The Goode Family

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Mike Judge's most recent animated series effort after King of the Hill. Just as that show was a parody of Middle America, The Goode Family skewers the other side of the political spectrum, as exemplified by the titular family of liberals who do their best to maintain political correctness in all facets of their lifestyle, as difficult as it can be at times.

The family consists of Gerald, a community college professor; Helen, a self-proclaimed activist; Bliss, their snarky teenage daughter, and Ubuntu, their adopted African son who turned out to be a white South African. Other characters include Che, the family dog whom they raised as a vegan (but who often sneaks out to eat wild animals and neighborhood pets), and Charlie, Helen's sarcastic father who doesn't approve of their lifestyle.

Originally airing on ABC, it was cancelled during its only season. Comedy Central now[when?] airs reruns of the show.

Tropes used in The Goode Family include:
  • The Ace: Ubuntu parodies this.
  • Bare Your Midriff: Bliss.
  • Big Bad: The Angry Cop.
  • Big Eater: Che the dog.
  • Brian Doyle Murray: The voice of Charlie, the grandfather.
  • Butt Monkey: Gerald
  • Butch Lesbian: Mo and Trish.
  • Camp Gay: Prison Bus
  • Carnivore Confusion: Subverted with Che.
  • Casting Gag: Phil LaMarr guest stared in Graffit in Greendale & Later In Troubble in Store, There a One Earth employee that sounded just like him. But, It's not realy him.
  • Chick Magnet: Ubuntu.
  • Comically Missing the Point: With the possible exception of Bliss, none of the Goodes realize that Che doesn't like being a vegan, or that dogs are natural carnivores.
    • There is some controversy over whether dogs are carnivores or omnivores, which may be why the Goodes think it is okay to feed them a vegan diet. That said, although dogs are very adaptable in regards to diet, the evidence is that dogs are better off on a carnivorous diet. Moreover wolves, which are genetically so close to dogs as to be practically the same species, are definitely carnivores. Contrast cats, which are obligate carnivores that would die on a vegan diet.
  • Dating What Daddy Hates: Bliss tries this to scare Helen and Gerald into letting her date the boy she's actually interested in; it backfires...spectacularly.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Bliss. She gets it from her Grandpa.
  • Dee Bradley Baker: Provided the voices of Che, Gutterball, various people and animals.
  • Deranged Animation: The episode "Helen's Back".
  • Distaff Counterpart: Penny is essentially Bill Dauterive, only a woman.
  • Don't Try This At Home: Chase a random prisoner with a night Stick.
  • Elephant in the Living Room: Wasn't there an Angry Cop in Havey Birdman & Stroker & Hoop?
  • Evil Counterpart: Kent to Gerald. While Gerald is simply well-meaning and misguided, Kent is self-serving and unethical.
  • Expy: As Hank Hill is to Tom Anderson, Gerald is to Van Driessen.

Hank/Gerald: The dogged protagonist who stubbornly and naively sticks to a very narrow, impractical lifestyle.
Peggy/Helen: His clingy, social-climbing wife.
Bobby/Ubuntu: A well-meaning son who disappoints him (Hank wanted Bobby to be an athletic man's man, whereas Gerald and Helen expected Ubuntu would be black).
Luanne/Bliss: A daughter who doesn't fit in (Luanne because she was The Ditz, and Bliss because of her materialism).
Ladybird/Che: The dog who's far less remarkable than the owners think them to be.
Cotton/Charlie: the overbearing, culturally backwards father-in-law.
Buck Strickland/Kent Jenson: The underhanded boss who exploits the main character's naive work ethic.
Kahn/Margo: The shrill, affluent neighbor who looks down on the family.
Bill/Penny: The single, childless neighbor who constantly laments how lonely they are.

Stan/Gerald
Francine/Helen
Steve/Ubuntu
Haley/Bliss
Klaus/Che
Roger/Charlie
Greg & Terry/Mo & Trish
Jeff/Treyvon

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