The Goldbergs is a show about growing up in the 1980s. You know, that era in time that actually gave us Transformers, He-Man, Knight Rider, The Breakfast Club, The Beastie Boys and need I go on? Tron, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the third kind and so many more 1980s references that make me love the show!
The Goldbergs premise
The Goldbergs is set in the 1980s and can be classified as a period sitcom, meaning that the show is set in the past. Which is why we get the beautiful and stunning voice of Patton Oswalt as the lead in for every episode every week.
The show is about growing up in the 1980s and we see it through the eyes of Adam F. Goldberg. He is also the creator of the show. The TV show is loosely based on the youth of Adam F. Goldberg and he used to videotape around the house and a lot of the times some of that taping are scenes in the TV show. Which gives the show an extra dimension.
The family members are Erica, the musically talented and rebellious sister of Adam. She is based on Adam’s real life brother Eric. Having changed the sex on the show gave real life Eric a way for plausible deniability he said.
Adam’s brother Barry, the bonehead of the family but as it turns out later, he’s pretty smart. Later in life he became a doctor. In the show we see Barry finding out that his interests are in the medical field. Later in Schooled he takes care of Coach Rick Mellor when he gets injured.
Murray Goldberg is Adam’s father. While pretending he doesn’t care, he cares deeply. And unlike Adam’s mom, Murray does have a realistic look on the kid’s abilities.
Beverly Goldberg is Adam’s smother. She’s smothers her kids and frequently forces herself into their lives which often leads to embarrasment for the kids. She is overly confident in her kids abilities.
Albert Solomon is Adam’s grandfather. He is a smart and funny man. He owned a furniture store before his retirement and left it for Murray Goldberg. Adam considers his grandfather his best friend. Murray in turn gives out sage advice to his grandkids.
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My favorite episodes
My all time favorite episode of the Goldbergs is the one where Barry, Adam and Erica are doing a performance of The Beastie Boys – Shake your rump. They could have taken the easy one and do Fight for your right but using Shake your rump really shows how big a fan the real Adam F. Goldberg is of the Beastie Boys. The episode is called The Tasty Boys and was the 11th episode of the third season.
Another favorite episode is the one where Adam goes to an icehockey match. He is sceptical of it and he doesn’t like sports. He joins his dad anyway and then when Dave Brown (former Philadelphia Flyers player) gets slammed into the glass Adam is hooked. It was great to see that passion coming from Adam Goldberg portrayer Sean Giambrone. In an interview with the NHL the real Adam Goldberg had the following to say:
“We had seats in the fourth row, and the minute someone got slammed into the glass in front of me, it was like, ‘Oh my God,'” he said. “This was the 1980s and it was Dave Brown. There was a lot of fighting back then. It was a rough game, rougher than it is now. But it was instant love. Those are my best memories, going with my dad. That’s how I learned hockey, going to the games.”
Over the course of the show, we see Adam chase after girls in, mostly, clumsy ways. His first girlfriend is Dana Caldwell, played by Nathalie Alyn Lind. However, just like in real life, Dana and him break up. Dana is moving to Seattle and while they try to have a long distance relationship, it just didn’t work out for the two of them, leaving Adam heartbroken.
If you are into the 1980s pop culture or just like to watch a good sitcom then I would heartily recommend you to watch The Goldbergs. Otherwise, just give the show a go. It’s a great feel good show.
