Boondocks, The (TV Series) (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

Often funny, sometimes offensive and always thought provoking, Aaron McGruder´s "The Boondocks" combines healthy doses of Japanese inspired animation with a generous helping of subversive humor and wit. However, the show comes with a more heavy handed approach to the message it wants to make making it a little hard to swallow at times. Based on the syndicated comic strip of the same name, the series, much like McGruder´s other work, has been lambasted for its controversial nature. It leaves virtually no one unscathed by its caustic criticism and a world view rooted in Huey Freeman´s (the lead character) particular brand of righteousness.

Season one´s fifteen episodes start with the Freemans, an African-American family from Chicago who have moved to the fictitious town of Woodcrest, the epitome of suburban living. The family consists of the aforementioned Huey (Regina King), a ten year old boy with a decidedly skeptical, if not blazingly honest, perspective. There is also Riley (also voiced by King), Huey´s eight year old little brother, who is a little too engrossed in "gangsta" rap culture, inundated on his senses by the mainstream. Rounding out the Freeman´s is Robert "Granddad" Freeman (John Witherspoon), who practices what might be considered an old school approach to discipline.

The rest of the characters are an eclectic bunch ranging from the Freemans´ neighbors Tom Dubois (Cedric Yarbrough), a well-to-do black lawyer with a white wife, Sarah, and their daughter Jazmine. There is also Uncle Ruckus (Gary Anthony Williams), a self-hating black man who´d rather see a world more akin to the days before the civil war. If that wasn´t enough there is also the Ed Wuncler Sr. (Ed Asner) and his son Ed Jr. (Charlie Murphy). Ed Sr. is the embodiment of what you might call "the man", whereas his son is an ex-soldier, who´s taken to living the thug life with his partner in crime Gin Rummy (Samuel L. Jackson). Guest voices also include Adam West, Mos Def, Quincy Jones, Judge Reinhold and Xzibit.

While the cast of characters may be intriguing in the way they push the extremities of what some might consider decency, the show has plenty more to offer in the issues it touches upon. McGruder and company poke fun at everything including R.Kelly, east coast versus west coast style rap wars, Santa Claus/Christmas, BET, "Soul Food" and many other pop culture staples. It is McGruder´s varying view points on these subjects that give the show its heart. On one hand there is Huey, a symbol for the youthful angry black-man of today (who´s name represents a throwback to civil rights leaders), then there is Riley, a wannabe "gangsta" who, much too quickly, buys into to whatever mainstream "thug culture" might be peddling that week, and finally there´s Granddad, representing the middle ground in his realistic view of the situations his grand kids have a tendency to favor in one extreme or the other.

The first few episodes stumble a little but once the show hits its stride there is no stopping it. McGruder, via Huey and his animated cohorts, dishes out healthy (or is that unhealthy) bits of fury, fear, and revulsion, comfortably espousing ideas pertaining to Black Nationalism and the minority experience. Consider the episode "Return of the King", which features a story that sees the return of Martin Luther King Jr. who didn´t die but instead entered a decades long coma. When King returns he is confounded by the state of the world. The imagining of King´s reactions to modern media´s evolution, the exploitation of his image and black culture in general features a nice blend of dry humor and sarcastic provocation. Still, the trouble is that the show sometimes feels too offensive, but McGruder´s intention seems to be the provocation of contemplation on matters that audiences are often too comfortable with. He pushes for thought where it´s most needed and the result is surprisingly effective.