S03.E14: Lainey Loves Lionel

[Stinger97]

Murray encourages Adam to break the rules, leading to Beverly taking away Adam's phone privileges on Valentine's Day; Barry goes overboard as he tries to impress Lainey.

[TheRabbi]

Maybe I just have a simple sense of humor, but I laughed at every single one of the horrifying clay figures. And Erica's reactions were amazing as well. I love when she threw up in her mouth a little.

This was a great episode. Also loved Bev's grounding terms followed by not punishing herself by reinstating the snuggies

[readster]

Maybe I just have a simple sense of humor, but I laughed at every single one of the horrifying clay figures. And Erica's reactions were amazing as well. I love when she threw up in her mouth a little.

This was a great episode. Also loved Bev's grounding terms followed by not punishing herself by reinstating the snuggies

I am in the same boat. I was loosing it at Erica's reactions.

[Kromm]

This was really sweet. The Goldbergs has been a little stale this season, but I thought this was a very good episode.

Both the A and B stories worked.

[NutmegsDad]

Maybe I just have a simple sense of humor, but I laughed at every single one of the horrifying clay figures. And Erica's reactions were amazing as well. I love when she threw up in her mouth a little.

 

 

 

I am in the same boat. I was loosing it at Erica's reactions.

 

 

We need to rewatch On Demand to catch the dialogue between Barry and Erica, because we were laughing so hard after each reveal.

 

(And yes, I was expecting Adam to take a one-way trip to Gotham. :))

[Texasmom1970]

OMG Barry's clay heads were so hideous and funny at the same time. But his intentions were sweet. Love that Adam still talks on the hamburger phone!

[inyourmarrow]

I really kind of love that Hayely Orrantia sort of just fell into acting unintentionally. The payoff of the "Hello" gag was the reveal of each sculpture and Erica's subsequent reactions. I still wish they'd give her more to do. 

 

They are obviously moving forward with the Erica/Geoff pairing, but I like how slow of a burn it is. The development feels realistic; and I gauge we'll get some kind of payoff at the tail-end of the season. 

 

Always love to see Allie Grant. Some show really needs to lock her down full-time. 

 

I continue to love Barry and Lainey, and while the sculptures were a bust, his intentions and efforts were sweetly commendable. I love that Barry is just big. He's a walking, breathing hyperbole. 

 

I also appreciate that we continue to see Dana; as first loves/childhood sweethearts go, she and Adam are pretty ideal. 

[Kromm]

They are obviously moving forward with the Erica/Geoff pairing, but I like how slow of a burn it is. The development feels realistic; and I gauge we'll get some kind of payoff at the tail-end of the season. 

I don't like the pairing, because it's the same kind of "be a creepy stalker and it will eventually pay off" approach that show on NBC, Undateable, took--and I hated it there too.

 

It's different from a normal unrequited love story, which can be sweet when resolved, because in those the premise is that the (usually a) girl wasn't even aware that the (usually a) boy even liked her, and it's just a matter of the boy "manning up".  Here (and on Undatable) the girl knows the boy is into her, has pretty much indicated he's got no chance, and if and when the show indicates she's changed her mind, it's just endorsing being a creepy stalker.

[inyourmarrow]

I don't like the pairing, because it's the same kind of "be a creepy stalker and it will eventually pay off" approach that show on NBC, Undateable, took--and I hated it there too.

 

It's different from a normal unrequited love story, which can be sweet when resolved, because in those the premise is that the (usually a) girl wasn't even aware that the (usually a) boy even liked her, and it's just a matter of the boy "manning up".  Here (and on Undatable) the girl knows the boy is into her, has pretty much indicated he's got no chance, and if and when the show indicates she's changed her mind, it's just endorsing being a creepy stalker.

Normally, I would absolutely agree with you here. And for the sake of fueling the conversation, I'm going to break down my reading of the scenario...

 

Erica has been portrayed to be the pretty, smart, popular girl...someone completely out of Geoff's league (as we're conditioned to think). Additionally, Erica has - more than once - expressed her disinterest in Geoff in anything more than friendship. And really, outside of the Drew Kremp storyline, Erica hasn't really expressed interested in romance at all (which I've appreciated). Within the confines of this Erica/Geoff pairing, we've gotten hints of her reconsidering him. Whether you, or I, or anyone else reads this as being contrived to the benefit of your previously mentioned love story trope, it's there. (God, this is such poor syntax, so I hope that makes sense). And as long as she's reconsidering, I'm interested, insofar as I hope we get more of her POV on it (something we rarely get from Erica to begin with).

 

My other thought is, if Geoff was more of a Drew Kremp type, would his advances be considered "creepy stalker" or "romantic"? I'm willing to bet some would absolutely think of it as the latter. There's not doubt, that his efforts are justly considered to be just that, but is it because we've known Geoff to be a bit socially inept? And culturally, we've been conditioned to view "socially inept/awkward" as creepy while the "confident, cool guy" gets to be romantic. Again, no matter who's going after Erica, her dismal should be respected, but we just haven't had enough of her POV for me to not be interested in why she's given him a second glance, or why he's starting to wear her down. 

 

Man, that's disorganized. Sorry for that. 

 

Plus, while chemistry is subjective, I think the actors have it. And that's pleasant for me to watch. 

Edited February 11, 2016 by inyourmarrow

[HyeChaps]

Not enough Pops. I thought for sure he was going to take Adam to the movies.

[Lawgiver]

Oh man, Valentine's Day flowers at school. We had carnations: white for friendship, pink for crush, red for dating couples/"love." It was a humiliating day for many, many years, since they could be sent from 7-12 grade, IIRC. This was a great episode.

[vmcd88]

Perhaps the funniest episode of The Goldbergs for me.  Finally some acknowledgement that the sculpture that the fake blind lady made of Lionel Richie in his video was butt ugly.  Besides how does a blind lady apply her eyeliner so perfectly?  And Lionel is stalking her at everywhere but onto The Goldbergs...

Each reveal of the scary Laney sculptures made me laugh harder than the last, especially set to the music "Hello."  Loved that Laney loved Barry for spending all that time making those ugly things. Adam wanting to see Porkys was so spot on.  All us kids wanted to see it and I remember lying and saying I had (I never did).  

[Shermie]

Oh man, Porkys was so funny back then I remember never laughing at a movie ever. Then we watched it (or tried to) a few years ago, and it was painful. Sometimes it's better not to try to relive your memories. I always think of Porkys when I see Kim Cattral and Judge Reinhold, so there's that.

The shouting on this show drives me nuts, as does Barry's weird tendency to hold his face upwards and squint (just like Johnny Galecki did on the first couple seasons of Big Bang).

[Traveller519]

Loved Barry and Erica's rapport in this one. Lot's of back and forth, and loved the couple instances where they gave each other props.

 

"When has there ever been an example of a good haunting?"

"Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams"

"Okay, that's a great example, but.."

 

and

 

"While I don't agree with your statement, I respect your burn"

[whatsatool]

Oh man, Valentine's Day flowers at school. We had carnations: white for friendship, pink for crush, red for dating couples/"love." It was a humiliating day for many, many years, since they could be sent from 7-12 grade, IIRC. This was a great episode.

OMG that sounds awful.

[Kromm]

Oh man, Porkys was so funny back then I remember never laughing at a movie ever. Then we watched it (or tried to) a few years ago, and it was painful. Sometimes it's better not to try to relive your memories. I always think of Porkys when I see Kim Cattral and Judge Reinhold, so there's that.

The shouting on this show drives me nuts, as does Barry's weird tendency to hold his face upwards and squint (just like Johnny Galecki did on the first couple seasons of Big Bang).

I don't know what the explanation is for squinting, but the shouting is a topic we've talked about before in many a Goldbergs episode thread. To many of us it seems as familiar as our own faces in the mirror and for others it's an alien (and apparently upsetting) thing to see. In short, while it's a stereotype, some stereotypes are heavily based in truth--certain ethnicities family time consists of a lot of volume, a lot of boisterousness and shouting, while others have family dynamics where raising your voice above a certain level is unthinkable.

As much as we always say this about shows people have such deep complaints about, this really does seem to be a "if it bothers you so much..." type of situation. Given how much of a core characteristic it is of what Adam F. Goldberg is portraying, it's not likely to change on this show (although I've heard him admit in interviews he DID tone it down quite a bit compared to how he WANTED to do it--along with how manipulative Beverley is).

[mansonlamps]

Wow, if he toned down Bevy, I can't imagine how horrible that had to be in real life for her kids coaches, teachers, counsellors, etc. Yikes!!

[Traveller519]

This may be drifting off topic from the episode, but since the issue of the shouting has come up.

 

Adam F. Goldberg has said that he originally pitched the show to Fox who has been known for it's Dysfunctional Families shows over the years. Thus the Pilot has more of the Aggressive attitudes he originally envisioned.

 

I know I would enjoy it more if they let some of the episodes end without everyone feeling quite so happy and rosy. But that's not the ABC model for family based sitcoms. The trade-off with having less edge though, is that ABC manages to pull some of the best child actors to its shows compared to the other networks. I'm guessing that's due to the Disney connection.

 

Regarding Erica and Geoff. I, too, would like the show to avoid pairing them up. An ABC family sitcom actually managed that relationship well years ago Family Matters. It seem's like an odd comparison. But we know that Laura cared for Steve as a friend, even though she was never attracted enough to date him. For all the good messaging of loving someone on the inside, I think it's disingenuous for a show to ignore physical attraction. I would not be at all disappointed if Erica dated Geoff briefly but realized that she just wasn't attracted to him. No matter how nice a guy he is.

[biakbiak]

The reason I don't want them to pair Erica and Geoff is because it seems like Barry and Laney part 2. I like Barry and Lainey and think they have justified the relationship but don't need to see it play out again.

[Lawgiver]

OMG that sounds awful.

It was. It was also another Philadelphia area, private school in the 80s, so maybe that was a trend there.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Lawgiver

[mtlchick]

When I see the Hello video, I'm reminded of the Pop Up Video for it which included the great bubble "acting blind gave (the actress) a headache." Since the bust is legendary for being that awful, this episode had me laughing despite the cramps I was going through.

[biakbiak]

It was. It was also another Philadelphia area, private school in the 80s, so maybe that was a trend there.

It happened at my school in Seattle in the 90s.

[Jenkins]

It happened at my school in Seattle in the 90s.

 

Same in So Cal in the 80's, so guess it was a fairly standard thing back then (no clue if they do it now).

[Traveller519]

The reason I don't want them to pair Erica and Geoff is because it seems like Barry and Laney part 2. I like Barry and Lainey and think they have justified the relationship but don't need to see it play out again.

I agree, they've touched on that relationship too. They have freedom to do what they want with Erica, I'd appreciate something more daring than the well worn "finds the inner beauty in the guy who was in front of her face the whole time."