Review: The Gorburger Show “Vape Is Life”

T.J. Miller leaves the other talk shows in the dust.

Very Few Spoilers Below

One of the bigger arguments I’ve also had to kind of take on, certainly in my writing career, is whether or not puppetry is animation. There are some, usually uneducated and somehow still with a blog, that don’t think puppetry is animation at all. Well, let me end the debate right here, folks…it is. The technical reason is because you are having to animate typically inanimate objects into saying or doing things. Usually, there’s a puppeteer nearby providing voice over or in the case of a series like Robot Chicken, voices are recorded and then acted out using puppets.

In any event, puppetry is animation…get over it. Case in point, T.J. Miller’s new series The Gorburger Show. Gorburger is an alien sent from outer space that takes over a Japanese talk show in an attempt to interview musicians. In the first episode, we are visited by the brilliant Reggie Watts whom doubles as the musical guest with Thundercat, as well as vapist extraordinaire Trevbone whose friendship with Gorburger comes to an untimely but hilarious conclusion.

On its face, Gorburger Show picks up the ball finale’d by Comedy Bang Bang’s departure in giving us a hilarious variety show with games, remotes at sex doll factories, and even random shit from the ceiling. I actually think Reggie’s guest appearance in the episode was more or less a proverbial passing of the torch from one series to another, and after watching the first episode The Gorburger Show absolutely deserves it.

It’s not every day you get to see a role and claim it as “career-defining” for an actor, and that’s even a more dubious task when you’re dealing with an actor on the level T.J. Miller. Take away his impressive live-action acting resume, and you still have a stellar resume in voice acting that includes stops at such huge franchises as Gravity Falls, High School USA!, and god damn it, he’s in all the Mucinex commercials now!

But make no mistake about it, The Gorburger Show is T.J.’s career-defining effort. Props to a guy who is super famous that climbs into and puppets a costume as large as this big blue alien’s ass and somehow has the presence of mind to deliver jokes not unlike T.J.’s old school stand-up comedy routine in that he doesn’t wait for setups and punchlines, instead he writes comedic rhetoric that’s ahead of the class. And instead of relying on his very recognizable voice for any brownie points from his existing fan base, T.J. creates something entirely new and original that is both sweet and salty in terms of delivery. Unlike Comedy Bang Bang, The Gorburger Show isn’t equipped with co-hosts or band leaders, with the exception of this hilarious Asian dude who emcees the show when we come back from bits or commercials. We are also not presented with a 100% scripted affair like Watts’ prior employer because once you factor in musical guests and the remote at the very real sex doll factory, Gorburger Show has an interesting balance of scripted versus unscripted entertainment.

Aside from the questionable policy/decision of blurring out the body parts at the sex doll factory and the annoyance of Trevbone’s boring persona, The Gorburger Show delivers a much-needed departure from the real-world politics of The Daily Show and helps rinse out the mouth of any remnants left behind from Chris Hardwick’s stale routine.

Anyone worried about Comedy Central losing comedic talent in Key, Peele, Amy Schumer, Jon Stewart, and others will be delighted to hear that the network has a second wave of comedic talent that’s doing just fine and The Gorburger Show is the network’s affectionate olive branch to those missing Scott Aukerman’s sensibilities as part of their late-night affair.

Watch the first episode of The Gorburger Show here.