Saturday, October 11, 2008
Blog DVD Review: Lil' Bush Season 2 (Oct. 14)
Lil' Bush: Season Two (Comedy Central DVD, $26.98) brings us ten more episodes of the Comedy Central animated sitcom about the life of George W. Bush as a child. If you ever wondered how George W. Bush got to where he is today, you can find out exactly how with this series, along with his friends--although in all fairness, the series isn't exactly biographical. Technically, Lil' Bush is a parody of Bush's childhood, but much of the events are events that are taking place in the current day, or very similar events. But in any event, it is hilarious political humor.
The season has many great episodes, and is honestly better than much the first season. In the first episode of the season, "St. Patrick's Day," we get to meet Lil' Karl Rove (played by... Kevin Federline... yes, the former Mr. Britney Spears) as he helps destroy the Lil' Dems St. Patrick's Day parade. And oh yeah, Barbara buys a tanning bed and cooks some liver in it... her own. The Lil' Cronies get a hold of some prescriptions that don't set well with them in "Big Pharma." The home mortgage crisis in America hits the Bush family as George Sr. and Barbara can't afford their mortgage payments on the White House (don't ask) in "Katrina." In Weekend at Saddamy's," the gang goes on a camping trip in Baghdad. Lil' Cheney has a heart, and apparently Osama bin Laden can use it, in "Afghanistan." Lil' Bush is going to have his own wedding, well getting married to his father, in "Wedding." The season ends with "Anthem & China," where the guys take on all of China.
With more episodes in this season than there were in the first season, the set expands to two discs this time. The set is presented in a standard DVD style case, with an extra tray inserted for the second disc. There are five episodes on each disc, but you wouldn't know that, as they neglected to include any sort of episode guide or list on this set, anywhere. I don't know how they expect people to know where to find the episodes.
The video and audio quality on this set are basically fine, with no real problems to note. Of course, that is expected, as these episodes aired only a few months ago on TV. It is usually pretty difficult to go wrong on quality with such recent shows, as there is never really much to "clean up" on the prints from the time of airing to the DVD. Of course, these were also rushed to DVD, which means that we have closing credits from Comedy Central left intact on all of the episodes. It isn't that bad, though. Each episode runs around 22 minutes.
The set has a great selection of special features, beginning with "Lil' Bush Viral Video" (2:42), which is basically a parody of those videos that many people put on YouTube, such as the "Obama Girl" video, supporting their presidential candidates. There are web clips (6:47), which are essentially just short little videos related to the series that can be found on the series website (gopharmony.com). They are very fun to watch. A commentary can be found on the episode "Big Pharma" on Disc One, as well as all five episodes on Disc Two, although they aren't as creative as the commentaries found on Season One. Instead, we just have commentary from the directors and producers of the series here. Finally, there are some animatics on Disc Two. (20:50), which gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the episodes.
This is a funny series to watch, although it isn't quite as good as the earlier Comedy Central sitcom about Bush, That's My Bush. Of course, it isn't exactly fair to compare the series, as they are completely different series with different objectives, but both are sitcoms about George W. Bush. The real question is this: is this the final season of the series? With no plans for a third season so far and less than four months left of Bush's tenure in office, the entire premise of the series will be outdated before new episodes could be made. Of course, they could make a Lil' Obama or Lil' McCain spin-off, as these are already characters on the series already, but those characters honestly aren't quite as funny. In any event, for now, you can give a hail to the little chief by checking out this DVD set.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, November 22
Happy's Place - "Happy's House" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie agrees to take Isabella to Happy's house in search of a connection to their late father, leading Bobbie to worry about what they may find; Gabby hopes to strike it rich by searching through Happy's penny collection looking for a rarity.
Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Orlando" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Rosie's spoiled nephew Orlando visits, Mayan sets out to expose Rosie's cultural gender bias; George wants to teach Chance the value of hard work, but, instead, helps him create a toxic work environment.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Whacking the Mole" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola has a romantic dream about Bob, she tries to suppress her feelings for him and pays the price.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ralph Lauren and Fish" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob and Abishola finally go on a proper date, which is interrupted by Dottie's medical emergency.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Tough Like a Laundromat Washing Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob hires Abishola to take care of Dottie in his home while she recovers; Dottie has a hard time dealing with her limitations and takes it out on Abishola.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Useless Potheads" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abishola only helping part-time, Bob, Douglas and Christina struggle to take care of Dottie.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Wiz-Taken Identity" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Billie struggles with a spell, Roman says he could do it if he was a wizard: to prove him wrong, Billie uses a Power Glass to transfer her powers to Roman.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "
Ain't Gnome Party Like a Wizard Party" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Justin embraces mortality to live with his family; his new challenge arises when Alex introduces Billie, a wizard-in-training, seeking Justin's mentorship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)
Friday, November 22
- Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Lopez vs Lopez/Search Party/Corporate) - Andy, Thomas and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Drew is joined by the hilarious Andrew to celebrate all things Thanksgiving on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie tells Sherri about her new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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