Bob Jenkins

Bob Jenkins is one of several newspaper reporters who writes articles for the Arlen Bystander.

Appearance[]

Jenkins is an elderly man with gray hair and a skinny build. He has an eyepatch over his left eye, which was removed in order to remove a tumor near his brain. He usually wears a tan suit with a bowtie. He usually wears a tan suit with a purple bow-tie and gray-blue dress shirt underneath.

History[]

Season 9[]

He first appears at his desk inside the Arlen Bystander picking up a call about a person smoking in a non-smoking era, dubbing the person the "Smoking Bandit." He is the first one to break the story, but gives up on it after the bandit decides to get more attention from a television station than the newspapers.

Season 10[]

After Peggy is interviewed at the Bystander for a job, Jenkins acts as her rival reporter, and the two compete for stories. Later, Jenkins is one of several people to play baseball on Hank's team The Zephyrs. Jenkins at this point has developed a friendly relationship with Peggy, and while the two remain rivals in reporting, Jenkins is impressed by Peggy's passion in researching the history of Arlen's historic "Tea Kettle" rock formations.

Season 11[]

In "Glen Peggy Glen Ross," Roddy Rae Biffel ordered Jenkins to report on the county commission meeting, disappointing him. When Peggy returned after publishing a libelous story on Chris Sizemore Jenkins asked her where her journalist-in-training was, but they were interrupted by an angered Biffel calling for Peggy, who got fired. Later in "Lucky's Wedding Suit," Jenkins was one of several dozen people to attend Lucky Kleinschmidt and Luanne's wedding outside the Hill residence. He wore a navy blue suit at the wedding.

Season 12[]

In "Strangeness on a Train," Bob Jenkins was one of several people to attend Peggy's birthday party on a train, and he brought P.J. Pfinster with him since they wanted to be away from their wives. When Luanne (accidentally) and Dale (intentionally) spoiled the culprit in the mystery murder game, Jenkins and the attendees were disappointed whereas the actors left the train to Peggy's dismay. Later when Kahn discovered a set of footprints in the bathroom that indicated recent sexual intercourse, he decided to have everyone on board put their feet next to the prints to determine who was responsible. Jenkins's foot did not match the prints, and before Peggy could put her (matching) foot to the print, Hank stopped the train by distracting the driver, allowing Peggy to wipe off the footprints when everyone else was distracted by the sudden stop. Angered, the conductor kicked everyone off in rural Durndle. Eventually arriving at a bar, the disco-themed clothing that Jenkins and everyone in his group wore impressed the bar patrons, and they partied and danced there to make up for Peggy's ruined birthday on the train.

Trivia[]

Jenkins is heavily implied to be gay, and in a relationship with P.J. Pfinster, a confirmed gay character.
Jenkins is a dramatic and theatrical man who often quotes classic literature, fiction novels and plays. At one rare point when he is seen angered, he glares savagely at Peggy and shouts "MANNERS!" in a growling voice, while otherwise his voice is more placid and soft-spoken for the most part.
Jenkins started a rumour that his eye was removed in a violent altercation, but it's later revealed that he lost his eye due to a tumour.