Bob and Margaret

Bob and Margaret is a Canadian/UK animated television series that was also shown in the United States and all over the world. The series was produced by Nelvana, a Toronto animation studio, and created by Canadian David Fine and Brit Alison Snowden. The series was based on the Academy Award winning short film Bob's Birthday, featuring the same main characters, which won the Best Animated Short Film Oscar in 1994. The series is one of the few Canadian TV shows to ever have regular American exposure. In Canada, it was the highest rated Canadian made animation series ever when it aired in prime time on Global Television. The show revolved around a married English couple named Bob and Margaret Fish, a middle class 40-ish working couple with no children and two dogs named William and Elizabeth. Bob is a dentist and Margaret is a chiropodist. Bob and Margaret struggle with everyday issues and mid life crisis. Stories often revolve around the mundane, but in a way which is eminently relatable. From the trials of shopping to dealing with friends who annoy them, but owe them a dinner. In the first two seasons, Bob and Margaret lived in England, in the South London community of Balham. For the third and fourth seasons, however, they moved to Toronto, Canada, allowing the writers to explore the humour of culture clash. The move was actually inspired by the realities of funding, with certain Canadian tax benefits dependent on stories actually based in Canada. As such, to keep the series funded, the move was necessary. The creators of the series chose to take an executive role on these latter two seasons, reviewing scripts and consulting, but not involved in the detail they were for the first two seasons. Snowden continued to provide the voice of Margaret, but Bob's voice, originally played by Andy Hamilton, was replaced by Brian George.

Type: tv

Season: 4

Episode: N/A

Duration: 30 minutes

Release: 1998-06-22

Rating: 6.5

Season 1 - Bob and Margaret
1998-06-22
A flashy young dentist opens a practice right across the road from Bob's and steals all his customers - even Margaret. His receptionist also defects, which results in Bob hiring Penny. Things are not, however, as they seem.
1998-07-06
Bob and Margaret are concerned about missing the opportunity to have children so they stay in with a romantic movie and … end up going to visit a friend with an obnoxious baby who puts an end to any thoughts of parenthood.
1998-06-29
Bob and Margaret decide to get fit by playing badminton. Trouble is, they play with Ken and Cathy who take the game very seriously. Ken ends up in the hospital and Bob and Margaret reluctantly go along to be polite
1998-07-13
Bob and Margaret's house is robbed by a couple of charming, hugging burglars. Beany and Boney would make many appearances in the series as the comic rogue element.
1998-07-20
Bob and Margaret venture to a massive superstore and have many mishaps in the search for cheaper dog food
1998-10-05
The dogs are left at a strange kennels while Bob and Margaret go on holiday to a Greek island. But, Bob is terrified to fly and the dogs are terrified of Mr Buttons and his domineering mother.
1998-07-27
Bob's TV chef brother Peter, leaves the kids with Bob and Margaret when he and his wife travel to India for a live cooking program. When Peter falls ill, Bob and Margaret are concerned they will suddenly be parents.
1998-09-21
Bob and Margaret are having dinner at a friends who they don't particularly like, but feel that they are owed a dinner because of the number of times they have had them over. They expect a lavish spread, but no dinner is planned. Instead, they play a board game called ‘What Would You Do?'
1998-10-19
Penny demands a pay rise. Bob stands firm, so Penny quits to work in a florist. Margaret helps out Bob with disastrous consequences and so Bob has to woo Penny back.
1998-09-28
Bob is persuaded to give a speech at a big convention in Frankfurt, but he is terrified and doesn't know what to say.
1998-10-12
Bob's cousins, Cookie and Melvin, arrive from Canada unannounced. They hate the food and the lack of TV channels and the high cost of everything and they follow Bob and Margaret on their romantic holiday to Cheddar.
1998-10-26
It's Halloween and also the anniversary of Bob's father's death. Bob's Mummy wants to take him to the grave, but it's now a parking lot for a supermarket. Meanwhile Bob has to attend the funeral of an old school friend who has died, but he doesn't remember who he is.
1998-11-02
Bob and Margaret try to befriend the new American neighbours. They also buy a burglar alarm from Graham, the worst salesman in the world.

Season 2 - Bob and Margaret
1999-08-19
Margaret is accidentally arrested for shop lifting and treated like a terrorist. Bob is enlisted to entrap her.
1999-08-26
Margaret's parents visit. They refuse to answer questions and bring their own toilet paper. They keep thanking Bob for having married their daughter
1999-09-02
When Bob's mother's best friend dies, Bob's brother and sister decide that Mummy might be best moved to a home. They are also excited about selling the house for a small fortune.
1999-09-09
An old school friend of Bob's wants to make a documentary about his dental practice, but it doesn't go as Bob had hoped.
1999-09-16
Margaret bumps into an old school friend she hasn't seen since she was six. The friend is very successful and this makes Margaret feel inadequate. Meanwhile, Bob agrees to attend an AA meeting and confronts some devils.
1999-09-23
When a patient dies of a heart attack in Bob's chair, Bob is struck off and so hires a flashy lawyer to fight the ruling.
1999-11-20
Margaret takes on a fawning young apprentice at the foot clinic. Meanwhile, Bob and Margaret have an unwanted house guest in the Clive, who tries to interest Bob in hookers. When Bob finds a pair underpants in Margaret's coat pocket he suspects the worst.
1999-12-04
Bob is impressed by a promotional video about living in the brand new town of Wordsworth Shakespeare and considers leaving London for this idyllic place where roads are straight and named after popular movies.
1999-11-27
The dogs need more excitement in their lives, and so do Bob and Margaret, so they hook up with The Widgeners, a bitchy, artsy couple who live in a converted warehouse. This episode features an enormous corned beef penis!
2000-01-08
Margaret unwittingly hosts a sex toy party, but can only manage to round up a feeble group of guests who include her elderly wheel chair bound aunt and the owner of the Indian restaurant below her office.
2000-01-15
Margaret wins a cycling holiday in holand, but Bob tries to get out of it because he never learned to ride a bike. Margaret takes Cathy instead.
2000-02-01
Margaret hosts a local radio phone in show called ‘My Foot Hurts'. To celebrate, they go to a new Indian restaurant, but the owners beg for radio support to help them so that they can afford fertility treatment.
2000-02-08
Bob finds a clown on black velvet painting at a boot sale which ends up potentially worth a small fortune. Features a Godfather pastiche fantasy sequence in which Bob is gunned down by a clown.

Season 3 - Bob and Margaret
2001-05-30
Bob and Margaret must spend time with their Canadian cousins when their New York flight is rerouted to Toronto.
2001-06-06
Because their dogs were left unattended while they were stranded in Toronto, an RSPCA uproar forces Bob and Margaret to move to Canada.
2001-06-13
Now in Canada, Bob gets a job at an inner-city dental clinic and Margaret enters the world of women's foot care.
2001-06-20
Bob buys a cemetery plot for Margaret as an anniversary gift.
2001-06-27
Bob and Margaret are invited to their goddaughter's wedding, which will be televised.
2001-07-04
Bob gets cajoled into joining his office softball team. Everyone at work is convinced that Bob is a world-class cricket player, but in truth he is terrible at all sports and too embarrassed to tell anyone...
2001-07-11
Margaret discovers more than she wanted to know about their neighbors when she accidentally picks up the wrong photographs.
2001-07-18
Margaret becomes self-conscious about her looks
2001-07-25
Bob and Margaret try to expand their limited social circle by joining a book club.
2001-08-01
A film crew begins shooting a movie on their street.
2001-08-08
Bob's obnoxious cousins ruin his visit with the president of the dental council.
2001-08-15
Bob and Margaret apply for Canadian drivers' licenses, but Bob fails his test.
2001-08-22
After Bob and Margaret go shopping in the States, they must transport their goods back through customs.

Season 4 - Bob and Margaret
2001-09-13
Bob and Margaret have a near-death experience.
2001-09-20
Margaret's planned vacation must be aborted when she is called to jury duty.
2001-09-27
After attending a financial seminar, Bob becomes hooked on day trading.
2001-10-04
Nominated for a Golden Arch Support Award, Margaret wins a romantic getaway, but Bob becomes too jealous to enjoy it.
2001-10-11
Bob is shocked to learn about his mother's new boyfriend.
2001-10-18
Margaret is upset when she learns what will happen to Bob's donation to the local sperm bank.
2001-10-25
When Margaret becomes a candidate for city council, Bob finds himself enjoying his role as a political spouse.
2001-11-01
When Bob saves the life of a suicidal man, he is unprepared for the consequences.
2001-11-09
When he loses his job, Bob experiences an identity crisis and joins a therapy group.
2001-11-15
After Bob is in a car accident with a local mobster, he decides to install a new security system when the man is released from jail.
2001-11-22
Bob's canoe outing with his co-workers goes badly, while back home Margaret tries to deal with incompetent workmen.
2001-11-29
Bob gets stuck taking his neighbors' adult son Gary to work.
2001-12-25
The Fishes experience the joys of their first Christmas in Canada.