New releases

By Stephanie Schorow, Globe Correspondent  |  October 13, 2008

A few may remember that President George W. Bush and his family first got the Comedy Central treatment in the short-lived sitcom "That's My Bush," which aired from April to June 2001. Its satire, however cheeky about the commander in chief, was mild compared to the insolent, scatological, and immature jabs of "Lil' Bush," an animated look at the young George W. Bush and friends. Lil' Bush, Lil' Condi, Lil' Cheney, Lil' Rummy are naughty kids, George Bush the elder is a saltine-chomping swinger, while Barbara Bush gets into situations too salacious to describe in a family newspaper.

Horror: Icons of Horror: Hammer Films
Adventure: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Drama: Mongol
Classic: Notorious
TV: Nash Bridges, season 1
TV: The Partridge Family, season 3
TV: The Sarah Silverman Program, season 2
TV: The Unit, season 3
TV: Liberty's Kids, the complete series

Little Honey (Lost Highway)
The gravel-voiced siren of alternative country follows up her moody 2007 album "West" with a mix of original and cover tunes that are more mellow than melancholy. The 55-year-old Williams, a cult favorite whose songs have produced hits for many (such as "Passionate Kisses" for Mary Chapin Carpenter), has been gradually winning more mainstream attention. Notorious for long delays between albums, Williams fills "Little Honey" with some material originally developed for "West" which hit a lighter note than that brooding album. Joining in for duets are Elvis Costello and Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles.

Rock: Keane/ Perfect Symmetry (Interscope)
Folk: Ray LaMontagne/ Gossip in the Grain (RCA)
Alt-country: Todd Snider/ Peace Queer (Megaforce)
Indie: Ingrid Michaelson/ Be OK (Cabin 24)
Classic rock: Elvis Presley/ Christmas Duets (Sony Legacy)
Holiday: Kristin Chenoweth/ A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas (Sony)
R&B: Nikka Costa/ Pebble to a Pearl (Stax)
Latin fusion: Santana/ Multi-Dimensional Warrior (Sony Legacy)
Metal: Gojira/ The Way of All Flesh (Prosthetic)

Multiple Platforms (THQ)
In a blend of Asian-style art animation and Western action, the popular TV series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" used the classic elements of earth, air, water, and fire as backdrops to a tale of fantasy and derring-do. The Emmy-winning series, which ran three seasons on the Nickelodeon and Nicktoons networks, has the usual cast of do-gooder kids who somehow foul up the bad guys. The reluctant hero is Aang, the "avatar" of the title and the only one who can learn to "bend" all four elements and save the world. The game is based on the series' third and last season and lets you play as Aang or other favorite series characters.

Anne Rice (Knopf)
The Queen of the Damnedest Things continues her twisting turn in literature with this memoir of her Catholic upbringing in New Orleans. Anne Rice has recently turned to more spiritual topics with a two-volume "biography" of Jesus. Her new memoir delves into her own religious development, how she turned to atheism as a young woman and gradually regained a belief in God. The book describes her alcoholic mother, the loss of her young daughter, the birth of her son, and the death of her husband. Rice never listened much to critics and now she may be disappointing some fans as those tales of vampires and witches recede into the past.