Season 5 Discussion

[Kimmmmmm]

On January 3, 2018 at 8:58 PM, Mabinogia said:

I loved seeing the real Goldberg Girls at the end

That was cute...always like seeing the "originals" at the end of episodes.  But it's clear that I am one of very, very few people who looooooooathe "The Golden Girls"...

[Mabinogia]

24 minutes ago, Kimmmmmm said:

But it's clear that I am one of very, very few people who looooooooathe "The Golden Girls"...

You monster!!!!! hahaha, just kidding. There are tons of popular things/shows/people I hate. 

[incandescent]

I missed Pops this episode. Maybe he has some Golden Guys he was busy with.

[MargeGunderson]

I wa sure that Erica’s romantic gesture to Jeff would be a song. I can’t believe they didn’t jump on an opportunity to have her sing; guess there’s a first time for everything.

[Phishbulb]

On 1/5/2018 at 10:10 AM, Phishbulb said:

I kind of wish that spinoff centering around Coach Mellor (which would have been set in the '90s, I believe) had been picked up to series. I think the only cast members carrying over from the show to that pilot were Bryan Callen as Coach Mellor and Tim Meadows as Mr. Glascott the guidance counselor (with a cameo by Wendi McClendon-Covey). 

I guess ABC is kind of full up on family-oriented sitcoms at the moment (which is probably why the "black-ish" spinoff ended up on Freeform). 

Cool news! It looks like ABC is planning to air this episode on January 24th in the regular "Goldbergs" timeslot. 

http://splitsider.com/2018/01/abc-will-air-the-90s-set-goldbergs-spin-off-pilot-later-this-month/

I guess they're hoping it can act as a possible "backdoor pilot", possibly trying again for next season.

[Mudra]

Quote

Erica warns Geoff about going to dinner with her family, but he insists; by dinner's end, Geoff hits his breaking point.

[incandescent]

This episode was spectacular! There was not a single aspect of the Goldbergs' dinner experience that my own family didn't do in some form. (If there are any Red Lobster servers reading this right now, I am SO sorry.)

[Texasmom1970]

I think one of my favorite parts was Pops checking out the other diners food. Then sitting with a bunch of them!

[Racj82]

Damn this episode made me feel bad for the whole service industry. I can't relate. Me and my family would never do this. We understand how much service jobs suck just as human beings and we don't want to piss someone off to the point that they fuck with our food.

I hate eating out anyway. The wait for food sucks.

I would have been out before they finished ordering.

Edited January 12, 2018 by Racj82

[Bobbin]

I can so relate to Barry. I've frequently eaten at Black Angus and Red Lobster and had a grilled chicken Caesar salad. And whenever I go to a seafood restaurant with family or friends, whatever fish entree I order is invariably the smallest portion at the table! Keep those garlic rolls coming!

Poor Geoff. Murray acknowledging that Geoff is now one of them wasn't surprising -- for all of the storm and strife in Erica's lovelife, Murray has always had a soft spot for Geoff.

Pops checking out what other diners were having reminded me of the "I Love Lucy" ep when Lucy kept changing her order because what someone at another table was having looked good.

So, what kind of tip did they leave?

[biakbiak]

For the first time ever I saw chemistry between Erica and Geoff, it was brief but when he nonchalantly kissed her hand I gushed.

My family is not this awful but my grandmother completely believed a menu was just a list of ingredients that she could pick and choose from and my dad would always order the soup and then complain it wasn't hot enough andwould repeatedly send it back. When I was 8 at a very fancy restaurant in Paris my mother lost it and screamed that she was going to divorce him when he tried to send back the soup, he  never ordered soup in a restaurant again and today is their 53rd wedding anniversary.

Edited January 11, 2018 by biakbiak

[niklj]

Joanna Kerns directed this episode!

Were the title cards an homage to something?

[ichbin]

4 hours ago, incandescent said:

This episode was spectacular! There was not a single aspect of the Goldbergs' dinner experience that my own family didn't do in some form. (If there are any Red Lobster servers reading this right now, I am SO sorry.)

We must be related!  I think this was one of my favorite episodes.  I still cringe thinking about the time my uncle asked me to open my purse and then proceeded to dump in all the sugar packets on the table and that's only the very tip of that iceberg. 

[Mabinogia]

I hated this episode and stopped watching half way through.

[rmontro]

This was the best episode of The Goldbergs I have ever seen.  Wall to wall funny.  I'm with Bobbin, I wonder what kind of tip they left (if any).

I can't believe they ended up with two rounds of food to take home with them lol.

[Traveller519]

Absolutely one of the best episodes they've done in a while! Call it a concept episode or bottle episode, but it worked! Having the whole cast interacting nonstop with no sub plots really brought the energy! 

Murray and Pops were the standouts, but everyone did amazing in their roles. Barry subdued dropped in just enough humor every time he had a line. 

Live that they can still bring something new and fresh! 

[Silverglitter]

Pops was absolutely the best part of the episode. I just love him. I've always found the actor ridiculously charming even when he plays jerkish rolls (eg. Look Who's Talking).

[vmcd88]

Loved this episode only cause I can relate.  Dinner with my in-laws is quite an experience.  My FIL will reject the seating if it's too close to kitchen, too much traffic, too dark, too drafty.  He is rude to all the wait staff, they must survey every person at the table to find out what you are ordering and why you are ordering it.  They must have appetizers and dessert.  Sometimes two appetizers.    My MIL is the person would go to Seafood restaurant and order chicken tenders or try to recreate a taco salad.   They keep track of who was seated when we were seated and who got their food before we did.  Once the food comes, you are treated to another questionnaire about your selection.  Then...the check comes and it's a full on IRS audit.  It's 3-4 hour extravaganza.  This episode was spot on.

[Bobbin]

2 hours ago, vmcd88 said:

My FIL will reject the seating if it's too close to kitchen, too much traffic, too dark, too drafty

I do this, too! One too many times seated behind the kitchen door. One cold night, I insisted on the table in front of the roaring fireplace, as more atmospheric. And sweltered throughout dinner, too embarrassed to ask for another table.

I used to be able to con Charleston's restaurant into making up a favorite but discontinued entree, until corporate stopped it. Once, my entree was delivered minutes after I placed my order, to the awe and wonderment of staff, guests and management -- it was, of course, another guest's order. Apologies.

In these troubled times, may dining out always be an adventure! Bravo to the Goldbergs and their kindred spirits everywhere.

[Racj82]

Yeah, I'm really glad I don't work for the service industry. You guys are just pointing out what a genuine hell it is or can be. 

The customer is always right is the biggest lie ever told. 

I get that you are basically paying for a great night and food the very way you want it but damn. 

[illini1959]

I wondered about the tip, too.

I figured all the calculating at the end of the meal would somehow, to Bev, come down to a $2 tip lol.

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, illini1959 said:

I figured all the calculating at the end of the meal would somehow, to Bev, come down to a $2 tip lol.

Lol, probably.  The poor wait staff aside, I wonder how much money the restaurant lost on the Goldbergs visit?  You'd think a party of that size would be a nice profit, but not in this case.

[Runningwild]

Being left-handed, I feel for Barry. I always try to sit where I’m on the corner or next to another lefty. 

 

While the Goldbergs are OTT, my mom did once make a waitress cry because Mom was in a hurry to get home. (We we’re driving from Detroit to Higgins Lake.)

[tennisgurl]

Oh my God, I was laughing my ass off this whole episode, both because it was a tightly written, well done episode, but also because this is ALL REAL, and I've been on both sides of these kinds of dining hijinks. 

I worked in a Steakhouse in high school, and yes there are totally people who obsess over where they sit, complain endlessly about how long their food is taking, argue with relatives while your trying to take their order, and send everything back even after they've eaten half the food, and then ask to keep the food anyway, and all kinds of stuff. If anything, The Goldbergs arent half as bad as a lot of the people I dealt with, who were straight up mean and nasty to their server, or spent most of the meal creepily trying to hit on them, or letting their kids throw food everywhere that the server has to clean up.

On the other hand, while my family isn't quite as bad as the Goldbergs, my dad will always send his steak back because it isn't cooked just right, my mom will always insist that nobody orders pop and instead order water (we have pop at home kids!) and has only recently started allowing us to get appetizers every once in awhile when my sister and I are visiting, my cousin will always order something totally random instead of what the place specializes in (just a few weeks ago, he got a burger at a Chinese place!), my grandpa would always make small talk with the people at tables around us,  and my whole family will always take forever to order, and will get extra rolls to take home, as well bringing home literally every morsel we haven't eaten. So, yeah, this might as well be a documentary. 

I especially loved when voice over Adam was like "I am not kidding, this totally happened" when his family took the dinner from other poor family. This was great.  

Edited January 16, 2018 by tennisgurl

[Fury]

I sporadically watch this show, but caught this episode and cried real crocodile tears of laughter.  This is the funniest episode of any sitcom I've seen in a LONG time.  Not taking away from any of my other favorites, but it's rare to get real, can't breathe, belly laughs from me.  So well done.  And perhaps my own family needs help bc I related a bit too much to most of it!  

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, Fury said:

I sporadically watch this show, but caught this episode and cried real crocodile tears of laughter.  This is the funniest episode of any sitcom I've seen in a LONG time. 

I agree, they really caught something in this episode, like lightning in a bottle.  Not sure how they could reproduce it using a different subject though.

[Racj82]

12 minutes ago, rmontro said:

I agree, they really caught something in this episode, like lightning in a bottle.  Not sure how they could reproduce it using a different subject though.

Vacation episode next time. I'm sure Adam has some stories.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I needed a drink after this. It was too real. Like the writers know my life. 

[Robert Lynch]

That's my life, too. In the 90s and today, this sort of thing happened more than one. My dad's ordering is like my dad's ordering. So close to home. What is funny is that this sort of thing happened more than once. 

[mojoween]

I was 14/15 during “Golden Girls” time and Saturday nights were a real party at my house because we would watch “227”, GG and “Empty Nest” and then “Hunter” because it was a weekend and I could stay up to 11 woohoo!

I wonder if part of the problem they have writing for Hayley is that there isn’t a real Erica Goldberg to play off of.

[mojoween]

I don’t understand why Murray wouldn’t let Barry move or why Barry didn’t switch seats with Erica.

The way George said the line about “he made me pump the gas” was very funny.

Otherwise, I cringe-watched the entire thing because it made me very uncomfortable.  I do not enjoy watching people behaving poorly in public.

Geoff trying to hood-slide over the Le Car was cute though.

[Mabinogia]

28 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Otherwise, I cringe-watched the entire thing because it made me very uncomfortable.  I do not enjoy watching people behaving poorly in public.

That's where I was at with this ep. It was basically taking everything I do NOT like about the Goldbergs and amplifying it. It was the worst Bev has ever been. It was the worst the whole family has ever behaved. I just did not find anything about it enjoyable. I don't like watching people like this. I just hope it's a one off and we get back to them having at least some redeemable qualities next ep.

[biakbiak]

17 hours ago, Mrs OldManBalls said:

I needed a drink after this. It was too real. Like the writers know my life. 

Will that drink be a bottomless soda shared by the whole family?

Edited January 14, 2018 by biakbiak

[Nessie]

Lefties run in my family.  My father was a lefty, my oldest son is a lefty, and my nephew is a lefty.  When the family all had dinner together, they all had to sit on the same side of the table so they weren't continually bumping elbows with everyone else.

My mother isn't as bad as Bev, but she's close.  She's very fussy about where we sit in restaurants, she considers a menu just a list of suggestions, and she keeps track of who gets their food when and will loudly comment on it.  *Cringe*  (She has not, however, taken food off another party's table.  She may want what she wants, but she has way more manners than that.)  She's really fussy about hotel rooms, too, and on one trip a couple of years ago, changed rooms 5 times before she was happy - and we were only staying overnight.

So I found this episode hysterical, and a big part of that was because it was so familiar, but also I was glad that someone had it worse than me! LOL

Also, I complained about being over Erica last week, but I think she was used in the right way this week.

[niklj]

Is Geoff no longer a member of the JTP?

[ichbin]

On 1/12/2018 at 1:43 PM, tennisgurl said:

So, yeah, this might as well be a documentary. 

That's what made it so good.  I've watched it three times so far (rarely if ever re-watch sitcoms) and it has made me laugh just as much each time.  Hope they use this episode for Emmy consideration.  It was perfect.

[reggiejax]

I liked that they refrained big time from their usual reliance on the pop culture references, save of course for the ode to chain restaurants. Was the restaurant in this episode real, because I have never heard of it?

I am just curious how the Goldberg's were able to take another table's food like that in real life. My guess is the people they took the food from were simply too dumbfounded by the act to protest. I'd certainly be dumbfounded by it too, but if Bev tried to put her hands on my food, she'd be pulling back a couple of nubs.

[dcalley]

I loved recognizing bits from "Parents Just Don't Understand" in Bev's dialogue when they were shopping at the beginning. I am Real Adam's age, and this song was a huge hit with kids our age and even all these years later I still know most of the words by heart despite not having listened to it since Leslie Knope/Amy Poehler demonstrated she also knew all the words.

[ichbin]

6 hours ago, reggiejax said:

Was the restaurant in this episode real, because I have never heard of it?

Yes, and it's been driving me crazy since last week trying to remember where it was in my area.  

[biakbiak]

Quote

Adam's silly antics in class distract his woodshop teacher -- who nearly injures himself; Geoff and Beverly try to become more cultured in an attempt to keep Erica close.

[trapad]

I had tears running down my face at the shop teacher. Hysterical episode. 

[Silverglitter]

Shop teacher was all kinds of funny.

I'm sick of all the Geoff!

Edited January 18, 2018 by Silverglitter
Shop keepers and Shop Teachers are two different things...

[JasmineFlower]

Another great all around episode though I could've done without the 227 shade from Adam.

"Did my daughter just say WAT-ER like she’s from Delaware?” A regional joke, but an excellent one.

"You mean these old-new full price rags from the real Filene's above ground." DYING!!! And I do miss me some Filene's Basement.

[readster]

1 hour ago, Silverglitter said:

Shop teacher was all kinds of funny.

I'm sick of all the Geoff!

I love Clancy Brown, but I agree, I am sick of Geoff. I  cracked up when both Murray, Adam and the Principal were just like: "Seriously, this is just scary, can't we just take our punishment, apologize and leave?" "No you will apologize to the wood, the wood cares." I was on the ground. 

[Traveller519]

Oh my God! The second act! Between Geoff and Bev's date, the bagpipes, and the shop teacher that was a spectacular run of comedy that could have even put a smile on Murray's face. (I mean it did involve Donald Ducking) 

Can we move past this being the "first time I've heard you apologize" though? Those crazy Goldbergs are always finding understanding 

[Texasmom1970]

I’ll say I loved the Hooters in the 80’s and still do!

[Johnny Dollar]

As a resident of the “Delaware Valley” the “wudder” references were hilarious. 

[Mabinogia]

That was a brilliant episode. The shop teacher had me dying with his story about the cage and his love of wood and then the story about his many accidents before Adam the Serious saved him. He was hands down the best part of a great ep. I also loved the stuff with Erica. This was a good use of the "going away to college" story. It makes perfect sense that trend hopping Erica would be "too cool for school" now that she's a collage girl and try this pretentious crap because she thinks it's sophisticated only to hate it. And Bev's horror at the idea of anyone buying something that was not on sale was funny. And her and Geoff on their "date" was funny. Yes, Geoff, it is weird that you are hanging out with your girlfriends mother when she's away. Very weird.

All around great ep. And yes Adam, you are very, very lucky you had parents who supported you the way they did or you would not be doing this show for a living. (though the home movies make me think AG was the most insufferable kid who ever lived. I don't think I could have been around him for more than five minutes without wanting to punch him in the face. lol)

[ShelleySue]

I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

[Silverglitter]

Aside from Pops, I hated this eppie.

Maybe it's because I can't relate. My parents were usually laid back, but when we were in public, and esp. at a place like a restaurant, we were expected to be respectful and courteous.