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Okay gang, here's what I'm looking forward to in the new fall season. Slip on your reading socks and enjoy:

1. The return of South Park: Many shows have a tendency of starting off strong and then entering a slow decline if they stay on for too long. South Park is one series that I think has actually improved with every season, and last season's episodes, most notably the two-part "Cartoon Wars," contained some of the most hysterical and vicious jabs at every religion, political affiliation and societal norm you could think of. As Stan so rightly points out, either everything is okay to make fun of, or nothing is. That mantra is what makes South Park still one of the best shows on television, even as it enters its tenth year.

2 and 3. New Adult Swim shows from the creators of Home Movies and Sealab 2021: Brendon Small created one of my favorite shows of all time, Home Movies. His new Metalocalypse, which he created with Tommy Blacha (a writer for Conan and TV Funhouse) won't have the same poignancy of Home Movies, but that's just fine with me. Also, the crew behind Sealab 2021, an Adult Swim "classic" if it's not too early to use such a term, are also returning with Frisky Dingo, the tale of a super hero named Awesome-X whose secret identity is that of Xander Crews, a billionaire who makes money from the toys based on his alter ego. He battles Killface, an evil mastermind who wants to plunge the Earth into the sun, but only if he doesn't lose interest in his plan. I'm anxious to see how both of these shows fare.

(S02E04) Last night's episode mostly took place in the 18th century, with Chauncey taking on the role of the master of a plantation and his fellow puppets all serving as his slaves. Things start to get out of hand, however, when Him becomes a cyborg slave, able to bale hay, whitewash a barn, and whip other slaves with greater efficiency. Chauncey loves his new robotic slave, but when his young Southern bride puts the moves on Him, the new robo-slave is charged with rape. In a hilarious court room sequence, Sthugar, the young bride, blatantly admits she was lying about the rape, but they continue with the trial anyway. This became the main part of the episode, and one of the funniest, most absurd takes on race relations in the United States I've ever seen. A monkey who evolves into itself with a hat made of licorice, Chauncey having sex with the Bible, and a visit from God in the form of a banana were just a few of the things that popped up during the hearing.

(S02E03) Yeah, I know, this review is a couple days late, but that's okay. It means we've all learned an important lesson. You've learned patience, and I've learned not to trust Tivo so much. Luckily, the episode repeated last night so I was able to catch it without having a gap in my reviews staring at me like some kind of malevolent eye swirling inside a black hole. Or maybe that's being melodramatic. Anyway, my review:

In this episode, Chauncey and the gang are visited by Middle America (the puppet version), a yammering chunk of the United States who speaks only in gibberish and says "Texas" every other word. This eventually leads to a spoof of Hee Haw called Horse Apples which features a group of trailer park dwellers cracking jokes about incest and lynching. You know, typical family fare. The whole "Middle America" gag is funny for awhile, but eventually it wore thin. The other segments, such as Clarence's obligatory annoying of people on the street and a "Beat Kids" segment where we learn about pet castration seemed to lack their usual energy.

The first season of The Boondocks, the Adult Swim series based on Aaron McGruder's comic strip about a black kid and his younger brother moving out of Chicago's inner city to live with their grandpa in the suburbs, is coming out on DVD on June 13. The fifteen episodes of the season will be shown uncut and uncensored. Also, the disc will include French subtitles, an addition I felt was sorely missing from the original airings. How do you say "white people are crazy" in French, anyway? I've forgotten all the French I learned in high school. Seriously, though, this new set sounds pretty cool, and I like the idea of seeing these episodes in all their raw, uncensored glory, which means I'll probably buy the set despite not always watching the show.

McGruder may provide audio commentary on some episodes, though if I'm reading TVSODVD's piece correctly, that's not official just yet.

I don't know about this one. Both Hollywood.com and the New York Post have the same WENN story about Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz making plans to join the professional auto racing circuit after Malcolm in the Middle ends its run next month.

Here's the quote from Muniz himself: "I got signed to race for Jensen Motor Sports for the next two years ... I'm now a professional race car driver. I'm racing Indy cars, like Formula One cars and racing on road courses."

Most of me thinks this is either remnants of an April Fools' Day gag, or it was just Muniz being sarcastic. It's not like the kid isn't getting acting work, having recently appeared in the movie Stay Alive. Do any of you guys know anything about Muniz's alleged racing plans?

Wait, hold everything. Just as I was about to post I discovered this article from almost one year ago about a celebrity auto race in which Muniz took part. Muniz said, "Racing is all I've ever wanted to do. It's something I would like to get into on a more serious note." Perhaps the story is legit after all.

Adam de la Pena is one of the minds behind Minoriteam, the Adult Swim series about a team of super heroes whose powers are based on their stereotypes. Before that, however, you may have seen Adam as Gary Busey's pal and occasional foil on the insane Comedy Central series I'm with Busey. He's also worked behind the scenes as a writer on such programs as The Man Show and Crank Yankers.

I spoke with Adam yesterday about Minoriteam, racism, writing for puppets, and knowing when it's okay to say no to Gary Busey:

Adam F: What was the driving force behind Minoriteam? Did you want it simply to be funny or to really make a point about race?

Adam D: My thing is, I come from a background where I love TV. I watch as much TV as I can. My favorite show is Magnum PI. So, I really want [to make it] the funniest show I can in general. The point we're making with the show doesn't matter unless it's funny. I don't like preaching to people. I don't like having some sort of crazy overriding political agenda.

One, personally, it just sticks you in a hole where you're like "I believe THIS." You're going to believe that your whole life? You're eighteen, and when you're fifty you're going to believe that, too? So I think that's the most important thing. If it's not funny then it's not interesting to me and I don't really care about it. I'm really more interested in nonsense. A huge influence [of mine] would be Monty Python and Kids in the Hall. British comedy in general.

The shows have to be funny and they have to be ridiculous. That's where the heroes' flaws come into play, and The White Shadow is definitely this ridiculous organization. The guy's a complete idiot and the guys he has working for him aren't much smarter, either.

So, which one of ya'll are watching Black.White? I think the show sounds interesting, but I can't help but be turned off by the transformation of one race to another, which I don't think ever looks natural, even if it is done by a highly-qualified team of cinematic make-up artists. The best one can hope for is to try and not look creepy and disconcerting, which I think is impossible.

That seems to be the least of the show's problems, though. It turns out some people weren't happy with the original pilot, and some things had to be changed before it hit the airwaves last Wednesday. A sequence that allegedly took place at an exclusive "all white" country club involving one of the show's characters, Brian Sparks, disguised as a white man, was previewed on Oprah. That scene was changed when the owner of the pro-shop insisted his was a public facility where anyone could play. References to it being exclusive were deleted when the show aired.

So what do you guys think? Ice Cube is calling Black.White a "social experiment" but is it in danger of relying too heavily on the "forced reality" of other shows? Can it still make its point despite that?