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Bad sitcoms have been a way of television life since, well, ever. For every really good sitcom over the years, there’s probably at least 15 or 20 that never even should have made it on the air. Many of these shows follow the same clichés, either because the creators are unoriginal or because television executives often fear anything new (and sometimes, it’s both). As a result, it’s become pretty firmly established over the years what elements go into making a bad sitcom. It was only a matter of time before somebody took those elements and did a parody of a conventional sitcom. That’s My Bush!, the new show from South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone, does just that. So far the results have been pretty amusing. I have to wonder, though, how long it will stay this way before the whole thing just gets old and annoying.

As the title implies, That’s My Bush! is set in the White House and revolves around President George W. Bush (Timothy Bottoms) and his wife Laura (Carrie Quinn Dolan). Also included are Bush’s aide Karl Rova (Kurt Fuller), his secretary Princess Stevenson (Kristen Miller), and his maid Maggie Hawley (Marcia Wallace). The wacky next-door neighbor Larry O’Shea (John D’Aquino) frequently stops by for unannounced visits.

All of the characters fit that classic clichéd sitcom mold. George is a dunderheaded oaf who can never get anything right, while Laura is the intelligent wife who is always a step or two ahead of her husband. Karl is the sensible aide who always tries to keep George’s wacky situations grounded (and he usually fails). The Princess is a sexy blonde bimbo, who George will probably wind up flirting with in future episodes. Maggie, who has been with the White House "since the Secret Service wore bell bottoms," is the wisecracking maid who has been a familiar sitcom character for years. And then there’s Larry, who stops by and offers advice to help George out of various jams. He enters to cheers from the "studio audience," much as Fonzie would on Happy Days.

The cardboard cutout-type characters aren’t the only way That’s My Bush! parodies the traditional sitcom. From corny jokes to highly predictable situations to even a dorky theme song, no convention is spared in this show. Even the fake studio audience complies the way a real studio audience would. In addition to the reception Larry gets, George and Laura get loud ovations the first time they are seen in each episode. Every time the Princess wiggles her hips, walks, or even says a line, the audience hoots and hollers. George has a catchphrase, "One of these days, Laura, I’m gonna punch you in the face!" that he says in each episode. When he does, the audience says it right along with him. Parker and Stone clearly have fun with these conventions, and sometimes the results are pretty amusing. For example, in one episode, George plays Laura "their song," something which has been done in sitcoms for generations. However, "their song" turns out to be the theme song from Sanford and Son. Parker and Stone also seem to enjoy the fact that the role of the dopey husband is being played by the President of the United States, and they get in some shots at Bush, such as in one episode when Laura tells George, "You may be a bad President, but you’re an OK husband."

Even though the situations on That’s My Bush! are intentionally predictable, there are often some edgy qualities to them when they are executed. For example, in one episode, George tries to go on a date with Laura while overseeing a dinner between the heads of the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life groups. While trying to juggle two commitments at once is hardly a new concept in sitcoms (just flip on Nick at Nite and you’ll know what I mean), the way it was handled in this episode certainly wasn’t routine. The head of the Pro-Choice group, Joyce, is a man-hating, short-haired, butch overweight woman, while the head of the Pro-Life group, Felix, is actually an aborted fetus who has managed to survive the past 30 years by eating ants. Felix, who really does look like a talking fetus, is bitter and angry, and this sets up some very funny moments, some of which certainly offended both Pro-Choicers and Pro-Lifers. At one point, for example, Felix accuses Joyce of being pro-abortion. "I am not pro-abortion!" Joyce retorts. "Are you against abortion?" Felix asks. "No," Joyce replies. "Then you’re pro-abortion!" Felix snaps. "Take a Latin class, you stupid hooker!" Later, when Felix criticizes Joyce, Joyce says "Why I never!" "Sure you did," was Felix’s angry reply, "and then you aborted it!"

In another episode, the situation was less edgy, but still amusing. George’s frat buddies stop by to visit, and decide to move in. Laura takes the initiative and kicks the frat buddies out, but George, wanting to prove that he’s still a cool guy, take his friends out for a last night of fun, to prove that he hasn’t lost his touch. Again, this is a pretty standard sitcom situation. But the way it was executed was not. For their one last night of fun, George takes his frat buddies to witness an actual execution. However, as Karl fears the frat buddies will make a mockery of the execution, he hires a group of actors to stage a fake execution, leaving the real one for after the frat buddies leave. There is a very predictable miscommunication, and the frat buddies wind up witnessing the real execution. Still, the scene allows for some pretty funny moments. For example, at one point, the priest starts reading the convict his last rites. George interrupts him, grabs the Bible, and says to the con, "You have the right to be a little bitch and have your soul sent to Hell!"

However, though both those situations were pretty funny, they were also inherently predictable, and that is what’s wrong with That’s My Bush! Parker and Stone parody a bad sitcom a little too well. The interesting sequences such as the ones I described aren’t enough to offset the predictability of the whole thing. There are enough bad sitcoms out there that the last thing we need is one that’s purposely bad. That’s why, though I’m enjoying the show at the moment, That’s My Bush! may work best as a limited-run series of 10 episodes or so. Anything more, and we might wind up getting bored. The show airs Wednesday nights at 10:30 on