The Goode Family Sends Up Liberal Sacred Cows
Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge oversaw one of the most conservative-friendly shows on TV for more than a decade — Fox’s King of the Hill. Judge mocked the main characters’ penchant for guns, drinking beer, and other flyover state stereotypes, but never in a mean-spirited way. And, at the end of each episode, the resolution showed respect for family patriarch Hank Hill and his point of view.
So now Judge is veering in the other direction by poking fun at a do-gooder clan named — what else? — the Goodes.
The Goode Family, a new animated series debuting tonight on ABC, lets Judge tweak the polar opposites of the Hills. The Goodes care so very, very much about everything. The environment. Recycling. Veganism. Al Gore.
They drive a hybrid car, own a vegan dog named Che, and approve of bumper stickers which say, “Support our troops and their opponents.”
Naturally, that collective caring opens the door to plenty of comedic possibilities.
What a shame so few humorists are bold enough to follow suit. But Judge isn’t a coward like his comic peers. He plunges headfirst into uncharted terrain with occasionally hilarious results.
The show’s first installment begins with Helen Goode trying to find out what black people prefer to be called these days. Black? African-American? People of color? She doesn’t want to say the wrong thing, so she tries to trick the answer out of a black neighbor without revealing her true intentions. It’s a smart and funny moment, but it’s one which could benefit from live actors and the subtle inflections they can bring to the material.
But the first show’s script more than makes amends. Check out these howlers:
“With greater emissions come greater responsibility,” Gerald Goode tells his son.
“We can’t shop there. They don’t even have a mission statement,” wife Helen Goode says about a Wal-Mart type superstore.
“I’m sorry I used so much gas, Dad,” son Ubunto says. “What’s important is that you feel guilty about it,” the father answers.
“Attention One Earth shoppers. The driver of the SUV is in aisle four. He’s wearing a baseball cap,” the supermarket loudspeaker blares, presumably to let socially conscious shoppers give the guy the stink eye — or worse — should their carts cross paths.
But the best gag of all comes when the supermarket’s LED display shows a list of items which are good — and bad — for Mother Earth. Naturally, several items bounce from one side of the ledger to the other.
Brilliant.
The first episode also involves Helen (Nancy Carell) and her need to bond with daughter Bliss (E.R.’s Linda Cardellini). It’s a moment swiped from a half dozen other sitcoms, but Helen’s willingness to embrace her daughter’s sexual needs rather than act as a sober-minded parent sets the plot far apart from anything else on television.
How bold is The Goode Family? The wife character, not the husband, is the neurotic one, the person who bears the full brunt of the jokes. She also may be a drunk.
Based on the success of B&B and King of the Hill (not to mention the hilarious trailer!), I suspect Mike Judge will have considerably more success than, say, David Zucker had with “An American Carol.” I wish him the best.
Thanks for the heads up–I’ll catch it. Let’s hope it doesn’t get censored. Sounds pretty daring for the self righteous libs to allow–they don’t have ANY sense of humor when it comes to their darling ideology–to them it’s their religion you’re poking fun at. Hence the mantra–the right is all racists and bigots and homophobes. When their bubble bursts they got nothin’.
Loved the bumper sticker “Support our troops, and their opponents.” All those one-liners are LOL good and spot on.
I just don’t think the famously intolerant left will take it. They can shout us down, mock us, ridicule us, but don’t you dare to try that on them. And certainly not in public or in their darling mainstain media. Let’s see what happens, but “Goode” on Mike Judge!
I am a sixty plus Brit whose favourite ongoing tv show right now is Family Guy. Closely followed by American Dad.
Comedy in Britain has now become too much of a victim of it’s own left wing prejudices whereby it’s ok to insult royalty, elderly people, Christianity*, heterosexuals*, the working class, in fact anything and anyone who is so resigned to this cacophany of puerile disparagement as to offer no resistance. Joke about a black, muslim* or gay*, though and you run a serious risk of arrest. Or personal physical attack.
It has happened and is getting worse.
FG is a complete antidote to this stifling censoriousness and a breath of truly wonderfully anarchic fresh air.
Once we were pretty good ourselves at this sort of stuff, Python, Rising Damp, Black Adder and Faulty Towers all entering the rough and tumble of true satire.
Not anymore as the sinister powers that be clamp down on all which does not suit their appalling tick box mentality of diversity and suitability.
Twelve years of a socialistic government has resulted in 3,000 new laws being passed, many aimed at repression and nanny state interferance.
Steady yourselves America, it’s now heading your way as the One Horseman of the US Apocolypse, scythes his way through your freedoms and much vaunted spirit of individualism and personal effort.
We are in the middle of the biggest shakeup of political activity as our voter anger boils over.
Our ultra nationalistic BNP party is making huge gains as people turn away from PC and government snoopery thus proving Newton action and reaction to be correct, once more.
Good! We are aching for freedom and by God we are now demanding it.
As long as your maverick animators can make money for Hollywood they are accepted. Seems like the US has not quite rolled over yet and these guys are still in action doing what humourists have been doing since the first man cracked a grin.
Making us laugh.
Seen the ads. The show will bomb. Libs won’t like it since they’re genetically unable to look at anything they disagree with and conservatives won’t watch it because it’s just plain not funny. It may be the first show in TV history to have a minus viewer audience.
Very funny – it is about time the major TV networks threw a bit of meat to Americans and the world.
I’ve been waiting for this series; thanks for the reminder.
Leftists aren’t the only ones who watch TV, and I think this show could have a big following. The writing will decide. If the jokes stay good, and the show is funny, it will succeed, whether goody-goodes like it or not.
Actually, this show might have a much better chance of survival on a cable channel such as Comedy Central. “South Park” has been skewering sacred cows of the right and left for almost a decade, and is in no danger of cancellation. Plus,it’s more likely that Judge’s at times trenchant wit will survive there, as opposed to having to be toned down to please Broadcast Standards at ABC.
Although considering what they consider “funny” on regular “live-action” sitcoms, that may not necessarily be true anymore. Rather like the famous poem from Punch re English newspaper reporting;
“It is useless to attempt to twist
or bribe the British Journalist.
“But considering what that worthy’ll do
unbribed, there’s no occasion to.”
clear ether
eon
3. logdon. Great comment. Have you discovered Iowahawk? If you like satire, this guy’s a genius! iowahawk.typepad.com Read his archives, just brilliant! Cheers!
Mike Judge is brilliant, but I wonder why he’s not sticking with the animated format, it has worked so well for him on all his other shows, I don’t know if real actors will be as funny.
Miriam, this is an animated show. He does go the live action route for his movies, though. Let me know what you think of “The Goode Family.”
Get yourself all the free carbon offsets you want in preparation for the debut of ‘The Goode Family’.
http://www.freecarbonoffsets.com
You will be glad you did.
Can’t wait!
Of course, we invented enviro-parody!
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/1a4af347eb/eco-commando-episode-1
An absolutely facinating concept for a program,and one that would help cure or counter the mental maladies brought on by the lib-left syndrome. But whatever else Mike Judge is,he must be a courageous individual willing to face an onslaught alone. Whoever teases the lib-left sacred cows must deal with the secred jackal reviewers and the sacred hyena media.
“”"”"I am a sixty plus Brit whose favourite ongoing tv show right now is Family Guy. Closely followed by American Dad. “”"”
Odd, since you identified yourself as a Brit who’s tired of lefty lampooning of ordinary people. Seth McFarlane’s infantile, cruel caricaturing of Christians, “rednecks,” and others can be nauseating. However, the shows do have their inspired, and very funny moments.
Network TV is not as monolithically “leftist” as many people imagine. ABC in particular provides a forum for people like John Stossel and Jake Tapper.
I’ve also noticed cracks in the liberal narrative on network shows, such as “Law and Order” detectives being skeptical about AGW while investigating a carbon-trading and biofuel scam. “The Goodes” will thrive if it has the same whimsical, sympathetic/empathetic approach as did “King of the Hill.”
And, oh yes, I’ll watch to see leftism skewered.
This reminds me of an Onion-style parody piece entitled “Cap-and-Trade Bill Expanded to Develop Markets in Household Radical Environmentalists”. Check it out here:
http://www.optoons.blogspot.com/
I’m afraid the show won’t work, though not for lack of sharp writing. The problem is suffusing the story in the PC Goode’s rather than using them as a comic foil to a more sensible/skeptical/sarcastic character or family. As it is, this will wear people down in 15 minutes. I’m surprised Judge didn’t see it.
Thanks for letting us know about this – I had not heard an inkling about it. It may just be something worth turning on the tube for. Sorry to nitpick, but the adopted (South African) son’s name is spelled Ubuntu (like the Linux OS).
The same idea was executed quite brilliantly in the UK during the 90′s in adult comic “Viz” which I believe was on sale in parts of the US too.
The strip was called “The Modern Parents” and featured the exploits of progressive lefties Malcolm and Cressida, who were forever trying to impose their kooky left wing lifestyle on their son Tarquin – who saw right through the whole thing and longed for a normal childhood (he wasn’t allowed to play with guns or eat hamburgers etc).
My favorite line came after Malcolm took Tarquin to a male bonding session at the local community center, where a group of emasculated left wing wimps broke down in tears as they poured their hearts out (one sobbed as he recounted how he once fantasized about riding a Harley Davidson, etc). When it came to the kid’s turn, he launched into a string of abuse and called them beardy-weirdies, pansies, girls, pathetic losers etc. On the way home in the car, an angry Malcolm said to his very satisfied looking son:
“You know we don’t believe in guilt Tarquin, but if we did, I hope that you’d be feeling very ashamed of yourself right now young man.”
Here’s a small snipped from The Modern Parents in case anyone’s interested:
http://www.tfheaven.free-online.co.uk/modernparents.jpg
The dog was funny…the rest, not so much
The liberals ain’t gonna like this show!
The premise seemed to be a take-off on the VanDriessen (sp?) character from Beavis & Butthead.
Had some clever moments-especially the part where Helen is trying to find out what to call the black guy so as not to offend him…
regards
I thought it was pretty funny. I’ll watch it next week.
Liked Ubuntu and the dog; the rest of it was too close to reality to be really funny. But it’s a start.
Solar panels, organic food, gas use guilt, closet boozer . . . I give it 13 episodes, then it hits Fox.
So much for the leftist MSM theory. Here’s a heretical thought: maybe the media aren’t leftist. Maybe they’re centrist.
24. Steve007: Looks like Wednesdays at 9pm. I suppose I’ll have to add that to Desperate Housewives.
The dog was good. I get like that too if I haven’t eaten something that was previously bleeding in a couple of days.
The comment about now that the election is over we can all wear flag pins was a great shot at Michelle O.
regards
If it’s funny people will watch regardless of who’s being lampooned. If it is not funny it will disappear in short order.
I watched this, and it was hilarious ! Mike Judge is brilliant.
Screw Family Guy ever since Seth McF put McCain-Palin camapign buttons on SS troops in an earlier episode.
I missed it, is it available online anywhere? Really hope Fox or someone picks it up, (if it’s Goode,ha ha ), if ABC decides to bail. I love Mike Judge comedies! I was a big B and B fan. Still am, I guess!
Like, ‘An American Carol’ I wanted it to be funny, but it wasn’t. I may watch it a couple of more times, but I do not see the smugness of the left as being the least bit funny.
I am sticking with South Park as my favorite. They stick it to everyone.
I watched it and liked it, but felt that it was trying to find its balance. My favourite part was the women folk going on about being best friends with their daughters and how Helen (is that the mom’s name?) felt so guilty. The send-up was really goode and honeste. Will it last? I don’t know: it’s a hard row to hoe, if you ask me, trying to parody that which is already a parody. Personally, I’d like them to be a lot more ruthless in pointing out the idiocy of the left and their nonsense, but that would probably kill them where they stand. So to speak.
The firts show was worth a number a number of good laughs for my wife and me. Certainly better than the average sitcom.
King of the Hill is my favorite show. I’ll check out this one too.
I watched and was confused by the harsh treatment of Christians.
Watch The Goode Family – Season 1 Episode 1 | http://www.virallity.com/link/146265/The-Goode-Family-Season-1-Episode-1/
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