The Boondocks

[hedwig]

THE BOONDOCKS.

so, this show, based on Aaron McGruder's comic strip, debuts tomorrow on Adult Swim @ 11 P.M.

personal history: i've been a big big fan of The Boondocks for years. i own all the books (save for one, Public Enemy #2). the one to get if youre gonna get one is "A Right to be Hostile," it's a treasury of strips w/ full-color sunday strips, too. it's great, get it.

the characters (in the strip) are/were great-- huey, riley, caeser, jasmine, cindy, uncle ruckus, mr and mrs dubois, the schoolteacher and the principal, the crazy star wars guy, etc.

the strip, while i concede that it hasn't been good in a long time (mcgruder's been distracted, i guess), is genius. so finally, after years and years, the show has arrived. regina king is doing the voices for huey and riley. i saw some promotional clips: if you know these characters, it's gonna take a little bit for you to get used to hearing the voices. it's weird. but i have hope.  8)

i'm gonna ask all haters to stay away from this thread until tomorrow when the show premieres. don't come in here sayin, "ohhh its no doonesbury." shush up. wait 'til u've actually seen the show: then you can come in here and sling ur shit at it; i'll be here to defend it, with a fury. so be prepared.

[polkablues]

i saw some promotional clips: if you know these characters, it's gonna take a little bit for you to get used to hearing the voices.

YEAH... I saw a commercial for this a week or two ago.  The problem is, when I hear Huey's voice in my head, it's not a kid's voice.  But when you're making the cartoon in (semi)realistic style, that's the route you have to go.

Which gives me a thought... what if they had made a cartoon version of "Calvin and Hobbes"?  How would you do Calvin's voice?

But yeah.  This show should be pretty good.  I'm keeping my expectations a little low, just in case, but it should be pretty good.

[Ravi]

I like the strip, though it certainly has its dull periods.  I don't expect much from the show, but maybe that's for the best.

[hedwig]

so the first episode just aired; what'd you guys think? unlike ravi/polka, my expectations were and still are sky-high--with that in mind, i'd give the first ep an A-, or a B+ maybe.

I loved:
- the beginning ("jesus was black, ronald reagan is the devil, and the government is lyin about 9/11.") it worked really well in its proper context, unlike the promo ad, where it just felt awkward. "THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!" haha, classic.

- when riley says, "the orange juice, or the mini-skirt?" 

- huey's reaction to grandpa's cheese theory ("you can't fight the white supremacist power structure with CHEESE.")

- the raincoat flashback. 

- the rich guy's son who just got back from Iraq. i liked his "W" gold chain. in my opinion one of this character's functions is to expose the striking similarities between commercial gansta rap mentality and GOP mentality. (to quote saul williams: "if you listen to a lot of commercial rap, the ideology behind it is primarily republican -- it's bragging about what you have in the face of the have-nots and not giving a fuck about the repercussions of that.")

- the music was pretty good.

- the whole "he's sooo articulate!" thing

- parodying the selfish, complacent attitude of the bourgeoisie.

uncle ruckus was slightly disturbing. i didn't realize in the strip that he was a drunk.

i did not love but think i will eventually get used to the voices, like i said in the first post. especially huey. it's too feminine. yeah, he's 10. but tell me you didn't imagine huey had a huskier voice than regina king's.

i think the second episode is gonna be a lot better. the first one had a somewhat weak storyline, it's taking its time to introduce these characters. but it still packed a punch. sadly, i predict that the satiric elements of this show are going to be lost on a lot of people.

[Ravi]

The storyline was weak, but there were some pretty funny moments, as you mentioned.  I was cracking up during Uncle Ruckus' song.

The anime style somehow made the show funnier.  An anime style show about three black people who move into a white suburb.

And after reading the strip for several years, I still don't know which is Huey and which is Riley.  I wonder if Jazmine will appear on the show.

[hedwig]

The storyline was weak, but there were some pretty funny moments, as you mentioned.  I was cracking up during Uncle Ruckus' song.

The anime style somehow made the show funnier.  An anime style show about three black people who move into a white suburb.

yeah, the amination looked great, i forgot to list that in the things i loved.

And after reading the strip for several years, I still don't know which is Huey and which is Riley.  I wonder if Jazmine will appear on the show.

haha, this should help:

huey


riley

[polkablues]

I will never, if the show is on for a million seasons, get used to those voices.

That said, I liked the show.  It should only get better from here.

[Ravi]

I like Huey's voice, but someone else should voice Riley.  They sound too similar, being voiced by the same person.  Grandad sounds about how I would have imagined.

[grand theft sparrow]

How has no one mentioned the fact that Charlie Murphy was the voice of a white guy on the show? I missed a good chunk of the show because I was laughing at that.  And the brevity of the Malcolm X reference in the beginning was beautiful.

As far as first episodes go, I laughed more at this than I did at the first eps of My Name Is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris. 

But I don't like their voices either.  Huey is squeakier than I imagined reading the strip.  I think they should have gone with actual kids instead of a grown woman who can sort of sound like a kid if you don't listen too closely.

Can't wait until they do an episode that will offend the right person that it makes news and becomes a controversial hit.

[polkablues]

Can't wait until they do an episode that will offend the right person that it makes news and becomes a controversial hit.

From the Everett (WA) Herald:
"One plot ponders what might have happened had the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. not died when he was shot, but rather slipped into a coma and woke up in 2000.

In that episode, McGruder says, "Kingmania" runs wild as the reverend gets a book deal and reaches his height of popularity until the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, take place and King makes an appearance on Bill Maher's HBO talk show.

"Bill Maher asks him about what our response should be and Martin Luther King says, 'Turn the other cheek and love thy enemy,'" McGruder said.

King's reputation is ruined, he's deemed a traitor to the nation, no one goes to see his movie and he loses his book deal. Years later, after a small, independent company finally publishes his book, King is on a book signing tour through Woodcrest, where only Huey and Granddad show up."

Hopefully, that'll do the trick.

[grand theft sparrow]

Can't wait until they do an episode that will offend the right person that it makes news and becomes a controversial hit.

From the Everett (WA) Herald:
"One plot ponders what might have happened had the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. not died when he was shot, but rather slipped into a coma and woke up in 2000.

In that episode, McGruder says, "Kingmania" runs wild as the reverend gets a book deal and reaches his height of popularity until the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, take place and King makes an appearance on Bill Maher's HBO talk show.

"Bill Maher asks him about what our response should be and Martin Luther King says, 'Turn the other cheek and love thy enemy,'" McGruder said.

King's reputation is ruined, he's deemed a traitor to the nation, no one goes to see his movie and he loses his book deal. Years later, after a small, independent company finally publishes his book, King is on a book signing tour through Woodcrest, where only Huey and Granddad show up."

Hopefully, that'll do the trick.

Yep, that ought to do it.

[hedwig]

Can't wait until they do an episode that will offend the right person that it makes news and becomes a controversial hit.

From the Everett (WA) Herald:
"One plot ponders what might have happened had the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. not died when he was shot, but rather slipped into a coma and woke up in 2000.

In that episode, McGruder says, "Kingmania" runs wild as the reverend gets a book deal and reaches his height of popularity until the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, take place and King makes an appearance on Bill Maher's HBO talk show.

"Bill Maher asks him about what our response should be and Martin Luther King says, 'Turn the other cheek and love thy enemy,'" McGruder said.

King's reputation is ruined, he's deemed a traitor to the nation, no one goes to see his movie and he loses his book deal. Years later, after a small, independent company finally publishes his book, King is on a book signing tour through Woodcrest, where only Huey and Granddad show up."

Hopefully, that'll do the trick.

that's a brilliant premise.

this is what's gonna keep this show afloat - good storylines, strong characters, AND hilarious, biting satire.

when discussing the strip's transformation throughout the years, McGruder said that after 9/11 he switched from lawnmowers, school days, and other evryday life shit, to Bush, Bush, and Bush. (constant references to current affairs,etc.)

i think with this show he'll strike the perfect balance.

and wow, that King premise ...bwahaha.

[Ravi]

Have you guys been reading the Hurricane Katrina storyline in the strip?  Very funny.  I love how they have no compassion for their relatives.

[Ultrahip]

Has anyone been watching this lately? The last two episodes were eye-poppingly awesome and hilarious.

[MacGuffin]

Return of 'Boondocks' put on hold

"The Boondocks," the controversial comic strip about a militant black child and his brother that has been adapted into an animated TV series, may be history.

United Press Syndicate, which syndicates the politically charged strip, has told newspapers that they should not count on "The Boondocks" returning in the foreseeable future. Syndicate executives have been unable to secure a commitment from creator Aaron McGruder, who announced in March that he was taking a six-month sabbatical from the strip.

"It was obvious that Aaron would not be able to meet his original six-month target of returning 'The Boondocks' to newspapers," says Lee Salem, president of the syndicate. "His Sunday strips needed to be in by mid-September to meet newspapers' deadlines of publishing 'The Boondocks' by the end of October."

McGruder, who could not be reached for comment, has been focusing on the upcoming second season of "The Boondocks," on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim slate, and other projects.