Goode Family

The second episode of The Goode Family, or at least the second episode that was sent out for review (it will be the third to air) actually is quite a bit better than the pilot. It’s not exactly good; the plot is essentially a series of standard sitcom twists, but at least it makes the lead characters into something resembling human beings with emotional issues. (Even if the main emotional issue, the mother’s desperate need for attention from her mean, uncaring father, is just a King of the Hill plot with the names “Hank Hill” and “Cotton Hill” crossed out.) But it is, strangely enough, funnier than King of the Hill has usually been in the last few years. Mike Judge is funniest when dealing with characters he despises — like Beavis and Butt-head and almost everybody in Idiocracy — and the inherent basic decency of most of the characters on KotH means that most of the barbs are reserved for random guest characters. At least The Goode Family gives him and his writer-producers a chance to put their best jokes at the centre of the episodes instead of the margins.