Critics Mostly Like New 'Boondocks' TV Show

By: Dave Astor "The Boondocks" TV series made its debut Sunday night to generally positive newspaper reviews. But several of the pieces mentioned that the Cartoon Network show has received some criticism for its liberal use of the "N" word.

Linda Stasi of the New York Post said the program -- based on Aaron McGruder's Universal Press Syndicate comic -- is a "big, seriously politically incorrect, brilliantly funny show that delivers belly laughs of the 'South Park' quantity."

Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote: "'The Boondocks' is as hilariously scalding onscreen as it is on the daily comics pages and Web sites of more than 350 newspapers across the country, including this one."

Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle said: "Right out of the gate, 'The Boondocks' is a water-cooler series that lives up to the hype. It is funny, fearless and continues the vibe of the strip -- Huey forever let down by the antics of his black brethren, the president and white people in general, and Riley...an 8-year-old with less of a...worry-about-the-world outlook than his brother." Goodman added: "'Boondocks'" has heart -- helped immeasurably in the Cartoon Network series by Regina King voicing both brothers -- and it has something to say about family, brotherly love, and overcoming the inanities of everyday life."

David Bianculli of the New York Daily News added that McGruder's characters, despite their bluster, "really care about one another. 'The Boondocks,' with all its knowingly controversial observations and language, is a sort of animated equivalent of 'All in the Family.' It'll make you think, and maybe even wince -- but at the same time, it makes you smile."

Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "'Boondocks' is a charming, amusing, and good-looking cartoon. What's more, it establishes fertile, identifiable characters and story lines. ... Yes, it's got political skin, but the flesh and bones of sympathetic characters matter more here. That's been the claim all along of Aaron McGruder, creator of the comic and the show."

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune called the series "a mixed bag," with some "pointed jabs" that "are quite funny." She saw two episodes, and liked the first better. Ryan said the second show -- about a prostitute who takes advantage of the grandfather character -- illustrates McGruder's "sexist attitudes."

Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette described the show as "occasionally funny," and added: "The stories and themes may feel a little tired to readers of the comic and even those who don't follow it: African-Americans know the real score; whites are all wealthy and clueless. ... [But] 'Boondocks' doesn't restrict its caustic wit to skewering white culture. As in the comic, some of the sharpest barbs are saved for African-Americans."

Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press wrote: "Each anime-style episode takes months to produce, so the series can't be as timely and topical as the ripped-from-the-headlines comic strip. But McGruder isn't opting for a kinder, gentler satire. Not at all."

Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times noted that most cartoon shows avoid discussion of race. But the new "Boondocks" series, she said, "is all about race, an African-American version of 'Doonesbury' that is, if anything, more politically charged. Especially in the conscientiously colorblind world of television, the animated version of 'The Boondocks' is a jolt of shock therapy."

Commenting about the use of the "N" word, the Post-Intelligencer's McFarland wrote: "'The Boondocks' carpets the premiere with N-bombs as casually as hellos. The fact that this paper doesn't allow me to spell out that word shows you how incendiary that's going to be. That's why McGruder's goal appears to be to slap us with it throughout the premiere expressly to get the outcry blazing so it can fade out more quickly. I counted 17 uses, both casual and malevolent."

McFarland added: "Already Bill Cosby, Al Sharpton, and others have spoken out against it. We'd expect nothing less. The N-word may have undergone a hip-hop culture redefinition and is used among all races, but somebody has to remind folks that it's still an epithet with roots in hatred. ... [But] if [McGruder's] comic exists to expose society's ugliness, this has to be part of it. Reining it in for late-night television would feel dishonest to its mission."

Most of the reviews quoted in this story were linked on Metacritic.com.