Sunday, September 10, 2006

Bob The Scary Builder

Bagel loves Bob The Builder; he's sitting with me watching it on TV. I have to say it's really, really creepy how happy everyone is. You have to imagine that the characters are more complicated than they seem. Does Lofty talk Muck into dumping psychoactive drugs into the water supply to make everyone so happy to provide support for his neurotic doubts? And why do Bob and Wendy sleep in separate trailers within hailing distance of each other? If there's no sexual tension between them, why doesn't Wendy get herself a cute little apartment across town? Maybe Bob doesn't pay her enough? Then why doesn't Bob get himself a nice fixer-upper? Is there something going on between Wendy and Farmer Pickles that makes Bob want to keep Wendy close by? Clearly there's some sort of history there. And why is Bob so motivated to work hard and keep up such a cheerful facade when things go horribly wrong? Does it have to do with his childhood, when his parents favored his brother Doug The Doctor for his accomplishments and coddled his other brother Sam The Slacker? Is his relationship with Wendy marred by the verbal abuse he suffered from his mother and father for wanting to go into construction? One of these days, is Bob's facade going to crack and will he just snap at Dizzy for spilling the cement again?

There's gotta be SOME depth of character here... somewhere... because people just AREN'T that happy all the time.