It’s that point of yr once more: Tonight, President Joe Biden will tackle a particular joint session of Congress to inform us what the State of our Union is. (I hope it’s sturdy!)
You possibly can, after all, watch dwell to see what accomplishments are being celebrated, what setbacks are being spun, how typically Democrats give specific strains standing ovations, and which Republicans resolve to heckle. Or you may simply sidestep all of that and as a substitute ponder a much less divisive politics: the faux sort.
To that finish, right here is our record of the ten (or so) funniest fictional presidents in TV historical past…
President Lisa Simpson (voice of Yeardley Smith) of The Simpsons
For its second flash-forward episode (following “Lisa’s Marriage ceremony” in 1995), “Bart to the Future” journeys to Bart’s (voice of Nancy Cartwright) early center age. At 40, he’s an aspiring musician, deep within the shadow of his 38-year-old sister Lisa, who’s simply been elected America’s “first straight feminine President.” The portrayal is available in final on our final not solely as a result of Bart has to show Lisa find out how to get out of her issues the way in which he does (shaming geeks — different world leaders, on this case — by making them really feel uncool in the event that they assert themselves), but in addition as a result of an incidental joke finds Lisa mentioning the massive debt her administration has inherited from “President Trump.” Barely humorous then; loads much less humorous now!
President Taqu’il (voice of Killer Mike) and President Ford (Mr. Ford) of Frisky Dingo
The second of Frisky Dingo’s two seasons revolved across the presidential ambitions of Killface (voice of collection creator Adam Reed) within the months after his doomsday gadget, the Annihilatrix, was by accident activated, by accident pushing the earth a tiny bit additional away from the solar, thus “fixing international warming.” Quickly, Killface’s archnemesis, Xander Crews (additionally Reed) surfaces to oppose Killface’s candidacy. Frisky Dingo being what it’s, the 2 of them find yourself in house, leaving Killface’s operating mate Taqu’il to ascend to the presidency (due to a “corrupt Supreme Courtroom” — gee, what should that be like?) and appoint Killface’s former marketing campaign supervisor, Mr. Ford, to Secretary of Homeland Safety.
Evidently, President Taqu’il hasn’t been being attentive to Mr. Ford’s regular rise from psychological hospital orderly to pet store clerk to gun store proprietor and so forth, or he could be on guard in opposition to Mr. Ford’s ambitions and maintain him far-off from the presidency. As it’s, Taqu’il and virtually his complete Cupboard are killed, clearing Mr. Ford’s path up the road of succession to change into president himself.
Typically talking, I felt Mr. Ford’s function grew too massive within the second season, however I’m nonetheless sorry we didn’t get a 3rd to see what a Mr. Ford administration would have been like.
President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman) of Crimson, White & Royal Blue
On this straight-to-streaming romcom, Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) meet at a marriage, and although many obstacles are of their approach, they finally handle to fall in love and hook up, not essentially in that order. One impediment is that Henry is Prince Henry, of the British royal household, and barely anybody in his life is aware of he’s queer. The opposite is that Alex is the son of Ellen Claremont, the American president, and he nonetheless hasn’t completely come to phrases together with his personal bisexuality.
Though the film has gags, Ellen doesn’t get a lot humorous enterprise to hold off, apart from to answer Alex popping out to her by blurting out buzzwords about queer intercourse she presumably realized for the marketing campaign path (“We are able to discuss getting you on Truvada…”) and to talk in probably the most unconvincing Texan accent you ever heard.
Take pleasure in seeing a Democratic girl president from Texas; it’s most likely not prone to occur in our lifetime so it would as effectively seem in a film!
President Richard M. Nixon (voice of Billy West) of Futurama
Set within the yr 3000, Futurama depicts an America wherein suicide cubicles can be found on avenue corners; robots generally do work people would like to not, and different instances simply drink and trigger bother; and the sentient heads of notable figures are preserved in jars. One such head belongs to Richard Nixon, and when bending robotic Bender (John DiMaggio) takes benefit of a spike within the worth of titanium to pawn his 40-percent titanium physique for a fast payday, Nixon buys it in order that he can place his head jar on prime of it and run for President of Earth. The Structure says no physique could be elected president greater than twice, however technically this physique is new!
Even after Leela (Katey Sagal) and Fry (West once more) use — what else? — incriminating audio to blackmail Nixon into returning Bender’s physique…
…Nixon nonetheless wins and upgrades to an much more terrifying robotic physique, laying waste to his enemies and the White Home itself. (Humorous in 1999; too actual as we speak!)
President Gordon Shumway (voice of Paul Fusco) of ALF
ALF has been dwelling on earth for a TV season and a half when the presidential election comes up on the present; he’s annoyed to study that this isn’t adequate to entitle him to vote. Watching a debate solely convinces ALF that he may make a terrific president, and when Kate (Anne Schedeen) goes to sleep that night time, she has a really unusual dream wherein ALF has fulfilled his political ambitions — and he really has enacted his political options, to nice impact.
As soon as once more, the idea of SCOTUS shenanigans comes up right here, though our personal legislators may most likely do worse than confirming Decide Reinhold to a lifetime appointment, and… possibly have?
President Man “Whitey” Corngood and President Truman Theodore Fruitty (each Jay Johnston) of Mr. Present
Today, we all know Jay Johnston primarily for his arrest final summer season on expenses associated to the rebellion on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. However within the Nineties, when he was the tallest and most conventionally good-looking solid member on the sketch collection Mr. Present, he was the pure decide to painting U.S. presidents.
First, and fewer prominently, Johnston performed President Man “Whitey” Corngood, a figurehead who had little or no to say a couple of plan to explode the moon.
Later, Johnston — presumably sporting the identical wig he did as Corngood — portrayed a unique president. And whereas Corngood may get away with providing fully content-free feedback on his technique to or from a automobile, President Truman Theodore “Two T” Fruitty is instantly implicated in a scandal. (No, it’s not the scandal of Jill Talley performing in brownface, however that’s not nice both.)
President David Herman (David Herman) of MadTV
Some readers could have had the expertise of waking up from an evening of heavy consuming to surprise what they could have gotten as much as the earlier night time, because it’s been fully blacked out of their recollections. So it’s for David Herman on this MadTV sketch: His room could appear to be crap, however it’s, in reality, within the White Home, as a result of he drank a lot that he blacked out and have become president.
One unexpectedly humorous side of this sketch is that Herman’s sensible options to intractable political issues aren’t that completely different, in spirit, from ALF’s. One other is that somebody on this sketch has an issue with substance use and it’s not Artie Lange.
President Phil Stacy Miller (Boris Kodjoe) and President Phil Tandy Miller (Will Forte) of The Final Man on Earth
The only a few survivors of a devastating viral outbreak witness the deaths of mainly everybody within the presidential line of succession, because it stood again within the late 2010s.
However because the collection begins, we don’t know there are survivors, plural; initially, there’s simply Phil Miller (Forte). Earlier than lengthy, he hyperlinks up with Carol (Kristen Schaal), and the 2 elect him president, as a result of why not — there’s nothing to preside over. As extra survivors be a part of their group in Tucson, nonetheless, the query of management turns into extra sophisticated. When a second Phil Miller (Kodjoe) exhibits up, far more succesful and charming, he poses a problem to the unique Phil’s presidency; the primary combat Phil I loses to Phil II is a sport of Jenga, leading to Phil I’s demotion from Tucson’s Phil of file to Tandy, Phil I’s center title.
When the feminine residents of Tucson demand a recall election as a result of Tandy’s gross incompetence, Phil sails to victory. And whereas Tucson doesn’t formally observe the proper of prima nocta, Phil does sleep with Carol, beforehand Phil’s companion. Tandy and Todd (Mel Rodriguez) resolve to homicide Phil in retaliation, as a result of politics is a grimy enterprise, regardless of how small the citizens.
President Quentin Trembley III (Alex Hirsch) of Gravity Falls
One may argue that Quentin Trembley III doesn’t belong on a listing of fictional presidents, and that he was, in reality, the very actual eighth and a ½ president of america. Right here: Educate your self!
Gravity Falls was primarily a present for teenagers and tweens, however evidently its creators believed there’s no unsuitable time to plant conspiracy theories. At the least this one is fairly benign! A personality who’s canonically the silliest president in historical past have to be ranked excessive on a listing like this, regardless of the age of his supposed viewers. However absolutely all of us knew who can be ranked first.
President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) of Veep
Veep featured a variety of presidents, beginning with Stuart Hughes, the one who by no means appeared on-screen and even known as his titular vice-president, Selina. There have been others we heard about succeeding her, together with Kemi Talbot (Toks Olagundoye) and Richard Splett (Sam Richardson). However when a present is established as being in regards to the frustrations and rage of a vice-president stored in verify by her largely pointless workplace, the viewers goes to be ready to see her transcend her circumstances — and Selina lastly does, first by accession following Hughes’ early resignation as a result of a private disaster, after which a couple of years later, in her fourth marketing campaign, which will get ugly.
Louis-Dreyfus received six Emmys for her efficiency as Selina, and rightly so: The character is an utter monster, however if you happen to aren’t ready to behave like a sociopath with out boundaries, ethics or disgrace, you haven’t any enterprise coming into fictional politics.
