The Goldbergs

First airing and adapted for television in 1949 and based on its earlier radio broadcast starting in 1929, we have The Goldbergs. Often sited as one of the first sitcoms for both radio and television, it certainly helped define the format as watchers and listeners tuned in each week to hear the latest happenings of the Goldberg family, particularly the matriarch Molly. Created, written, and directed entirely by the star herself, Gertrude Berg, the series was certainly the first series with a female showrunner, and was also the first to depict home life of a Jewish family. Only hearing of the series after reading (listening) to Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's book When Women Invented Television, which I would highly recommend for more on this series, Berg herself, and a few other early women greats in the business, I immediately sought out where I could stream it and was lucky to find many of the extant episodes available on RokuTV. Unfortunately much of the series has been lost to time, but a considerable amount still exists. I must stay to a modern audience the pace is quite slow, and the constant advertisements for Rybutol, a vitamin supplement, were both funny and a fun reminder about how little advertising has changed in over 75 years. Episodes typically follow one or two new family dilemmas, from meeting the new neighbours to one of the kid's new relationships. With no laugh tracks, at the insistence of Berg, the series remains quite lighthearted, for me more a source of chuckles than laughs, but still quite good. Known for her leaning out their apartment window and delivering monologues, ad reads, and chatting with the neighbours, her famous "yoo-hoo" greeting would have been meet by thousands each week tuning into the latest 30 minute episode. To note, there is a more modern series of the same name and similar premise, but interestingly they are completely unrelated, the modern supposedly written without knowledge of the original. All said, unless you're already a fan of slower, black and white, 1950's television I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend, but if that does happen to be you certainly go for it, its a cornerstone of what's made tv today and was fun to have on in the background.

i don't watch television entertainments (other than SNL occasionally). but, one night at about 2am, while channel-surfing the UHF band i stumbled onto an episode of "The Goldbergs".

the contrast between this show and today's dreck literally brought tears to my eyes. in this particular episode, a couple who were friends of the Goldbergs had just separated. it seems that they did not 'communicate' openly and honestly with each other during their marriage.

in discussing this, the Goldbergs started to become increasingly candid with each other about mutual disappointments from the past. as they did so, the emotional air became more and more acrid.

the point was that there is no easy answer to the question of how much to 'confront' and how much to sweep under the carpet. but, there was no hitting below the belt, no potty humor, no double (or mono) entendres. just two decent people discussing a universal domestic problem with a leavening of humor.

i haven't been able to find it again, but i wish it would go into syndication locally.

What a great show in the middle of the 20th century!

Not only did Gertrude Berg star, but she also wrote the material for the show. She was a wonderful actress and her sudden passing, just before Rosh Hashanah, in 1966, was a terrible shock to all.

The show depicted a typical Jewish family living in the Bronx in the 1950s.

Molly may have been harried but she was always on the ball. "Yoo hoo, Mrs. Bloom," was my favorite as the 2 women stuck their heads out to converse. The door bell of that apartment never stopped ringing. People came in and out and would sit down to dinner as if it were nothing to invite themselves in.

Gertrude Berg (Molly) had a kind Jewish heart and that was usually reflected by the rest of the cast.

Her husband, Jake, worked in the garment industry in Manhattan. When he would come home, in a bad mood, watch out. Remember, "Jake, your liver is on the table?"

The show was up-to-date. As many Jewish families moved from the Bronx in the middle and late 1950s, the Goldbergs moved as well to Forest Hills in Queens.

The show was nostalgic and was a testimony to Jewish people of that era. Too bad we can't sit down with some chicken soup, gefilte fish et al and watch some reruns.

I am 59 and was searching my ancient memory for the first few TV shows I saw as a boy. We got our first TV in 1948. "Molly Goldberg," not among my favorites, was incomprehensible to me. The Jewish humor escaped me as a little boy. Still, that show stuck in my memory. For better or worse, I would really like to see some of those old TV shows from the first half of the last century.

I've had the privilege of seeing only two episodes of this pioneering family show, many years ago (in reruns), and I was quite impressed with its unique brand of humor and human warmth. Let's hope that many episodes survive and will be shown again, but sorry to say, the likelihood is small. With the advent of digital TV, "grainy" black and white vintage TV is even less likely to be appreciated. People seem to think that they are not getting their money's worth if they are not utilizing the full potential of their expensive TV sets. Well, there's another kind of potential that ought to be cherished: the human potential, as embodied in THE GOLDBERGS and other priceless, unforgettable family shows like MAMA. If you want to see them, your best chance is the Museum of Television and Radio in Los Angeles and New York. Alas, they don't sell copies of the shows. One doesn't even know who implemented such tight-hearted policies or why.