The Goldbergs, a new ABC sitcom, premiered on September 24^th and airs Tuesday nights at nine. The show looks back into the lives of a suburban family in the 1980s. With references to Flavor Flav and REO Speedwagon, The Goldbergs will certainly rekindle the youthful memories of many of our parents.

As I watched this show with my father and brothers, I couldn’t help but laugh at references that I couldn’t even understand fully. What made the show humorous was the laughter that erupted from my forty-four year old dad. Watching this show felt like riding shotgun in my dad’s car, listening to 102.9 MGK (the classic rock station) and talking about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or The Breakfast Club. It feels retro and classic.

On the other hand, The Goldbergs, like any good 80s movie, proves that the struggles of teenagers are perennial and unchanged throughout the decades. Yes, new technology does complicate communication and relationships, but communication is communication, one way or the other. Whether it’s texting, emailing, talking on the phone, or face-to-face, the ideas and spirit is still the same. The truth is, teenagers just want to have fun (whatever that fun may be). These ideas become greatly evident in the second episode of The Goldbergs, “Daddy Daughter Day,” when Murray Goldberg, the father, and Erica Goldberg, the oldest child, spend a day out together at the local roller rink. Wanting to find the lost connection with his now-teenage daughter, Murray tells Erica to talk to him — really talk to him. Once the dam was broken, there was no stopping the water. Erica went on and on about her “girl problems,” describing in full details her tumultuous relationship with her best friend. Most of what she said, if not everything, is relevant to my life or the lives of close friends. It is interesting to see that things that my generation — the teenagers of right now — are forced to deal with problems that are extremely similar to those that our parents had. From friendship to love to academics: our parents had to deal with it all, too. They know more than we give them credit for.

Now, if that’s not enough reason to watch the show next Tuesday, then I don’t know what is. Maybe the fact that Murray Goldstein is played by the hilarious Jeff Garlin from Daddy Day Care will convince you to watch. If not, just watch for the sole purpose of relating to your parents. They may seem like they’re talking a foreign language at times, but they understand; they get it. Anyway, what would adolescence be like without parents, and adults in general, standing in your way?