“The Goode Family” Recap: Freeganomics
By Stacey Harrison
There’s a thin line between being a responsible recycler of resources, and just being a bum. Thanks to a new houseguest, the Goode family gets to see that line crossed like never before.
In order to spice up their annual eco-friendly block party — and to show up that busybody Margo — the Goodes take in famed “freegan” Heinrich. Freegans are people who live entirely off the disposed products of others. They eat or wear nothing that someone else hasn’t thrown out. [Read more →]
It doesn’t take long to spot an Alexander Payne project. Whether he’s shooting in his native Omaha (Election, About Schmidt), California’s wine country (Sideways) or in this case, post-industrial Detroit, the director instills such a sense of place in everything he does that it becomes impossible to picture them happening anywhere else. With Hung, we open on Motor City landmarks being torn down and other sights of urban decay, while Ray Drecker begins his narration with, “Everything’s falling apart. And it all starts right here in Detroit, the headwaters of a river of failure.”
Through a handful of episodes, The Goode Family has already shown us some insufferable characters — the pretentious young filmmaker who champions anarchy while stocking shelves at a grocery store; the animal-rights activists whose methods include bullying and intimidation; the nosy gadfly who schemes her way into the good graces of the local liberal elite — but it may have found a new low with Jen and Sookie, the ultra-chic Manhattan lesbian couple who take up residence in Greenville.
First off, I’m not a fan of the new Friday night time slot. While ABC paid lip service to the idea that it doesn’t mean the show is on its way out — that oh no, they’re in the midst of packaging this and other low-rated shows like Surviving Suburbia into a new 
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ill be running on Comedy Central beginning in mid-2010, with a broadcast run also possible. Comedy Central has been airing reruns of the series since 2006, along with the Futurama movies made since its cancellation. It has been the movies’ blockbuster performance on DVD and Comedy Central that helped revive interest in bringing back the series.
by Karl J. Paloucek
ABC made the wise decision to air two episodes back to back last night — a perfect way for a new show to find its rhythm. After last week’s pretty decent pilot, I was wondering how the show would go beyond jokes about PC extremism while still giving us characters we could stand to be around. Obviously, they would need more depth and to not be so self-righteous that you would have no choice but to turn the channel. Well, this twofer went a long way in easing my concerns.
by Karl J. Paloucek