Anyone who watches The Goldbergs will notice the presence of toys throughout the show. Not just sitting around in the background, but as major plot devices in many cases. Like any boy who grew up in the early ‘80s, to Adam F. Goldberg, G.I. Joe and He-Man were in his sweet spot, so they play an important role in his autobiographical hit.

“I still collect toys, robits and action figures, he recently tweeted. “So many people judge this hobby as silly and juvenile. All I can say is… it brings me joy. This is why I love the @goldnerds fans. Even though we’re grown-ups, we refuse to grow up and ignore what makes us truly happy.”

With that kind of toy collecting pedigree, Goldberg recently discovered hobbyDB, and liked what he saw. In fact, he liked it enough to invest in the company as a new shareholder. He’s definitely the kind of guy we want on board here!

Garbage Pail Kids were also one of his favorites. So it figures he would produce the documentary 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story in 2017. In fact, one of his first contacts with hobbyDB was via their production of new GPK products.

He has also done deep dives into other geek culture such as documentaries about Dungeons & Dragons, Tetris, and The Masters of the Universe.

Though he says “The Goldbergs” is fairly straight-up autobiographical, he plays fast and loose with specific timelines. “When I think, When did I win Legend of Zelda? I don’t remember what year it was. I only remember that it was somewhere in the mid to late eighties. … So we decided to set it in ‘1980-something.’ Pop culture references from the early and late ‘80s will appear side by side, which gives it a benevolent memory of an era instead of a rigid recreation of a specific moment in time. “This idea of having an undependable narrator was “so liberating creatively. We could do anything … It’s kind of a melting pot of the eighties. It’s how you remember it.”

The beauty of hobbyDB is it can be a place where folks like Goldberg can revisit certain parts of their childhood by sharing their collections in the database, seeing what others with similar interests have added, and archiving those toys for posterity. “I just love the idea of continuing where Wikipedia stops,” said Goldberg. “For example, a site that has a list of every GI Joe vehicle with all variations but also shows every version of GPK character Adam Bomb is the holy grail for folks like me who have fond memories of the time we played with these.”

We’re glad Adam decided to share his toys with hobbyDB!