The Washington Family

[Katrina Meltsner]

Do you like the Washingtons? I do.

[gabbygirl17]

yea! I loved their episodes they were hilarious!

[HannahJ.]

They had a good purpose like how they Adopted KELLY!

[The Old Judge]

Probably their best episodes were the ones with Kelly, and the one on Album 50 with the old cabin and Abraham, the history specialist.

[Katrina Meltsner]

They had a good purpose like how they Adopted KELLY!

Yeah i'm so so so so so so so so so so glad they adopted Kelly.

[Rosy]

I wish they could have stayed! They were one of my favorites!

[John Henry]

Yet, Tamika is a pesky girl - so says Jacob Isom.

[TigerShadow]

Jacob Isom, talented, knowledgable, and articulate though he is, is not the final arbiter of all that is correct. His opinion is just that—an opinion. I personally think Tamika is an interesting character—she's a very driven, skilled go-getter, but she has a serious envy issue and a bit of a superiority complex. I liked her development over time into a very responsible and compassionate young woman.

and the one on Album 50 with the old cabin and Abraham, the history specialist.

As a US history fangirl, I can only agree. I loved "License to Deprive".

I love, love, love the Washington family. They always felt so real with each other, especially Ed and Elaine. The Kelly arc was great, too; I was delighted to see AIO talk about foster parenting. (They did do that a bit with Eugene and his parents, but they didn't really explore it.)

I'm going to have to admit, though, that I really didn't like "The Toy Man" and "The American Revelation" when they focused on the fact that the Washingtons were black. The AIO team had good ideas about the marginalization of blacks in American history outside of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, and they had a point when they talked about blacks in high positions in the corporate world; those are good and necessary points to address, and not that many kids' shows do. However, I think these should have been handled further down the road after the Washingtons were simply established as another family. I don't think that coming right out of the gate and spotlighting the fact that the Washingtons were black did favors; it made them come across as social justice devices or tools to bring about diversity rather than actual characters. (And I say this not just from my own thoughts, but also because I've read reviews from various listeners, and most agreed that the issues were not handled as gracefully as they could have been—it was a bit heavy-handed.)

So how about the fact that Marvin has had as many voice actors as present-day Whit? Personally, I think Marvin's character was much stronger after Kendre Berry took over from Jordan Calloway—I think Kendre's acting gives the character a lot of spunk and energy that he didn't have in his earlier episodes. The fun-loving, laid-back Marvin makes for a much better foil for a more reserved, neurotic character like Trent or a responsible, high-achieving character like Tamika.

[John Henry]

Now, I like the Washingtons in No Way Out, No Way in, The American Revelation (though I don't like 'oink'). I like to know what you think about "Somethings gotta change." I really like Xavier.

[TigerShadow]

"Something's Got to Change" is a favorite of mine. For one thing, it casts Ed's more fun-loving tendencies in a positive light instead of a comedic one, because it shows how Ed isn't just being childish for the sake of it; he really enjoys being with kids and making them happy. For another thing, it gives the Washingtons an opportunity to be fully integrated into the show. When they lived where they did when they first appeared, they didn't get to have much interaction with the rest of the kids on the show; it was mostly conflicts within the family, or with kids we'd never or barely met. When they moved across town, they were able to be more involved with people we knew already, like the Straussbergs and the Rathbones. Without that move, we wouldn't have some brilliant episodes like "The Family Next Door", the sheer hilarity of "Sunday Morning Scramble", or Rachel and Elaine's wonderful friendship in "Life, in the Third Person".

I liked Xavier, too. I thought it was great that he didn't feel just like a part of the family for a little while, and how he felt removed from them. I think sometimes, kids' shows have a new member of the family who wasn't born to them—a cousin, for example, like Xavier—and they all mesh perfectly well together and there's no conflict of interest. With Xavier, it wasn't at all like that, and it was good that both sides had to learn a lesson about it.

[Mickey]

I like the washingtons especially in a Sunday morning scramble !!