"We're the Ta-tas
We're gonna rock ya..."
We're gonna rock ya..."
"She wants my high school band to play there, and I don't want to be humiliated all over again!"
—Linda
Linda gets her old band back together for her high school reunion, Bob deals with the mother of all pimples, and Tina attempts to reclaim her position as Gene and Louise's babysitter.
Purple Trope-Union:
- Always Second Best: Linda's band, the Ta-Tas, were this to a fellow band called Bad Hair Day, who went on to be rich megastars.
- Auto Erotica: Gayle and Derek Dematopolis aren't quite there yet, but it's clear at the end that this is where their makeout session in Derek's car is going.
- Band Episode: Linda reunites her old high school band the Ta-Tas to perform for their class reunion.
- Berserk Button:
- The mere mention of the words "Bad Hair Day" riles Linda up.
- Denying Tina the right to babysit her siblings causes her to become very hostile around Jen.
-
Broken Aesop: Jen gives Linda a Rousing Speech about how even if her band isn't good, she should just sing anyway because she loves it. Bob himself tries to give on, but Linda tells him Jen already did it. The problem is that of the two, Bob is the one who would've made the most sense. Jen admits she's a terrible babysitter, having no connection with children or even having the slightest clue what "bath time" means despite it being self-explanatory, but does it anyway out of love for what she does. However, there's a difference between loving to sing even if you're not good at it... and taking care of someone else's children even if you're not good at it. Considering the kids are not home as Linda instructed, and all of them having black eyes, if it were anyone but Linda, Jen would've been fired and likely blacklisted. Compare to Bob, who, despite his restaurant getting decent to mediocre number of customers a day, makes his burgers and does them well because he loves cooking. - Brutal Honesty: Both Bob and Louise make it clear that they think the Ta-Tas are awful. That said, Bob at least tries to cheer Linda on when nobody else will.
- Description Cut: Near the end of the episode, Linda remarks that she didn't see Gayle after the show and assumes she must've gotten a ride home. Cut to Gayle making out with Derek Dematopolis in the back seat of his car.
- Dreadful Musician: The Ta-Tas are so bad during practice that Bob's customers start to complain.
- Dumb Blonde: Jen isn't too bright, which even she seems to recognize.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Gayle tells her family that Mr. Business, who is currently sitting on her lap, is about to poop... and quickly realizes that this means Mr. Business is about to poop on her.
- Exposition Already Covered: After Linda has a nervous breakdown and flees from her high school reunion when her old high school band isn't going her way, Jen the babysitter gives her a Rousing Speech, which gives Linda the courage to return to her reunion. When Linda returns, Bob was about to give Linda his own inspirational speech similar to Jen, but Linda cuts him off and tells him Jen already gave her the inspirational speech and she's fine. Bob didn't mind and goes back to hang out with his new friends.
- Flushing Toilet, Screaming Shower: After Linda decides to go to the reunion in the shower, it's revealed Gene was on the toilet overhearing everything. He decides to celebrate by flushing the toilet, causing Linda to start yelping in pain.
- The Freelance Shame Squad: The people watching the talent show immediately laugh at the Ta-Tas. Someone even throws a paper airplane at Linda.
- The Gadfly: Louise keeps saying "Bad Hair Day" solely because it riles Linda up.
- Gagging on Your Words: Linda is still angry about having to come on after the show-stealing band Bad Hair Day in her high school talent show, to the point of being unable to say the words "Bad Hair Day".
- Gilligan Cut: Linda claims that Gayle is going to love rejoining the Ta-Tas. Cut to Gayle immediately saying no.
- Linda asks if Bob made his zit worse by fussing with it. Bob says he didn't. Cut to a scene of Bob trying to pop his zit.
- It's All About Me: Linda's desire for the spotlight and to stick it to Bad Hair Day leads her to constantly reject Gayle's desires to sing her own song.
- Jerkass:
- The woman who organized the reunion makes it incredibly clear she had no desire to ask Linda's band to sing, mentioning they were her absolute last resort and voicing her belief that getting the Ta-Tas automatically invalidated all her hard work. To Linda's face. She redeems herself when she bursts into tears and loudly applauds Gayle's song, being the first one to applaud and signaling the rest of the audience to do so.
- The various members of Bad Hair Day aren't too pleasant either. Fame has clearly gotten to them.
- On a lesser extent, Tina being incredibly unpleasant towards Jen "taking" her babysitter role (even though her siblings choose to ignore her).
- Jerkass Has a Point: Gayle points out that the reunion has driven Linda nuts.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Linda pulls the organizer's hair after she got Bad Hair Day to perform. She deserved every bit of it.
- Nice Guy: Derek Dematopolis is a bit too focused on Bob's pimple, but aside from that he's a perfectly decent dude who even briefly hooks up with Gayle at the end.
- Pet the Dog: The jerkass organizer eventually leads the crowd in cheering for the Ta-Tas.
- Rise of Zitboy: Bob gets a whopper on his nose. Oddly enough, it makes him more popular at the dance.
- Rousing Speech: When Linda suffers an attack of stage fright and runs out of the reunion in tears, Jen the babysitter tells Linda she should stop worrying about trying to impress people and do what she loves, whether or not she's any good at it.
- Shout-Out:
- The title is one to Purple Rain.
- The exterminator van in the opening sequence is labelled "If You Give a Mouse a Poison."
- Singing in the Shower: Linda does this and apparently believes nobody sounds good when they do it.
- Take Our Word for It: When the kids finally pop Bob's huge zit, it cuts to outside the car as Bob can be heard asking why he's suddenly wet while the kids make various disgusted groans and apologize for whatever happened. Linda even tells Bob to clean the windshield, implying there was a lot packed in that zit.
- Token Evil Teammate: Louise helps Linda, Gene, and Tina reunite the Ta-Tas solely because she wants to see the band completely flop. She's less than pleased to learn she can't go to the reunion to see it through.
- Unknown Rival: Tina is mad at Jen for taking her babysitting job, but Jen has no clue about this even after Tina practically says it to her face.
