Well, Will Ferrell’s gone, so who’ll replace him doing Bush. Darrell Hammond’s the best impressionist they have, but he already does Cheney and Bush. Chris Parnell might be able to do it, but he strikes me as too dull. Seth Meyers…nah. Couldn’t pull it off. Neither could Jimmy Fallon. None of them could say “Strategery” the way Ferrell could. So who’s going to do the Bush impersonation?
Will Ferrell left SNL? No way!
I haven’t watched SNL in eons but I loved Will Ferrell. 
Well Darrell Hammond could do it, for sure, but things could get confusing in about a year and a half when Bush and his (superb) Gore are going at it again. Hammond is one of the best I’ve ever seen at nailing voices, and could certainly nail Bush’s twang and mannerisms.
Fallon is also a very good impressionist, again in terms of voices. His voices are dead on. I think he’ll be the one doing it, but it’ll be tough to replace Ferrell.
The thing about Will Ferrell’s W was not the voice, although it was passable. It was the eyes, the stance, the facial expressions. Even though he doesn’t really look/sound like Bush, I believe it. All of his impressions were like that, think of Alex Trebek. The show will definitely miss him.
I don’t watch SNL, so I’m a little confused. Do Ferrell and Hammond both do Bush? And when they want both Cheney and Bush on the screen together, Hammond will do Cheney instead?
I thought Will Ferrell was wonderful, but his Bush was terrible.
For some reason, people have a hard time immitating this President. Clinton was easy(everyone could do Clinton… I mean the impression). Bush senior was hard until Dana Carvey did it and everyone just started immitating his impression. Reagan was easy as well.
See, the problem with immitating Bush is that it is too easy to come down to a “one trick pony” immitation. Just act like you are a stupid idiot who needs his daddy(and who struggles with words) and people laugh. A more accurate impression would be funnier. There is this dude on Jay Leno who plays the President and he does quite well.
I saw Dana Carvey do Bush and it was alright. The eyebrows are the key.
As for who will do it on SNL? I’m hopin for that Tracy dude(admit it, it’d be great).
“As for who will do it on SNL? I’m hopin for that Tracy dude(admit it, it’d be great).”
They kind of did a joke about that when Clinton became president. They had all of the cast members walk out on stage and do their impression. Tim Meadows came out and just said “I’m not going to get this part, am I?” Someone offstage said no, and he walked off.
Will Ferrell’s gone? Hallelujah! I’m gonna start watching SNL again!
I think Will Ferrell is about as funny as a coal mine explosion. His Bush impression was almost as bad as his Alex Trebek impression, and his Trebek made me want to cut my own head off in despair.
But SNL’s going to be lacking for warm bodies if Darrell Hammond does Bush. They need a new cast member. They should take out an ad… “WANTED: Comedian for major Saturday gig, recurring. Must do Dubya impressions. Call Lorne, (212) 555-1234.”
Rick, you missed the point of Ferrell’s Trebek impression. I don’t think he was trying to imitate Trebek, per se. He was doing his own, funnier, exasperated-at-the-stupid-celebrities Trebek.
I loved SNL Celebrity Jeopardy! An Anal Bum Cover, indeed!
D’oh, I meant he did Cheney and Gore. I wrote that while lacking sleep last night.
Not to mention “The Penis Mightier”. Will Ferrell was a comic genious, I wish he hadn’t left SNL, but all good things must come to an end…
SOmeone mentioned Dana Carvey could do a good Bush Sr. Impression. He also did a good Tom Brokaw. So does Jimmy Falon. Could Jimmy go two for two or possibly more? He’d make a great “Dubya”.
NOt to mention that Jimmy Falon also does a good Dennis Miller. So did Dana. I’m telling you, Jimmy is the second coming of Dana.
Fallon is the second coming of Dana Carvey?
We now have the seed for the plot of The Master Of Disguise 2. Dog help us all.
Count me in with RickJay. Will Farrell’s main schtick is “Look at me! I’m tall, goofy-looking, and I say everything in pointless arching tones. Now laugh at me, dammit!” Except when he plays Janet Reno, then it’s just that he’s the cast member who most resembles her.
But I bet he comes back from time to time to play W. Just like Jan Hooks turning back up to play Hillary Clinton after she left SNL. I can hear Don Pardo now, “Special Appearance by Will Farrell” followed by big monkey cheers from the studio audience.
But considering how SNL usually does things, he’ll probably be the guest host one week before the end of next season.
Get off Will Farrel. The guy’s a comedic genius. I don’t know if anyone saw last week’s Jack Black/Strokes episode but it had one of the funniet skits I’ve seen in years. Had to do with these creepy, Age Of Aquarius left-overs trying to stir up an orgy in a New England ski-lodge. I went to Bard college so I’m pretty familiar with these types: the beard, the cardigan, the D.H. Lawrence rhetoric and weird affectations (banjo pronounced banJOE)–all of it was dead-on.
Adam, Will and Rachel have done those characters several times. They’re so funny!
Ferrell’s impression of Bush was hilarious in that in was overly exaggerated. Yeah, Dubya doesn’t really act like such a moron in life but for some reason it’s just funny to think that does. I can’t explain it, but I thought it was hilarious.
I do agree that it would be hilarious if Tracey Morgan took on the task of impersonating Bush.
Man, this one really got me laughing. Cause although I said I don’t watch SNL, it’s more accurate to say I don’t watch it anymore. Believe me, I’ve gotten my fair share of Will Ferrell, and I just don’t think he’s funny. The Spartan Cheerleaders? C’mon! That’s just juvenile.
Count me as someone who liked WF a lot. Watching old shows, it’s surprising how often he was in the skit as the straight man, nailing mellow confusion or building frustration or vanilla-blandness without drawing attention to himself. That was the point of the Jeopardy skits and what made him an invaluable (if unappreciate) ensemble player.
What made his Bush funny was that it reinforced a perception of the POTUS and exaggerated it. Hugely unfair, but still hilarious. Carvey could be terrific but sometimes you watch him and it’s all about the accent and nothing else. It’s like watching Rich Little. <shudder> Farrel wasn’t about making W accurate; it was about making him his own (I still giggle him at him playing with a ball of string as Jeb/Alec Baldwin looks on).
Hammond has his hands full with too many others (including Clinton). I’ll miss Ferrel for his Inside the Actor’s Studio impression as well. Hopefully a movie career will open up for him (I thought he was sensational as Bob Woodward in Dick). Tracy Morgan is as good a choice as any, I suppose (maybe he can transition his Brian Fellows character to the Oval Office–tee hee).
Whoops, managed to misspell WF’s name 2 different ways. Still like him, though. 