The Goode Family – TV Review

The Goode Family is a new animated series from Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-head, Office Space), John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky (King of the Hill, Blades of Glory). It’s the first really serious poke at the politically correct, and it spares nothing in the name of giving conservationists, vegans, and just about everyone else a hard time.

(ABC) LAURA, HELEN GOODE, BLISS GOODE

Gerald and Helen Goode are trying to do everything in life as “responsibly” as possible. They’re vegans, they drive a hybrid, and they don’t shop at the big chain store (despite the demands of their budget) because it doesn’t have a mission statement. They’re even forcing their dog to be vegan, and if that doesn’t put it to you right there, then this show probably isn’t for you. You know, what with it making fun of you and all.

The pilot aims to make sure everyone knows where we are, and it may be just a bit too much stuffed into one sitting. There are some great moments, the reverse mother-daughter sex talk makes it worthwhile if nothing else, but for a single episode to take on everything might be asking a lot from viewers. On the other hand, there’s an interesting viewpoint at work, and it works best when looking at the “being better than you by being more green” attitude at work in the organic store.

(ABC) HELEN GOODE, GERALD GOODE

Things become more stable in the second episode, when we leave off the overzealous introduction and move into watching the Goode’s deal with life’s ordinary routine. When adopted son Ubuntu gets on the football team, Helen reverts to her childhood fanaticism despite herself. Throwing the Goodes in with the football families and letting the chips fall where they may showcases the possibilities better, but it’s pretty hard to say what sort of chances the idea has for longevity.

Rounding out the mix is daughter Bliss and Helen’s dad, Charlie. Bliss just wants to survive her teen years without her parents dragging her down any further on the geek meter than they already do. Charlie is the politically-incorrect foil that is a constant source of frustration to Helen.

The Goode Family is actually funny, and at times I found myself thinking, “well, thank God someone is finally making fun of that,” but it isn’t laugh-out-loud funny. It’s more like the bit of stand-up from Gilbert Gottfried where he’s making fun of Jerry Seinfeld’s brand of stand-up comedy. The comedian is supposed to say things like, “Did you ever notice that…?” and then you as the audience say, “Ahh… yes, I have noticed that, bravo, that’s very amusing.”

It’s somehow a concept that makes more sense to me as a Saturday Night Live skit than as a whole sitcom doing battle with a full thirty-minutes, because I don’t think the material is quite there. At some point you’re just saying it again, unless you go full force into a sort of anti-All in the Family, and I don’t think this show has the comedic wherewithal to pull that off.

Even so, the show has its worthy moments, and if you can’t make fun of people who think they’re committed to a cause, but are really just committed to feeling superior, then we might as well chuck the whole thing.

Series premiere tonight (May 27th) at 9:00pm.