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It’s a good start for Mike Judge’s ‘Goode’ comedy
Mike Judge is no stranger to poking fun. “Office Space” skewered corporate America while “King of the Hill” took on the frequently redneck residents of Arlen, Texas. “Beavis and Butt-head?” Well, they pretty much disdained everything they saw, whether it was music videos or each other.
But at the heart of it all — yes, even in “Beavis,” there was a genuine affection for the characters, and that’s what’s missing — so far — in Judge’s “The Goode Family,” a new half-hour animated sitcom which pokes fun at a family of zealous tree-huggers (they even have a vegan dog). The folks in “King of the Hill” were so well-rounded and real, and the dialogue so sharp and authentic, that the show could have been easily produced with a live-action cast. “Goode,” however, is crammed full of jokes, and not the subtle, character-based kind for which “KotH” was famous.
The pilot episode opens cleverly enough, with a close-up of a hybrid auto’s bumper and a sticker which reads, “Support our troops — and their opponents.” The Goodes shop at a Whole Foods-like store even though they can’t really afford it because, well, it’s the right thing to do (and the cheaper stores are off limits because “they don’t even have a mission statement.”)
Hey — it’s not easy being green.
The animation is reminiscent of “KotH” and the voice talent is good, especially Judge as the Goode family patriarch, Gerald, whose cadence is identical to Hank Hill’s even though the two characters could not sound more different. A subplot which poked fun at abstinence-only zealots and chastity balls makes me hopeful that “Goode” is not just the one-note, green-bashing series intimated by ABC’s promos.
Here’s what the perceived left and right thought about “The Goode Family:”
First up, NPR. Under the headline, “The Goode Family”: Mike Judge’s Disappointing New Comedy, Linda Holmes writes:
What Judge is trying to get at here is a richly mockable comedic target; satire about the tensions between environmental responsibility and convenience, the tendency to proselytize about hybrid cars, whatever — there’s plenty of raw material … But the execution just isn’t funny enough to justify watching an entire half-hour show to get to those moments — even in the summer.
Over on the other side, FOX News hasn’t weighed in with a review, but for an advance article about the show, the network found a media expert who called it an antidote to the raft of PC-leaning network comedies.
Did you watch “The Goode Family?” Will you watch again? Are you surprised that FOX News was optimistic while NPR clearly did not like the show?
Post your thoughts below.
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By Adam Morse
May 28, 2009 10:58 AM | Link to this
It was absolutely terrible. ABC's definition of "earth-conscious" people is obviously anti-Christian (or religion in general), pro-death, anti-knowledge towards anything. Comedy shouldn't be stupid.