S03.E03: Jimmy 5 Is Alive

[Stinger97]

Murray (Jeff Garlin) attempts to help Adam (Sean Giambrone) transition into adulthood by building a robot, but their creative differences drive them apart, the opposite of what Murray was trying to achieve. Meanwhile, Barry (Troy Gentile) makes a huge mistake when he accidentally tapes over Beverly's (Wendi McLendon-Covey) beloved video of his 5th birthday party.

 

Review:

• A.V. Club (A-)

[Traveller519]

Kind of a coasting episode, but that's okay. The story stayed true to the overall relationships of the show and there were still some good laughs, mostly at the hands of Pops and his rugelach.

[SoothingDave]

Robut

[dcalley]

I'm kind of amused that the taping over could have been prevented by popping off the tab on the tape. I'm sure Adam knew that, but Bev probably didn't, and the kids wouldn't have cared about her tapes.

 

I confess the JTP move at the end was cool (but I cannot play basketball to save my life).

 

I wonder how well the real Adam keeps it together when there's a big Murray+Adam focus, as there was in this episode. I was getting a little sad just thinking about how Pops and Murray are no longer around for him.

[Accidental Martyr]

Not the strongest episode. Too much suspension of disbelief with Barry not knowing the height of a regulation basketball goal.

[shipmate]

I look forward to the end of episode "real Videos" each week.  Those elevate the show to that much more!

[Pallida]

My excuse is I was only 8, but I cried during a certain scene in Short Circuit 2.  The JTP section made me think of my brother, who around that same time, had a mishap with an alley-oop dunk and gave himself a black eye and a broken wrist.  

 

I also want to watch some Strawberry Shortcake now.

[Traveller519]

I wonder how well the real Adam keeps it together when there's a big Murray+Adam focus, as there was in this episode. I was getting a little sad just thinking about how Pops and Murray are no longer around for him.

 

 

Goodness, when Forever Young started playing at the end. My TV also exhausted some extra dust into the room.

[Stinger97]

I loved Short Circuit as a kid, but for some reason it never comes to my mind when thinking about classic 80s films. It was nice to be reminded of it. 

 

One thing I think this show does well is giving equal weight to each of the stories playing that week. This week was no different, as each of the characters got some funny scenes. I always adore when Adam and Pops share scenes together (one of my favorite episodes is Adam realizing that Pops wouldn't be around forever), and throwing Murray into the mix is never disappointing. The same goes for Barry and Beverly who, under lesser writers would become mundane and one-note, still make me laugh and still make me feel something for their relationship. 

 

The A.V. Club review I posted makes mention of a small little detail that was actually added a nice touch: the title cards in Beverly's "schmoopilation" video were inconsistent in that sometimes they preceded what was happening on screen, and sometimes they'd come after what was happening. Similarly, instead of the title cards being added directly over the picture (as they were in Barry's "Jampilation" video), they were handwritten and shot with the camera. It made sense, since Bev wouldn't be as proficient with the video camera as Barry is. 

[Paron Xanthis]

Strawberry Shortcake was around during the '80s?  I thought she only came out this century!

[readster]

Strawberry Shortcake was around during the '80s?  I thought she only came out this century!

 Nope, Strawberry was around since 82, she showed up here and there throughout the early 80s before disappearing until over a decade ago.

[dcalley]

'80s and aughts (source)

[jww]

It would have been impossible to have a vhs  tape  of  Barry’s  5th birthday.party. since  he would have been 5 in the mid 70’s long before  personal VHS cameras  were available  (first1983)    The party likely would have been shot in Super8  and I doubt they had the technology to transfer to VHS then .

[Kromm]

"Robit" was funny, but something about this episode felt forced/shoehorned.  The lessons/family bonding didn't seem earned the way they usually are on this show.

[TV Diva Queen]

It would have been impossible to have a vhs  tape  of  Barry’s  5th birthday.party. since  he would have been 5 in the mid 70’s long before  personal VHS cameras  were available  (first1983)    The party likely would have been shot in Super8  and I doubt they had the technology to transfer to VHS then .

I transferred all my parents Super 8's to VHS for their 25th Anniversary - 1986.  

[Bryce Smith]

Barry's run after learning how bad of a basketball player he really was?  Dying.