret live very ordinary lives. Bob is a dentist and Margaret is a chiropodist; they have no children but two dogs named William and Elizabeth. They deal with mundane issues very typical for a couple in their 40s, like midlife crises, shopping problems, annoying friends or neighbors, and family members who seem to be living much more successful lives than them.In the show's third season, Bob and Margaret moved to Toronto, a directional change necessitated by Canadian Content funding's increasing role in the show's production (Channel 4 had dropped out of funding the show after the first season), and this requiring the show to have a Canadian setting. Nevertheless, the change opened up a wider range of stories for the writers to work with, as Bob and Margaret struggled with adapting to Canadian culture.Bob and Margaret ran for 4 seasons and 52 episodes from 1998 to 2001. While the series has largely faded into obscurity, even in its home countries, Bob and Margaret stands out as one of the few Canadian animated shows (particularly among adult-oriented shows) to ever have regular American exposure, where it was broadcast on Comedy Central (and later Showtime) and even managed to rival CC darling South Park in the ratings. It also became the highest rated Canadian TV series ever when it first aired on Global during its primetime block. Additionally, its grounded and relatable tone and comedy have earned it a small cult following among British and Canadian TV viewers who fondly remember the series, thanks partially to continued reruns of the show for several years after it ended.Nelvana uploaded the first two seasons of the show onto their Retro Rerun channel in 2021.
Bob and Margaret	fetched	2024-04-10T04:16:04Z
Bob and Margaret	parsed	2024-04-10T04:16:04Z
Bob and Margaret	processingComment	Dropped link to parentalfavouritism: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Bob and Margaret	processingUnknown	parentalfavouritism
Bob and Margaret	isPartOf	DBTropes
Bob and Margaret / int_14ed6ab7	type	Does This Remind You of Anything?
Bob and Margaret / int_14ed6ab7	comment	Does This Remind You of Anything?: Margaret gets her teeth cleaned at Dr. Stanway's in "A Tale of Two Dentists" because Bob can't fit her in for an appointment at his own practice. When Bob confronts her about it when she gets home, the conversation definitely is similar to one spouse having an affair. The scene even ends with Margaret accusing Bob of driving her to Stanway's and running upstairs crying.
Bob and Margaret / int_14ed6ab7	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_14ed6ab7	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_14ed6ab7
Bob and Margaret / int_19d1c1ae	type	Always Someone Better
Bob and Margaret / int_19d1c1ae	comment	Always Someone Better: Daisy keeps undermining Bob's accomplishments by comparing him to Peter, much to Bob's chagrin.
Bob and Margaret / int_19d1c1ae	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_19d1c1ae	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_19d1c1ae
Bob and Margaret / int_226f6129	type	Line Boil
Bob and Margaret / int_226f6129	comment	Line Boil: For the first season and most of the second, but this was because it went with a house style common to British Series of this era.
Bob and Margaret / int_226f6129	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_226f6129	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_226f6129
Bob and Margaret / int_264a140b	type	Fat and Skinny
Bob and Margaret / int_264a140b	comment	Fat and Skinny: Boney and Beany, the burglars in the British seasons, as well as Trevor and Joyce, Bob and Margaret's neighbors in the Canadian seasons.
Bob and Margaret / int_264a140b	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_264a140b	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_264a140b
Bob and Margaret / int_43dca18f	type	Game Night Fight
Bob and Margaret / int_43dca18f	comment	Game Night Fight: In the episode "Friends For Dinner", the couple visit Neil and Moira, a snide couple they only passively like and visited on the assumption they would be getting a meal. Instead they are treated to a board game, "What Would They Do?", where the opposing couples must guess what the other would do in a moral dilemma. Quite expectedly the game leads to heavy tension, especially when Neil repeatedly assumes the two would fail each situation, leading Margaret to blast at them for treating them to such a horrible night and storm out the house, with Bob meekly following. Moira in turn smashes the game on Neil's head, finally tired of his odious behaviour.
Bob and Margaret / int_43dca18f	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_43dca18f	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_43dca18f
Bob and Margaret / int_4c56f0d2	type	Not Wanting Kids Is Weird
Bob and Margaret / int_4c56f0d2	comment	Not Wanting Kids Is Weird: A recurring theme of the series; Bob and Margaret don't want kids but people think they should. They did consider having a baby in the season one episode, "A Night In", but after spending some time with some friends and their obnoxious baby, they ultimately decided to remain childless.
Bob and Margaret / int_4c56f0d2	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_4c56f0d2	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_4c56f0d2
Bob and Margaret / int_4c851777	type	Black Comedy Rape
Bob and Margaret / int_4c851777	comment	Black Comedy Rape: Dr. Stanway in "A Tale of Two Dentists", who set up a bogus dental practice for the purpose of molesting patients.
Bob and Margaret / int_4c851777	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_4c851777	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_4c851777
Bob and Margaret / int_5eecd64c	type	Oh, No... Not Again!
Bob and Margaret / int_5eecd64c	comment	Oh, No... Not Again!: In "Blood, Sweat and Tears", Bob and Margaret try playing tennis to work out because their masseur is getting tired of having to fix Margaret's spine. Despite this, at the end of the episode, Margaret throw her back out trying to pickup a ball.
Bob and Margaret / int_5eecd64c	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_5eecd64c	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_5eecd64c
Bob and Margaret / int_60df53e2	type	Suburbia
Bob and Margaret / int_60df53e2	comment	Suburbia: Bob's cousin Melvin and his wife Cookie live in Mississauga, just west of Toronto.
Bob and Margaret / int_60df53e2	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_60df53e2	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_60df53e2
Bob and Margaret / int_6e92a631	type	Four-Fingered Hands
Bob and Margaret / int_6e92a631	comment	Four-Fingered Hands: Becomes rather noticeable in the episode "Cuckoo in the Nest", as Margaret supervises her student, Nathan, diagnosing a patient's foot, he notes that there's some flakiness around the fourth and fifth toes, despite the patient only having four toes.
Bob and Margaret / int_6e92a631	featureApplicability	1.0
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Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_6e92a631
Bob and Margaret / int_6edc54d5	type	Here We Go Again!
Bob and Margaret / int_6edc54d5	comment	Here We Go Again!: "Bob's Burglary", which ends with the two burglars busting into Bob and Margaret's house again.
Bob and Margaret / int_6edc54d5	featureApplicability	1.0
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Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_6edc54d5
Bob and Margaret / int_70ade2c4	type	Culture Clash
Bob and Margaret / int_70ade2c4	comment	Culture Clash: Happens in the season three episode "Driving Bob", when Bob tries to get a driver's license in Canada.
Bob and Margaret / int_70ade2c4	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_70ade2c4	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_70ade2c4
Bob and Margaret / int_7d89315b	type	"The Reason You Suck" Speech
Bob and Margaret / int_7d89315b	comment	"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Margaret gives one to Neil and Moira in "Friends For Dinner".
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Bob and Margaret / int_7d89315b	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_7d89315b
Bob and Margaret / int_a4c37cbe	type	Mood Whiplash
Bob and Margaret / int_a4c37cbe	comment	Mood Whiplash: The above-mentioned hijacking scene, though thankfully imaginary, is a surprisingly morbid and violent spurt of Black Comedy from a show whose humor is otherwise fairly grounded and focused on the mundane.
Bob and Margaret / int_a4c37cbe	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_a4c37cbe	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_a4c37cbe
Bob and Margaret / int_a6e8221e	type	Status Quo Is God
Bob and Margaret / int_a6e8221e	comment	Status Quo Is God: Unlike some Sitcom or Britcoms, it largely avoided this. But this is zig-zagged by the fact not all changes stick, but many are more semi-permanent such as them becoming British expats in Canada.
Bob and Margaret / int_a6e8221e	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_a6e8221e	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_a6e8221e
Bob and Margaret / int_aaece264	type	Rousing Speech
Bob and Margaret / int_aaece264	comment	Rousing Speech: Averted in "The Dental Convention". Bob is asked by a fellow dentist to give a speech at a dentist's convention; he has severe writer's block and decides to throw out his speech and just wing it on stage. Instead of spouting a lot of "positive" buzz words and phrases, he mostly gripes and make wisecracks about the modern dentist industry. Surprisingly, it ends up winning over the crowd, which was sick of the kinds of speeches that all the other dentists gave.
Bob and Margaret / int_aaece264	featureApplicability	-1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_aaece264	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_aaece264
Bob and Margaret / int_b32d9d96	type	"Ugly American" Stereotype
Bob and Margaret / int_b32d9d96	comment	"Ugly American" Stereotype: The episode "Undefined Border" in Season 3, which focuses on a day trip into the U.S. for shopping, is a downplayed example of this trope; yes, the Americans are a bit loud, but they mean well. However, it was done as satire on the Canadian-American relationship and day-to-day attitudes on the relationship between Canadians and Americans at the time. This episode, notably, aired on August 23, 2001, 2 weeks before the 9/11 attacks. It's also notable as the only episode in the series where Americans are mentioned or focused on in any capacity.
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Bob and Margaret / int_bc00493f	type	Precision F-Strike
Bob and Margaret / int_bc00493f	comment	Precision F-Strike: In "Friends For Dinner", Bob and Margaret play a board game with Neil and Moira. The object of the game is to guess whether the player would do the moral or immoral thing in an ethical dilemma. On Margaret's turn, her dilemma is that she borrowed some can openers from a neighbor and forgot to return them. Margaret, already cranky from not eating dinner (despite assuming that the couple would feed them), and now being accused of hypothetically not returning the can openers by Neil, lets an F-bomb loose, despite not cursing normally. Neil, Moira, their fish and even Bob are just a bit unnerved by this:
Bob and Margaret / int_bc00493f	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_bc00493f	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_bc00493f
Bob and Margaret / int_d7d8e447	type	Depraved Dentist
Bob and Margaret / int_d7d8e447	comment	Depraved Dentist: Averted with Bob who is a Nice Guy. Played straight with Dr. Stanway.
Bob and Margaret / int_d7d8e447	featureApplicability	-1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_d7d8e447	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_d7d8e447
Bob and Margaret / int_e01bf9f9	type	Flashback with the Other Darrin
Bob and Margaret / int_e01bf9f9	comment	Flashback with the Other Darrin: This happens when the later seasons bring up clips from the first two seasons, mainly with Andy Hamilton still voicing Bob and other characters whose voice actors have been changed since the move to Canada.
Bob and Margaret / int_e01bf9f9	featureApplicability	1.0
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Bob and Margaret / int_e0aed924	type	No Antagonist
Bob and Margaret / int_e0aed924	comment	No Antagonist: There isn't a Big Bad or Arc Villain in this show throughout its entire run; the main cause of conflicts are mundane things, marital misunderstandings and arguments or cultural issues like British/American/Canadian relations. At best, there'll be a Jerkass or Villainy-Free Villain who doesn't actually do much villainy other than being threatening or acting like a jerk.
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Bob and Margaret / int_e3bdea5c	type	Artistic License â€“ Politics
Bob and Margaret / int_e3bdea5c	comment	Artistic License â€“ Politics: In "The Candidate", Margaret runs for city council in Toronto. As a British citizen, she would be ineligible to run.
Bob and Margaret / int_e3bdea5c	featureApplicability	1.0
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Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_e3bdea5c
Bob and Margaret / int_ea85d6ea	type	All Just a Dream
Bob and Margaret / int_ea85d6ea	comment	All Just a Dream: "Holiday" contains a sequence where terrorists hijack the plane that Bob and Margaret are on. Thankfully, it's only a dream.
Bob and Margaret / int_ea85d6ea	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_ea85d6ea	featureConfidence	1.0
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_ea85d6ea
Bob and Margaret / int_eb8f64a6	type	No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Bob and Margaret / int_eb8f64a6	comment	No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Margaret, a professional chiropodist, is once asked to deal with a patient's dog who has a bad foot. Despite insistence from Margaret it was a one-off, stories still go through that she treats pets for free, leading her to be hounded by dozens of people who want their pets' feet looked at, sometimes even ones that don't have toes and simply seem to be people obsessed with free stuff.
Bob and Margaret / int_eb8f64a6	featureApplicability	1.0
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Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Bob and Margaret / int_eb8f64a6
Bob and Margaret / int_ef7cae6f	type	Ditzy Secretary
Bob and Margaret / int_ef7cae6f	comment	Ditzy Secretary: Penny isn't actively ditzy so much as she's extremely apathetic, but she's equally useless in her job. Although Bob often fantasizes about her, she isn't terribly attractive, either - he just happens to be in the middle of his Hollywood Mid-Life Crisis and he'd probably imagine being with any woman other than Margaret.
Bob and Margaret / int_ef7cae6f	featureApplicability	1.0
Bob and Margaret / int_ef7cae6f	featureConfidence	1.0
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Bob and Margaret / int_f5a3e496	type	Suspiciously Similar Substitute
Bob and Margaret / int_f5a3e496	comment	Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Bob's receptionist when they move to Toronto has the same dour expression and general aloofness as Penny, his old receptionist back in England. The only difference is that Heather seems to be more outspoken and less judgmental which might play into the differences between Canadians and the English/Brits.
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Bob and Margaret / int_fcd9b657	type	Gallows Humor
Bob and Margaret / int_fcd9b657	comment	Gallows Humor: At the end of "A Tale of Two Dentists", the radio broadcaster who reports on the depraved Dr. Stanway manages to work in a dentistry-related zinger, despite the seriousness of the story:
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Bob and Margaret / int_name	type	ItemName
Bob and Margaret / int_name	comment
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Birthday Party Goes Wrong / int_d12fe5d7
Bob And Margaret	seeAlso	Bob and Margaret
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Culture Clash / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Game Night Fight / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Instrumental Theme Tune / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	International Coproduction / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Male Frontal Nudity / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Milestone Birthday Angst / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Moose and Maple Syrup / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Name and Name / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Not Wanting Kids Is Weird / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	"Not Wearing Pants" Dream / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Shock Party / int_d12fe5d7
Bob and Margaret	hasFeature	Tantrum Throwing / int_d12fe5d7

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