The Goode Family

The Goode Family

The Goode family. From the left: Gerald, Helen, Bliss, Che, and Ubuntu
Genre Animation/Comedy
Created by Mike Judge
John Altschuler
Dave Krinsky
Starring Mike Judge
Nancy Carell
David Herman
Linda Cardellini
Brian Doyle-Murray
Dee Bradley Baker
Theme music composer Groove Addicts
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Mike Judge
John Altschuler
David Krinsky
Tom Lassally
Michael Rotenberg
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Ternion Pictures
3 Arts Entertainment
Media Rights Capital
Release
Original network ABC
Original release May 27 (2009-05-27) – August 7, 2009 (2009-08-07)
Chronology
Related shows Beavis and Butt-head
King of the Hill

The Goode Family is an American animated comedy series, which originally aired on ABC from May 27, 2009 to August 7, 2009. The series was created by Mike Judge, and follows the life of an environmentally responsible, albeit obsessive, family.[1][2] The series takes a comic look at contemporary society. Judge created the show along with former King of the Hill writers John Altschuler and David Krinsky. The show was cancelled after its first season.

The series was released on DVD format on January 8, 2013 by Shout! Factory.[3]

Premise

The Goode family struggles with the modern social and environmental responsibilities of being liberals, and the paradoxes that arise for a working-class family when trying to be politically correct all of the time about everything. Situations in the first episode included shopping at a natural foods store without having brought reusable bags, how to refer to ethnic groups, analyzing conservative beliefs they typically despise, and raising modern teenagers. The pilot satirized both stereotypical "liberal" and "conservative" mindsets, including the ongoing derangement of the family's "vegan" dog (who has taken to eating neighborhood pets).

Characters

The Goodes

Other characters

Crew

The show is created by Mike Judge, John Altschuler, and Dave Krinsky, with Altschuler and Krinsky serving as show runners. The show is directed by John Rice, Seth Kearsley, Jennifer Coyle, and Anthony Chun, with Wes Archer as supervising director. Show writers include Jonathan Collier, Jace Richdale, Gene Hong, Owen Ellickson, Dave Jeser, Franklin Hardy, Leila Strachan, Brad Pope, Howard Kremer, Shane Kosakowski, Jordana Arkin, and Matt Silverstein, in addition to Altschuler and Krinsky, and other writers.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Pilot"Wes ArcherJohn Altschuler, Mike Judge & Dave KrinskyMay 27, 2009 (2009-05-27)GFA01
Bliss takes drastic action and joins an abstinence group after hearing more than her fair share of safe sex talk from her mother. Ubuntu wants to learn to drive now that he has turned sixteen.
2"Pleatherheads"John RiceMatt Silverstein & Dave JeserJune 3, 2009 (2009-06-03)GFA06
Ubuntu finds himself as the main man on the football team so Helen and Gerald need to learn what being a "football family" actually means. Bliss is worried she might not get into college so she goes to great lengths to give herself a better shot at getting in.
3"Goodes Gone Wild"John RiceJordana ArkinJune 3, 2009 (2009-06-03)GFA02
Helen adopts an uncategorized animal in an effort to get Charlie to notice her good deeds. With no way of knowing how it acts and what it eats, she has quite an undertaking. Elsewhere, Gerald gets a helping hand from Che in order to get rid of the squirrels plaguing the college.
4"Helen's Back"Jennifer CoyleJonathan CollierJune 12, 2009 (2009-06-12)GFA05
When Helen loses the ability to walk through a back injury, the family turn to a Latino gardening team in order to be part of an organic garden tour. Elsewhere Bliss and Ubuntu try out the 'trading up' scheme.
5"A Tale of Two Lesbians"Anthony ChunFranklin Hardy & Shane KosakowskiJune 19, 2009 (2009-06-19)GFA04
Gerald and Helen offend a lesbian couple so must seek out new lesbian friends in order to prove they aren't being offensive. Meanwhile, Ubuntu discovers he is quite adept at playing bingo.
6"Freeganomics"John RiceBrad Pope & Howard KremerJune 26, 2009 (2009-06-26)GFA10
Helen gets the support of 'Freegan' Heinrich in order to get more people to come to the Eco Festival. After realizing what sort of person he is, they have difficulty getting him to leave their home.
7"Graffiti in Greenville"Seth KearsleyLeila StrachanJuly 3, 2009 (2009-07-03)GFA08
Helen becomes a graffiti artist in order to make Bliss do some actual work, because she has been lying to her about the work she's been 'doing'. When her work begins to get noticed, Helen realizes she will need to come out of the shadows if she wants to get recognition for what she has done.
8"A Goode Game of Chicken"Jennifer CoyleGene HongJuly 10, 2009 (2009-07-10)GFA09
Gerald eats a meal that contains chicken even though it is not supposed to. He decides to take on Cranky (a chef) to protest what happened. Elsewhere, nobody can find Che so they assume he is missing.
9"After-School Special"Anthony ChunFranklin Hardy & Shane KosakowskiJuly 17, 2009 (2009-07-17)GFA12
When Helen and Gerald stop paying attention to their own kids due to mentoring at-risk children, Bliss and Ubuntu start causing trouble of their own.
10"Public Disturbance"Anthony ChunOwen EllicksonJuly 24, 2009 (2009-07-24)GFA07
In an effort to bring public radio to the town, Gerald tries to get the other residents to become involved as well.
11"Trouble in Store"Seth KearsleyJordana ArkinJuly 31, 2009 (2009-07-31)GFA11
Helen is banned from One Earth on the day of Gerald's big meal, after 'stealing' something from the store.
12"Gerald's Way or the Highway"Seth KearsleyJace RichdaleAugust 7, 2009 (2009-08-07)GFA03
Gerald takes over a highway in order to show his kids what one man can do to change things for the better. When he learns that it is being used to traffic drugs, he gets into a turf war with the dealers.
13"A Goode Man is Hard to Find"Jennifer CoyleDave Jeser & Matt SilversteinAugust 7, 2009 (2009-08-07)GFA13
Gerald is under the impression that he is to become a sperm donor, and Charlie teaches Ubuntu about being a man after he gets his first facial hair.

Cancellation

On August 8, 2009, ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson stated that the show, along with Surviving Suburbia, had officially been canceled due to low ratings.[5][6]

In 2010, reruns of The Goode Family aired Monday nights at 10pm on Comedy Central, beginning January 4. It was to be evaluated for new episodes.[7] It departed the network's primetime schedule after four weeks, returning occasionally in low-trafficed timeslots.[8]

Reception

When first airing, the show received mixed reviews. A reviewer for the L.A. Times said: "The Goode Family, which is nicely acted and well animated, works best when the cultural potshots give way to the more basic human needs of its characters: a mother's desire to be close to her daughter, or to her father (Brian Doyle-Murray as the resident voice of political incorrectness), in spite of "a lifetime of crippling negative comments," and a father's willingness to go outside his comfort zone to make his son happy, as when Ubuntu joins the football team. There's a show there." A reviewer for NJ.com said: The Goode Family feels as if you are being dropped into a foreign land without any kind of guide, or even map." A reviewer for The New York Times said: "Mr. Judge, who remains obsessed with the absurdities of political correctness, still has his head very much in the Clinton years, and it is possible to watch The Goode Family feeling so thoroughly transported back to another time that you wonder where all the Monica Lewinsky jokes went. Sometimes you’ve just got to grab your cup of fair-trade coffee and move on."

References

  1. "The Goode Family: doomed to failure?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  2. "The Goode Family". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  3. Lambert, David (October 4, 2012). "The Goode Family - 'The Complete Series' of the Short-Lived Animated Show by Mike Judge". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  4. "The Goode Family". TV.com. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  5. McPherson Declares "Goode Family", "Suburbia" Dead, The Futon Critic, August 8, 2009
  6. "The Goode Family" and "Surviving Suburbia": ABC Prez Says Sitcoms Canceled, TV Series Finale, 8 August 2009.
  7. Garvin, Glenn. "New life for 'Goode Family'", Los Angeles Times, 4 January 2010.
  8. Goode Family Facebook Page
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