Plagiarism in Pop Culture: Bob’s Burgers

Jonathan BaileyNovember 8, 2023

6 minutes read

When we talk about plagiarism in pop culture, we’re usually talking about either academic plagiarism or creative plagiarism of text works.

That has included plagiarism being a potential motive for murder, such as Columbo or Death in Paradise, comedy that focuses on plagiarism in the classroom, such as The Conners or Saturday Night Live, or work-related plagiarism such as Lou Grant or WKRP in Cincinnati.

However, the most recent (as of this writing) episode of Bob’s Burgers had a very different kind of plagiarism in pop culture. In fact, even though it was a clear example of plagiarism in popular media, the word “plagiarism” or “plagiarist” was never uttered (though words like “thief” were).

That’s because the episode took a look at not the plagiarism itself or the plagiarist, but the victim and his response to being ripped off. Through the eyes of Bob, we get to understand the complicated feelings that come with being a victim of plagiarism, especially when it’s done by someone you have no recourse against.

In typical Bob’s Burgers fashion, the result is both very human and teaches a good lesson, while giving us more than a few laughs along the way.

As such, it’s more than worth taking a more in-depth look at season 14, episode 5 of Bob’s Burgers, entitled Bully-ieve It or Not.

Content Warning: Spoilers for Columbo Season 14, Episode 5 of Bob’s Burgers, entitled Bully-ieve It or Not

The Plot

The show focuses on the Belcher family. Bob, the family patriarch, operates a small burger restaurant with his wife, Linda, and three children, Tina, Louise and Gene.

The main plot of the episode deals with the character Zeke, who is a friend of the Belcher children. Zeke becomes scared when another kid he knew years ago shows up at the school, and both the Belcher children and their mutual friend, Jimmy Pesto Jr., attempt to get to the bottom of the issue.

The secondary plot focuses on Bob himself and an ongoing rivalry he has with the elder Jimmy Pesto, who runs a much larger Italian restaurant across the street.

In the story, Jimmy crosses the street with the intent to antagonize and mock Bob. However, while in front of Bob’s store, he notices Bob’s “Burger of the Day”, which is a “Burger Ball Pit”. According to Bob, this a “burger” that features a bunch of tiny meatballs held together with cheese instead of a patty.

Jimmy and Bob Talking in Front of Bob’s Restaurant

Jimmy Pesto takes his leave, but sometime shortly thereafter, puts out a new sign encouraging people to try his new “Pizza Ball Pit”. Bob angrily confronts Jimmy, who says the pizza is a bunch of balled up pizzas on a larger pizza. Bob accuses him of stealing his idea, but Jimmy says it’s totally different since his is a pizza and Bob’s is a burger.

The two have an argument that ends with Bob walking off, back to his restaurant, in a huff.

However, things flare up again when Bob notices a reporter at Jimmy’s restaurant. Bob begins to storm out of the restaurant with the intent to “expose” Jimmy and make it clear that it was his idea. Both Linda and two of Bob’s friends try to talk him out of going, but he is adamant and does so.

Linda, Mort and Teddy Try to Talk Bob Down

In Jimmy’s restaurant, Bob hears Jimmy tell the reporter a made up story of how he came up with the idea. Bob attempts to explain the situation but isn’t able to finish and, along the way, is made to look very foolish. Jimmy ushers the reporter into the back to get away from Bob and Bob decides to wait for the reporter to return.

However, while waiting, Bob hears the voices of his wife and friends echoing in his head. When the reporter leaves, Bob doesn’t attempt to talk to him (who was determined to avoid him anyway). Instead, he tells Jimmy that he would rather be himself than Jimmy. He goes on to say that he can always come up with another idea, and that this was actually one of his worst ones. In fact, he said that the fact that Jimmy and his customers like it is a “red flag”.

Bob goes back to Linda, tells her about the revelation he had. Linda mentions that’s what she said, and Bob says, “I guess I stole it from you.” Linda, however, promised not to make a big deal about it as they shared an embrace.

Understanding the Plagiarism

The plagiarism in the episode is straightforward to understand. Bob had an idea for a “Ball Pit” burger, and Jimmy stole the concept for a pizza. Not only did he take the idea, but he also took the name.

It’s also easy to understand Bob’s frustration. He was proud of the idea at the time and Jimmy Pesto, on top of being a complete jerk, is also the owner of the much larger and better-known restaurant. He knew from the moment he saw the sign that Jimmy’s version of the idea would become more popular and attract more attention.

However, Bob is also very limited in what he could do about the plagiarism.

For one, it would be nearly impossible to prove he invented it. While there were witnesses that knew he created it, they were few. To make matters worse, Jimmy’s plagiarism happened so quickly, seemingly within a few hours, that it would be difficult to conclusively prove which of them had the idea first.

But, even if he could prove it, it is unclear what action he could take. Ideas aren’t protectable under copyright, and the idea of balling up food doesn’t qualify for patent protection. While there may be some trademark protection in the name “The Ball Pit”, Bob’s going to have a difficult time proving that it was identified with his business before Jimmy started using it.

However, none of that changes how Bob is feeling, and he does something that many victims of plagiarism can relate to, trying to tell the world the truth. Unfortunately for him, he gets the same response many victims get, ambivalence. The reporter simply isn’t interested in what the “shrieking” man has to say.

But that is also an understandable response. The reporter has no investment in Bob’s battle, and all he sees is an angry man “off the street” yelling about who came up with the idea. It makes sense for him to not care and work to avoid Bob.

However, what’s less realistic, or at least less common, is Bob’s revelation. He, thanks to the words of his friends, comes to make peace with the plagiarism, and he ends up dropping the issue abruptly.

Unfortunately, that is very rare. When people feel that they were plagiarized, whether they were or not, they often find it difficult to drop. That’s true even if there is no practical recourse and their ongoing hatred is only hurting themselves. Many people simply find it difficult to drop the feeling of being the victim of injustice.

From that perspective, Bob’s revelation feels forced and unearned. It felt rushed. While I do think Bob ended up in the best place for him, the path to getting there didn’t feel accurate to me and certainly wasn’t representative of the people that I speak with regularly.

It would have been nice to see Bob struggle with those feelings and reach that conclusion more organically. That said, given that this was the B story of the episode, there likely wasn’t time, making this, most likely, the best outcome possible.

Bottom Line

When people ask me why I got into plagiarism as a profession, I tell the story of how, 23 years ago, I discovered I was the victim of widespread plagiarism online and discuss the roller coaster of feelings that came with.

I remember the anger, the feeling of helplessness, the feeling of having a piece of myself taken. It was, and still is, very real and visceral to me. Though the decades that have passed have given me perspective on those emotions, my intellectual and professional fascination with plagiarism never waned.

Being plagiarized doesn’t anger me the way it once did, just look at the Jumi Bello story, but I definitely connect with and identify with those who are upset.

To that end, I connected with and understood Bob’s feelings very well. I related to his desire to storm out and confront Jimmy and to set the record straight with the reporter. Though Bob may be a cartoon character, this felt very human.

Though his turnaround was both very rushed and forced, the result does make you happy for Bob. Realistically, there wasn’t much recourse that he had, and being angry was only going to harm him. He truly was, in this case, better off letting it go and his ultimate reasoning for doing was sound.

Simply put, one of the key themes of this blog is that the overlap between when people like they are victims of plagiarism and things that are actionable under the law is far from 100%. There are many times a person can, completely reasonably, feel ripped off but have no recourse.

In those cases, finding a peace, whatever that may look like, is crucial.

So, while this is a story that could have been better told, it’s one that many victims of plagiarism will both identify with and a message they need to hear.

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