That’s typical of ABC in recent years: desperately trying new things and failing to give them a chance to succeed.
No wonder the cab/sat USA Network actually beat ABC (and the CW network) in the national ratings last week. USA"s formula of original series with unusual but likeable characters and sound values carries consistently impressive audience appeal.
Although the ABC cancellations were expected–given the fact that the network had brilliantly moved both series to Friday night, a network television Dead Zone, thus guaranteeing that the shows would not be able to generate an audience over time–they nonetheless prove that ABC hates anything with decent values and ideas and cannot appreciate good, solid entertainment with real sense(Castle being the rare exception).
Expertly produced by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, Office Space), the animated sitcom The Goode Family expertly satirized the conformist, braindead nature of much Green thinking and brilliantly identified the movement’s evolution into a commercialized lifestyle. Judge and co. also made merciless fun of countless other aspects of general lefty conventional thinking, such as the passion for being seen as encouraging homosexuality and supporting public radio and other big-government nonsense.
They accomplished all this, moreover, while managing to make the central characters likable in spite of the silliness of their pursuits, by emphasizing their good intentions.
Naturally, Disney-owned ABC, widely known as the "gayest" network and a tireless promoter of statist hedonism, couldn’t tolerate the program once it realized what Judge and co. were actually delivering.
Given the high expense of animated shows, it’s unlikely that The Goode Family will be picked up by a cable network. It would seem perfect for Fox, of course, but that network seems committed to destroying the last semblances of taste and common sense in this society through its presentation of Seth McFarlane animated shows such as Family Guy and American Dad.
Like The Goode Family, the Bob Saget sitcom Surviving Surburbia was a sprightly, often satirical comedy which promoted sound values. Naturally, it couldn’t last on the network that has long promoted itself as the youthful, innovative, clever alternative but has in fact become a stagnant, boring bastion of statist hedonism.
Coming after the cancellation of the interesting and appealingly unconventional police comedy-drama The Unusuals, the jettisoning of The Goode Family and Surviving Suburbia show that even as it plunges ever-further into the ratings basement, ABC refuses to deviate from its evident mission of pushing modern liberalism instead of providing good, appealing television.
–S. T. Karnick
Jim, good point about summer non-“reality” programming. In which case, why start good shows in the summer? Give them a better chance. Oh, that’s right, if a program is good, it will look like junk to the geniuses running ABC.
Your description of Family Guy is spot-on.
In fairness, non-reality summer fare on the networks has a pretty poor chance of survival. The ratings simply won’t be there in sufficient numbers to justify network backing — especially since it’s clear that ABC’s corporate culture isn’t really behind a project like “The Goode Family” which takes time to hit its stride.
I’m still amazed at the love the immensely overrated Family Guy gets. The show was canceled, sent to cable purgatory, and then miraculously revived again on network television. The show has devolved into a series of non sequitur jokes along the lines of: “That reminds me of the time I was painting Christian Slater’s toenails at the 7-11.” … and then we’re treated to a drawn scene of a main character doing just that before jumping back to the story line. HILARIOUS!
Such hackery has made Seth MacFarlane one of the richest and most powerful people in Hollywood. (Sigh).