My Review of "The Goldbergs: Season 7"

The Goldbergs: Season 7 means that we've gone through 7 years in the life of The Goldbergs family. There have been a few changes that have happened throughout the years that might put in a few restrictions for the direction of this series. I'm actually really surprised that they've been consistent with the level of writing throughout the series. I would have though that they would have run out of material by now but they continue to innovate and find new 80's references to throw at the show.

I have been a fan of this series from the very beginning and will probably watch it up until the end. Watching The Goldbergs actually kind of reminds me of the good old days of TGIF on ABC way back in the day. ABC knows how to milk us with the nostalgia and family friendly programming. They've even have a pretty successful spin-off series called Schooled that focuses on one of the old character Lainey.

Last season I found that they focused a little more on the misadventures of the older siblings more than they did before. Adam is still the main focus of the show however in this season things have changed. Erica and Barry are now starting college. This brings about new story scenarios that they couldn't really explore.

Since Erica and Barry have moved off to college Adam is the lone child at home and this means Beverly is having issues losing Adam. He's starting to grow up and meeting new girls. She doesn't like the fact that all of her kids are moving out and starting their own lives. Obviously, those that know who Beverly is will know how she will overly smother Adam throughout the season. It was kind of similar to how it was with last season where Erica and Barry were moving off to college.

Talking about the college life, it kind of feels like the transition with a lot of other family sitcoms when the kids get shipped off to college. Erica and Barry have very different personalities than a lot of other family sitcom shows so there is a different direction to their stories. Still it does feel something like how the Fresh Prince of Bel Air characters had moved off to college. The two siblings are at each others throats but they still show that they care for each other. Much like the dynamic duo of Will and Carlton of Fresh Prince fame.

One of the most interesting elements that they added out of nowhere was Erica's new friend Ren. To me this came out of left field because they didn't really ease her into the story. She just shows up all of a sudden. Then Barry and her have this relationship but it's odd because a lot of people that watch The Goldbergs also watch the spin-off sitcom Schooled. Those that are following Schooled will know that Barry and Lainey get back together and this is based in the 90's. This makes it odd for anyone of us to take Barry's relationship with anyone kind of a moot point because we know it won't ultimately work out.

That brings up another issue with The Goldbergs. Due to the fact that they made the Schooled spin-off series that plays right after The Goldbergs, it feels like The Goldbergs is on its last legs. They're in their 7th year and it's supposed to be in the 80's. The characters are growing and going through life changing events in their lives like moving off to college and whatnot. It seems as though the 80's aspect of the show won't soon make sense anymore. They might have to move the characters into the 90's really soon. Will this mean that this series will eventually coincide with Schooled? Or will it continue to play off the 80's for as long as it can?

Overall, I enjoyed this season just as much as the previous seasons. I'm really surprised that they keep throwing new 80's references to satire and have fun with. I'm really curious what they have up their sleeves for the next season. I have to give this season an 8 out of 10. To keep up with the continuity of the series I feel that the writers may have their hands tied for certain story-lines for next season.