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Good Times

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This article is about the 1970s television show. For other uses of Good Times, see Good Times (disambiguation)

Good Times was an American sitcom that was originally broadcast from February 1, 1974 until August 1, 1979 on the CBS television network. The program was a spin-off of the sitcom Maude (itself a spin-off of All in the Family). Like those two other series, Good Times was developed by producer Norman Lear.

Good Times
File:Goodtimesecondseason.jpg
The cast of Good Times on the show's set, used as cover art for the second season DVD box set. Clockwise from left: Jimmie Walker, John Amos, Ja'net Du Bois, Ralph Carter, Bern Nadette Stanis, and Esther Rolle.
Created byEric Monte
Michael Evans
StarringEsther Rolle
John Amos
Ja'net Du Bois
Jimmie Walker
Bern Nadette Stanis
Ralph Carter
Johnny Brown
Janet Jackson
Ben Powers
Opening themeDave Grusin
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes133
Production
Executive producersAllan Manings
Norman Lear
Running timeapprox. 0:23 (per episode)
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseFebruary 1, 1974
 –
August 1, 1979

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler The character Florida Evans (played by Esther Rolle) had been Maude Findlay's housekeeper on Maude. In early 1974, the Florida Evans character and her husband James (referred to as "Henry Evans" on Maude) were transported to an apartment in a housing project (implicitly the infamous Cabrini-Green projects, shown in the opening and closing credits but never mentioned by name on the show) in a poor, African American neighborhood in inner-city Chicago.

Florida Evans lived with her husband James (John Amos) and their three children J.J. (Jimmie Walker), Thelma (Bern Nadette Stanis), and Michael (Ralph Carter). When the series began, J.J. and Thelma were seventeen and sixteen years old, respectively, and Michael, called "the militant midget" by his father due to his passionate activism, was eleven years old. Their exuberant neighbor, and Florida's best friend, was Willona Woods (played by Ja'net Du Bois), a recent divorcée.

Topical situations

As was the case on other Norman Lear sitcoms, the characters and subject matter in Good Times were a breakthrough for American television. Working class characters had certainly been featured in sitcoms before (dating back at least to The Honeymooners), but never before had a weekly series featured African American characters living in such impoverished conditions (Fred and Lamont Sanford of Sanford and Son, though they lived in the poor area of Watts, at least had their own home and business). Episodes of Good Times dealt with the characters' attempts to get by in an inner-city ghetto despite all the odds stacked against them. When he wasn't unemployed, James Evans usually worked at least two jobs, many of them temporary such as a dish washer or car washer, as he struggled to provide for his family. Being a sitcom, however, the episodes were usually more uplifting and positive than they were depressing, as the Evans family stuck together and persevered.

Initial success

Originally, the program was slated to run in the spring of 1974, but high ratings led CBS to renew the program for the 1974–1975 season. The program was very successful during its first full season on the air, 1974–1975, when it was the seventh-highest-rated program in the Nielsen ratings and a quarter of the American television-viewing public tuned in to an episode during any given week. During 1974–1975, three of the top ten highest-rated programs on American TV centered around the lives of African-Americans: Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Good Times. Ratings however, declined over time partly because of the many times the show was moved around the CBS schedule.

Backstage tension

Almost from the premiere episode, J.J., an aspiring artist, was the public's favorite character on the show and his frequently-invoked catch phrase "dy-no-mite" became very popular. As the series progressed through its second and third year, however, Rolle and Amos, who played the Evans parents, grew more disillusioned with the direction the show was taking as J.J.'s antics and stereotypically buffoonish behavior took precedence in the storylines. Rolle was rather vocal about disliking the character of J.J. in a 1975 interview with Ebony magazine.

He's eighteen and he doesn't work. He can't read or write. He doesn't think. The show didn't start out to be that...Little by little—with the help of the artist, I suppose, because they couldn't do that to me—they have made J.J. more stupid and enlarged the role. Negative images have been slipped in on us through the character of the oldest child.

— Esther Rolle [1]

Although doing so less publicly, Amos also was outspoken about his dissatisfaction with J.J.'s character. The ill feelings came to a head when it came time to negotiate Amos' contract in the summer of 1976, and he was dismissed from the series.

The writers would prefer to put a chicken hat on J.J. and have him prance around saying "DY-NO-MITE", and that way they could waste a few minutes and not have to write meaningful dialogue.

— John Amos [2]

The Big Move

Husband-and-wife team Austin and Irma Kalish were hired to oversee the day-to-day running of the show, replacing Allan Manings, who had become executive producer at a time when he was also working on another Lear sitcom, One Day at a Time. The Kalishes and Manings, as script supervisors, threw ideas to writers Roger Shulman, John Baskin, and Bob Peete, and eventually penned an exit for Amos's character.

At the beginning of the 1976–1977 season, the family was packing to move from the ghetto to a better life in Mississippi where James had found a job as a partner in a garage. At the end of the first episode that season, Florida learned via a telegram (which, at first, she thought was to congratulate her on her move) that James was killed in a car accident. The show continued without a father, which was something Rolle did not want to pursue. One of the primary appeals of the project for her had been the presentation it initially offered of the strong black father heading his family.

However, she stayed on hoping that the loss of the father's character would necessitate a shift in J.J.'s character, as J.J. would now become the man of the family. The writers did not take this approach, however; if anything, J.J.'s foolishness only increased. Wanting no further part in such depictions, by the summer of 1977, Rolle left the series. She was written out as marrying and moving to Arizona with her new love interest, Carl Dixon (Moses Gunn).

Rolle had disliked the Carl Dixon character, as she believed Florida would have not moved on so quickly after James' death. Rolle also thought the writers had disregarded Florida's devout Christian beliefs by making her fall for Carl, who was an atheist. When Rolle eventually agreed to return to the show, there were several conditions. One of which was that the Carl Dixon character be written out as if he never existed. Another condition of her return was she would have a greater say in the story line and J.J. would become a more respectable character as well as a raise in pay.

Good Times without the parents

With Amos and Rolle gone, Ja'net Du Bois took over as the star, checking on the Evans children as they were now living alone. New characters were added or had their roles expanded: Johnny Brown as the overweight building superintendent Nathan Bookman; Ben Powers as Thelma's husband Keith Anderson; and Janet Jackson as Penny Gordon Woods, an abused girl adopted by Willona.

It was at this time that many viewers defected from the series, and although Florida returned (the writers had finally been forced to let J.J.'s character mature to a point which Rolle found tolerable) for the sixth season in 1978, the viewers did not, and production was halted abruptly in early 1979.

The last original episode of Good Times aired in the summer of 1979. In a series finale typical of the series, each character had a "happy ending." J.J. finally got his big break as an artist for a comic book company, after years of the audience waiting for such a development. J.J.'s newly-created character, DynoWoman was based on Thelma herself. Michael attended college and moved into an on-campus dorm. Keith's bad knee miraculously healed, leading to the Chicago Bears offering him a contract to play football. Keith and (a newly pregnant) Thelma moved to a luxury apartment across town and offered Florida the chance to move in with them. Willona became the head buyer of the boutique she worked in and she and Penny move in to the same building and become their downstairs neighbors (again).

Two-parters

Good Times, like many other Norman Lear series, was known for its use of the "two-parter" to draw viewers back to the show the next week. Although these story arcs usually played out over two episodes, some stories, like Willona adopting Penny from her abusive mother, took as many as four episodes to play out.

Here is a list of notable Good Times two-parters:

  • In the fall of 1974, J.J. celebrated his 18th birthday. Expecting art supplies from his father, he receives a sweater instead because the department store turned down James' credit. J.J. leaves his birthday party to go out with his girlfriend, but he is implicated in a liquor store robbery instead. The first part ends with Thelma breaking the news to her parents, while the second episode is set mostly in the city jail as they try to get him out. It turns out that J.J. is innocent and the police admit they confused him with the actual crook, despite the fact the real criminal is short and fat and looks nothing like J.J., beyond wearing the same kind of clothing.
  • Later in 1974, J.J. is recruited into a gang, the Satan's Knights, against his will. He is forced to participate in a gang fight, and James finds out. While helping J.J. flee from the fight, a rival gang member shoots J.J., where the first episode ends. The next week, James waits for the hoodlum to go to trial and subsequently feels sympathy for the boy and the broken home he comes from.
  • In 1976, J.J. and his girlfriend, Diana (Debbie Allen), announce plans to elope, against their parents' wishes. Unknown to J.J., Diana is a heroin addict. The only way the rest of the Evans family finds out is when Thelma finds Diana's purse and the drug paraphernalia and drugs hidden inside. Even more shocking is the fact that Diana's supplier is an elementary-aged school boy. Meanwhile, J.J. (still oblivious to his fianceé's secret) and Diana drive across the state line in search of a minister, leaving the Evanses and Diana's parents frantically searching for their children. By the time they reach the hotel where they plan to marry, Diana is in desperate need of a fix and discovers her purse missing. She yells at J.J., blaming him for not bringing her purse along and goes into the bathroom. Just then, James finally makes phone contact with J.J., warning his son that Diana is a drug addict. J.J. stubbornly refuses to believe his father. In an attempt to prove him wrong, J.J. calls for Diana to come to the phone. When she doesn't reply, J.J. walks into the bathroom to find the window open and Diana missing, her fate unknown.
  • The fourth-season opener, in the fall of 1976, in which Florida learns that James has died in a car accident in Jackson, Mississippi. The second part deals with his funeral, and Florida acting strange as if she didn't care about James' death. Part Two ends with Florida smashing a punch bowl and breaking down in her children's arms, uttering the uncharacteristically emotional line "Damn, damn, DAMN!" Despite the fact that this is perhaps the series' most memorable episode, the death of James Evans Sr. is almost universally recognized as the moment when the series "jumped the shark".
  • In 1977, Thelma and a friend of hers (a Nigerian named Ibe)picket their college. Thelma and Ibe, despite initial misgivings, fall in love. When they are suspended from school, Ibe's parents are furious and demand that he return to Nigeria. Ibe and Thelma had planned on living together, but he asks Thelma to go to Nigeria with him as his wife. Florida is against the idea, and Thelma decides against it when Ibe tells her that she wouldn't be his only wife.
  • In the fourth season two-part finale, Carl Dixon, who has been courting Florida, wants to marry her. Curiously, he rescinds his offer as quickly as he had said it. Florida is hurt and demands to know why he has decided against marriage. Carl tells Florida that he is moving to Arizona because he has lung cancer and the weather there would be good for his health. Florida goes with him.
  • The fifth season premiere in 1977 was a four-part episode. Eleven-year-old Janet Jackson was introduced as Penny Gordon, a little girl who followed J.J. home on her way from school. She spends some time at the Evans home, but then she leaves the area, along with her mother, played by Chip Fields. It later turns out that Penny is abused by her mother who burnt her with a hot iron, among other things. Willona steps in to declare Penny's mother unfit and legally adopts Penny.
  • The sixth season premiere in 1978 was also a four-part episode. Thelma falls in love with a football player named Keith Anderson, and Florida returns to Chicago for her wedding. At the wedding, Keith trips over J.J. and breaks his knee. The Chicago Bears, who offered him a contract, takes back the offer. Florida decides to live in Chicago again, with no mention of Carl Dixon.
  • The final two-part episode in early 1979, revolved around Larry, a little boy who rode the bus Florida was driving. Florida was convinced that Larry was not "stupid", but rather hard of hearing, which his mother refused to believe. At the end of the first part, Larry almost fell down an elevator shaft because he couldn't hear everyone telling him that the elevator was out of service. In the second part, it was revealed that Keith pulled Larry out of harm's way, Larry's mother apologized to Florida for being stubborn, and Larry received the ear surgery he needed to hear again.

Production

The first two seasons of Good Times were taped at CBS Television City in Hollywood, California. The show moved to Metromedia Square, Norman Lear's own production facility, in the fall of 1975.

Principal cast

DVD Releases

Season Releases

DVD Name Release Date Additional Information
The Complete First Season February 4 2003 Includes all 13 episodes from Season 1.
The Complete Second Season February 3 2004 Inlcudes all 24 episodes from Season 2
The Complete Third Season August 10 2004 Includes all 24 episodes from Season 3.
The Complete Fourth Season February 15 2005 Includes all 23 episodes from Season 4.
The Complete Fifth Season August 23 2005 Includes all 24 episodes from Season 5.
The Complete Sixth Season August 1 2006 Includes all 24 episodes from Season 6.

Television Reruns

In addition, the network TV One (which can be seen on Comcast cable systems as well as DirecTV) airs the show in a programming block with another African-American sitcom, 227.

The sitcom has also aired on TV Land as a 48-hour marathon the weekends of July 23, 2005, November 26, 2005, and May 6, 2006.

CBS also aired reruns of Good Times during the afternoons from 1976-78.

Adaptations

The British sitcom The Fosters (1976–1977), about a black family in England, was based on Good Times. In fact, The Fosters used many of the same scripts, after they had been adapted for the British audience.

Trivia

File:Goodtimess4boxset.jpg
The Good Times Season Four box set. Note the similarities and differences between the picture and that of Season Two.
  • Though Good Times was set in Chicago, the character of Florida had started out as Maude Findlay's housekeeper on Maude, which was set in Tuckahoe, New York. No attempt was ever made to explain this inconsistency, and Florida's previous life as the Findlay housekeeper was never referred to on Good Times (Although she did refer to her previous job as a maid, she never specified whom she'd worked for or where).
  • The cover art for the Good Times DVD releases do not correspond with the season in which it aired. For example, the second season box set photograph (seen above) was actually taken in the fall of 1976, the show's fourth season. Another photograph from the same photo shoot can be seen on the Good Times fourth season box set. To differentiate, the characters' clothes were given different colors, and the character of Nathan Bookman was photoshopped out, replaced by James Evans, who was still on the show in the second season.
  • Parts of the lyrics to the theme music are notorious for being hard to discern - notably the "Hangin' in a chow line"/"Hangin' in and Jivin'" lyric (depending on the source used). Dave Chappelle used this part of the lyrics as a test in his "I Know Black People" Skit/Quiz on Chappelle's Show in which the former was claimed as the answer. The "liner notes" for the Season One DVD box set confirm that the proper lyric is "hangin' in a chow line".
  • Another inconsistency that was never mentioned was James Evans Sr.'s name change. On Maude, he was always known as Henry Evans. As a matter of fact, on the episode of Maude that aired the week before Good Times premiered, Florida made her last appearance, and her husband was known as Henry Evans.
  • Despite the fact that they portrayed father and son, John Amos is less than 8 years older than Jimmie Walker. When Good Times premiered in February 1974, Amos was 34 and Walker was 26.
  • One of the consistent themes of Good Times during the first three seasons was James' inability to find a well-paying, long-term job. Ironically, John Amos would later have recurring roles on several TV series as characters with excellent jobs, such as an NFL coach (In the House), the mayor of Washington, D.C. (The District), and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (The West Wing).
  • Comedian Chris Rock has based the father character in his TV series Everybody Hates Chris on John Amos' portrayal of James Evans Sr. "I kind of wanted to give him that James Evans nobility," Rock told TV critics in the summer of 2005.[1]
  • John Amos' portrayal of James Evans Sr. is frequently cited as perhaps the most realistic depiction of an African-American father in television history. James' death is almost universally recognized as the moment when the series "jumped the shark".
  • Like Lamont's Uncle Woody on Sanford and Son, Ned the Wino was an alcoholic. Both characters were portrayed by Raymond Allen.
  • J.J.'s paintings were actually created by African-American artist Ernie Barnes. The series helped to make the artist and his distinctive style famous.
  • The first-season episode "Black Jesus" (where J.J. uses Ned the Wino as the model for a portrait of Jesus) was one of the first times that a prime-time television series challenged the notion that Jesus had a Caucasian or European appearance.
  • The third-season episode "J.J. in Trouble" was one of the first times that the subject of STDs (then referred to as "VD") was addressed on a prime time television series. A 25-year old Jay Leno appears briefly in this episode.
  • The fifth-season episode "Wheels" introduces J.J.'s three best friends Poppo (Randy Martin), Cool Breeze (Larry Beecham), and Head (T.K. Carter). Collectively, the quartet refer to themselves as "The Awesome Foursome".
  • Later in the fifth season, in "J.J. and the Boss' Daughter", J.J., Poppo, and Head become "The Gleesome Threesome." Cool Breeze is forgotten after only one episode.
  • In 1986, Ja'net Du Bois appeared briefly in the video for Janet Jackson's hit single "Control". Du Bois portrays Jackson's mother, reminiscent of the mother-daughter roles they played on Good Times.
  • In 1989, Esther Rolle portrays Lena Younger in a PBS TV production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, an immensely popular play about another struggling African-American family from Chicago's South Side. Mrs. Johnson is portrayed by Helen Martin, who played Wanda on Good Times.
  • In 1997, Good Times is parodied on a fourth-season episode of The Wayans Bros. entitled "Unspoken Token". In a "fantasy" sequence, the Wayans Bros. cast assumes the roles of Good Times characters, with Shawn Wayans (Shawn) as J.J., Marlon Wayans (Marlon) as Michael, John Witherspoon (Pops) as James, Anna Maria Horsford (Dee) as Florida, and Ja'net Du Bois (Grandma) reprising her role as Willona. Bern Nadette Stanis and Johnny Brown make special guest appearances in their roles as Thelma and Bookman. Penny and Keith are not depicted.
  • In 2003, Bern Nadette Stanis portrays herself in a third-season episode of Girlfriends entitled "Where Everybody Knows My Name." In this episode, William (Reggie Hayes) goes on a date with Stanis, yet constantly refers to her as "Thelma", as if Thelma is a real person and not merely a character from Good Times.
  • In 2006, Jimmie Walker appears as Chris' (Tyler James Williams) grandfather in a first-season episode of Everybody Hates Chris entitled "Everybody Hates Funerals". Later in that episode, Chris' mother Rochelle (Tichina Arnold), in a frustrated moment, exclaims "Damn, damn, DAMN!", an obvious reference to Florida's outburst on Good Times after James' death.
  • In March 2006, at the 4th Annual TV Land Awards, Good Times received the "Impact Award", for being "a show that offered both entertainment and enlightenment, always striving for both humor and humanity, with comedy that reflected reality." Norman Lear attended the ceremony, as did all the members of the principal cast except Esther Rolle (who died in 1998), Ben Powers, and Janet Jackson.
  • For the first four seasons, the show opened with views of Chicago's South Side, ending with a stop at the Cabrini-Green projects. The camera then zoomed in on an apartment (presumably the Evans family's), then would cut inside and zoom in on a painting presumably painted by J.J. Evans (not really, obviously). For the last two seasons, these were replaced by individual montage intros, with clips from past episodes used. Also, for the final season, the zoom in to the apartment with the painting at the end was used for half the season. The second half ended with a painting of the entire cast assembled in the Evans' living room, then dissolved to a real-life shot of the same scene. open
  • Gary Coleman and Kim Fields appeared on-and-off during the later years of the series. Coleman would go on to star in Different Strokes. Fields had been the adorable child in the Mrs. Butterworth's syrup commercials ("Mrs. Butterworth, I love you!" and was later a cast member on Livin' Single.

Catchphrases

Few television series spawned as many catchphrases as Good Times:

  • "Dyn-o-mite!" (J.J.)
  • "Well, you know . . . what can I say?" (J.J., and occasionally Michael)
  • "Chello?" (J.J.'s "fancy" manner of answering the telephone)
  • "I know!" (J.J.'s response to a high compliment, always said in false modesty)
  • "Damn, damn, DAMN!" (Florida, in "The Big Move, Part 2", Season 4)
  • " 'Boy' is a White racist word." (Michael, in his "Militant Midget" days)
  • "Buffalo Butt" and "Booger" (Willona's nicknames for Bookman)
  • "Big Boy" (Penny, at the end of her Mae West impressions)
  • "Thelma, Thelma, Thelma" (Poppo, as a prelude to one of his unsuccessful advances toward Thelma)
  • "Is ya hip?" (James, in "Florida's Protest", Season 3)
  • "Willona Woods... the galloping gossip of the ghetto!"/"the Rona Barrett of the projects" (James' nicknames for Willona)
  • "Hey there, Sweet Momma!" (J.J.'s occasional greeting when he attempts to pick up girls)

Songs

  • Season 2 - Episode #34 My Girl Henrietta. Henrietta talks to Thelma in her room and dances to the song "Pick Up the Pieces," by Average White Band.
  • Season 3 - Episode #51 Cleatus. The family is listening to their new record player when it blows a fuse. The lights go out, helping them to catch Cleatus. The song playing is "Once You Get Started," by Rufus and Chaka Khan.
  • Season 4 - Episode #70 Florida's Night Out. Willona takes Florida out to a club and Florida dances to the song "Hey Girl, Come and Get It," by Van McCoy.
  • Season 4 - Episode #62 The Big Move (Part 1). As the family celebrates New Year's Eve, they receive a telegram announcing that James has died in an accident. The music playing in the background is "Movin'," by Brass Construction.
  • Season 4 - Episode #67 J.J.'s New Career. While J.J. is visiting the apartment of his employers, we can hear the end of the song "Get the Funk Out My Face," by The Brothers Johnson.
  • Season 5 - Episode #91 Thelma Moves Out. Thelma's football player roommate listens to his transistor radio and dances to "Won't You Come Dance With Me," by Commodores.
  • Season 5 - Episode #109 That's Entertainment, Evans Style. During the talent show, Thelma performs dance moves to "Native New Yorker," by Odyssey.
  • Season 6 - Episode #112 Florida's Homecoming: The Wedding. As J.J. walks Thelma down the aisle at her wedding to Keith, Michael gives a stirring rendition of Stevie Wonder's "You and I".
  • Season 6 - Episode #123 The Snowstorm. To keep warm, Florida and the kids on the school bus dance and sing to "Dance Across the Floor," by Jimmy Bo Horne.
  • Season 6 - Episode #129 A Matter of Mothers. At the party planned for Willona by Penny's biological mother, the music playing is "Shake Your Body Down to the Ground," by The Jacksons (Janet Jackson's real-life siblings).

References

  1. ^ "Bad Times on the Good Times Set", Ebony, September 1975
  2. ^ Mitchell, John L. (2006-04-14). "Plotting His Next Big Break". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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