Buckywunder I only discovered "The Goode Family" (TGF) this past week and have been gobbling up past episodes with abandon through YouTube. What a hoot they are. Nobody remembers that the term "political correctness" was actually coined by the Left before it was hijacked by the GOP and the right-wing in the late '80's. Originally it was meant as a humorous check on ourselves and a term of endearment and self-mocking rather than the derisive put-down of others it mutated into. I like to think that TGF is a continuation of that gentle spirit of PC which softens the edges of political rhetoric that can cut deeply and easily alienate. Episodes around the politics of being a "football family," public radio, One Earth food stores (a stand in for Whole Foods), eco-terrorism, graffiti tagging and cult icons of frugality and consumer waste hit many of the right spots. For someone who has spent the majority of his adult life in Madison, WI, New York City and Seattle, WA while visiting Portland/Eugene, OR and Berkeley, CA, these shows really do touch on life in these communities no less in need of skewering than people in suburbia or Texas. While I wouldn't say that the series is yet a subcultural must-see, it bears watching and deserves getting picked up and given more time to develop. TGF reminds me of the first season of Seinfeld where they were just getting characters and themes established. While not as out-and-out shocking and stupid (in a funny way) as Beavis & Butthead, TGF is clever and there is some potential here for very good humor.

tirkkanen This is not the kind of comedy that makes you laugh. It's more of an educational drama with a touch of funny. The characters are all good and the environmentalist theme of the show is nice. Still it doesn't really amaze you in any way. It's just something to watch when nothing else is on. For example when watching the pilot I almost laughed out loud during the final scene before the credits, so it definitely doesn't itch everyones laugh nerves. The animation is good, I like the realism of it. I also liked the irony of the pet dog being a vegan (against his will of course). The characters are the stereotypes you would expect. They include the parents, the mother being the obsessive one and the father being more relaxed but still staying true to the cause. The teenage daughter is fairly normal with teenage problems. The weirdest character is the adopted white African American son who seems to not be all there but yet excels in everything he does. Maybe there is potential that I didn't quite catch or I just simply don't enjoy the subtle comedy, because I like to laugh when watching a comedy. Anyway I'll give it 5 out of 10 for being too plain.

lingering_dark Having just watched the first three episodes of Mike Judge's new show "The Goode Family", I must admit I was disappointed.Judge has been at the helm of some of TVs funniest animated shows - unfortunately this just doesn't seem to be one of them.The premise could be amusing - a family of over the top environmentalists who do battle daily with the world around them, trying to make it a better place. Sadly, all Judge did was manage to get an amazingly accurate rendition of these types on the screen. Sadly because, really, when was the last time a rabid Eco-vegan made you laugh?Yes, the show has its amusing moments, but they are few and far between, and for the most part don't involve any of the main characters. Interestingly the Goode family seem to be drawn with a lack of detail when compared the rendering of the rest of the characters... strange. The single funniest thing in the entire show is the family dog Che, who is forced to eat vegan dog food. Che gets his fill of meat by hunting down squirrels, birds or cats in the neighborhood while the Goode family is blissfully ignorant of the killer dog they have inadvertently created.One of the odd errors in the show is the mispronunciation of the character name Ubuntu... Judge insists on pronouncing the word "You-buntoo", and not the correct "Oo-buntoo". A minor mistake to be sure, but a painfully obvious one to anyone using the Ubuntu operating system, or having bothered to, you know... look it up...Basically anyone who finds "real world" Eco-crusaders and militant vegans to be tons of fun will probably find the show amusing - anyone else, not so much.

Damon Fordham I saw the premiere of this last night and really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to future episodes and will keep my Wednesday nights open for this one.Essentially, this is a lampoon of modern day political correctness. The Goode family consists of a caricatured ultraliberal couple who are hooked on every PC pop-culture trendy fad-chasing cliché under the sun. For instance, since they want to adopt an "African baby" (as did Madonna, Angelina Jolie, et. al.) they adopt a White South African boy who they name "Ubuntu" (admittedly a clever inside joke, as "Ubuntu" is a native Black South African word loosely meaning "the oneness of mankind."). They struggle over whether to call their Black neighbor "Black," or "African-American" etc. (The neighbor in question wittingly replies, "We hold a convention every year in Memphis to decide such things. You're not invited.)" Black people such as myself who have suffered such scenes from well meaning but silly and patronizing white liberals as the Goodes in real life could relate.The Goodes (of course) are fanatical vegan/vegetarians, so their dog Che (after leftist icon Che Guevara, of course) constantly runs after smaller animals to eat in disgust of the Goode's refusal to eat meat.The scene in the health food store (an intercom announces in a horrified tone, "Someone in Aisle 4 is driving an SUV!" while the patrons gasp) is a real hoot! Needless to say, these folks are straight-up boobs. However, as he does with the "just plain folks" of "King of the Hill," Mike Judge draws the careful line to make the Goodes just real and personable enough so that the viewer actually likes these characters while mocking their foolishness. The one drawback is that the gags are so straight out of today's headlines that it will date quickly and confuse future viewers.On the whole, I'll rate this equally with Judge's "King of the Hill," slightly below the Simpsons, and far above the abominations of animation known as "Family Guy" and "American Dad."