''The Goode Family'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Goode Family'') is a short-lived American adult animated

television sitcom Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

that originally aired on ABC from May 27 to August 7, 2009. The series was created by

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cre ...

, the creator of MTV's ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, an ...

'' and Fox's ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'', and follows the life of an environmentally responsible but obsessive family. The series takes a comic look at contemporary society, this time focusing on a liberal family instead of ''King of the Hill''s conservative family. 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 on August 8, 2009. The series was released on DVD format on January 8, 2013 by

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

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, not having brought reusable bags, how to refer to

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, analyzing

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

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

Main characters

* Gerald Goode (voiced by

) – An administrator at a

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...

. He comes from a "long line of over-educated academic liberals". He rides a bicycle for transportation to protect the environment, and his trademark clothing is a

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

uniform. He is very fastidious and easily disgusted, both by animals and people. His voice and character traits resemble those of the David Van Driessen character from Mike Judge's earlier series ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, an ...

''. * Helen Goode (voiced by

Nancy Carell Nancy Ellen Walls Carell (born July 19, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for her work on ''Saturday Night Live'', ''The Daily Show'' and ''The Office''. In 2016, she co-created the TBS comedy series '' Angie Tribeca' ...

) – Gerald's wife. A local

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

who has " daddy issues". She is concerned about her social status among the other eco-conscious people in Greenville, and often tries to impress the wealthy wife of Gerald's boss. * Ubuntu Goode (voiced by

David Herman David Herman (born February 20, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was an original cast member on '' MADtv'' from 1995 to 1997, and played Michael Bolton in ''Office Space''. He has done voice-over work in hundreds of episodes of '' ...

) – The Goodes' adopted son, named after

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...

, a concept from African philosophy (mispronounced by the characters as instead of ). The Goodes

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

him in the name of promoting racial tolerance within the community, but due to their vagueness in filling out the adoption paperwork, the family ended up with a

white South African White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settler ...

baby instead of the black infant they wanted, but decided to keep him because it was an interesting challenge to raise a "racist born" white baby as a liberal adult. Ubuntu is often shown conflicted with a seemingly innate desire to go against his parents' lifestyle; however, rather than being an outright rebellion, this seems to reflect the

nature and nurture Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the balance between two competing factors which determine fate: genetics (nature) and environment (nurture). The alliterative expression "nature and nurture" in English h ...

controversy. He sleeps in footy pajamas that are decorated with big rig trucks. Despite his seemingly idiotic and unaware nature, he is really accomplished at both sports and machinery; he is a member of his high school's football team. * Bliss Goode (voiced by

Linda Cardellini Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her leading roles in the teen drama '' Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), the medical drama '' ER'' (2003–09), the drama thriller '' Bloodline'' ...

) – Helen and Gerald's biological daughter. One of the characters with a sense of reason, she often disagrees with and mocks her parents' political stances, about which she is usually better-informed. She serves as the show's chief foil by poking holes in Gerald's and Helen's world view. In later episodes, she has tended to agree with her parents, and in some instances has usually helped them to achieve a common goal. * Che (voiced by

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'' ...

) – The family's dog, named after the communist revolutionary

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

. The Goodes feed him vegan food which he dislikes. He craves meat and often eats neighborhood animals and pets. As a consequence, "missing" flyers of neighborhood pets blanket street poles. * Charlie (voiced by

Brian Doyle-Murray Brian Murray (born October 31, 1945), known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor, voice-actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several movies, i ...

) – Helen's SUV-driving father who mostly likes making fun of her lifestyle. He frequently ridicules Gerald and Helen for their beliefs, although he seems to favor Ubuntu more due to him being involved in the football team, and Bliss who seems to share his opinions.

Other characters

* Kent Jensen (voiced by David Herman) – Gerald's boss at Greenville Community College, and Margo's husband. * Kiki (voiced by

Amy Hill Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on '' All-American Girl'' where her character became the breakout character of the short-lived television serie ...

) – The Goodes' next-door neighbor, 41 years old. * Margo Jensen (voiced by

Julia Sweeney Julia Anne Sweeney (born October 10, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and author, who gained fame as a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1994. She played Mrs. Keeper in the film '' Stuart Little'' and voiced Brittany in ...

) – Helen's arrogant rival who relentlessly puts down the Goodes (but mostly just Helen), 45 years old. She is an influential member of the Greenville community and embodies everything Helen wants to be, while at odds with Helen and vice versa. Helen seems to mostly get the best of her, and her purpose is to show the type of person who is holier-than-thou while being a faux personality who seizes on fads to increase her social standing. * Penny (voiced by Lori Nasso) – A neighbor who is single and childless, and makes occasional comments about her loneliness and desire to have children. Her beliefs fluctuate, and she will take liberal causes only to abandon them shortly afterwards to her personal benefit. * Ray Johnson (voiced by

Gary Anthony Williams Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He voiced the character of Uncle Ruckus on '' The Boondocks'', and a number of video game characters. He also appeared on the television series '' Weeds'' ...

) – An easy-going, country music-loving black neighbor of the Goodes who drives a gas-guzzling car and thinks of race as less important than the Goodes do, as an unexpected device. 43 years old. * Mo (voiced by

Laraine Newman Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was part of the original cast of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. She took an interest at improv in high school. After graduating, she studied mime with Marcel ...

) – A lesbian the Goodes are friends with, along with her partner, Trish. Mo worked on an oil rig and is 47 years old. * Solosolo (voiced by

Phil LaMarr Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include J ...

) – Football quarterback at Greenville High School, and son of Kiki, 17 years old. * Souki (voiced by

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in '' Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and ...

) – A lesbian, 40 years old. * Jenn (voiced by Grey DeLisle) – Another lesbian, and Souki's partner. 41 years old. * Treyvon (voiced by David Herman) – A teenage employee at One Earth, an

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

supermarket frequented by the Goodes, Margo and Greenville's Liberal elite (the store is frequently seen featuring a large sign telling its shoppers what is good and what is bad;

Farm-Raised Catfish Catfish are easy to farm in warm climates, leading to inexpensive and safe food at local grocers. Catfish raised in inland tanks or channels are considered safe for the environment, since their waste and disease should be contained and not spread ...

constantly moving between good and bad). Treyvon is also an amateur filmmaker whom Bliss tries to befriend. He comes across as a suburbanite that thinks it is "cool" to make fun of others with illiberal beliefs. * Mr. Heelo (voiced by Howard Kremer) – The manager of the "One Earth" supermarket, 38 years old. * Trish (voiced by Julia Sweeney) – Trish is Mo's partner. * The Average Guy (voiced by Mike Judge or David Herman) - A newscaster that does stories from the average point of view. * Maffew (voiced by Phil LaMarr) – Leader of a gang of thugs. * Dawn (voiced by

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...

) – Female member of Maffew's gang, 16 years old. * Other Two Thugs (voiced by Phil LaMarr and David Herman) – Members of Maffew's gang. * Principal Whitmore (voiced by Phil LaMarr) – Principal at Greenville Community College. * Mrs. Glavin (voiced by Tara Strong) – Teacher at Greenville Community College. * Tanya (voiced by

) – Greenville Community College student who is in model congress. * Isabelle (voiced by Laraine Newman) – Duncan's wife. * Professor Mead (voiced by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

) – Teacher at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, 45 years old. * Michelle (voiced by

Alyson Hannigan Alyson Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress. After starting her career at age four with appearances in commercials, she moved to Hollywood at age 11 and soon got an agent. Hannigan began her film career with supporting ro ...

) – Director of community service at Greeneville Community College, 25 years old. * Jeff (voiced by Diedrich Bader) – Teacher at Greenville Community College. * Duncan (voiced by Gary Anthony Williams) – Isabelle's husband. * Benny (voiced by David Herman) – Victim of the rival drug dealers.

Crew

The show is created by

, John Altschuler, and Dave Krinsky, with Altschuler and Krinsky serving as

show runner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...

s. 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 Jace Richdale is an American producer and writer. He served as co- executive producer for seasons 5 and 6 of ''The Simpsons'' and wrote the season five episode "Burns' Heir". He was a part of the ''Simpsons'' writing staff during seasons 5, 6, 9 an ...

Gene Hong Gene Hong is an American writer and producer best known for his writing on TV series' ''Magnum P.I.'', ''Lethal Weapon'', ''Bones'' and '' Community''. As an actor, he may be best known for being in the original cast of MTV's ''Nick Cannon Prese ...

, Owen Ellickson,

Dave Jeser David Mark Douglas Jeser (born September 25, 1977) is an American television writer and co-creator with Matt Silverstein of '' Drawn Together''. He has also written for other television shows including ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', '' The Man Show'' ...

, Franklin Hardy, Leila Strachan, Brad Pope, Howard Kremer, Shane Kosakowski, Jordana Arkin, and

Matt Silverstein Matthew Richard "Matt" Silverstein (born April 1, 1979) is an American television writer and co-creator with Dave Jeser of '' Drawn Together''. He has also written for other television shows including ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', '' The Man Show ...

, in addition to Altschuler and Krinsky, and other writers.

Episodes

Season 1 (2009)

Cancellation

On August 8, 2009, ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson explained that the show, along with '' Surviving Suburbia'', had officially been canceled due to low ratings. On November 1, 2009, Mike Judge announced that ABC was not interested in a second season of ''The Goode Family'', despite its success. In 2009, the series ended on August 7, 2009 after the season one episode "A Goode Man is Hard to Find". 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. It departed the network's primetime schedule after four weeks, returning occasionally in low-trafficked timeslots.Goode Family Facebook Page
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Reception

When first airing, the show received mixed reviews. A reviewer for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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

External links

Official website''The Goode Family''
at

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''The Goode Family''
at

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SitcomsOnline Review of The Goode Family