The Goldbergs was an instant sensation when it debuted on ABC in 2013. It brings back memories of one’s own youth to see a family sitcom set in the 1980s. It has made for the best escape television. For 30 minutes, laughing along with characters like Beverly Goldberg (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Adam Goldberg (Sean Giambrone), you are reminded of how much you enjoyed your own youth.
But the series has had other strengths as well, aside from nostalgia. The majority of the time, the characters are what carry this programme. Adam Goldberg, a nerdy young man concerned with filmmaking, is the focus of the episode. His unusual family surrounds him. His siblings include his self-centered brother Barry (Troy Gentile) and his aspirational singer sister Erica (Hayley Orrantia). Pops is the cool but sage granddad (George Segal). The parents round out the group. Jeff Garlin plays Murray, the grouchy, antisocial father, and Wendi McLendon-Covey plays Beverly, the domineering but well-intentioned mother. The family fights, drama happens, and thirty minutes later everyone is forgiving and getting along better. The Goldberg family is loving and half crazy at the same time.
Recent actual life situations put that love to the test. In March 2021, George Segal passed away first. Pops was the tether that bound this family together as Adam’s best friend and Beverly’s father. In the first episode of this season, the Goldbergs grappled with the loss. Beverly refuses to leave. Adam refuses to concede defeat. Barry’s irate. Erica won’t discuss her approaching nuptials. Murray too appears unaware, but it soon becomes clear that he may be suffering more than anyone. The loss of Pop brings the family closer together. At the tree where he proposed to his wife, they spread his ashes together in the final scene. Erica declares that this is the location of her dream wedding, and Adam speaks while lamenting the loss of his best buddy. The Goldbergs’ family relationship was at its strongest ever.
Another real-life occurrence upended that dynamic. Jeff Garlin was abruptly fired from The Goldbergs in December 2021 following numerous inquiries into charges of misbehaviour. The loss of one of the series’ main actors was a serious blow. Fans were perplexed. How would the absence of Garlin be handled? Would they allow him to pass by killing him?
The Goldbergs’ creators chose not to take any action. Instead of finding a creative solution to the problem, they have managed to keep Murray in the show by adding him to previously unused clips, off-camera conversations, and situations when his presence was unavoidable by using a stand-in. The worst choice could have been made, as it turns out.
There have been decisions that were worse than others. Even though Murray is always portrayed alone, there is a strange sequence when he is alone in his recliner watching TV, intermingled with other takes of his family that were shot in the living room. It appears awkward. In another episode, Murray’s absence is conveniently explained away by a character saying that he hasn’t yet returned from his trip. Okay, so you’re out of that particular episode. But what about when he doesn’t show up the following week? The audience is aware that this journey is ongoing. Acting as though nothing has happened is offensive.
Other options have been utterly confusing. The season finale features Adam’s high school graduation. Murray must attend his son’s special day. To get around this, there are a few rapid cuts of Adam hugging his stand-in, who is being filmed from the back, and Garlin watching from the audience.
The worst offender, and one of the most embarrassing events in recent TV history, occurs during Erica’s wedding early in the season. Naturally, Murray must also be present there. More stand-in shots are used to get around this, when Murray is filmed from the back or neck down and speech from unaired takes is added. Nothing about it feels natural. The wedding scene follows, in which Garlin is digitally inserted into the celebration. At the conclusion of Return of the Jedi, he appeared to be a Star Wars ghost.
The poorly shot insertion of Garlin distracted the audience from the action. Erica’s wedding wasn’t a topic of conversation. They were discussing how startling it was to find Murray in such abject condition. If it didn’t feel so unnatural, it would be amusing.
The awful ways The Goldbergs have incorporated Garlin into the programme are not, however, the worst evil they have done. They have ruined the dynamics of the family by refusing to face and deal with reality. The underlying message of how family love can help you overcome obstacles has been lost. Murray’s absence is typically completely unmentioned. He’s not here. Do these folks not care that their father and husband are no longer alive? Why shouldn’t they be concerned that he barely participates in their most important events?
To kill Murray would have been the only way to solve the issue. When an actor is dropped from a series, it has been done frequently before. Both Roseanne in Roseanne and Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men recently had their characters die off-screen after being dismissed. The only way to cope with Garlin’s removal and maintain the focus of the show is to do this. Murray is a crucial member of the family. Although he is a grump who prefers to watch TV in his pyjamas, his love for his family ultimately triumphs over his selfishness. He always makes a full circle. He no longer shows up at all, allowing his wife and kids to handle their problems on their own. He’s reportedly somewhere, but it seems like he doesn’t care, and we’re being told not to care either.
Family comedy The Goldbergs is produced. It is insulting to the viewers and detrimental to the family dynamic that the show is based on to remove a member of that family while continuing to act as if the absent person is still present. It’s difficult to murder off Murray, especially because the show is meant to be comedic, but there was no other way to keep the family close. Similar to when Pops passed away, we would see everyone’s grief before watching them become stronger and closer as they came to value one another more. It might have compelled the programme to move past the formulaic plots that have characterised it for the past few seasons.
Instead, the Goldberg family’s life goes on as usual, and through the show’s quiet, we are persuaded that a father’s absence is not significant. Everyone can get by just fine without him since he appears to be working around the clock. Murray’s neglect lessens the effect of the stories. The result is something awkward and clumsy that is resisting loss, much like Adam did with Pops, and is living in denial.
The Goldbergs appears to be prepared to try to maintain the masquerade for at least one more season in light of the recent surprising Season 10 announcement. We can all anticipate a scenario in the upcoming season when Ghost Murray is standing in the delivery room after missing out on being there for nine months because the season finale revealed that Erica is pregnant. Yikes.
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