First things first, I am not a Boondocks purist. You’re not about to read a rant about how the comic strip was so much better than the show, and how Aaron Mcgruder sold out, etc etc.
Boondocks Season 4 just finished airing its 10 episode season a few weeks ago, and it was probably the most controversial season of the show to air, although this time it wasn’t centered around the content.
Season 4 was the longest gap that the show has ever taken between seasons, with Season 3 finishing back in 2010. Naturally, the longer the wait, the higher the expectations, and even the strongest shows can sometimes buckle under the weight of that pressure… Boy oh boy did Season 4 buckle.
There was the subpar promo for the season’s return (How is your teaser trailer better than the actual trailer for the Season??) the confusion behind the show’s air date prior to the trailer being released, and then the biggest shock: Aaron McGruder was fired from his own show… for reasons we may never truly know.
“McGruder is gone, Season 4 is going to be trash!!” was the reoccurring comment that was seen all over social media before the show even aired and several reputable sites were posting scathing “season reviews” not even two episodes into the season. I wasn’t moved to that gut reaction but I couldn’t help but feel skeptical. After all, we’ve seen time and time again what tends to happen when the original creator is taken out of the process of developing his or her creation. However,after 3 excellent seasons, I felt like the writers that had surrounded McGruder over that time period would have absorbed enough of his creative process to carry on the spirit of the show.. As it turns out, I was half right.
Season 4 is unquestionably the worst season of Boondocks to air so far… but that’s mostly because it’s simply okay while the past seasons were just so good. Despite what purists may tell you, S4 had a lot of the core elements that makes Boondocks so entertaining to watch: original comedic moments, subtle social commentary with focuses on issues within the Black community, and satire. While the previous seasons all had episodes and moments that went for the jugular, this season seemed content with throwing a couple of light jabs in the direction of the topics in which they were addressing.
What could have been a witty episode highlighting the extremes that women will go to for their hair ended up being a weak Breaking Bad parody. Then there was a Good Times themed episode that went over the heads of anyone who had ever watched Good Times simply because the writers lazily settled for randomly dropping in the theme song from the show as well as well known character quotes. It was like watching your favorite basketball player go up for a highlight reel dunk only to miss the hoop entirely… and having to watch that miss happen again and again.
Overall, aside from some shamelessly lazy storytelling, Season 4 isn’t the house that McGruder built crashing down all around us that some people might like you to believe but it is a house that isn’t being kept in as great of a shape with its new owners. There are already rumors starting to swirl about a potential Season 5, and unless the writers take a serious look at some of the harsh yet valid critiques of this past season and reevaluate, Boondocks might end up being another great show that goes out with less of an impact than it deserves. I give the season a 4.5 out of 10
P.S. My Favorite Episodes of this season were: Pretty Boy Flizzy, Freedom Ride Or Die, and The New Black
