Comments on: TV: The Bush Legacy

By: jimmyboy

jimmyboy — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:57:05 +0000

I would say with 134% certainty that the Lost writers don’t have terrorism in mind, it’s scope goes a little deeper /broader.
Good call re: Generation Kill Matt, that was a solid show courtesy of the genius David Simon

By: Benno

Benno — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:11:14 +0000

American Dad actually rarely beats the Simpsons in demos or viewers, but it still is successful with Family Guy.

By: Grinspoon

Grinspoon — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:41:55 +0000

Matt, don’t worry American Dad does well. It actually often out rates the Simpsons in the USA.

With generation kill.. btw it is awesome… I think the list avoided the directly based on bush areas.

By: R

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:35:00 +0000

i agree with ‘Grinspoon’ – where’s “Thats My Bush” – it was absolutely ridiculous, but pretty funny!

By: Rod

Rod — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:41:33 +0000

I had completely forgotten about “That’s My Bush!” … it was actually quite funny!

By: David Knox

David Knox — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:32:37 +0000

I see W&G as very Clintonesque. A response to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

By: Kirk

Kirk — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:28:14 +0000

I’d include Will & Grace, which although wasn’t created during the Bush era, had many comments to make about Bush during the last few seasons.

By: Ryano

Ryano — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:18:09 +0000

The Daily Show with John Stewart………

By: marc

marc — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:41:18 +0000

I actually think that the West Wing is a valid tv show to place in the legacy of the Bush Administration… Yes, It was a show that began in 1999 at the end of the Clinton Administration. Behind the scenes, the show was littered with Clinton staffers as consultants (Dee Dee Myers) But with the fall of Gore in 2000, a lot of commentators argued that NBC’s huge hit would become increasingly irrelevant under the Bush Era. I disagree. The fantasy government of Josiah Bartlett was the administration a lot people wished the United States had. It was like peering into an alternate universe of what might have been (even if the last five minutes of every episode are so soaked in Red, White and Blue pride it can be a bit tough to swallow). The West Wing was the fairytale. An escapism from the reality of a Bush Administration.

I also second the Generation Kill recommendation

Also worth pointing out.. Arrested Development. Ok, i know this one sounds a bit strange, but if you go back and watch it again, you’ll soon realise that it is perhaps one of the most wonderfully complete statements about the Bush era. From George Bluth’s ‘light treason’ in Iraq, To Buster’s easy acceptance into the Army (thanks to lower standards), Heather Graham ‘loving Saddam’, the Steve Holt riding the evangelical vote to win Class President the whole show embodies the era perfectly. The show wears its politics on its sleeve, without heavy-handedness, and its always spot on (except that whole Charlize Theron subplot, which was just stupid)

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:05:57 +0000

Hey what about Fox News!

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:58:55 +0000

Generation Kill.

Easily the best thing made about the Iraq nonsense. Although we have yet to see it down here…I don’t think.

American Dad is one of the most underrated toons on the box. Family Guy gets all the plaudits, but is far too inconsistent to rival AD. Will be interesting to see in which direction AD goes in the future…if there is a future.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:41:38 +0000

All the same I remember that moment from the Lost pilot when Hurley found out Sayid was in the Republican Guard, they didn’t even need to mention Iraq, I reckon that simple line got a reaction out of everyone who watched it.

Interesting Topic, shows wedded to their era – definitley agree on 24 and The Unit and also American Dad. Interestingly the other show I view as a response to a Presidential term was Murphy Brown which surfaced around the same time George Bush Sr was elected. You’ll note that after Clinton was sworn in – the show lost a lot of its steam.

By: David Knox

David Knox — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:06:00 +0000

Yep I noted it wasn’t terrorism. But you know Lost, they can change everything in a heartbeat! Never say never!

By: Grinspoon

Grinspoon — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:48:50 +0000

FYI, we know why the plane crashed in lost. Not terrorism.

where’s

“That’s My Bush” haha

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:39:51 +0000

Boston Legal’s final season, which we have yet to (officially) see in Aus, talks about the Obama-McCain election in almost all of the 13 episodes, and how Obama was needed to sort out what W had done. And they did it pretty much in real-time. The episode before election day made reference to the election coming up, and the episode after talked about the results. Very clever!

By: Rico

Rico — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:17:29 +0000

Very interesting. I remember reading somewhere once that Bush also killed shows like X-Files – at least genre-ly. When Bush came in the only thing the government was exposed as was incompetent! Hardly able to pull off elaborate conspiracies. But also after September 11 there were real villains to deal with. We didn’t need aliens, or to some extent, shadow governments anymore. We needed heroes, as you said.