Saturday, May 31, 2008
Mini-DVD Review: Boondocks: The Complete Second Season (June 3)
The Boondocks: The Complete Second Season (Sony, $49.95) brings fans another season of the television version of Aaron McGruder's former newspaper comic strip. Much like the comic strip, the Adult Swim TV series takes on many controversial issues and handles them in a humorous manner. Except, of course, the TV series takes on the issues in an outlandish, crude, sometimes offensive, and always extremely controversial manner. The second season is no exception to this rule, and is in fact even more crude and offensive than the first season--but that is what makes the show so great.
In this season, we get to see what true jealousy is like when Sarah gets to meet Usher in "Tom, Sarah and Usher." We learn how Granddad reacts when a rapper moves in to the neighborhood in "The Story of Thugnificent." Granddad meets a hot woman that is a little bit (or a lot) crazy in "Attack of the Killer Kung-Fu Wolf-Bitch." The house becomes full of some of Granddad's relatives after Hurricane Katrina in "Invasion of the Katrinians." In "The S-Word," Riley gets called the n-word by a teacher and chaos ensues. Additionally, we even get two episodes that were so outrageous and controversial that they couldn't even be aired on cable television. In "The Hunger Strike," Huey takes a stand against BET based upon how he views the network as causing destruction to black people. In "The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show," Uncle Ruckus discovers that he really is black after all, and BET decides to make a reality show about it. Obviously Aaron McGruder has a point to make about BET... and it doesn't look like Adult Swim will air that point of view! Additionally, the season contains many guest stars, including Snoop Dogg, Tichina Arnold, Lil' Wayne, Cedric the Entertainer, Fred Williard, Busta Rhymes, and Tavis Smiley.
The episodes are all presented in widescreen and they look and sound great, as one would expect. The episodes are totally uncensored, so don't be surprised to see the unexpected. As if the episodes aren't good enough, there are plenty of bonus features on the set too. There aren't quite as many as there were for the first season, but still plenty. The set contains audio commentaries on four of the episodes, and video introductions on the two banned episodes. There is a "Behind the Boondocks" featurette, which, as it sounds, goes behind the scenes of the series to show what it is like creating the series. In "Trouble in Woodcrest?," we get to see some "behind-the-scenes" trash-talking between cast members. Another special feature--one that I won't even mention the name of--talks about the n-word and the use of it on the show. Actually, it doesn't even talk about it, it is just a bunch of clips of the voice actors saying it while recording the script. You'll hear the n-word in it, a lot, as you do on the TV show. Next, there is a series of special features for the cast members, where we learn more about who they are. They have these for John Witherspoon, Cedric Yarbrough, Regina King, Gary Anthony Williams, Gabby Soleil, and Jill Talley. And what Sony DVD set would be complete without Minisodes? We have two, from Married... with Children and Spiderman.
Overall, this is a great set and fans are sure to enjoy it, as will those that just enjoy humorous and controversial TV. Sony seems to do a great job on this series in regards to quality and bonus features, and the DVDs are much more enjoyable to watch than the episodes as aired on TV.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
The Boondocks TV.com Page
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, April 19
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 15)
Friday, April 19
- Joey King (Bent) - Watch Joey on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) and Haley Joel Osment (Future Man/Alpha House/The Jeff Foxworthy Show/Thunder Alley) - Esther and Haley Joel are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Christine Taylor (Search Party/Arrested Development/Hey Dude and David Lascher (Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Blossom/Hey Dude) - Drew is handing the show over to Hey Dude…The 90s Called! Podcast Hosts Christine Taylor and David Lascher to interview her show for a special Drew's Download edition of the show. Christine and Drew reminisce on filming The Wedding Singer together and reveals which role she auditioned for but Drew got instead. Plus, they have a big surprise in store when they reunite Drew with a former castmate on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) and Daniel Thrasher (Dinner with the Parents) - Michaela and Daniel talk about Amazon Freevee's Dinner with the Parents on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Lauren Ash (Not Dead Yet/Superstore/Super Fun Night) - Lauren talks about ABC's Not Dead Yet on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- DulcĂ© Sloan (The Great North) - DulcĂ© shares easy Mother’s Day craft gift ideas on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Alison Brie (Community/GLOW) - Alison is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
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12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
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