Thoughts on The Boondocks Pilot

Recently the pilot for The Boondocks, which had been considered lost media, was found and it's very interesting (and frustrating) ...

For me, the most glaring difference between this pilot and the final product is that the Huey x Jazmine relationship is blatant. Back in the day, shipping was a big reason why I was a massive Boondocks fan. Huey x Jazmine, Riley x Cindy, and if I was feeling crackship-py, Huey x Cindy (the thought of him dating who is essentially the white girl version of his brother, voiced by Tara Strong, still makes me laugh to this day ).

Of course, the relationships weren't creator Aaron McGruder's main goal for the series, so that aspect was brushed to the far-off side. The "What Could Have Been" factor of seeing this pilot makes High School me sad (yet validated).

It makes me appreciate what Glitch and Gooseworx are doing with The Amazing Digital Circus. Instead of disregarding the 200 million+ views they earned, they simply upgraded the "Pilot" to "Episode 1" and are continuing forward without significant changes. Now that's how you respect a fanbase *side-eyes VivziePop*

On the other hand (going back to the Boondocks pilot), Uncle Ruckus says he has kids which he disowned for being black. It's a great joke, but that's a point I have to give to the final series. Ruckus' character works better if he's been an unloved loser his whole life. I remember there was a funny bit from the DVD commentaries that more or less went like: "Ruckus lives a shitty life. We'll never reward him".

If you've never seen it, I recommend The Boondocks. Many episodes are dated by its topical humor and political satire, but of course there's also a lot of episodes that hold up still.