The Ultimate Goldbergs

While Aviva Kempner's charming 2009 documentary Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg introduced a new audience to the radio and television programs featuring the Goldberg family—launched by Gertrude Berg in 1929—this set represents the mother lode. Included here are all of the surviving episodes—12 radio broadcasts from 1939 to 1945 (12 to 14 minutes each) and 71 TV programs made between 1949 and 1956 (all but two running slightly under a half-hour each). Given the age of the material, the transfers (made for the UCLA Film and Television Archive) are surprisingly good (one of the DVD extras is a “before and after” comparison that makes the digital restoration's improvement abundantly clear). In terms of content, Berg specialized in gentle situation comedy with an ethnic bent, painting a warm, charming portrait of a Jewish family's internal dynamics. Of the TV episodes, the live programs aired on various networks through 1954 remain the best (even the personalized commercials for Sanka are worth seeing), while the final 1955–56 syndicated season—featuring the Goldbergs' move from their Bronx apartment to a house in suburban Haverville—is less engaging but still amusing. Other DVD extras include an excerpt from Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg; the pilot for Berg's attempted comeback series, Mrs. G. Goes to College (which lasted only a single season from 1961–62); and an illustrated booklet. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)