The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
#76
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
#77
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
Q&A
Adam Goldberg Explains Why The Goldbergs Isn’t Set in a Specific Year
By Josef Adalian, Vulture.com - Nov. 5, 2013
If you've been watching ABC's new retro-comedy The Goldbergs, you've probably figured out by now that the show is set in 1984 ... and 1986 ... and every other year in the decade. Creator Adam Goldberg, who based the show on his own family, clearly has made a conscious decision against picking a year and sticking with it. Episodes take place in "1980-something," as the the show's narrator (Patton Oswalt) intones during every cold open. Initially, this was kind of confusing, and even a tad distracting: Why were characters talking about seeing a 1982 release such as Poltergeist in theaters at the same time they were obsessing over the Reebok Pump, a late-eighties invention?
As more episodes have aired, though, the warped sense of time has become less noticeable, or at least more tolerable. While there are still plenty of pop-culture references, nostalgia is not the focus; instead, The Goldbergs has turned out to be the sort of sweet, well-drawn family comedy at which ABC has traditionally excelled, from Happy Days to Modern Family. And Alphabet execs seem to agree: Last week, the show, which airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m., got picked up for a full season. We called up the 37-year-old Goldberg to discuss the early evolution of his show, how much yelling his characters are allowed, and, yes, the matter of time.
So let's get the time question out of the way first. Why isn't The Goldbergs set in a specific year?
When I shot the pilot, in my head, [the show] was set somewhere in the mid-eighties. Then when we got picked up, and I had to think of new episodes, it came down to what I call the Power Glove Conundrum. To me, the three greatest things of the eighties, in my opinion, happened in '89: The Reebok Pump, the Nintendo Power Glove, and Say Anything ... Even though they just squeaked in under the line in the eighties, to me, personally, they define the eighties. So I was like, "Wait, if my show is set in 1985, I have to wait five years to do these episodes?" I should be so lucky to be five years in on a show. And for now I only have twelve episodes. I kind of realized that the only way to approach it is to not make it Mad Men. And [that show] is brilliant. They're literally changing haircuts according to the year. But I'm doing a comedy, and I'm doing it from a narrator who's just like me: When I think, When did I win Legend of Zelda? I don't remember what year it was. I only remember that it was somewhere in the mid- to late eighties. So the writers started going, "Okay, we have an undependable narrator." And we played with that: Maybe he's remembering things wrong, maybe he's exaggerating. He's probably mixing up things in the A and B story line. So we decided to set in "1980-something." He's literally pulling different memories every episode. And it became so liberating creatively. We could do anything ... It's kind of a melting pot of the eighties. It's how you remember it.
Other period comedies have attempted to be more precise about timing ...
That '70s Show tried to do it, but then they were on for ten years. So they stopped aging. Any way you swing it, it's kind of impossible to make your comedy this kind of chronological thing. The Wonder Years was my favorite show growing up. And they did it well. But the difference was, it was a dramedy. The end of the pilot, which I still think is the best pilot ever made, Winnie's brother dies in the Vietnam War. And that's just not what I'm doing. I'm just doing a show about my crazy mom, who dressed me in a train sweater. I applaud those creators who can stick to a year and make it legit. But it's a really tough place to be in. Being a huge eighties geek, I was impatient. I couldn't wait.
Have you gotten any pushback from viewers online?
Some people have been confused by my approach, and some people really get it. It's been cool to have that dialogue with people on Twitter. People are starting to get it, which is fun.
The first couple of episodes seemed crammed with eighties references, but you seem to have cut back in subsequent ones. What's your thinking on leaning in to the nostalgia element of the show?
My intention was never to be, "Hey, look, I've got a giant cell phone! Because it's the eighties!" But in the Halloween episode, I dressed Adam as a giant Rubik's Cube. And I did it because, one year, I dressed up as a Rubik's Cube. My friend Chad remembers me falling down and not being to get up, and it's one of his favorite memories of me. So the next thing you know, there's an episode of a kid dressed as a Rubik's Cube. I had to comment on Alf, because I loved Alf. If I had walked into a room, my brother would've been watching Alf. So I'm pulling from all the stuff I remember. I'm not looking through scripts saying, "We need to do an eighties [reference] here." I'm just writing the stuff that I love. Now, I noticed in that second episode there was such a tonnage of it, and I didn't even realize it until the episode aired. You had a Top Gun T-shirt, you had The Great Mouse Detective, you had Poltergeist, you had Reebok Pump. And I wished I had pulled it back a little. Maybe it was a bit much in that case. But I still stand by the episode.
You're not trying to be Mad Men, but you obviously want to maintain a certain level of historical accuracy. How do you do that?
I have a writers' assistant tasked to just … to go through and see if it happened in the eighties — to see if Hooters was open then. But look, in my second episode, I did a song from [1977], Styx's "Come Sail Away." To me, that was our song from camp in the eighties. That was our anthem. So I'm playing it a little fast and loose in that way. I definitely don't want there to be stuff from the nineties in there, though. I'd prefer there not to be terminology from today, and I know I've slipped up a couple times. People have pointed it out, and it's bummed me out. We used the term "re-gift," and that wasn't said in the eighties. Some stuff slips through the cracks. Hopefully, because we're doing a comedy, we get a little leeway.
What stories are on your wish list?
I would love to do a Wrestlemania episode. I went to Wrestlemania IV, and it was the coolest thing in my life. We're also going to do an episode where Adam re-creates Tron in the basement. Because I did that.
I'll admit that I've gotten a little choked up during the musical montages that close each episode. It's become something of a signature for The Goldbergs.
I recognized the power of it from the pilot, when we used REO Speedwagon. Before we shot it, Jeff Garlin told me he hated that song. But when he watched the pilot, he said, "Wow, I loved it." It's so expensive, though. We made room in our budget, because it's a huge part of the show. And Sony has recognized that, and has been very generous. But [the cost of music] is also why we stopped using clips from the eighties, like we did in the pilot. It was too expensive to do both.
Any hints on future songs?
"Sister Christian" will be in our Thanksgiving episode. And Starship's "Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now" is another we're going to use. It's probably one of the worst songs of the eighties, along with "We Built This City." But … it worked.
Characters tend to evolve a lot early on in the course of a new series. How are yours changing so far?
For this show, it's all [based on] my family, so I had a sense of what it was from the beginning. The writers make fun of me because my dad [Jeff Garlin] can never say, "I love you." There have been scenes where it would be appropriate, and I have to say, "No. He can never say it. He can never say 'I'm sorry.'" The moment where Adam hugged his mom in one episode was huge, because I would never hug my mom. So I really know the characters. But what I have learned is that the yelling is an issue for people. There's been a push internally to figure out, "When is the right time to yell?" In my family, all we did was yell. And I stand by [the fact] that this is a loud family, and that there's gonna be a lot of yelling every episode. The question is, when and how much? What is "yell-y," but inviting? And that's what I'm trying to find. I'm trying to figure out the right level. If I did what was real … if I really showed what my mom was like, no one would watch the show. This much I know. This is a Disney version for America.
How many years of therapy have you had to have?
I married a therapist, so ... I get it every day.
http://www.vulture.com/2013/11/why-g...ific-year.html
Adam Goldberg Explains Why The Goldbergs Isn’t Set in a Specific Year
By Josef Adalian, Vulture.com - Nov. 5, 2013
If you've been watching ABC's new retro-comedy The Goldbergs, you've probably figured out by now that the show is set in 1984 ... and 1986 ... and every other year in the decade. Creator Adam Goldberg, who based the show on his own family, clearly has made a conscious decision against picking a year and sticking with it. Episodes take place in "1980-something," as the the show's narrator (Patton Oswalt) intones during every cold open. Initially, this was kind of confusing, and even a tad distracting: Why were characters talking about seeing a 1982 release such as Poltergeist in theaters at the same time they were obsessing over the Reebok Pump, a late-eighties invention?
As more episodes have aired, though, the warped sense of time has become less noticeable, or at least more tolerable. While there are still plenty of pop-culture references, nostalgia is not the focus; instead, The Goldbergs has turned out to be the sort of sweet, well-drawn family comedy at which ABC has traditionally excelled, from Happy Days to Modern Family. And Alphabet execs seem to agree: Last week, the show, which airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m., got picked up for a full season. We called up the 37-year-old Goldberg to discuss the early evolution of his show, how much yelling his characters are allowed, and, yes, the matter of time.
So let's get the time question out of the way first. Why isn't The Goldbergs set in a specific year?
When I shot the pilot, in my head, [the show] was set somewhere in the mid-eighties. Then when we got picked up, and I had to think of new episodes, it came down to what I call the Power Glove Conundrum. To me, the three greatest things of the eighties, in my opinion, happened in '89: The Reebok Pump, the Nintendo Power Glove, and Say Anything ... Even though they just squeaked in under the line in the eighties, to me, personally, they define the eighties. So I was like, "Wait, if my show is set in 1985, I have to wait five years to do these episodes?" I should be so lucky to be five years in on a show. And for now I only have twelve episodes. I kind of realized that the only way to approach it is to not make it Mad Men. And [that show] is brilliant. They're literally changing haircuts according to the year. But I'm doing a comedy, and I'm doing it from a narrator who's just like me: When I think, When did I win Legend of Zelda? I don't remember what year it was. I only remember that it was somewhere in the mid- to late eighties. So the writers started going, "Okay, we have an undependable narrator." And we played with that: Maybe he's remembering things wrong, maybe he's exaggerating. He's probably mixing up things in the A and B story line. So we decided to set in "1980-something." He's literally pulling different memories every episode. And it became so liberating creatively. We could do anything ... It's kind of a melting pot of the eighties. It's how you remember it.
Other period comedies have attempted to be more precise about timing ...
That '70s Show tried to do it, but then they were on for ten years. So they stopped aging. Any way you swing it, it's kind of impossible to make your comedy this kind of chronological thing. The Wonder Years was my favorite show growing up. And they did it well. But the difference was, it was a dramedy. The end of the pilot, which I still think is the best pilot ever made, Winnie's brother dies in the Vietnam War. And that's just not what I'm doing. I'm just doing a show about my crazy mom, who dressed me in a train sweater. I applaud those creators who can stick to a year and make it legit. But it's a really tough place to be in. Being a huge eighties geek, I was impatient. I couldn't wait.
Have you gotten any pushback from viewers online?
Some people have been confused by my approach, and some people really get it. It's been cool to have that dialogue with people on Twitter. People are starting to get it, which is fun.
The first couple of episodes seemed crammed with eighties references, but you seem to have cut back in subsequent ones. What's your thinking on leaning in to the nostalgia element of the show?
My intention was never to be, "Hey, look, I've got a giant cell phone! Because it's the eighties!" But in the Halloween episode, I dressed Adam as a giant Rubik's Cube. And I did it because, one year, I dressed up as a Rubik's Cube. My friend Chad remembers me falling down and not being to get up, and it's one of his favorite memories of me. So the next thing you know, there's an episode of a kid dressed as a Rubik's Cube. I had to comment on Alf, because I loved Alf. If I had walked into a room, my brother would've been watching Alf. So I'm pulling from all the stuff I remember. I'm not looking through scripts saying, "We need to do an eighties [reference] here." I'm just writing the stuff that I love. Now, I noticed in that second episode there was such a tonnage of it, and I didn't even realize it until the episode aired. You had a Top Gun T-shirt, you had The Great Mouse Detective, you had Poltergeist, you had Reebok Pump. And I wished I had pulled it back a little. Maybe it was a bit much in that case. But I still stand by the episode.
You're not trying to be Mad Men, but you obviously want to maintain a certain level of historical accuracy. How do you do that?
I have a writers' assistant tasked to just … to go through and see if it happened in the eighties — to see if Hooters was open then. But look, in my second episode, I did a song from [1977], Styx's "Come Sail Away." To me, that was our song from camp in the eighties. That was our anthem. So I'm playing it a little fast and loose in that way. I definitely don't want there to be stuff from the nineties in there, though. I'd prefer there not to be terminology from today, and I know I've slipped up a couple times. People have pointed it out, and it's bummed me out. We used the term "re-gift," and that wasn't said in the eighties. Some stuff slips through the cracks. Hopefully, because we're doing a comedy, we get a little leeway.
What stories are on your wish list?
I would love to do a Wrestlemania episode. I went to Wrestlemania IV, and it was the coolest thing in my life. We're also going to do an episode where Adam re-creates Tron in the basement. Because I did that.
I'll admit that I've gotten a little choked up during the musical montages that close each episode. It's become something of a signature for The Goldbergs.
I recognized the power of it from the pilot, when we used REO Speedwagon. Before we shot it, Jeff Garlin told me he hated that song. But when he watched the pilot, he said, "Wow, I loved it." It's so expensive, though. We made room in our budget, because it's a huge part of the show. And Sony has recognized that, and has been very generous. But [the cost of music] is also why we stopped using clips from the eighties, like we did in the pilot. It was too expensive to do both.
Any hints on future songs?
"Sister Christian" will be in our Thanksgiving episode. And Starship's "Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now" is another we're going to use. It's probably one of the worst songs of the eighties, along with "We Built This City." But … it worked.
Characters tend to evolve a lot early on in the course of a new series. How are yours changing so far?
For this show, it's all [based on] my family, so I had a sense of what it was from the beginning. The writers make fun of me because my dad [Jeff Garlin] can never say, "I love you." There have been scenes where it would be appropriate, and I have to say, "No. He can never say it. He can never say 'I'm sorry.'" The moment where Adam hugged his mom in one episode was huge, because I would never hug my mom. So I really know the characters. But what I have learned is that the yelling is an issue for people. There's been a push internally to figure out, "When is the right time to yell?" In my family, all we did was yell. And I stand by [the fact] that this is a loud family, and that there's gonna be a lot of yelling every episode. The question is, when and how much? What is "yell-y," but inviting? And that's what I'm trying to find. I'm trying to figure out the right level. If I did what was real … if I really showed what my mom was like, no one would watch the show. This much I know. This is a Disney version for America.
How many years of therapy have you had to have?
I married a therapist, so ... I get it every day.
http://www.vulture.com/2013/11/why-g...ific-year.html
#78
DVD Talk Legend
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
This would make a great drinking game. Everytime you find a problem with the timeline, the other guy has to drink.
Those great big clunky top loading VCR's did not have wireless remotes. By the time I was getting VCR's with remotes they were all front loaders. Most of those top loaders had the great big clunky pushbuttons
Those great big clunky top loading VCR's did not have wireless remotes. By the time I was getting VCR's with remotes they were all front loaders. Most of those top loaders had the great big clunky pushbuttons
#79
DVD Talk Legend
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
When they said the name Kremp then said they were florists I knew something sounded familiar.
I bought flowers from them when I was young in Philly.
I bought flowers from them when I was young in Philly.
#80
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
This would make a great drinking game. Everytime you find a problem with the timeline, the other guy has to drink.
Those great big clunky top loading VCR's did not have wireless remotes. By the time I was getting VCR's with remotes they were all front loaders. Most of those top loaders had the great big clunky pushbuttons
Those great big clunky top loading VCR's did not have wireless remotes. By the time I was getting VCR's with remotes they were all front loaders. Most of those top loaders had the great big clunky pushbuttons
#81
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
The Thanksgiving episode was fun:
I totally went nuts when I saw the box for the GI Joe USS Flag!! then in the next shot they had it set up on the table!! That thing was huge!! I wanted one sooo bad. but the price tag of $100 was out of the question - not to mention the size of the thing.
The Delorian parts were fun.
My brother and I would make up stupid games like that to play.
I totally went nuts when I saw the box for the GI Joe USS Flag!! then in the next shot they had it set up on the table!! That thing was huge!! I wanted one sooo bad. but the price tag of $100 was out of the question - not to mention the size of the thing.
The Delorian parts were fun.
My brother and I would make up stupid games like that to play.
#82
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
This would make a great drinking game. Everytime you find a problem with the timeline, the other guy has to drink.
Those great big clunky top loading VCR's did not have wireless remotes. By the time I was getting VCR's with remotes they were all front loaders. Most of those top loaders had the great big clunky pushbuttons
Those great big clunky top loading VCR's did not have wireless remotes. By the time I was getting VCR's with remotes they were all front loaders. Most of those top loaders had the great big clunky pushbuttons
#83
Member
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
The Thanksgiving episode was fun:
I totally went nuts when I saw the box for the GI Joe USS Flag!! then in the next shot they had it set up on the table!! That thing was huge!! I wanted one sooo bad. but the price tag of $100 was out of the question - not to mention the size of the thing.
The Delorian parts were fun.
My brother and I would make up stupid games like that to play.
I totally went nuts when I saw the box for the GI Joe USS Flag!! then in the next shot they had it set up on the table!! That thing was huge!! I wanted one sooo bad. but the price tag of $100 was out of the question - not to mention the size of the thing.
The Delorian parts were fun.
My brother and I would make up stupid games like that to play.
Loved Ball Ball - that kind of imagination just does not happen these days.
Bev: "It's Thanks-fucking-giving!"
I don't get hung up in the least with the muddled dates. I just enjoy seeing the references and feeling the flood of memories every week.
#85
DVD Talk Legend
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
It just looks like any other Star Wars placard to a good number of us. Most of the people old enough to see SW in the theater as adults or young adults were too old to pay any attention to any animated series. Sorry dude, no offense, but half the audience didn't really notice.
#86
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re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
The scene with Adam learning to dance from his Mom was so incredibly awkward, I love it.
#87
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
I like the show a lot but as the article stated they pretty much play it loose with all the pop culture references but the latest ep. was all over the place. The scene where the dad wanted to watch the latest ep. of That's Incredible just happen to be the same timeline as the kids watching When Harry Met Sally on VHS.
#88
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
I'm ok with the timelines being blurry, my memories are just as blurry from that era...
i really enjoy the real flashbacks to his videos at the end of each ep, a really nice touch.
one of my favorite new shows this season, I hope it gets a renewal...
i really enjoy the real flashbacks to his videos at the end of each ep, a really nice touch.
one of my favorite new shows this season, I hope it gets a renewal...
#89
DVD Talk Limited Edition
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
Being able to rent When Harry Met Sally means this had to already be the very end of the '80s as WHMS came out theatrically in the summer of 1989.
#90
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
Yup, but the dad was referring to the latest ep. of That's Incredible. The last season would have been 1984. A bit of a stretch to put the two events together in one episode.
#91
DVD Talk Legend
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
Repeats last night but that Kara-Te episode had me in stitches even though I saw it before. I am so glad Hayley Orrantia is 20 so I don't have to feel totally guilty for finding her hot. She's just younger than my kids so I can feel a little guilty.
#92
DVD Talk Legend
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
Oh man, that Goonies episode this week was the best thing on TV I've seen in a while. Am I the only one still watching this?
#93
DVD Talk Hero
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
I watch sporadically but had to watch The Goonies episode. I only wished they did Goonies throughout the entire episode but it was still fun.
#94
DVD Talk Gold Edition
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
#95
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
#96
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
I too wish it was a whole episode long treasure hunt... and they should have had some rocky road ice cream in it !!
#97
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
Still watching... great episode and I really hope this show gets picked up for Season 2.
#98
DVD Talk Legend
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
This I think is the only new show of the season I not only stuck with but look forward to.
#100
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
re: The Goldbergs (ABC) - Season 1 Thread - Starring Jeff Garlin
The only problem I have with the series so far (and it's a minor one) is that they've decided to just blend everything in the 80s into one mix instead of adding proper timing to it.
For instance, in the Goonies episode the sister was caught singing a love song devoted to Christian Slater, and she had a Slater poster up in her room. Slater didn't really become a teen heartthrob until the late 80s, but the video made it seem like it would have been the mid 80s at latest. I mean around the Goonies time of popularity, the biggest star in the Slater family was Helen.
I get it, the show is set in 1980-something, but it still seems off to me. And I just noticed that the WHMS reference was mentioned above in the thread.
For instance, in the Goonies episode the sister was caught singing a love song devoted to Christian Slater, and she had a Slater poster up in her room. Slater didn't really become a teen heartthrob until the late 80s, but the video made it seem like it would have been the mid 80s at latest. I mean around the Goonies time of popularity, the biggest star in the Slater family was Helen.
I get it, the show is set in 1980-something, but it still seems off to me. And I just noticed that the WHMS reference was mentioned above in the thread.