"A Huey Freeman Christmas" is the 7th episode of the 1st season of The Boondocks. It originally aired on December 18th, 2005.
In late December, Huey is given the task of creating a Christmas play for his school, which he titles The Adventures of Black Jesus. Meanwhile, Riley wants revenge on Santa Claus for still owing what he wants.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – Religion:
- Parodied with Jazmine, who thinks that Christianity revolves around Santa Claus rather than Jesus.
- Also with Huey's play The Adventures of Black Jesus, which, aside from its very concept, contain samurai.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kind of all over the place; Huey’s play is aired the way he envisioned it, but no one apart from the school principal, his secretaries along with Grandad, Riley and Jazmine bother to attend (all the parents were mad that their kids weren’t in the play while Grandad and Riley slept through the whole play). Huey is okay with this because he “hates looking at his old work.” Additionally, Mr. Uberwitz, one of the nicest side characters in the show, is fired from his teaching position; Huey previously warned him that him being in charge will lead to the teacher fired as an "irresponsible white person". Thankfully, he manages to become a professor of African American Studies at the University of Maryland and it appears that his students like him and his teaching style. Jazmine has her faith in Santa restored by Ruckus of all people. However, Riley’s hatred of Santa is still very much present as he attacks Ruckus at the end of the episode (as Ruckus told Jazmine that he worked for Santa) with a warning for him to tell Santa that he’ll be after him again.
- Blah, Blah, Blah: Granddad's response to Huey's explanation of the history of Christmas. To the audience however, this is
very much justified
.Robert: It was bor-ing, Hu-ey! You just "blah blah gay sex, blah blah Congress"! You know, you gotta be... interesting! - Christmas Episode: Obviously, though it's not exactly set during the holiday of Christmas Eve/Day itself.
- Continuity Nod:
- Riley's vendetta against Santa Claus, and his assaults on Mall Santas were adapted from some of the comic strips.
- In fact, Uncle Ruckus' first appearance in the comic strip (and The Boondocks as a whole) was as a Mall Santa in December 2004, just about a year before this episode aired.
- Didn't Think This Through: Huey’s play is a success with the local paper, but the PTA told everybody not to see it because Huey fired all the kids.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Huey is determined to write a serious dramatic play for his elementary school, but he fired all the kid actors just for a little goofing off. He didn't understand why the parents and teachers were annoyed by this.
- Riley sets out to attack "Santa". In a mall. With an air gun. Because he didn't get car rims during a previous Christmas.
- Dream Intro: At the beginning, Jazmine has a dream about being a preacher delivering a sermon on Santa (who she confused with Jesus), while the whole church congregation erupts into gospel song and dance.
- Everything's Better with Samurai: Huey's play The Adventures of Black Jesus features some samurai.
- Executive Meddling: In-universe example: Huey is confronted by his principal, who demands some changes to the play. Eventually Huey asks to resign from the production, while his teacher Mr. Uberwitz gets fired.
- Foreshadowing: After being put in charge of the school play, with his vision in mind, Huey warns his teacher Mr. Uberwitz that he would be likely be fired for being an "irresponsible white person". Indeed, he is fired at the end, with the "irresponsible" part in mind, because he allowed Huey to replace the kids of the play with adults.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Mr. Uberwitz wanted to be friends with Huey and wanted him to direct a play. He had no idea how apathetic to the idea Huey was.
- Human Shield: While the first Mall Santa is getting hit by airsoft pellets, he uses a little girl to block them.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: In response to the principal pointing out that Jesus was Middle Eastern, Huey justifies his decision to cast a black actor with "In addition to Arabs, the Middle East has always had a large number of people of African descent, who you'd consider black." Literally none of this statement is correct.
- Mall Santa: Riley attacks one of these with airsoft guns. Uncle Ruckus later fills in as one, much to the disbelief of all the children (Jazmine especially).
- Mythology Gag: Uncle Ruckus playing a Mall Santa goes back to his debut comic strip.
- Only One Finds It Fun: Jazmine is the only Hoover Elementary student who enjoys Huey's play. Riley falls asleep, the other kids refuse to see it because he fired them and Huey himself says he "hates his early work."
- Pet the Dog: Uncle Ruckus restores Jazmine's belief in Christmas and Santa Claus after Riley destroys it.
- Political Overcorrectness: Huey's teacher Mr. Uberwitz is "culturally sensitive" and gives a lecture on Kwanzaa to his bored students, much to their apathy. Also the reason why Mr. Uberwitz wanted Huey to direct the play because he hopes to see an African-American perspective of the holiday.
- Prima Donna Director: Huey is put in charge of directing an elementary school Christmas pageant but he intends to make it a high-budget, dramatic masterpiece starring A-List black actors, co-produced by Quincy Jones. He apparently succeeds, at the cost of firing all his classmates (causing their parents to boycott the play), and the teacher who put him in charge losing his job (as promised). One can only guess how much it set the school back financially.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Played with with Mr. Uberwitz. He’s a white teacher who is “culturally sensitive” and tries to highlight the significance of Kwanzaa to his students. By the end of the episode, he is fired from teaching at Huey’s school but has a new job teaching African American history at the University of Maryland, and his new students seem much more receptive to his teaching style. At least someone in this episode got a happy ending.
- Running Gag: When Mr. Uberwitz insists on giving Huey complete control of producing a Christmas play in his own image, Huey demands the promise is made in writing before they start. Later, when Uberwitz protested against Huey "firing" all of the children and hiring professional actors for the play, Huey shows the contract they made.
- Subverted when the principal rips it up.
- School Play: Huey is tasked with writing a school Christmas play of his own creation, The Adventures of Black Jesus.
- Skewed Priorities: In spite of the all the ridiculously expensive things Huey asked for in his play (Mr. Uberwitz' primary concern) the principal's only reason for putting his foot down was because he didn't want Jesus to be black.
- Spoiled Brat: Riley. How many other kids actively plot revenge on Santa Claus for not giving them the presents they want? Though, to be fair...Riley: I didn't ask for much. Just rims. Not even a whole car. And what did we get? Nothin'. That nigga [Santa] gonna pay what he owe!
- Shout-Out:
- Huey's dirge on Christmas which eventually devolves into Blah, Blah, Blah is done in the Peanuts style of the adults "wah wah wah" speech. Riley's letter to Santa works the same as the cartoon based on the comic strip series.
- “Do I look like Charlie Brown!?”
- Jazmine's Dream Intro of her giving a gospel sermon in church that features parishoners dancing and flipping around is a parody of the James Brown sermon scene in The Blues Brothers.
- Special Guest: Judge Reinhold as Mr. Uberwitz, and Quincy Jones as himself.
