Harnessing, as ever, the dark power of ’90s kid nostalgia for his own viral ends, Jimmy Fallon went for the nuclear option on tonight’s installment of The Tonight Show: a recreation of Nickelodeon’s Good Burger, complete with Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell reuniting for the bit.
Everyone involved seems to have been careful to simulate every aspect of the authentic Good Burger experience, the better to elicit howls of recognition that can ably masquerade as joy: There was Ed, of course, Mitchell’s Candide-esque avatar of human simplicity, facing off against Lester Oakes (Construction Worker), Thompson’s righteously apoplectic blue-collar foil. The pair traded barbs as in days of olde, when the Earth was young, and Death but a dark rumbling on a distant horizon. (Fallon inserted himself into the scenario as well, embodying the dreams of millions by becoming a part of the legendary Good Burger tableau.) All of the greatest GB bits were on display, from “Grape nose boy” to “I’m A Dude,” fulfilling the ancient contract between TV show host and audience: He will tell us “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?” and we, helpless, will let him. (Also, it looks like both Thompson and Mitchell were having a lot of fun getting to play together again.)