So where are you Sunday nights?

So, first off I have to apologize for being so off my game the past few months. Real life has once again gotten in the way of my pop culture passions (or at least writing about them)…but I’m trying to get better.

On to the show.

What show? I speak specifically of "The Boondocks", which made its television debut last month on Adult Swim.

I hesitated to review it based on its first two episodes because it seemed to be so uneven. But now, four episodes in, I feel as if the show has fallen into its pattern.

Based on the relevant and often controversial comic strip by Aaron McGruder, "The Boondocks" is a setup just made for snappy TV. Two black boys from the hood go to live with their grandpa in the lily-white suburbs and offer shrewd, grownup opinions on, well, everything.

Though some have complained, the addition of surrounding plots and voices merely takes the strip one step further. The boys, Huey and Riley, are both voiced by Regina King (she of the Jerry Maguire meltdown) and sound – get this – like little boys. And in having more than just four panels to portray a storyline, the TV show gets a chance to show the boys not just as uber-smart future revolutionaries, but also as little boys. It makes Riley’s gangsta poseur stunts so much funnier when (in the same episode) you get to see him throw a massive temper tantrum.

Though not up to par with the strip in terms of political controversy and current events, "The Boondocks" brings a whole new kind of show to television. With the social commentary of the "Daily Show", the goofy quotables of "Family Guy" (particularly from Riley) and the sleek look of anime, Adult Swim’s newest addition is one to hold onto.

The dialogue is still sharply-written, with not a single line wasted nor unbelievable (the exchanges between granddad and the self-loathing racist Uncle Ruckus are particularly priceless). The second episode, about the trial of R. Kelly, is one of the funniest, most quotable and most shockingly honest half-hours of television I’ve seen in a long time.

And the guest voices are definitely worth tuning in for. Between Ed Asner and Charlie Murphy in the first episode (as a rich white man and his militant son) and that of Adam West as R. Kelly’s race-baiting lawyer, the show seems to be on deck for attracting voices the Adult Swim audience can appreciate.

So, in short, if you aren’t watching this show you’re missing out. And you have no excuse to not understand what’s going on when someone says, “Game recognize game – and you’re lookin’ kinda unfamiliar.” For shame.