I own the first 3 seasons

It does stick to its roots. Some episodes are pretty good, some are just okay. Most of the hate comes from them continuing the series without the shows creator.

Well, aren't you special. Congrats for owning all of the first 3 seasons...

To make it simple, it's not really The Boondocks anymore. It's someone's interpretation of The Boondocks.

Aaron McGruder was the driving force behind the first three seasons and gave The Boondocks its distinctive voice. Without him, the changes are so drastic, it hardly even feels like the show has anything to say.

Uncle Ruckus appears in every episode (even in situations where he is unnecessary) and just spouts his usual diatribe in a way that's not even funny anymore. He became overexposed and at times, came off like an actual antagonist instead of the annoying crazy self-hating old man we all know and love. In one episode, no joke, he was about to watch Huey's foot get cut off as part of a slavery reenactment. That moment crossed the line for me.

Speaking of Huey, he does almost nothing the entire season. Even after season one where his presence became more limited, he still had episodes centered around him and was often very active when it came to what Riley and Granddad were doing. This season, he just becomes a side character. Same thing with Riley, and all Riley does is call things gay all the time and endorse every stupid thing Granddad does.

For some unknown reason, every episode is based around Granddad or has him in a prominent role. While he is a really funny character, you can't base the show around him because it ruins the dynamic. The season-long storyline has no true resolution and is messy and disjointed the whole way. The jokes became less subtle, less multilayered and started resembling any old stereotypical black show. The satire became extremely obvious and confused, to the point where it said absolutely nothing or had no points to make about society. Even the animation started looking off in some ways. It's hard to tell, but it comes off as really detailed and distracting at times.

There's only one episode in the entire season that resembles old-school Boondocks ("Freedom Ride or Die") and is the only one worth watching. I believe McGruder worked on that episode but it was never confirmed. To tell the truth, you would be better off without the DVD. As a collector, you might just want to have it but as a fan of the show, season four is absolutely useless and a major disappointment. It should have never been made without McGruder.