Lil' Bush A Huge Success

To Celebrate The Huge Success of Lil' Bush, We Will Be Posting Episode Clips Every Day, Titled "Lil' Bush"

 

  Makes a Successful Leap from Amp'd Mobile to YouTube to Comedy Central

Will approval ratings for Lil' George Bush continue to climb this week?

The first real surprise of this already crowded summer television season was the success last week of Comedy Central's new animated property Lil' Bush. It turned out to be the network's highest rated series launch in three years and was second only to The Sarah Silverman Program in the 18-49 demographic. I'm guessing the primary strength of Lil' Bush was in the lower end of that demo, because it was also the most watched program on all of television among men 18-24 during primetime on Wednesday.

I mean, healthy ratings for TNT's The Closer (it's best ever), ABC Family's Kyle XY and USA Network's The 4400 and The Dead Zone were to be expected, as these are all fine shows with very loyal audiences. The success of USA's limited series Starter Wife and Lifetime's new Army Wives also comes as no surprise, given the effectiveness with which these well-produced shows were marketed to female viewers. But Lil' Bush is a cheap, crudely animated, frequently offensive little show that has been tucked away behind South Park reruns on Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. ET -- and it's looking like a contender for the summer hit list.

Lil' Bush actually began life as a series of mobisodes from Amp'd Mobile and has the distinction of being the first series to move from mobile platform to television. (The original cartoons can be seen on YouTube and elsewhere.) In addition to the title tyke, the other primary characters in the show are Lil' Condi, Lil' Rummy and Lil' Cheney, all children with the look (and, some will say, the mannerisms) of their real-life adult selves. A grown-up George H.W. Bush is also on hand (as the current president on the show) along with First Lady Barbara Bush, Lil' Jeb Bush (presented here as a total dimwit), Lil' Bill Clinton, Lil' Hillary Clinton and other characters based on familiar political leaders.

In the opening credits, which set the tone of the show, the four lil' monsters -- Bush, Condi, Rummy and Cheney -- laugh as Lil' Bush crumples up the Bill of Rights. I guess we need some scrappy political controversy somewhere on television this summer, with Rosie O'Donnell off the scene and all. The creators of Lil' Bush seem more than up to that challenge.

Comedy Central has been down this road before. Back in the early, pre-9/11 period of George Bush's presidency, the network ran a live-action misfire created by the masterminds behind its signature smash South Park titled That's My Bush, which featured a skilled star turn by Timothy Bottoms as Bush 43. And, of course, South Park has over its 10 years on the network created all kinds of controversy and made much news with some of its colorful content.

This time things are very different. President Bush's approval ratings are in the toilet, which might explain the instant popularity of Lil' Bush. But we are also at war in two countries, which makes a program that savagely mocks the commander in chief a risky move for Comedy Central or any other network at this particular juncture -- or so one might think.

How far does Lil' Bush go? Consider the two stories in tonight's show. In the first, Lil' Bush and Lil' Kim Jong-il engage in a schoolyard rivalry that could lead to nuclear annihilation. In the second, Lil' Bush and his gang are at summer camp when they discover a rival camp run by Al-Qaeda. Will they be laugh-out-loud funny? You decide.

If you missed last week's premiere, you didn't see George Bush, the president in this series, grab the television remote from Lil' Bush and Lil' Rummy after their channel surfing revealed that every network was reporting on the war in Iraq. "You kids know you aren't supposed to watch anything except Fox News," the elder Bush steamed. The rest of the press "refuse to report on any of the good stories in Iraq," he grumbled. "They focus on all of the terrible bad stuff that we're doing -- butchering people, killing civilians and funneling billions of taxpayer dollars into our friends' corporations!"

Lil' Bush and his friends then traveled to Iraq to search for good news to bring the elder Bush for Father's Day. They concluded that Iraq was "a hell hole," but were happy to stumble upon Halliburton Land, where grown men played in piles of cash and Winnie the Pooh held a pot of "munny."

"This place is fun!" Lil' Bush said to his friends. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Torture!" cried a smiling Lil' Condi, Lil' Rummy and Lil' Cheney in happy unison.

At the commercial break between the two tales, Lil' Bush spoke to the audience. "Hey young viewers age 18-24. Do your part in the war on terror and watch these commercials!"

In the second story Lil' Bush and the gang saw Lil' Bill Clinton "trying to eat the Lewinsky twins" in the school lunchroom. (He was actually trying to kiss them.) Later, a sexually frustrated Barbara Bush seduced Lil' Cheney with such vigor that he disappeared deep inside her. Cheney made quite a ruckus in there, prompting Bush 41 to say to Barbara, Lil' Bush and the rest, "I never thought I'd say this, but, let's go get an abortion, gang!" Off they went to an abortion clinic, the scene of a pro-life rally at the time.

Lil' Cheney (who growls, hisses and drinks the blood of freshly killed birds) was extracted from Barbara while clinic volunteer Lil' Hillary Clinton and Lil' Condi enjoyed a tender kiss. "I'm glad everything is back to normal," a relieved George Bush sighed after the procedure. "Now let's save face with the voters and burn this place down!"

Will Lil' Bush fade away in the weeks to come, or will it continue to build an audience throughout the summer months? All that can be said at this time is that if its popularity grows controversy will surely follow. The outcry will likely be music to the ears of Comedy Central executives who, thankfully, have never been eager to play it safe.