S03.E10: A Christmas Story

[Stinger97]

Tired of her unenthusiastic family during the holidays, Beverly creates "Super Hanukkah" to get them into the spirit, but it's a little too similar to Christmas. Meanwhile, Barry spends more time with Lainey so Adam is annoyed and "triple dog dares" Barry to stick his tongue on a pole outside. Amongst their fighting, Adam's tongue gets stuck too.

[Traveller519]

So this appears to be the first proper acknowledgement of the Goldbergs' faith beyond the allusions. We've already seen.

[ByTor]

I think I'll pass, A Christmas Story & its references aren't funny to me anymore.  I hope they don't make it worse by having the Goldbergs get a leg lamp.

Edited December 9, 2015 by ByTor

[Valny]

"Not candy canes.... peppermint J's.".  Bev's alternative Xmas to Hanukkah names were great.

[WhosThatGirl]

I love this show! I can't tell if it's because of the Philadelphia things make me me happy, but I love every bit of this show. 

[niklj]

Did they ever explain why Lainey was at their house for the holidays at all?

 

Was surprised to see such an even-keeled Erica this Super Hanukkah.

 

I do miss the way this show used to make me cry--it doesn't really hit me as much anymore (see: last year's Thanksgiving episode).

[WhosThatGirl]

They never made a mention of why Lainey was there but isn't her family kind of VERY laidback? Wasn't there an episode where she hung out at the house and told Bev she wished her Mom was like that and then Beverly sort of took her in and Erica got jealous? Or am I making this up? I just assumed Lainey chose to be there because she likes the family.

[biakbiak]

Lainey only has her dad, they have mentioned several times that her mother isn't around.

They aired their greviencies around a metal pole! It was Festivus!

[rubaco]

"Thanks for being so curvy and understanding."

[alexa]

I feel like Lainey's situation has been addressed many times as well... we have seen her home life with only her dad a few times, and she has typically been around due to her family being small and not doing much.  Plus I don't think it is odd for someone to hang out at their best friend and boyfriend's house, as that is something that happens quite a bit as well around the holidays.

 

Anyway, I liked the episode and that it highlighted Bev's family and traditions (in Goldberg fashion at least), and gave her father a nice role in the show.  A very sweet ending.  

[tennisgurl]

Hey so, The Goldbergs actually acknowledged that the family is Jewish! Guess the holiday episode was the best time to do that. 

 

Guilt Hanukkah Santa cracked me up. As a member of a big, Catholic family, I can relate to guilt being a very special holiday present every year. 

 

Good episode, although not as funny as some other ones. I loved all of Beverlys "not Christmas" names. Oh Bev. You always do family right. 

Edited December 10, 2015 by tennisgurl

[joanne3482]

So that they used A Christmas Story bugged me because I really didn't remember that movie being a thing in the 80s. Wikipedia sort of agrees with me. In 85 HBO aired it and I am having a hard time believing the Goldbergs have fancy cable. In 88 Fox aired it the day after Thanksgiving. 89 - 92 it was aired on TBS but always around Thanksgiving which isn't usually around Hanukkah. (According to Wikipedia the last time Hanukkah was on Thanksgiving was in the 1800s.) I know they wanted the joke with the tongues but I think I would have preferred the Grinch.  

[inyourmarrow]

Hey so, The Goldbergs actually acknowledged that the family is Jewish! Guess the holiday episode was the best time to do that. 

Now that it's been acknowledged, I want to see the Goldberg's attempt a Shabbat dinner (curious if the real Goldbergs followed that tradition), because I can only imagine how hilarious that would be. 

 

While Tom Cavanagh is filming The Flash, it was nice to see that they brought back the same actor who played Drew Kremp, as we haven't seen that character since his break up with Erica in season one. I also shouldn't be surprised that the real Adam has what looked like years of footage of the real Kremp's family Christmases, and yet I was still a little taken aback seeing it there at the end.

Edited December 10, 2015 by inyourmarrow

[Kromm]

There have been some real letdowns with this show this season, but this wasn't one of them. Loved this. It had a lot of the more genuine, unforced heart that's felt artificial and formulaic otherwise this season.

 

The use of A Christmas Story was a bit weird because of when it actually came out, but I DO get that Real Adam fudged this in the script because the pole scene was absolutely necessary (and paid off well). 

George Segal was really the MVP in this one. I love episodes where he has more to do, and his Meltdown was pretty epic.

 

More subtly, I also liked AJ Michalka in this one.  Lainey doesn't have the juiciest material on this show, but I think it's challenging in it's own way to find a character path for her.  They can't always play on the same "it's unbelievable she's even with an idiot like Barry" angle, so I think it was a good one-off here that she got between the brothers, and I think the acting challenge was to play it very super-straight and not give into the temptation to ham this up (that hamming belongs to Barry and Beverley, and it just wouldn't feel right if the characters who are their foils did it too).

Edited December 11, 2015 by Kromm

[teebax]

I love this show! I can't tell if it's because of the Philadelphia things make me me happy, but I love every bit of this show. 

I wasn't even interested in this show because I didn't care for Jeff on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but when a friend told me it was set in the 80s in Philly, my era and childhood home, I just had to watch. It's one of my favorite shows now, and I loved this episode.

 

I have a large collection of throwback Eagles jerseys, but after this episode I need to get a Wilbert Montgomery one like Barry was sporting. 

[AbsoluteShower]

The use of A Christmas Story was a bit weird because of when it actually came out, but I DO get that Real Adam fudged this in the script because the pole scene was absolutely necessary (and paid off well). 

"I raised two morons!"

[lark37]

Yeah, the Christmas Story stuff bugged as I grew up in Hammond (the movie's Hohman) Indiana and went to Warren G. Harding Elementary school. Jean Shepard, author of the book the film is based on, was a bit of a local celebrity.  It was a little known film outside of our area though in the 80's. After reading a local article about the film, we rented it on VHS and watched it for the first time Christmas of 1990. I don't think the movie became a Christmas classic or must watch until the mid 90's.  The payoff of Barry and Adam and the pole was certainly worth the fudging of the dates though.  Loved the blue Santa suit on Pops though--Hanukkah Harry or whatever he called himself was great!

[Kromm]

On Wikipedia someone wrote the following (meaning there's no proof but someone thought it strongly enough to claim it):

 

 

The film first aired on television on HBO in 1985, and quickly attracted a growing following. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the film began airing quietly on SuperStation WTBS and Superstation WGN.[37] In 1988, then-fledgling Fox aired the film the night after Thanksgiving.[37] In 1989–1990, TBS showed it Thanksgiving night, while in 1991–1992, they aired it the night after.[37]

Ergo (if it's not just Wikipedia made up fluff), Adam's timeline for this is at least possible, since we've been told over and over than "Nineteen Eighty Something" can be late 80s just as easily as early or mid.  The sequences of when they get a dog, or Lainey agrees to date Barry, or how long Pops hasn't been allowed to drive, or how long Adam's voice have changed are, as we know, irreverent, since we're getting a pastiche of events rather than a real chronology. 

 

In actuality, with Adam's actual age, I think I calculated last year (I've lost the post) that most of the real versions of the family events (if not the toys or cultural references) we DO see actually DO skew closer to the late 80s than the early. In actuality Adam F. Goldberg was born April 2, 1976. Meaning he was a mere 14 years old in 1990.  FICTIONAL Adam though is 14ish (the age Sean Giambrone is probably representing now, even though he's actually 16) now in Season 3, set against cultural references that can scale the entire decade.   Why?  Because fictional Adam represents the 80s experiences of the entire writing staff and not just Adam. Also Adam skewed things a lot because the story doesn't work as well with an character who should properly have been FOUR years old at the beginning of the decade. The viewers by and large can't relate to a four year old (or a single actor play the same role, even with a sliding timescale) of someone between four and fourteen, whereas a nebulous pre-adolescent age when the series started, and now a nebulous actual adolescence, and soon a nebulous post-adolescence, can be fudged a lot more.

[OpieTaylor]

one thing I have a bit of a hard time with in many Goldbergs episodes is that so much happens in the course of a day or two. In this enjoyable episode, it seemed that the Goldbergs were at the neighbors right before Christmas (at first I thought it was Xmas) and then Beverly got the idea for Super Hanukah and suddenly their house was filled with major decorations and food and gifts and costumes and holiday clothes. And then Pops got upset and "taught Beverly a lesson" and all the holiday excess was gone and yet it all seemed like the same day. Other episodes have had just a ton of things happen like this too. As a result, I think of this show as almost like a cartoon. And it can be really good much of the time.

Edited December 12, 2015 by OpieTaylor

[Bazinga]

At no point in the eighties was Ryne Sandberg traded FOR Larry Bowa.  Ryne Sandberg was traded WITH longtime Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan Dejesus in January 1982.  No way a Phillies fan, like Murray, would get this wrong.  And, at the time, Ryne Sandberg was a throw in no Phillies fan would be too alarmed to lose.  Bowa was the important one.  Sandberg went on to be a Hall of Famer, but at the time of the trade was not that important and wouldn't even have been mentioned, really.  Only in retrospect with 20-20 hindsight, would a Phillies fan be annoyed at a "Sandberg trade" and in that case, you would get it right-Sandberg for DeJesus.  Funnier, to me at least, would have Murray not caring about Sandberg but caring about Bowa.  Correct at the time but funny now.  Murray:  Hey, the Phillies traded Larry Bowa and some guy named Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus.  What a steal!  Who is this Sandberg anyway?  He must be Jewish (he isn't).

 

A Christmas Story was clearly being represented as airing on ABC as a movie of the week.  Pretty sure that never happened.  A Christmas Story was a cable thing.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Bazinga

[Kromm]

A Christmas Story was clearly being represented as airing on ABC as a movie of the week.  Pretty sure that never happened.  A Christmas Story was a cable thing.

Fox aired it once in that era. Clearly the change to ABC is because you can't (for a number of reasons) really represent Fox on a show airing on ABC.

[reggiejax]

At no point in the eighties was Ryne Sandberg traded FOR Larry Bowa.  Ryne Sandberg was traded WITH longtime Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan Dejesus in January 1982.  No way a Phillies fan, like Murray, would get this wrong.  And, at the time, Ryne Sandberg was a throw in no Phillies fan would be too alarmed to lose.  Bowa was the important one.  Sandberg went on to be a Hall of Famer, but at the time of the trade was not that important and wouldn't even have been mentioned, really.  Only in retrospect with 20-20 hindsight, would a Phillies fan be annoyed at a "Sandberg trade" and in that case, you would get it right-Sandberg for DeJesus.  Funnier, to me at least, would have Murray not caring about Sandberg but caring about Bowa.  Correct at the time but funny now.  Murray:  Hey, the Phillies traded Larry Bowa and some guy named Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus.  What a steal!  Who is this Sandberg anyway?  He must be Jewish (he isn't).

 

I first watched with the sound down and captions on, and I was ready to give the benefit of the doubt when I saw the captions say "Sandberg for Bowa". But upon second examination, the captions were correct, which is to say the dialogue was wrong (way wrong). I can allow that Adam Goldberg (real or fictional) would make the mistake, he himself tweeted about the error and admitted that he knows jack about sports. And to any fans of the show, that should be no surprise.

 

It is doubly funny because, not only would the real Murray never make that mistake, nor would his portrayer, Jeff Garlin. Garlin is a staunch Cubs fan and knows damn well the details of that trade. I am surprised that got by. I think maybe Garlin was having a little fun with the less than accurate nature of the show's 80's references and decided not to press the point. He is a far more patient and forgiving man than I would be. I know if I was in Garlin's place, I would have given the real Adam, and the rest of the nerd writers, an earful over their lack of knowledge about the national pastime. But that's me. 

[Ameliabedilia]

This episode was terrific... I'm the same age as the "real" Adam and grew up in the same area... I remember watching A Christmas Story and it being a HUGE part of my life when I was a kid and we did not have cable... (I'm also Jewish so maybe it's a Jewish thing...)  In other weird facts, my mother bought a leg lamp years ago and has it on display year round...

[Runningwild]

Re-watching and I am so jealous of Adam's "Revenge of the Jedi" shirt.

As for "A Christmas Story", it first caught my attention in the 80s. I had friends who had cable and I think it ran on HBO a lot.

Edited December 24, 2015 by Runningwild

[Miss Scarlet]

 

Hey so, The Goldbergs actually acknowledged that the family is Jewish! Guess the holiday episode was the best time to do that.

I thought the show's omission of this throughout the first season was a bit off. It doesn't need to mentioned frequently or anything, but at the same time, it's 2015. North American audiences should be able to deal with the fact that not every character on every TV show is a white, straight, Christian. 

[Kromm]

The Beastie Boys episode that just aired mentioned it again (that the Goldberg brothers identified with the Beasties because "they're all members of the tribe"--which is a classic bit of code-talk which means "are Jewish").

[biakbiak]

It's funny because not just due of their last name but small little references through the previous seasons, I have never thought of the family as anything but a not religious Jewish family. Despite one of them being a Gentile! I apologize for the awful Troy joke.

Edited January 9, 2016 by biakbiak

[Kromm]

It's funny because not just due of their last name but small little references through the previous seasons, I have never thought of the family as anything but a not religious Jewish family. Despite one of them being a Gentile! I apologize for the awful Troy joke.

The odd thing is that IRL I bet Jeff Garlin is the only Jew (well other than George Segal, of course).

[scowl]

Seeing the Goldbergs at the Kremps house during Christmas brought back one of my worst 1980's memories. At our parents' Christmas party (I think 1982) I overheard my mom explaining to a Jewish couple what Christmas was, as if they had been on Mars their whole life. I really expected Virginia Kremp to explain what Christmas was to Murray and Bev while they rolled their eyes.