While many network TV shows are in the throes of worrying about whether renewals are on the way — with some shows already getting the cancellation axe — ABC's The Goldbergs is just trying to making it through the end of Season 9 without giving anyone paralyzing night terrors in the form of Not Actually Jeff Garlin's patriarch Murray Goldberg. In the aftermath of the actor's ousting earlier in the season, it was revealed that Murray would still live on throughout the rest of the series by way of archival footage and digital trickery. But fans are calling the show out for such trickery being far less than magical, with Star Wars getting quick comparisons.
In particular, the latest episode "The Wedding" has caused a mild, hilarious uproar amongst both Goldbergs fans and those who just happen to appreciate wildly obvious CGI shoehorned into live-action projects. Check out the scene below to get a wickedly sour taste of silent and smiling Murray Goldberg:
They should either cancel The Goldbergs or kill off Jeff Garlin’s character because the workarounds they’ve been using this season ain’t working. pic.twitter.com/EgG4so6rIAMarch 14, 2022
There are deepfakes, and there is…this. It’s almost as if Jeff Garlin’s smiling face is being projected onto a pad of flesh, and that the projector was cursed by Satan and other monstrous entities. I think this person would agree with that sentiment.
Therapist: the CGI double for Jeff Garlin from the Goldbergs can’t hurt you, he’s not realThe CGI double for Jeff Garlin from the Goldbergs: pic.twitter.com/SG5Gxx2w6dMarch 14, 2022
I have a feeling that even though Matt Reeves already may have introduced a Joker into his Batman world, CGI Jeff Garlin would give any potential Clown Prince portrayers a run for their funny money. Or maybe Clayface...
But wait, this isn't the time for Batman speculation. Let's see a Star Wars joke!
I don't know what everyone's talking about, this clip from the Goldbergs looked just fine pic.twitter.com/tWujKEarMpMarch 15, 2022
Let it get past no one that The Goldbergs airs on ABC, owned by Disney, which owns Star Wars, which has delivered some of the most widely railed-against CGI character work in all of fiction. (Which isn't to say that it's all universally loathed, but still.)
From Peter Cushing’s digi-resurrection as Grand Moff Tarkin and Carrie Fisher’s de-aged Leia in Rogue One to Mark Hamill’s young Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian, Star Wars knows a thing or two about making people uncomfortable with characters who aren’t really there. But not everyone wants to stay uncomfortable, of course, and this fan humorously hoped for The Goldbergs to go even harder on making the CGI successful.
Would be cool actually if The Goldbergs got really competitive about the special effects, have CGI Jeff Garlin going toe to toe with CGI Luke Skywalker for the SFX Emmy
@Srirachachau
Of course, no joking sesh regarding CGI human weirdness would be complete without the granddaddy of the uncanny valley himself, Tom Hanks.
Watching Goldbergs and this digital Jeff Garlin looks nothing like him. Here I took a picture. pic.twitter.com/RlzmFYG3ZWMarch 15, 2022
Not everyone was entirely negative, with a couple of people saying they'd be even more interested in keeping up with The Goldbergs specifically if Murray was around a lot more as a smiling, CGI weirdo. And then the fan below wouldn't be against every show featuring an actor whose role eventually gets Murray Goldberged, as it were.
Every show should hire one actor with the understanding that they’ll do this to them after a few seasons.
@pattymo
In spite of Jeff Garlin’s exit, The Goldbergs still later earned a full episode order for Season 9, so fans can look forward to at least seven more episodes. As far as whether or not Season 10 will be ordered up, that’s a whole other discussion.
While waiting to hear more, though, The Goldbergs airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what other shows are heading to the small screen soon, check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
