The Ultimate Goldbergs.
-- Library Journal, 05/11/2010
3 vols. b/w. 32+ hrs. Regents of University of California, dist. by Shout Factory, www.shoutfactorystore.com. 2010. DVD ISBN 978-1-60399-405-7. $59.95. F/TV
Gertrude Berg used to start every episode of The Goldbergs (1949–56) with a friendly greeting to her audience through an open window. As we follow her inside her Bronx apartment, we get a glimpse of what life looked like in the early 1950s—filtered through television’s eye, of course. The Goldbergs started out on radio and moved to TV, where it was a sweet and domestic counterpoint to its wackier and louder contemporaries. Where Lucy was madcap and the Kramdens were cutting, matriarch Molly was a nice Jewish lady in pearls and an apron who served you chicken liver with a side of malapropisms. Much more interesting is the backstory of Berg, who worked through her costars’ blacklisting, network shuffling, sexism, and anti-Semitism. This six-DVD set includes 71 episodes, 12 radio shows, a documentary excerpt, and a pilot for Berg’s subsequent series (with appearances by Steve McQueen and Anne Bancroft). Digital restoration has helped preserve the earliest broadcasts, which show their age. Boomers and older audiences will get a kick out of seeing their own history from this gentle and comfy perspective.—Ellen Druda, Half Hollow Hills Community Lib., Dix Hills, NY
