Theory: The Goldbergs doesn't actually take place in the '80s - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 04-21-2018, 05:15 AM

The main reason is because the timeline in The Goldbergs doesn't make any sense. For example, in one Season 2 episode they watch the Berlin Wall fall, which didn't happen until it was almost 1990 (supposedly at the same time Tiffany was popular, which was in 1987), and a few episodes later they're in 1984 talking about Walter Mondale and Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign. This is just one of many, many inconsistencies - for example Erica still secretly liking New Kids on the Block years after her preteen infatuation with them even though they didn't become popular until 1988.

Some of the fashion from the show doesn't make sense for a genuine 1980s setting. Granted, period pieces usually do wrongly stick modern things into their settings by accident, but some of the details in The Goldbergs are deliberate oversights, particularly Adam's glasses, the style of which didn't exist until at earliest 1992.

It is actually a Truman Show-like recreation of the '80s taking place in modern times. And the fake 1980s of Jenkintown was created because nostalgic parents wanted their kids to grow up with the same things they did. People like Beverly Goldberg want to live in this world because they're very sentimental about the past (remember, she kept literally every art project her kids ever did).

Granted, this theory is really far out there, and the fact it's loosely based on the show creator's real life experiences and family could be seen as a big strike against it. However, he created this show in order to recreate his past in a sense, which isn't that much different from the show's premise being that of a society that recreated the world of the 1980s in their community.

vampirevsrobot · 04-21-2018, 06:38 AM

It's gotten incredibly cheesy over the last several seasons and even more so than many sitcoms it purportedly mocks/tributes from the 1980's.

Those last 6 minutes...

Yikes...

After the 24 minute mark on my DVR...I want to believe "Growing Pains" is still on the air.

I used to think this was intentional, but I'm not so sure anymore.

I think this show actually reflects more on 1989 than any year of that decade.

04-21-2018, 05:15 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,264	Theory: The Goldbergs doesn't actually take place in the '80s The main reason is because the timeline in The Goldbergs doesn't make any sense. For example, in one Season 2 episode they watch the Berlin Wall fall, which didn't happen until it was almost 1990 (supposedly at the same time Tiffany was popular, which was in 1987), and a few episodes later they're in 1984 talking about Walter Mondale and Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign. This is just one of many, many inconsistencies - for example Erica still secretly liking New Kids on the Block years after her preteen infatuation with them even though they didn't become popular until 1988. Some of the fashion from the show doesn't make sense for a genuine 1980s setting. Granted, period pieces usually do wrongly stick modern things into their settings by accident, but some of the details in The Goldbergs are deliberate oversights, particularly Adam's glasses, the style of which didn't exist until at earliest 1992. It is actually a Truman Show-like recreation of the '80s taking place in modern times. And the fake 1980s of Jenkintown was created because nostalgic parents wanted their kids to grow up with the same things they did. People like Beverly Goldberg want to live in this world because they're very sentimental about the past (remember, she kept literally every art project her kids ever did). Granted, this theory is really far out there, and the fact it's loosely based on the show creator's real life experiences and family could be seen as a big strike against it. However, he created this show in order to recreate his past in a sense, which isn't that much different from the show's premise being that of a society that recreated the world of the 1980s in their community.

04-21-2018, 06:38 AM	#2
vampirevsrobot Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 24, 2014 Posts: 170	It's gotten incredibly cheesy over the last several seasons and even more so than many sitcoms it purportedly mocks/tributes from the 1980's. Those last 6 minutes... Yikes... After the 24 minute mark on my DVR...I want to believe "Growing Pains" is still on the air. I used to think this was intentional, but I'm not so sure anymore. I think this show actually reflects more on 1989 than any year of that decade.
	__________________ *"I vaguely have a feeling that at one point I delivered a pizza to the Eisenhower's"* Last edited by vampirevsrobot; 04-21-2018 at 08:52 AM.