Customer Reviews

The Goldbergs

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is excellent television. I wish they had the who series on DVD. Buyers need to know that the shows on these two disks are from the later part of the series, after they moved out of the city. The older episodes are not represented in this small collection.

I ordered this DVD with great anticipation of renewing old and fond memories of a TV series of my childhood. The series primarily took place in a part of NYC not far where I grew up and I related to many of the characters in both my family and personal life. Sadly, both discs present episodes from what must be nearly the end of the run where the family was trying to assimilate and moved to the suburbs - kind of "The Jeffersons" in reverse. Most of the charm was gone, though it was nice to see the actors again. I wish the description of the contents would have made clear what was being presented. However, for the price, not much $$$ was wasted.

Being that this is only the latter season's syndicated episodes & that the remainder of the series had been done live & that very little kinescope's been preserved in relation to this classic show, any Goldbergs is better than no Goldbergs.

I ADORED SEEING THIS AFTER SOOOO LONG. IT BROUGHT BACK SOOO MANY MEMORIES OF WHAT WAS.

Great to see these old friends. Lots of memories come flooding back. T V then was not as sophisticated but it had lots of heart.

I didn't know much about The Goldbergs, except that whenever the show was mentioned it would bring a nostalgic smile to those who remember television programming over fifty years ago. It was with mild trepidation that I ordered these episodes of The Goldbergs. I cannot attest to whether these episodes are as good as those that took place in the original setting of the Bronx, but I can say that the first episode alone, though utterly predictable, is thoroughly charming. In fact, all of these episodes are warm, charming, and wholesome. I recommend these DVD's most highly!

I wasn't familiar with this series before renting it, but was intrigued by the idea of an American TV show from the 40s and 50s about a Jewish-American family from New York that moves to a white suburban neighborhood.

It turned out to be a quiet, sweet, smart comedy that also happens to have been created and written by Gertrude Berg, who stars as Molly Goldberg and who was an innovative and successful trailblazer in radio and television even before Lucy came on the scene. There's no slapstick here, a la I Love Lucy, but rather quiet day-to-day comedy about Molly's life with her husband, two children, and Uncle David, as well as their friendly but eccentric neighbors. Molly charms her new neighbors with her cooking and advice, serves on a jury, and becomes convinced through psychology that she secretly hates her family.

Without a laugh track, and with the old-fashioned feel of the series, it's easy to miss some of the very smart and modern humor. In particular, I loved the humorous mistakes Molly makes in speaking English. There is no sense of "making fun" here, but rather (at least in my opinion) a surprising awareness of and empathy with the immigrant experience. That said, the jokes are sometimes hilarious, as when Molly, who has left coldcuts on the table for her husband's lunch, tells him she's "laid you out cold on the table", or when she instructs her daughter to hang a new dress by telling her to "go hang yourself in the closet".

No doubt, the show isn't for everyone, with its quiet domestic concerns that might seem slow-paced to some and its wordplay that requires careful attention. But I was surprised and pleased to find such a smart and well-written series that I'd never so much as heard of before.

When I was a child growing up in New York City, one of the programs I just loved was The Goldbergs. I suppose it reminded me, to some extent, of my own family; the closeness, the trial and tribulations, the joy in sharing happy moments and yes, even the smell of mom's cooking. Gertrude Berg was an innovative lady for her time and she brought the warmth of the family unit to the screen. This series, although not the original programming set in New York City, takes the Goldbergs to the suburbs of New York. Once again, we get a glimpse of family life and with it the feeling of nostalgia and a time gone by. Even if you're not a New Yorker, anyone can relate to this series and walk away with a good feeling.

I have just finished watching this complete set and wish that there was more. I do hope that additional episodes are made available in the near future. I do have a copy of the full length movie - Molly - and cherish it and guard it. It came on the American Movie Classic station 10 years ago and luckily I made a copy for myself. I watch it from time to time when I yearn for a little bit of Molly's nurturing. It would be wonderful if the earlier episodes in The Bronx were available. I have never seen them and they must be gems.

The stories are solid, the picture quality as you would expect it to be but good stories make up for it. I was disappointed that Molly and family are in the suburbs, not hanging out the window of the old neighborhood, so to me some of the flavor isn't there, but that was my disappointment and doesn't take away from the ups and downs of the Goldbergs.