The Goode Family: The Complete Series

Having already garnered great success with TV's Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill, 2009 saw Mike Judge testing out a new angle. Rather than an MTV cartoon featuring two teenaged stoners, or a primetime cartoon show that featured a Texan redneck family, Judge made a 180-degree turn and focused upon a family set on being environmentally and politically correct. The show follows a married couple with two teenage kids and a dog living in a town called Greenville. They, along with most other people in their town, try their best to adhere to an over-the-top environmentally conscious stereotype. This vegan family, including the family dog, drives a hybrid car, is militant about recycling and is constantly concerned with keeping up appearances. Driving home their need for social approval is a scene where the family is unsure of how to address their ethnic neighbour: "Is it black, African-American or people of colour?" In typical Judge fashion, The Goode Family is occasionally clever in a way that's relatable to hippie liberal do-gooders (or New Democrats) and pokes fun at the political ideology of the family far more than it embraces it. The Goodes are far more apt to follow their worldview to its logical extreme than employ common sense, which leads to comical moments, but more often than not it comes across as grating and tedious. While the show certainly has some situations that will draw a laugh from viewers, the characters are incredibly flat and downright boring. Instead of incorporating actual humour into the show, Judge merely presents an irritating family and expects viewers to laugh at the absurdity; it's no wonder the show was cancelled after its first season. Included in the DVD package are commentary tracks for four of the episodes, which sadly don't include Judge. There are also deleted scenes from every episode that surprisingly contain some mildly amusing tidbits, but they're not funny enough to make the show any better.