The Goldbergs was not afraid to discuss touchy subjects during its radio and early television days. For example, after the Kristallnacht, one episode had a brick being thrown through the Goldbergs' window during a Passover seder. Keep in mind, this was at a time when anti-Semitism was on the rise, and many Americans were in favor of Adolf Hitler.
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Really, any moment in the show that uses Awesome Music. Quite notably, "The Touch" and "Never Surrender", both by Stan Bush, which are both used frequently throughout the series.
All of the Goldberg kids get an awesome moment at the end of "Kara-te". Erica for her rendition of "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", Barry for successfully breaking a wooden board, and Adam for replacing his board with breakable balsa wood. And this even impresses Murray Goldberg, the man who tried to stop Barry from doing the show in the first place.
Barry successfully winning a wrestling match against his opponent in "A Wrestler Named Goldberg". Even after he got embarrassed in front of the whole school for his mom pinning her down, he still managed to win the crowd back.
Barry: Welcome to the mat!
After Beverly embarrasses Barry in front of the whole school, Murray puts her in her place by doing something she does best: tell a tragic parenting story about her own son.
Murray: Enough! All right, Bevy, no one loves a tragic parenting tale more than you. Did you ever hear the one about Beverly Goldberg's son? He got utterly dominated by her in front of the whole school and was made a laughingstock.
"Livin' on a Prayer":
Barry has 10 minutes of glory until his party ends, so how does he end it? By blasting "Livin' on a Prayer" (what else) on a boombox while leading all of the crowd into a sing-a-long. What cinches this scene though is when Lainey, Erica's friend, makes out with Barry in an attempt to make his previous crush, Lexy Bloom, jealous. Barry's quote at the end pretty much says it all.
Barry: This is the greatest night of my life!
In the same episode, we learn about Murray's past. He was a basketball superstar in high school. He was in the army. He waited tables with Lou Reed. He survived a goddamn plane crash! Next time you just think of him as "that one guy who does nothing but sleep in his chair all day in his underpants", just watch this episode.
"Barry Goldberg's Day Off" revolves around Barry wanting to have a day off like in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Unfortunately, none of his actions from the movie (Getting kicked out by restaurant waiter, going to a baseball game and museum, etc.) work out well until he gets on top of a homecoming parade float and sings "Twist and Shout" like in the movie. Unexpectedly, it turns out that everyone in the crowd saw and liked "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" that they eventually joined in with him. As it turns out, Barry makes a good Cameron as Ferris Bueller.
Beverly manages to make it through a fraternity's haunted house without any fear, just to save Adam and Barry (and ground Erica too for hanging with a frat boy).
Barry's awesome Thanksgiving toast in "In Conclusion, Thanksgiving". Despite some of its inaccuracies, the theatrics and "Never Surrender" by Stan Bush more than make up for it.
Adam's birthday party from "Rush" just screams "epic". Let's summarize some of the few things he had at his party: two Boba Fetts walking in with Adam, a fire-breather, a DJ, two knights battling each other, a camera cake, and most of all: the minihorse.
Credit to Beverly for helping plan this whole party. She must've scared a LOT of people into making something like this happen.
It's also set to Erica and the other girls' rendition of "Tom Sawyer", which too is an awesome moment in this episode.
Adam, after several bad events in Season 3, finally gets his redemption by flipping Barry during Freshmen Fear Week. "O Fortuna" playing makes this moment 10 times more awesome. However, Barry gets his mojo back (with a little help from Adam) by spraying the entire middle school class (Coach Mellor and Principal Ball too) during graduation with water sprinklers.
The long-awaited "fight" between Adam Goldberg and the other Adam Goldberg (who was frequently mentioned throughout Season 4). As it turns out, none of them knew how to fight, so with their knowledge of The Karate Kid and their experience in theater, they reenact the final scene of The Karate Kid perfectly, complete with "You're the Best Around". And the result? They both win and get to keep their names.
After watching Barry and Adam's parody of "Parents Just Don't Understand" (entitled "Dads Just Don't Care") where they blatantly trash-talk him throughout the video, Murray calls them both out in a swear-filled rant.
Murray: You guys think I nap because I'm lazy? No. I nap because I work my [BLEEP] fingers to the bone so you little [BLEEP] can have your dumb [BLEEP] tennis shoes and your expensive [BLEEP] cameras.
Barry (or rather Barry Joel) does the holiday talent show again in Season 5 and performs the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" but with his own lyrics. And just like last time, it seems to win the crowd over.
Geoff gets his shining moment in "Dinner With the Goldbergs" when he finally breaks and calls out the whole family's irritating dinner habits. It takes a lot of guts for someone like Geoff to actually stand up to himself and call out his girlfriend's annoying family. Additionally, not only does he survive dinner with The Goldbergs, he finally earns some respect from Murray.
Adam's plan for getting Barry back into the Jenkintown Posse (JTP)? He creates hall passes to get into Germantown High School to steal their mascot, which is something the JTP couldn't do.
Barry's speech at the end of "The Other Smother". Not only does it earn him the position of treasurer, it's also a "Reason You Suck" Speech geared towards "smothers" everywhere. To put in context: Beverly, his campaign manager, tried to promote his campaign by giving out berries and plastering an embarrassing picture of younger Barry all over the school, which leads to the speech below.
Barry: This is for all you out there with overbearing parents with no sense of shame or boundaries! Now, I don't know how this exactly ties into being a treasurer, but I do know if I can survive the berries and the pictures of me being like this (does awkward smile and thumbs up from his picture), then I'm definitely the dude to lead this school. Because all moms suck! Who's with me?!
