Right about this time last year, ABC’s wildly successful sitcom The Goldbergs aired a special episode entitled “1990-Something” revolving around Principal Glascott (Tim Meadows), and his niece Felicia (Rachel Crow). Much like spin-off shows such as That 80s Show, it simply didn’t work.
After some much needed restructuring the show returned as Schooled, a 1990s version of The Goldbergs centered around Barry’s main squeeze Lanie Lewis (AJ Michalka). Michalka immediately shows she has what it takes to carry this show with a complimentary supporting cast including: Meadows, Crow, and Bryan Callen.
The torch is passed when our old pal, Adam Goldberg narrates that Lanie and Barry (Troy Gentile) were not destined to be together after all. (Bummer) Lanie is trying to find her way as a solo musician as well as secure a steady paycheck. There’s a fantastic sequence showing that she was originally part of the infamous Chili’s “Baby Back Ribs” jingle, but was eventually cut out of it. After a brief Beverly Goldberg (Wendi McLendon-Covey) cameo, Lanie is given the job as the new high school music teacher at William Penn Charter High School.
Michalka plays the role of the hip new teacher that eventually connects with her students including Principal Glascott’s neice, Felicia. Lanie uses her love of grunge music to turn the annual Doo-Wop performance into a full out grunge concert which features Adam’s narration over The Smashing Pumpkin’s classic “Today.” Other classic ’90s nostalgia throughout include: Zima, Nirvana, and Michael Jordan.
The cherry on top was the subplot involving Coach Mellor evolving to the new ’90s style of basketball involving not-so-short shorts, dunking, and of course the dominant play of MJ himself. Mellor is reluctant to embrace the new style of play and accept the pure athletic ability of student Matty, who single-handedly beats the rest of his basketball team.
There’s a nice nod to the classic Larry Bird, Jordan “nothing but net” commercials while Matty and Coach Mellor play Horse. Mellor eventually admits that Matty is the most talented student he has ever coached, but reminds Matty that it’s important to learn how to play with a team.
Here’s the kicker: At the very end of the episode, Coach Mellor casually mentions to Matty that he should try football and become the new high school quarterback. I thought this was incredibly out of the blue, and immediately thought to myself, who is this Matty guy. Before my brain could get there, the show unveils that Matty is indeed the Atlanta Falcons starting QB himself, Matt Ryan aka Matty Ice! I absolutely love it. This is based on a true story and we’re even treated to a sit down with an appreciative Matt Ryan and the real Coach Rick at the end of the episode. This was a genuinely nice moment.
Spin-offs are tough. This time around, however, we’re taking some of our Goldberg’s pals into the 90s and on paper, it looks great. (Not to mention on screen) With Michalka at the forefront, this could absolutely take off with fans of The Goldbergs and new fans alike. Episode one came out strong, now let’s see if the rest of the season can live up to the hype.
