ABC’s animated series The Goode Family came and went like a comet: it only aired from May to August of 2009.
Created by Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butthead, Office Space) and John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (King of the Hill, Blades of Glory), the series featured voices by Judge, Nancy Carell (The Office), Kevin Nealon, Laraine Newman, and Julia Sweeney (all three of Saturday Night Live fame), and Elvis Costello, among others.
The show followed an obsessive, environmentally conscious family (even the dog, Che, was vegan) who lived life under the WWAGD principle: What Would Al Gore Do? It simultaneously poked fun at politically correct attitudes and the evils of the less conscious side. It was biting but gentle, and it was funny. There was only one problem — no one cared, especially the critics who gave it mixed reviews at best. After being cancelled, reruns were shown on Comedy Central for four weeks in 2010 and later in February 2012
at 6 a.m.
But on January 8, Shout! Factory released the “Complete Series” — only 13 episodes. Yet, those episodes are worth every second of it. Looking at them now, the series is vindicated and highly recommended for those who care about the planet and even conservatives who may laugh at the family in the same way they used to laugh at the liberal Meathead in All in the Family.
Two of my favorite moments involve Helen Goode (the mother): on Episode 11 (“Trouble in Store”) she is banned from the One Earth store and forced to do her shopping at a regular store, with traumatic consequences — she ends up laying in the couch on a fetal position. And in the first episode she counterattacks when criticized for not bringing a reusable bag at One Earth: “I know a lot of people are comfortable using reusable bags, but I’m not!” she says. "They’re made in sweatshops!”
Give The Goode Family a chance. That's what Al Gore would do.
— Enrique Lopetegui
