Finally! After a long summer hiatus, The Goldbergs returned tonight for its highly-anticipated third season. I’ve been waiting on this one since May, and my enthusiasm was bolstered even more after my preseason interviews with creator Adam F. Goldberg and Sean Giambrone, the actor who portrays Adam on the show. Let’s see what happened in the Season 3 premiere, “A Kick-A** Risky Business Party.”
The episode opens with an absolutely fantastic moment of Barry “Tom Cruise”-ing in the house because of how much he’s always loved the movie Risky Business. After his girlfriend Lainey (played by now-series regular AJ Michalka) drives up to school in her dad’s Porsche (since he happens to be out of town), Barry decides that now is the perfect time to throw a Risky Business party. Unfortunately, there’s an accident with the Porsche that leads to Lainey staying with the Goldbergs until her dad returns. Beverly decides to take on Lainey as a surrogate daughter, though, which leads to some really great interaction between the two women in Barry’s life.
I had been wondering for months what kind of effect the promotion of AJ Michalka to a series regular would have on The Goldbergs as a whole, and “A Kick-A** Risky Business Party” seems great indication of how much potential this promotion has for a lot of laughs. The remainder of the episode gives us a chance to see our favorite “smother” using her charm on someone outside of her family, and the payoff of the storyline helps to remind us (as if we could ever forget) how much heart and caring the character has.
Meanwhile, Adam is working on getting used to his first long-distance relationship with his girlfriend Dana now that she’s moved to Seattle. When Murray decides that he isn’t going to pay for the long-distance phone calls, Adam tries sending her faxes from the teachers’ lounge — at least, until Mr. Glascott (guest star Tim Meadows) catches him. Glascott calls Murray in to talk to him about Adam’s behavior, and I think that this may be the first time that these two characters have ever interacted extensively. Whether it is or not, the scene was extremely well-written (and had a fun payoff at the end of the episode) and led to some really great development in the Adam/Dana storyline. We also get another wonderful moment between Adam and his father, which is something that The Goldbergs has proven it’s great at over the past two-plus seasons.
The Goldbergs hasn’t lost any of its steam between seasons, and I think that “A Kick-A** Risky Business Party” may be my favorite premiere that the show has had so far. The writing is just as perfect as ever, and I realized that I’ve missed these characters even more than I thought. The premiere did a great job of providing a reintroduction to the status quo while subtly kicking off a season’s worth of material. I am so incredibly excited to see every single episode of The Goldbergs this season, and I think that this might finally be the year that the show gets recognized as one of the greatest family comedies in modern television history.
Other Notes/Favorite Quotes:
- WOW! Sean Giambrone (Adam) and Natalie Alyn Lind (Dana) both got hit by puberty like a brick over the hiatus, but it suits both actors very well. I absolutely love that The Goldbergs has lasted long enough to see what it’s really like as this family grows up. It’s not something that many people will pay attention to, but it’s such a fun thing that we get to enjoy. More than ever, The Goldbergs reminds me of my favorite parts of The Wonder Years while still managing to be its own great entity.
- “Dave Kim likes them thick.” – Dave Kim, a character that I really hope we see a whole lot more than we have in seasons past
- Tim Meadows is always an absolute treat when he appears on The Goldbergs as the school guidance counselor, and his appearance in this premiere is another great offering with the character.
- “But you know what? It’s never too much cheese.” – Beverly, making me connect with my favorite TV mom more than ever before
- Adam and Barry’s “musical love letter” was amazing, and that’s all I have to say about that.
- The best “Tom Cruise”-ing came not from Barry, but from an unexpected character that I won’t spoil here. Needless to say, the moment works wonderfully because of the episode’s setup.
- The episode’s use of real-life footage from Adam F. Goldberg’s childhood was one of my favorite examples so far. It also really helped to show just how much of his real self the creator manages to put into this show, even when we as an audience don’t realize it.
What did you think about the season premiere of The Goldbergs? What do you think will happen throughout the rest of the season? Let us know in the comments down below, and tune in each week for my continuing reviews of The Goldbergs!
[Photo credit: Ron Tom/ABC]
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