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In The Boodocks Season 1 Part 1, we discussed the origins of The Boondocks comic strip series that was created by Aaron McGruder.  The Freeman family moved from the South of Chicago to Woodcrest, a fictional suburban town in Chicago.  The show revolves around Huey’s interpretation on situations or cultural differences that his family and him face daily.  The Freemans develop new friendships with their neighbors and become involved in various altercations.

Now onto The Boondocks Season 1 (Part 2)!

“A Date With The Health Inspector”, episode 1×06
Written by: Rodney Barnes & Aaron McGruder
Directed by: Joe Horne
Original Air Date: December 5, 2005
Guest Starring: Charlie Murphey, and Samuel L. Jackson as Gin Rummy

At a young age, Tom Dubois developed a fear of being sodomized in jail.  It forces him to live a restricted life where he follows rules.  Tom ironically grows up to become a criminal prosecutor who sends defendants to jail.

One day, Tom was arrested for being the Xbox Killer.  Jazmine becomes worried over her father’s sudden disappearance and goes over to the Freeman’s household to see if Huey has seen him recently.   Tom calls the Freeman’s house requesting that Huey finds the real Xbox Killer before he’s sent to jail.  Huey calls onto Riley’s friends, Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy, as reinforcements.  Things become complicated when Ed III and Gin Rummy take a detour to a convenience store.

Meanwhile, Tom tries to remain strong as he waits for Huey.

Side Notes: Ed III and Gin Rummy were created to lampoon the actions of George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld.  They parodied the Bush administration’s Iraq War in “A Date With The Health Inspector”.  The “What” scene from Pulp Fiction was also referenced.

This was a hilarious episode focused on Tom Dubois.  I found it interesting that his character was tested when he was falsely accused for a crime that he didn’t commit.  I was scared and confused on Tom’s outcome, because his cavalry were distracted.  “A Date With The Health Inspector” would be the first of many criminal charges that Ed III and Gin would walk away from.

“The Story of Gangstalicious”, episode 1×07
Written by: Rodney Barnes & Aaron McGruder
Directed by: Seung Eun Kim
Original Air Date: December 11, 2005
Guest Starring: DJ Pooh, Sway, James Arnold Taylor, Kym Whitley, and Mos Def as Gangstalicious

The episode opens with a message from The Management about “The Story of Gangstalicious” claim that all rappers are secretly gay.

Gangstalicious gets shot, again, while he sings his hit song “I Got Shot” in concert.  Riley tricks Robert into sending him to the store for more orange juice so he can help his favorite rapper.

Riley visits Gangstalicious and finds out that the rapper isn’t who he was expecting.  On his way home, he runs into three men looking for Gangstalicious.  He returns to Gangstalicious’s room to warn him and help the rapper escape.  Soon the three men catch up to the pair and stuff them into their trunk.

Riley and Gangstalicious are taken to the forest where the young rapper is stripped of his clothing and bound.  The leader of the three men explains that he and his crew are retaliating because of Gangstalicious’s song “Thuggin’ Love”.  Gangstalicious is kissed by the leader and shot by the three men, whose bullets miss him.   The rapper flees the scene during everyone’s moment of disbelief of what just happened.

Later that night, Riley tells Huey about his adventure, with reinterpreted facts, while Robert is yelling in the background.

Side Notes: The running gag of “A full day supply of Vitamin-C” is referenced in “The Story of Gangstalicious”.   Sway was mocked for always wearing an“inexplicable head wrap”.  Other media spoofs were Tupac’s Resurrection documentary, and Pulp Fiction.

“The Story of Gangstalicious” was an interesting look on one of Riley’s role models.  Riley continues to faithfully follow his favorite rapper despite having evidence that he shouldn’t.  Mos Def gave a hilarious portrayal of the kind hearted Gangstalicious who thought that his lyrics should be entertaining and not taken seriously.  “The Story of Gangstalicious” mirrored the problem that musical artists face from audiences when their lyrics are interpreted wrong.  When musicians have songs with lyrics and song titles that say “Play This For the Jury”, it draws attention to the singer and their song’s interpretation.

“The Itis”, episode 1×08
Written by: Rodney Barnes & Aaron McGruder
Original Air Date: January 22, 2006
Guest Starring: Candi Milo, Barry Sobel, Kym Whitley, and Ed Asner as Ed Wuncler

Robert makes dinner for the Dubois family and Ed Wuncler.  Afterward, Ed suggests that he should open a restaurant with Robert.  At the grand opening of The Itis,  customers listen to Tom Dubois’s lounge songs as they eat.  The bed that they eat on serves as a safety net when they experience “the itis”, that sleepy feeling people get after eating a full meal.

Customers gain weight and become addicted to the food when The Itis turns into an enormous hit.  Robert ignores Huey’s warnings on the repercussions of selling unhealthy food to customers.

A customer sues The Itis for selling food that caused her to gain weight and suffer from depression.  Ed Wuncler and his lawyers reach a settlement for the case, and The Itis shuts down in fear of other customers serving them lawsuits.

In conclusion, the Freeman family and friends have alternating dinner menus to spice up their weekly Sunday dinners.

Side Notes: “The Itis” was modeled after fast food companies being sued by customers for selling unhealthy and addictive food to the public.  Huey used Soul Food, and other media references, to mirror The Itis situation that could cause a ripple effect onto others.

“The Itis” was an episode that echoed the restaurant industry in real life.  At first, a restaurant wants to sell their food ideas to the public.  When the restaurant becomes popular, a ripple effect happens.  Customers end up addicted to the food and eventually gain weight.  Although “The Itis” exaggerated the consequence of owning a fast food company, it served as a mirror of consequences that could happen if people don’t stand up and take action for themselves or others.

“A Huey Freeman Christmas”, episode 1×09
Written by: Aaron McGruder
Directed by: Seung Eun Kim
Original Air Date: December 18, 2005
Guest Starring: Quincy Jones, Sam McMurrey, and Judge Reinhold as Mr. Uberwitz

It’s Christmas time in Woodcrest.  Mr. Obiwitz, an elementary school teacher, wants Huey to direct the upcoming Christmas play.  Huey agrees when he’s allowed to have full creative control of the project..  Things escalate when he kicks his classmates out of the show and hires actors to replace them.

Meanwhile, Riley continues his yearly vendetta against Santa for not giving him rims for Christmas.

The  school officials don’t like Huey’s play and want his script changed.  The PTA pickets the play, because their children aren’t part of it.  Obiwitz goes against his orders and allows the play to open without any changes.  He was fired and resurfaced as an African-American studies professor in the University of Michigan.

Side Notes: There were comparisons between each character’s view on the Christmas holiday.  Riley and Jazmine both continued to believe in Santa, unlike Huey.  “A Huey Freeman Christmas” uses a lot of elements from A Charlie Brown Christmas special.  For instance, Riley’s words scrolled across the screen as he wrote a letter to Santa.

It felt as if Riley’s vendetta against Santa Claus carried over from the comic book series.  Riley reminded me that he’s still a young child because of his vendetta against a legendary/mythological figure.

“The Return of the King”, episode 1×10
Written by: Aaron McGruder
Directed by: Kalvin Lee
Original Air Date: January 15, 2006
Guest Starring: Kevin Michael Richardson as Martin Luther King Jr.

The episode opens with a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.  Huey narrates that King went into a coma and there were no riots or a national holiday for him afterward…

King comes out of his coma in 2000 and adjusts to the present timeline.  He becomes popular,  but he loses fans over his personal views.  Huey attends to one of his book signings, and Robert walks in to look for him.  He meets up with King, who turns out to be one of his old friends, and invites him over for dinner.

At dinner, the Freeman family and friends find out that Robert also knew Rosa Parks.  He was regularly prank calling Rosa Parks because she “stole his thunder”.  She sat next to Robert, when they both refused to give up their seats on a bus.  Robert developed a grudge for Rosa receiving full credit for her actions.  The next morning, Huey goes out with King to discuss how to gather people for an Emergency Action Planning meeting.  King asks an Urban Promotions firm to advertise about the gathering, but it’s mistaken for an actual party.

The Emergency Action Planning meeting turns into a chaotic event.  Huey and King had to pay to enter the party because they weren’t on the invite list.  The party had music, dancing, and people at the podium making speeches that didn’t revolve around anything in particular.  The first black political party was filled with hustling preachers, rapper truces, and people fighting.  King, who becomes infuriated, steps up to the podium, and voices his opinion on African-Americans of today.  He proclaims that he’s moving to Canada at the end of his speech, and walks off.

King’s speech inspired African-Americans to finally start a revolution.  The episode concludes with a future newspaper article reporting on King’s death in Vancouver, and Oprah winning the presidency.

“It’s fun to dream.”
-Huey narrates at the end of the episode

Side Notes: “The Return of the King” received great criticism by Al Sharpton for King using the N-word.  McGruder responded through The Boondocks comic strip that mocked Sharpton for complaining over a cartoon rather than other relevant issues.  The incident was mentioned in “The Block is Hot” episode later on in the season 1.

Huey’s narration of the episode gave me an impression of an essay question that asked, “If you were an alien from another planet visiting Earth, how would you describe what you saw?” King was used as a device to answer that question.  The episode didn’t explain itself on rewriting the facts, but it gave an interesting take on a “what if?” scenario.

To be concluded in The Boondocks Season 1 Part 3!

Princess Powerful
princesspowerful@comicattack.net