'Bob's Burgers' Season 3, Episode 16: 'Topsy' Recap

‘Bob's Burgers’, season 3, episode 16, ‘Topsy’

In their apartment, Louise asks if anyone’s seen her volcano science project, and Linda says it’s in the liquor cabinet, and she uses it as a wine cozy. Louise plans to recycle her science project from last year and the year before.

When she gets to school, she has a new substitute science teacher, who happens to run the science fair. He says there’s only one rule this year: No Volcanoes. Louise says that she had the old teacher’s permission, but the teacher says she should do Thomas Edison. She says she’ll be fine with her volcano, and the teacher destroys it in front of her, saying she’s stuck with Edison.

In the hall, she complains to Tina and Eugene that she’ll have to actually go in a library and study. She asks the librarian where she can find info on Edison, and he points them to the biography section. But as they walk away, he whispers “Topsy” to them. They ask what he’s talking about, and he says to use the internet and look it up because books are stupid.

They search and find an article about Topsy the Circus elephant. Thomas Edison did an experiment to show the dangers of AC currents, and used Topsy as a guinea elephant, electrocuting it. They find a video and replay it over and over. Louise is enthralled, and vows to do her science fair project on Topsy.

She realizes that a report pasted on poster board won’t be enough to wow anyone, so she says they’ll have to reenact it for the science fair.

In the restaurant, Eugene works on a song for the reenactment when Linda’s sister Gayle shows up. She apparently got in a fight with her cat, and asks if she can stay with them for a few days. Linda lets her. Eugene tries to get Tina to sing his song, but they are interrupted when Mr. Fishoeder, the landlord, shows up asking for rent. Once they get a moment, they try singing again, and Eugene realizes that he and Tina can’t sing. But Mr. Fishoeder and Aunt Gayle say the song is catchy, and begin to sing it for them. They convince them to sing during the science fair.

In the auditorium, everyone rehearses for the science fair. Eugene says he rewrote the song into a love song between Edison and Topsy, and Louise isn’t too happy. Tina, playing Topsy the elephant, stands on a mat, and they use a Vandegraff generator to simulate that electrocution. Tina, grounded by the mat, steps off, and the machine zaps where she was standing, putting Tina into a panic.

Tina has a vision in which Topsy tells her she must play out the reenactment, and tell people her story. So she agrees.

At the science fair, the teacher learns of Louise’s plan to sully the good name of Edison and bans her from the science fair, throwing her in the principal’s office. Meanwhile, Bob and Linda steal a table at the fair and set up their inventions, the Spiceps and the Spice Rack, hoping to attract some parent’s interest in buying them.

The teacher then goes to Eugene, saying he heard that he wrote a love song, and that he has to perform it. Eugene celebrates but Tina asks what they’re going to do about Louise and the truth.

Eugene calls his aunt and landlord so they can perform their song. Bob and Linda wonder why Eugene sounds like Mr. Fishoedor and why Tina sound like Gayle, and where Louise is.

In the principal’s office, Louise begs to be let free, and breaks out when the creepy librarian makes an appearance.

In the auditorium, the audience is enthralled by the performance, now featuring a choir and a full band. Louise breaks back in, and the experiment continues as planned. Tina plays out the death of Topsy.

The winner of the science fair ended up being Bob or Linda with their Spiceps or Spice Rack, the announcer wasn’t sure.