The creators of South Park have made a forgettable live-action political sitcom

From April 4 to May 23, 2001, Comedy Central ran eight episodes of a 30-minute comedy series titled “This Is Bush!”, a dispatch of the then-active George W. Bush administration. The premise of the show was as broad as possible. George W. Bush (Timothy Bottoms) was in the White House, but his life was closer to that of an old 1980s workplace sitcom than that of the current president. There was a loud, obnoxious laugh track coupled with bright TV lighting, making the show look deliberately dated and artificial. Kurt Fuller played the murderous Karl Rove, while Carrie Quinn Doolin played Laura Bush.

But it’s more than just a parody of the Bush administration (and there was a lot of sarcasm): “That’s my Bush!” It was a satire of all-American sitcoms. Showcase creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker (of “South Park” fame) Just use the White House as a backdrop to mock old sitcom tropes that Gen-Xers have internalized so deeply. The stories included modern politics (there were episodes devoted to the death penalty, abortion, etc.), but the bombast and satire are the real stars.

To that end, “This is my Bush!” He made extensive use of the characters of the sitcom “The Clown”. There was a scruffy neighbor named Larry (John D’Aquino), a vulgar secretary named Princess (Kristen Miller), and a maid named Maggie (Marcia Wallace from The Simpsons). W was also given the line “One of these days, Laura, I’m going to punch you in the face!” When Bottoms read the line, he delivered it with theatrical confidence, and the “live studio audience” usually chanted in unison before bursting into applause. This was, of course, a parody of Jackie Gleason’s domestic violence joke from “The Honeymooners” in which the great fella exclaims “One of these days, POW! In the kissing!” Or “Pow! Straight to the moon!”

It is worth noting, politically speaking, that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are known for their nihilism. Their work tends to hit right and left, aiming to mock anyone who believes in anything. They may have felt that George W. Bush was a buffoon and incompetent, but they also had no warm feelings for Al Gore, Bush’s Democratic rival in the closely contested 2000 presidential election. In fact, according to the DVD commentary track for “That’s My Bush!”, Parker revealed that he and Stone were developing two sitcoms simultaneously — one for Bush and one for Gore — and agreed that they would begin production on one of them as soon as the winner won the award. The 2000 elections were announced.

At the time, Parker believed that Gore would win (and said he was 95% sure of it), and that Al Gore’s show was going to be called “Everybody Loves Al!” It looks like the stock characters will remain the same. For those who remember the massive recount of the 2000 election, you won’t be shocked to learn that this production was also produced in the “That’s My Bush!” Or “Everyone loves Al!” It was postponed for a month. Bush lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College. It was a point of national scandal at the time. Republicans have only won the popular vote twice since then, in 2004 and 2024.

In their contract with Comedy Central, Stone and Parker are said to be working on a comedy series called “Family First,” although it is unclear whether or not that title will be used. Another commentary track on the DVD had Parker describing his and Stone’s writing process. They had a double-sided survey board, with one side featuring hot political issues, and the other side displaying conspiracies Excerpted from the “Three Company” episodes.. They then mix and match the two sides, concocting ridiculous stories from sensitive topics.

It has been largely successful.

Bottoms gave a top-notch performance as George W. Bush, replicating his clueless expressions and humble manner perfectly. Bottoms, Stone, and Parker also gave W a distinct personality… they even gave him some liberal values. The satire was equally dead-on, openly mocking the “wholesome” shows a generation had grown up watching. Of course, cannibalization of American sitcoms was nothing new by 2001; “Married… with Children,” “The Simpsons,” and “Seinfeld” largely opened that door more than a decade ago.

As one might expect, “That’s my Bush!” And it tasted delicious. In the episode dealing with abortion, the audience is introduced to a doll character named Felix the Fetus. After surviving a miscarriage, Felix came to support the legalization of abortion. The alien fetus doll was created by the Chiodo Brothers, the masterminds behind the monsters in “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” “Critters,” and “Ernest Scared Stupid.” This wasn’t the most subtle thing.

“This is my bush!” It received fairly positive reviews and a lot of publicity for its new premise. But in the end, “This is my Bush!” It was canceled because, according to Parker, it was too expensive. He and Stone became very ambitious, and the price tag ended up being a whopping $1 million an episode.

Maybe that was a good thing; Just four months after the song “This is Bush!” The air went out, and the World Trade Center buildings fell. It was difficult to continue to portray Bush as a “lovable fool” in such an environment of national tragedy. Stone and Parker later mocked the post-9/11 chauvinism of the George W. Bush administration The 2004 feature film “Team America: World Police” A film about ultra-nationalist military defenders…played by puppets.