Common Sense Media Review
By Jenny Nixon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Surreal, monster-hosted chat show brings scattered laughs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Gorburger Show
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Gorburger is a huge blue alien who beams his way onto the set of a zany Japanese variety show, quickly slaughtering the hosts and turning the rest of the cast into his servants on THE GORBURGER SHOW. Having installed himself as the program's de facto host, the troublemaking extraterrestrial goes about interviewing celebrities, announcing various musical guests (including Big Freedia and Danny Brown), and occasionally taking out-of-studio excursions to places like a sex doll factory and a junkyard. The basic format is exactly like a real talk show, just weirder (which is very much on purpose) and with more bloodshed.
Is It Any Good?
This series certainly looks different, with its colorfully cartoonish visuals and, of course, the oversized puppet host -- but the content itself is pretty unremarkable and trying so hard to be "different" that it's painful. Fans of absurdist humor and lowbrow hijinks have seen the talk show parody thing done before -- and to better effect; Eric Andre practically invented the genre, at least for the millennial crowd. Being random for random's sake, putting on a funny voice, and showing puppets behaving badly really isn't anything new these days (see also: Wonder Showzen, Tim and Eric), so if you're going to do it, the material better be up to snuff. Unfortunately, the purposefully awkward chitchat and wannabe wacky segment pieces aim for bizarrely entertaining but miss the mark more often than not, and The Gorburger Show's over-the-top trappings aren't enough to hide the show's lack of comedic spark.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the different guests who appear on The Gorburger Show. Which were your favorites, and who seemed to gel best with the show's unconventional host and format?
How does this show compare to other, more traditional talk shows? How does it parody the format?
TV Details
- Premiere date : April 9, 2017
- Cast : T.J. Miller
- Network : Comedy Central
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 21, 2022
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