S02.E05: Family Takes Care of Beverly

[Stinger97]

When Pops accidentally starts a fire in his apartment during a Halloween party, he's evicted and Beverly invites him to move into the Goldbergs' home. Pops' wild lifestyle is soon too much for the family to handle and they decide to look into other options. Meanwhile, Barry stops Erica from eating Pop Rocks candy with soda, since according to urban legend, the combination would kill her. Since he "saves" her, Barry wants something in return from Erica.

 

 

[Taylorh2]

Dude! All this time I thought that Barry was the oldest.  I saw some 'pop rocks' in the store on Sunday.  hahaha

[Traveller519]

I loved the casual references to Halloween and not an all out Halloween episode. 

 

OF COURSE Bev would come rushing into Barry's hospital room when he was in the middle of date, a story line that could only fit an era when Cell phones weren't so prevalent.

 

The callback to the JTP was fun.

[StaceyNotStacie]

This episode cracked me up.  I'm someone who was the same age as Adam in the 80s.  The comment about x-raying the Halloween candy made me laugh as did the Pop Rocks and Mikey references.  I just wish that they had a little girl slightly younger than Adam so that we can relive the Cabbage Patch Doll phenomenon :-)

[Texasmom1970]

Loved the scene where they were in the car and Pops is telling him to nudge her, hilarious. I feel so old some times when I see the 80' fashion and things I used to have, like Erica's feather earrings.

[dcalley]

I loved the casual references to Halloween and not an all out Halloween episode.

I liked that, too. I also liked the glimpse of Simon and the mention of the Three Men and a Baby ghost and Mikey dying from Pop Rocks and soda. It's funny how things spread all over the country even without the internet.

 

I'm going to assume Shady Willows was a shoutout to The Golden Girls' Shady Pines.

 

Taco Tuesday, Fajita Friday. That's way too much Mexican food for him!

[Traveller519]

That was a great shvitz!

[KYBlonde]

Loved the scene where they were in the car and Pops is telling him to nudge her, hilarious. I feel so old some times when I see the 80' fashion and things I used to have, like Erica's feather earrings.

I had a pair of feather earrings in college when I worked for the Dean of Environmental Sciences on campus.  He was the greatest guy ever - he referred to my earrings as "fishing lures" LOL!! Dr. Gary Boggess you rocked!

[Taylorh2]

That's funny! My Uncle Joe used to call my feather earrings "fishing lures"  haha

[Shermie]

I really enjoy this show and all the '80s references. The characters are great and the actors are doing a good job, BUT...

I find Beverly ridiculously off-putting. The actress is doing fantastic work with what she's given, but the character is such an unlikable meddling weirdo that I can't relate to her as a mom at all. She's in Marie Barone territory (the hateful MIL from Everybody Loves Raymond) and I could barely watch that show in the final seasons because of her.

There's meddling concern, and then there's creepy stalkerish smothering.

I do love her sweater collection, impressive!

[Taylorh2]

There is some ad on TV right now and one of  it's tagline lines is about inviting people "to an ugly sweater party" and I always thing about Beverly sweaters. lol

[Traveller519]

Interestingly, I think Adam F. Goldberg has said that he even toned down some of Bev's traits, which seems incredible to me. Bev has been pretty front and center recently. Hopefully the show can continue to develop the other characters, but right now the development, especially Erica's, seems to go straight through Beverly.

[Kromm]

Interestingly, I think Adam F. Goldberg has said that he even toned down some of Bev's traits, which seems incredible to me. Bev has been pretty front and center recently. Hopefully the show can continue to develop the other characters, but right now the development, especially Erica's, seems to go straight through Beverly.

Well Erica doesn't really exist, so she's got a bit of a handicap!

[Shermie]

She exists on this show, and I agree that characters should develop without it all going through Beverly.

[mansonlamps]

It really creeps me out when Beverly describes her sons as "delicious."

[Dewey Decimate]

I love the little nuggets of accuracy in this show - takes me back. Not just Erica's feather earrings, but the homemade brown-paper-bag textbook cover. Those were the days!!

[Kiddvideo]

I've said before how much I like the show but I find it a little distracting to have them be the same age regardless of what year in the 80's it was. The music is what gets me spinning -- a lot of us seem to be 40-something so we have clear memories of where we were and what we were doing when these songs were hits. Eternal Flame will always be 1988, my first year as an undergrad and all the freedom that comes with college. Ghostbusters (Who you gonna telephone?) was 1984, when 14 year old me thought the Bill Murray line, "Yes, this man has no dick" was the funniest thing ever.

The music isn't a deal breaker, and I genuinely think it adds to the show, it's just something I notice.

[drmka9]

I give them a bit of a pass on the music side of things, just because it seems like it'd be nearly impossible to coordinate getting the rights to the 'right' song for any given story. But I was also a little kid in the '80s, so most of the pop culture from that time blends together for me. I'm sure something like this set in the '90s would be jarring for me.

[ByTor]

But I was also a little kid in the '80s, so most of the pop culture from that time blends together for me.

Hell, I graduated from high school in 1986 & most of the pop culture blends in for me. It's for that reason that I don't get picky about the actual year of any event/song on the show.

Edited November 14, 2014 by ByTor

[bunnyblue]

But I was also a little kid in the '80s, so most of the pop culture from that time blends together for me. I'm sure something like this set in the '90s would be jarring for me.

 

I'm in the same boat as you, drmka9. Most of the '80s songs, movies, and tv shows are all a jumble in my brain so it's easy for me to let the show's inaccuracies slide. I love all the songs they play on the show but there is no way I remember the exact year of their release (unless I Google 'em). I just recognize them as the soundtrack of my youth.

 

And about this episode, to this day I still don't know whether the "3 Men and a Baby" ghost was real or fake. But it did scare the crap out of me whenever I'd watch that movie.

 

I love Adam's relationship with Pops. His excitement at the idea of being roomies with his grandpa was sweet. And then seeing how quickly he acclimated to the old folk's home after 2 hours of visiting was hilarious. Adam is just adorable.

Edited November 14, 2014 by bunnyblue

[Kromm]

I'm in the same boat as you, drmka9. Most of the '80s songs, movies, and tv shows are all a jumble in my brain so it's easy for me to let the show's inaccuracies slide. 

Yeah, but "inaccuracies" almost gives the sense they're making mistakes.  They're not. The vagueness and even the contradictory elements that couldn't have been in the same year (but appear in the same episode) are totally on purpose.

 

There HAVE been a few tiny early 90s references--and those are the actual mistakes. But it's been a pretty small number.

[Shermie]

bunnyblue, go to snopes.com and it will explain the truth behind the Three Men and a Baby ghost.

The music doesn't bother me either, because it's been long enough so that it's all just "80s music" now. Sure, I can connect certain songs with personal events, thus dating them specifically, but big hits were replayed long after fading from the charts, so big deal. No different than 60s music or 50s music all getting lumped together.

[chrisvee]

You mean Mikey didn't die from Pop Rocks and Coke????