"The Goldbergs": A show about Jews growing up in the suburbs set in 1985?!

[Dan Druff]

A new fall show has been picked up by ABC, set to air this fall.

It's called "The Goldbergs", and it's about a (presumably Jewish) family (with 3 teenage children) living in the suburbs in 1985.

Obviously this is of interest of me, since I am a Jew who was a teenager in the suburbs in 1985.

Here is the trailer:



When I first heard about this, I thought it was a great idea and would be an instant hit.

After all, kids who grew up in the '80s are now in a prime demographic (35-49), and everyone likes watching retrospective shows set in the time period when they grew up. That's why there were so many movies and TV shows about the '50s back in the '70s and '80s.

Now that a lot of the '80s kids have become old enough to be influential writers and producers, it's our turn to see our time period on the big and small screen.

However, we just haven't seen much of this yet. I actually feel it's an underexploited territory in entertainment at the moment. Everyone from my generation wants to see a good '80s TV show or movie, but you really don't see many of them, and the few that exist tend to be crap. Some shows like Family Guy occasionally make '80s jokes or gags, but they are otherwise set in the present.

After watching the trailer, I wasn't particularly impressed.

Interestingly, the biggest problem I often see with '80s-based shows/movies -- the lack of attention to detail that makes it look like that time period -- is not a problem here. This show generally appears to do a good job with the hair styles, clothes, and visual look-and-feel of the '80s. I contrast this with the recent (and failed) TBS show "Glory Daze", which I felt had a good plot but did a terrible job representing 1986. "Glory Daze" could have been easily set in the present, and nobody would have questioned it. This show is clearly '80s, but the plot and humor seems on the weak side -- kind of like a poor man's Wonder Years mixed with Malcolm in the Middle.

One YouTube commenter said that they seemed to have fit the first several episodes' plots completely into a 4 1/2 minute trailer. I thought the same thing. It's a bad sign when you feel as if you watched 5 full episodes after seeing a trailer that lasted less than 5 minutes, but that's how I feel.

I will watch this show, but I have a feeling that it has fail written all over it.

[lewfather]

Definitely looks like fail comedy writing but I'll give it a shot

[Crowe Diddly]

If I were making this show, I would have had a much thinner Dad, shooting for a Woody Allen-type look. If I'm thinking suburban Jews, I'm not picturing overweight guys so much.

[Avon Barksdale]

Did you not catch "Freaks and Geeks," Druff.

It's pretty much set in early to mid 80s, suburbia, with lots of Jewish influence. Done by Judd Apatow before he got really big. Seth Rogen, Jason Segal, James Franco, Linda Cardenelli, and Busy Phillips before they got bigger.

[Dan Druff]

If I were making this show, I would have had a much thinner Dad, shooting for a Woody Allen-type look. If I'm thinking suburban Jews, I'm not picturing overweight guys so much.

Agree. Thought the same thing, except I guess there's a chance they aren't Jewish and are named "Goldberg", which would be especially stupid.

[Dan Druff]

Did you not catch "Freaks and Geeks," Druff.

It's pretty much set in early to mid 80s, suburbia, with lots of Jewish influence. Done by Judd Apatow before he got really big. Seth Rogen, Jason Segal, James Franco, Linda Cardenelli, and Busy Phillips before they got bigger.

Didn't watch this, but heard good things about it.

It wasn't successful (aired just 12 episodes), and was gone before I had even heard about it.

It also took place in 1980, which is a bit earlier than I can relate to as a teenager. 1980 (which bore more resemblance to the '70s) and the mid-80s were a world of difference.

Not sure if this was reflected in this show (or if it just treated 1980 the same as a typical '80s period piece), but when I watch old shows from back then, it really doesn't resemble the world I remember as a teenager, while shows made from 1984-1989 definitely do.

[Bootsy Collins]

It looks like the Wonder Years for retards.

[mulva]

It looks like the Wonder Years for retards.

[Rollo Tomasi]

they dont look too jewish, the father looks like George Wentd's younger brother


"It is easy to tell the difference between Jews and Gentiles. After the show, all the gentiles are saying ‘Have a drink? Want a drink? Let's have a drink!' While all the Jews are saying ‘Have you eaten yet? Want a piece of cake? Let's have some cake!'"

Jackie Mason

[Dan Druff]

BUMP

This is actually a funny show. It surprised me, as I expected a lot of fail from the unexciting trailer. The problem with the trailer was that it was cut entirely from the first episode, which was by far the weakest of the series.

The writing is actually very good, and they manage to fit a lot of '80s cultural elements into the storylines.

It's not set in 1985 like I originally posted. It is set in "1980-something", allowing the writers to mix elements from all over the '80s. It takes place in the Philadelphia area. There was one plot line where the Phillies made the playoffs, making the year either 1980 or 1983, but that doesn't make sense because many other elements of the show didn't exist until 1984 or later.

I am a bit disappointed in the "look" of the show, as they seem to be getting lazy with the '80s look of things, especially when it comes to the hairstyles and clothing of the characters. The mom has an '80s-housewife looking hairdo, but everyone else in the show could easily walk down the street in 2014 and not look out of place. While the wallpaper and other decor in the house does look '80s, again much of it looks too modern.

It might not make it to season 2, as the ratings are slipping, and fewer than 5 million people are watching each episode. The weakish pilot didn't help, as they started out with 9 million, and lost 33% of them by the 2nd episode.