The Goldbergs – "DannyDonnieJoeyJonJordan" Retrospective. Hangin’ Tough.

Season 2, Episode 10

Air Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 8:30/7:30c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“Her reign of terror is finally over.” – Adam

Short lived revenge.

After years of mockery and much to the chagrin of Erica (Hayley Orrantia), Adam (Sean Giambrone) and Barry (Troy Gentile) are finally able to turn the tables as Erica feels the embarrassment Barry seems to feel on a daily basis.

Adam: “For years our stupid life choices and physical awkwardness has given you ammo to humiliate us but no more.”

Their victory is short lived, though, when the two discover Erica’s love of the boy band, New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), is less shameful and surprisingly enjoyable.

I’ve been worried that an episode of The Goldbergs like this would eventually come along ever since I started reviewing the show. Not because of anything bad but because I find myself opening up about my own life in these reviews and I was afraid I, like Barry and Adam, would confess my love for some group my readers would laugh at. Thankfully, this episode wasn’t about Weird Al Yankovic, although he is mentioned.

I was never a fan of NKOTB yet growing up in the 80s, it’s hard to forget their popularity, especially with women. Despite that, their music during “DannyDonnieJoeyJonJordan” is used perfectly to accompany each scene and makes the episode even more enjoyable. Even I will admit the music grows on you.

Works of art or junk?

The other story line is equally as entertaining as Murray (Jeff Garlin) convinces Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) to get rid of the collection of finger paintings and macaroni art created by the kids throughout the years that has overtaken the garage. Beverly sees them as works of art made by future geniuses while Murray sees them as dried food stuck to paper with glue.

Murray: “It’s simple; our children are not talented.”

Beverly: “You’re a monster.”

Following a colossal mistake by Murray, he and Pops (George Segal) try to recreate some of the artwork in hopes that Beverly won’t notice. Meanwhile, Beverly has a few secrets of her own. While this entire bit is hilarious, I do have one complaint. The storyline is so entertaining, it deserves its own episode. That would have allowed the writers to expand the narrative more rather than having it be the smaller, secondary story. As great as it is, it feels drowned out by the NKOTB scenes.

What’s Beverly’s secret?

One of my favorite parts of each episode of The Goldbergs is the end credits where they show old home movies from the real Goldbergs doing things relating to that particular episode. With “DannyDonnieJoeyJonJordan,” the old footage is put side by side with clips of Giambrone and Gentile as they recreate a music video to the song “Hangin’ Tough.” The end credits alone are worth checking out as show creator Adam Goldberg proudly shows he doesn’t embarrass easily.

Regardless of whether you enjoy NKOTB or not, “DannyDonnieJoeyJonJordan” is very entertaining. Not only was the episode enjoyed by fans, as was evident by the tweets during the show, but at the time, several NKOTB members tweeted their enjoyment of the episode as well, including Donnie Wahlberg, Jonathan Knight, and Jordan Knight.

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “DannyDonnieJoeyJonJordan.”

Tune in to The Goldbergs Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c, only on ABC.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.