Just finished watching the premier episode (well the first 20min of it anyway).
Just had to say…
GOOD GOD THAT SUCKED!!!
worst attempt at a sitcom i’ve ever seen.
shudder, bleah, bleah, shudder.
-Luckie
I went into it with the lowest expectations possible (“Okay, if it fails to make me physically ill, I will consider this a marginal success.”) and this crappy show still let me down. I actually changed the channel when my gorge rose after the very first exchange of dialogue.
If only Comedy Central had the good taste to cancel shows after two episodes the way the networks do!
Actually i think they did it on purpose, it never fails to surprise me how messed up Trey Parker and Matt Stone are, specially this close to Aprils Fools. I mean, come on… the stupid jokes, over the top laugh tracks, etc… they had to know how idiotic this thing was… right? RIGHT?!?
Y’all are all missing the point… it’s not a parody of the president… it’s a parody of a sitcom about the president. Don’t think of it as a real sitcom like home improvement or Seinfeld, or even something awful like “The Jeff Foxworthy Show.”
It’s a parody of a sitcom, much like Sat Night Live, who might, for example, replace a leading role in a show with another famous individual. It’s parody and not meant to be taken as any more than that.
A good example of this is the neighbor who just shows up at random from next door. That’s simply ridiculous, and you aren’t expected to believe that the neighbors simply walk in like Lionel on All in the Family. It’s poking fun at all the stupid situations, people, and general atmosphere of sitcom history. The fact that it stars “Dubya” is merely an excuse to bind together all these elements.
Examples:
Annoying neighbor: The mdkj;liasd (you know, that mixed couple that always dropped in on “The Jeffersons”
Idiot Father Figure: Every sitcom known to man
Irritated wife: Jill Taylor, Home Improvement
“Seen it all” maid: Alice, Brady Bunch
“I’ll punch you in the face” Sounds like Fred Sanford to me… wait until Dick Cheney yells: “It’s the big one!”
There’s even a gaudy, jazzy version of the Sanford and Son theme to clue you in.
And, for those who are truly oblivious to the show’s true nature, the little half-baked-dough-boy-creature who represented the Pro Life movement.
The most remarkable fact was that the characters and their gags were fairly benign politically. This was not a political statement; the creators were planning on making it whichever candidate won. The fact that the abortion issue was only addressed as far as the setup for the stupid racing back and forth required.
My only complaint is the sexual innuendo. I’m not terribly but the thought of G. W. B. having sex with that stupid grin on his face makes my buffalo wings sit very heavily on my stomach… in fact, I’ll be right back when I’m through puking!
Mods, could you please delete that previous post…
Y’all are all missing the point… it’s not a parody of the president… it’s a parody of a sitcom about the president. Don’t think of it as a real sitcom like home improvement or Seinfeld, or even something awful like “The Jeff Foxworthy Show.”
It’s a parody of a sitcom, much like Sat Night Live, who might, for example, replace a leading role in a show with another famous individual. It’s parody and not meant to be taken as any more than that.
A good example of this is the neighbor who just shows up at random from next door. That’s simply ridiculous, and you aren’t expected to believe that the neighbors simply walk in like Lionel on All in the Family. It’s poking fun at all the stupid situations, people, and general atmosphere of sitcom history. The fact that it stars “Dubya” is merely an excuse to bind together all these elements.
Examples:
Annoying neighbor: The mdkj;liasd (you know, that mixed couple that always dropped in on “The Jeffersons”
Idiot Father Figure: Every sitcom known to man
Irritated wife: Jill Taylor, Home Improvement
“Seen it all” maid: Alice, Brady Bunch
“I’ll punch you in the face” Sounds like Fred Sanford to me… wait until Dick Cheney yells: “It’s the big one!”
There’s even a gaudy, jazzy version of the Sanford and Son theme to clue you in.
And, for those who are truly oblivious to the show’s true nature, the little half-baked-dough-boy-creature who represented the Pro Life movement.
The most remarkable fact was that the characters and their gags were fairly benign politically. This was not a political statement; the creators were planning on making it whichever candidate won. The fact that the abortion issue was only addressed as far as the setup for the stupid racing back and forth required.
My only complaint is the sexual innuendo. I’m not terribly but the thought of G. W. B. having sex with that stupid grin on his face makes my buffalo wings sit very heavily on my stomach… in fact, I’ll be right back when I’m through puking!
Just got done watching.
I admit, I’m a sucker for everything Matt and Trey do.
So predictably, I loved it.
I cackled so loud at the Chucky reference that I had to clap my hand over my mouth. And I want to make a line from the show my sig. You know, the one about the fetus and the dog. (I’m avoiding putting the actual line in here so as to minimize spoilers.)
I’m looking forward to more.
Yes, I’m easily entertained. It makes me a cheap date. Well, except for the expensive liquor.
Jeyen
PS – I loved it even more that the South Park lead-in was the NAMBLA episode, and the people I was with hadn’t see that one yet. We were all oh so glad that we had finished dinner by the time it came on.
I got a few chuckles out of the episode, but it did not make me feel like I ought to go out of my way to see it again. “Millennium” and “Star Trek: TNG” reruns are on at the same time – I caught the 1 a.m. rerun – so if I don’t like the reruns of those two shows, I guess I’ll click over to Comedy Central.
Not only did I find none of it even mildly amusing, I deeply regret the lost sleep. The show was reminiscent of a poorly executed high school skit or SNL at its worst. It wasn’t a parody of sitcoms - it was just bad.
Maybe if they’d done it with construction paper cutouts instead…
I don’t care what anyone thinks, disgustingly pathetic acting and writing cannot be explained away with the phrase, “it was meant to be that way” or, “come on, don’t you get it, it’s parody!” This might have been mildly ammusing if it was a one shot deal, but we can look forward to more of exactly the same week after week after week… thank god for cable television or I might have to do something worthwhile with my time!
Well,my first thought on watching the show last night wasn’t the meta-humor of television mocking the conventions of its medium, or the over-the-top sexual innuendo and gross fetus schtick. No, it was something far more weighty:
OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED KENNY AND MARCIA WALLACE ATE HIM!
I last saw her in the 1970s on the old Bob Newhart show (the one where he was a Chicago psychiatrist, not a Vermont innkeeper). Marcia Wallace was pretty and svelte then, but good lord, Father Time has whupped on her with an ugly stick. I’m glad, though, she has gotten another gig besides playing Bart’s teacher on “The Simpsons.”
FWIW, the show had some good moments, but overall, it wasn’t much of a comedy.
I’ll have to give it a thumbs down. The “Chucky” reference made me laugh a little, but that was it.
And yes, I did understand that it was meant as a parody of sitcoms. That’s one of those things that sounds good in concept, but in execution just doesn’t work.
In general, I’ve found making fun of stuff that tries to be funny, to be as unfunny as the subject matter it makes fun of. Almost every show on TV has tried the bit where a character thinks he or she is funny, tries to do standup and bombs. It just isn’t amusing, yet it’s done over and over. “Bush” is very similar to that.
I did think the fetus was a bit over the top but I thought is was a good sitcom paradoy.
The ‘One of these days I’m gonna punch you in the face’ line is making of Ralph Cramdom saying ‘One of these Days Alice, bam zoom to the moon!’ (You know domestic violence is funny right?) Listen to the sounds of the ‘audience’. That should give you some clues as to where they are going.
After I watched the show I was left with the impression that the whole reason the thing was set in the White House was just a cheap ploy to get the show made in the first place. It was definitely a send up of classic TV characters and situations.
The whole state dinner/dinner with the wife thing was covered by Fred Flinstone out to dinner with Wilma while bowling in the league championship across the street.
I think the Bush character was a cross between Rob Petrie and Jack Tripper.
Laura Bush was definitely Laura Petrie crossed with some slut. I can’t quite figure out which TV tramp she kinda reminded me of.
The neighbor could have been played by that Joe Izusu guy.
Marcia Wallace played her same smart assed character from The Bob Newhart Show after raiding Hazel’s closet. As goboy pointed out I don’t think she could fit into Alice’s threads.
The real trick is to try to figure out which other staple characters and situations will arise in the future. I vote for Laura thinking George is having an affair while in fact he is just spending so much time with a hot new woman to plan a surprise anniversary party. Or how about the leader of North Korea is staying at the White House and the dog comes up missing. Being from simple stock Laura assumes the worst when she sees the North Korean making a midnight snack in the White House kitchen. Laura is then trying desperately to hide the fact that the dog is missing from George to avoid an international incident when in fact the vice-president has just taken the dog to the vet.
Back to last nights show the now grown aborted fetus riding the dog did crack me up.
I think they missed an opportunity for a big laugh.
When Laura came down and flashed people by opening her parka, George should have said: “That’s my BUSH.”
Best line?
Bush “Why don’t you go do the laundry?”
Maid " I’ll do like your father and seperate the whites and the coloreds."
Runner up:
Joyce " I’ll be frank, Mr. President."
Was that Chaney or the Chief of staff? " That would make more sense than “Joyce”."
The rest of it? Not much there. And the punch in the face line was definitely a takeoff on Ralph Cramden. Sheesh! Kids today! No knowledge of the classics! 
You people. I thought it was hilarious. Forget “Friends”- this is where it is at.
I loved the colored/whites line, too, dave.
And: “I’m thirty years old and I have to shop at Baby Gap!”
And redecorating the Lincoln bedroom…
Oh, and the way he read the teleprompters.
I have to say, Trey and Matt really made Dubya into a real, likable guy. They could have made fun of the way he talks (maybe they will), but really, the things he did…anyone could have done. It’s a spoof on sitcoms in general, IMO. Great, imaginative, fun-filled farce.
Anyone who thought the jokes were stale and the situations were cliché just didn’t get it.
They’ve taken the cliche elements of The American Sit-Com[sup]®[/sup] and stylized them into a kind of Kabuki of the absurd. I thought it was mostly pretty impressive how far they committed to that approach and stuck with it.
It just remains to be seen if they can sustain what could easily turn into a one-note joke.