With George W. Bush’s presidency winding down, Comedy Central’s satirical Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States returned for a second season on March 13, 2008 and consisted of ten episodes. I actually enjoyed the first season of this series and had a few belly laughs. Unfortunately, as I watched season two I couldn’t shake the feeling that this series was about four years to late–Granted, the 2008 presidential election was about a week away as I watched. If these jokes were being flung four years earlier, say 2004-05 they might have been funnier and seemed more relevant. As it is, the show seems dated.


The cast has gained a few hilarious new characters this season. The Lil’ Dems get much stronger work from Lil’ Hillary (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) and Lil’ Al Gore (Chris Parson) this year, and naturally Lil’ Barack (Tim Meadows) is also front and center during some episodes. On the Crony side, there are some solid cameo appearances by Lil’ Fred Thompson (Dave B. Mitchell) (with a hilarious Law & Order title screen), Lil’ Karl Rove (Kevin Federline), and Lil’ Giuliani (Dave B. Mitchell) As was the case last season, the voice actors including Chris Parson, Dave Mitchell, Donick Cary (Lil’ Chaney, among others), Iggy Pop (Lil’ Rummy and Big Rummy), Mara Cary (Barbara Bush) all do various voices and excellent work. As in season one, music plays a key role in many episodes, though not always to positive effect.
Lil’ Bush – Resident of the United States, Season Two has all 10 episodes, uncensored, and spread across two discs:
Disc One
“St. Patrick’s Day” – Worried that the Lil’ Dems are going to use the Beltway Elementary St. Patrick’s parade to further their liberal agenda, Bush and his Lil’ Cronies decide to have a parade of their own–one that excludes gay midgets and Mexicans.
“Big Pharma” – When Beltway Elementary’s book fair is taken over by a drug company, it becomes a drug fair, and all the Lil’ Cronies get hooked on meds. In order to kick their addiction, they face off against the big pharmaceutical company’s charismatic CEO (voiced by The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh). Meanwhile, George Sr. attempts to appear manlier for the state of the union by taking beard-growth pills. Unfortunately, the side effects cause an unexpected problem.
“Crony Break-Up” – After a big fight, the Lil’ Gang breaks up. Each of them finds comfort in new friends: Lil’ Mitt Romney, Lil’ Rudy Giuliani, Lil’ Fred Thompson and Tiny Dennis Kucinich. When the new friendships turn disastrous, the Lil’ Cronies put their differences aside in a heartwarming, vomit-filled reunion. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush inadvertently invents a new diet craze called “The Pudding Hole” which involves leaving a hole in your stomach so food can pour out.
“Katrina” – To punish Lil’ George for trashing the White House, George and Barbara send the kids down to New Orleans to help in the rebuilding effort.
“Three Dates” – With the school dance coming up, Lil’ George doesn’t know who to take. His brain advises him to be cautious, but George plows ahead and ends up inviting three dates. Once they get to the dance (featuring Good Charlotte as Good Charlotte cover band “Good Charlotter”) George has to silence his brain once and for all. George Sr. is dealing with an annoying houseguest, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, who parties like a frat guy and lords his oil over the president.
Disc Two
“Weekend at Saddamy’s” – When an emergency Iraq visit threatens to ruin the spring break camping trip Bush Sr. promised the Lil’ Cronies, he decides to compromise and bring the kids along. Meanwhile, Lil’ Bill Clinton convinces all the Lil’ Democrats to spring break on South Padre island. When some of their antics end up on video, “Lil’ Dems Gone Wild” becomes a top-selling DVD.
“Afghanistan” – When Osama bin Laden is diagnosed with a weak heart, he finds the only perfect match for a donor is Lil’ Cheney. Al Qaeda kidnaps Lil’ Cheney, forcing Lil’ George and the gang to smoke him out of his hole in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Barbara gets her groove back in Jamaica.
“Wedding” – Lil’ Bill Clinton invites the Lil’ Cronies to his “rainbow party,” prompting Lil’ George’s parents to protect his young manhood with a purity wedding.
“Pooty-Poot” – When Lil’ Vladimir Putin and Lil’ George start a schoolyard rivalry, it escalates to Lil’ Putin poisoning Lil’ George, whose head swells to five times its normal size; after some training from former wrestling champ Barbara Bush, Lil’ George faces off against Lil’ Putin in a classic playground battle. Meanwhile, Lil’ Cheney has been partnered with Lil’ Nancy Pelosi, and given a watermelon to care for as their child. When it becomes apparent that their watermelon is a lesbian, Lil’ Cheney has some hard choices to make.
“Anthem/China” – Back to the two-story format of season one: To prop up America’s falling international reputation, George Bush Sr. and associates decide to hold a contest for a new, rosier, national anthem; and Lil’ Bush is outraged when the made-in-China birthday gift he bought for his father is recalled.
Comedy Central hasn’t renewed Lil’ Bush – Resident of the United States for a third season as of this writing. George W. Bush is on his way out of the White House, so I imagine series satirizing his life are living on borrowed time. My guess is, the series is a lame duck. If you’re a fan, this DVD set is likely the last season of the series.
The series is broadcast in 1.33:1 on Comedy Central, and these transfers replicate the network broadcasts. With no anamorphic enhancement, there is line twitter and aliasing in every episode, often to very distracting effect. Color is pleasant, and sharpness is okay, but there are traces of color banding in several of the episodes.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio track is loud, and while the music can sometimes be distorted at normal volume, the dialogue is always well recorded and delivered.
Six of the ten episodes (# 2, 6-10) feature a Commentary by members of the production staff. They often mention jokes that were deleted by standards and practices and ideas they attempted that didn’t work. However, they often laugh at their own material or go silent altogether, which makes things feel uneven.There are 6 Web Clips (6:45) These appear to be outtakes from episodes but aren’t identified as such. They (and all of the video bonuses) are presented in 4:3. Lil’ Bush Girl Viral Video (2:30) A music video for the song “My Lil’ Bush.” There are 8 animatics (20:45) which consists of rough pencil animation of various scenes from the first two seasons of the show with vocal tracks present (but sometimes temporary tracks without the regular cast).
Comedy Central Quickies are lifted excerpts from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, South Park, and Reno 911!