The Boondocks Season 3 Episode 8 -- "Pause"
Previous statements about The Boondocks' third season nothwithstanding, I LOVED this episode.
Yes, the jokes were applicable when the episode was obviously written last year, but the BET Generation just will. fucking. NOT. let this Tyler Perry buffoonery die! That being said, the initial moments of the show, prior to the setup to just what was going on, complete with satire of EVERY Tyler Perry movie/play -- complete with Huey explaining EXACTLY how all of them go down (even though I have only witnessed one, God save my soul) -- was CLASSIC to me.
With that spot of business out of the way, we were left with Riley and Granddad in an exchange explaining something that I have been TRYING to get people to see for a while now. That would be the fact that if you find yourself HAVING to say "no homo" at the end of every third sentence, then you're apparently not doing an effective enough job of thinking before you speak. One further, if it becomes a habitually occurring event, then you might wanna just say the shit and not bother with the "no homo" thing at all.
[Phlip note - no shots, I'm just sayin']
Now, on to the episode in itself. The presentation was cartoonishly heavy handed, or it would be if it weren't satirizing the already cartoonishly heavy handed Minstrel Show that is Tyler Perry's franchise. That being said, you had to leave the implausible and head into the realm of the generally asinine. Presentation of the involved parties as members of a homoerotic cult of sorts. Given the draw of the Chu'uch folks that is exacted by the real-life version of what is being harpooned here, this is actually not implausible, but rather suggests a deeper understanding of just WHY the shit is so damned popular. The difference is, here, that to understand the satire, you will need the cognitive ability to quickly digest what it is you're laughing at and why you should be laughing.
Tyler Perry's collection of BET, "Black Movie," "Black Reel" -- but ZERO Academy -- awards should probably speak to this fact.
[Phlip note - shots fired,woman down]
The episode progresses, and as it does so, a similar theme from this show of an impossibly convoluted collection of coincidences unfolds in hilarious fashion. The joke, while definitely applicable last year, remains so by way of the fact that Perry's Stans keep his shit up like nobody's business. Obama had better employ Madea if he intends to be reelected year after next, otherwise he can hang it up.
Not gonna kill you to death with spoilers here, on the off chance that you too have or willwait on an encore download the episode and view it for yourself. Just know that I am more pleased with the outout in this one than I have been with any other this season, and that has everything nothing to do with my disdain for Tyler Perry movies.
Anyway...
At the end of this, I came into this season of The Boondocks with my mind set on being disappointed like a motherfucker, what with knowing that they had been negotiating for the release of the new season had dragged on for months with episodes that were already written and ready to go, given that this is a show that referenced pop culture.
I mean, as much as the producers of these shows go, it is HARD to reference pop culture while allowing your jokes to go stale. Two extremes of this are when you have enough of a body of work to become self-referencing -- Like Family Guy and The Simpsons -- or to bully your higher ups into allowing you to turn in your episode the morning before they air -- like South Park.
Anything in between leaves you open to either having to write your ASS off, referencing historical events if anything, but deal only with issues and stories that you create or to be a little more diligent in getting your product to the skreets. This feat has only been accomplished for about half of this season's episodes thus far, with one of even those making liberal use of the whole self-referencing thing.
If this coming week's episode is a sign of things to come, then I have high hopes for the rest of the season. What I see for next week is a reference to another old meme, but does so with the understanding that the adult character involved has a history within the show involving a fear of having his donut punched in prison.
Yes, the jokes were applicable when the episode was obviously written last year, but the BET Generation just will. fucking. NOT. let this Tyler Perry buffoonery die! That being said, the initial moments of the show, prior to the setup to just what was going on, complete with satire of EVERY Tyler Perry movie/play -- complete with Huey explaining EXACTLY how all of them go down (even though I have only witnessed one, God save my soul) -- was CLASSIC to me.
With that spot of business out of the way, we were left with Riley and Granddad in an exchange explaining something that I have been TRYING to get people to see for a while now. That would be the fact that if you find yourself HAVING to say "no homo" at the end of every third sentence, then you're apparently not doing an effective enough job of thinking before you speak. One further, if it becomes a habitually occurring event, then you might wanna just say the shit and not bother with the "no homo" thing at all.
[Phlip note - no shots, I'm just sayin']
Now, on to the episode in itself. The presentation was cartoonishly heavy handed, or it would be if it weren't satirizing the already cartoonishly heavy handed Minstrel Show that is Tyler Perry's franchise. That being said, you had to leave the implausible and head into the realm of the generally asinine. Presentation of the involved parties as members of a homoerotic cult of sorts. Given the draw of the Chu'uch folks that is exacted by the real-life version of what is being harpooned here, this is actually not implausible, but rather suggests a deeper understanding of just WHY the shit is so damned popular. The difference is, here, that to understand the satire, you will need the cognitive ability to quickly digest what it is you're laughing at and why you should be laughing.
Tyler Perry's collection of BET, "Black Movie," "Black Reel" -- but ZERO Academy -- awards should probably speak to this fact.
[Phlip note - shots fired,
The episode progresses, and as it does so, a similar theme from this show of an impossibly convoluted collection of coincidences unfolds in hilarious fashion. The joke, while definitely applicable last year, remains so by way of the fact that Perry's Stans keep his shit up like nobody's business. Obama had better employ Madea if he intends to be reelected year after next, otherwise he can hang it up.
Not gonna kill you to death with spoilers here, on the off chance that you too have or will
Anyway...
At the end of this, I came into this season of The Boondocks with my mind set on being disappointed like a motherfucker, what with knowing that they had been negotiating for the release of the new season had dragged on for months with episodes that were already written and ready to go, given that this is a show that referenced pop culture.
I mean, as much as the producers of these shows go, it is HARD to reference pop culture while allowing your jokes to go stale. Two extremes of this are when you have enough of a body of work to become self-referencing -- Like Family Guy and The Simpsons -- or to bully your higher ups into allowing you to turn in your episode the morning before they air -- like South Park.
Anything in between leaves you open to either having to write your ASS off, referencing historical events if anything, but deal only with issues and stories that you create or to be a little more diligent in getting your product to the skreets. This feat has only been accomplished for about half of this season's episodes thus far, with one of even those making liberal use of the whole self-referencing thing.
If this coming week's episode is a sign of things to come, then I have high hopes for the rest of the season. What I see for next week is a reference to another old meme, but does so with the understanding that the adult character involved has a history within the show involving a fear of having his donut punched in prison.
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Comments
As far as this ep goes, it goes into the HoF for BD eps.