Good Times

This was a good show for the first three seasons. If you got past all the stereotypes, you would notice that many of the episodes discussed issues that are just as relevant today as they were back then. Issues such as gun control, teen pregnancy, v.d., gangs and teen suicide. However, once John Amos left, the show was not the same and suffered as a result. It really suffered the year that Esther Rolle was off. You know a show is going downhill when they have to resort to bringing on a cute kid character.

Also, if Esther Rolle was so displeased with the show, then how come she took the part in the first place?

"GOOD TIMES," in my opinion, is a must-see CBS hit! Despite the fact that I've never seen every episode, I still enjoy it. It's hard to say which one is my favorite. Also, I really love the theme song. If you ask me, even though I like everyone, it would have been nice if everyone had stayed on the show throughout its entire run. Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, even though it can be seen on TV Land now, I strongly recommend you catch it just in case it goes off the air for good.

This is one of my all time favorite shows. This show, to me reflected on the good side of poverty. Although the Evans family was poor and lived in the projects, they had each other. No matter how much the family suffered financially, they never turned to crime or other illegal actions to make ends meet. Throughout those times, many African American families consisted of a single mom with numerous kids. The Evans family had both parents providing stabilty and shelter for them. This show was excellent. However, there was one little pesky problem that always seemed to bother me. It seemed as if every other season, fiesty neighbor and friend Willona, always received the same promotion on her job. Everytime Willona came in with"great news", she would informed them that she was just made the "head buyer" for the boutique. Interesting...

When "Good Times" premiered in 1974, it was one the first black family sitcoms. It centered on the poor Chicago-based Evans family and their struggles to make ends meet. Most of the early episodes focused on the parents, James and Florida Evans, and their struggle to provide for the family. John Amos and Esther Rolle were the best part of the show. They were terrific actors and had great chemistry as James and Florida Evans. They had three kids: J.J., Thelma, and Michael. J.J. was the skirt-chasing but well-meaning teenage son who made up for his lack of subtlety with artistic talent. Thelma was an attractive, bright girl who was constantly trading insults with J.J. Michael was a near child prodigy who was well-educated on social issues and was destined to become a lawyer.

In 1976, the producers made a huge mistake by firing John Amos, literally killing off his character. This really changed the focus, and not for the good I might add. The shows began to focus more on J.J. and his buffoon-like behavior which angered black viewers as well as series star Esther Rolle, who left after the next season. Instead of a show that focused on key African-American issues that existed in society at the time, viewers got shows that were overloaded with skirt chasing and fat jokes.

Once Esther Rolle left, the quality of the show suffered even more. Although it was still watchable, it was no longer the great ground-breaking show that it once was.

Although Esther Rolle came back for the 1978 season, it became obvious that the show was on its last legs. All loose ends were tied up during that season and the show quietly faded off the air.

First three season: A. Last three seasons: C+.

Before leaving my own comments about the TV series GOOD TIMES, I feel that I simply MUST comment on the remarks of one Mr. Larry Wall. If you didn't like the show, fine, but some of your reasons for disliking it are totally erroneous. To wit:

1. "Thelma dressed like a slut": These must be the HBO episodes! I was always surprised that, considering the way Bernadette Stanis was built, they kept her covered up most of the time. She hardly showed any cleavage, the hemlines of her skirts and dresses were quite low. Her pants and jeans may have been tight but then again, in the Seventies, WHOSE weren't?

2. "(The Evanses were) living like animals": Not hardly. I can honestly say that our family was a little bit like the Evanses and we DIDN'T live in the projects neither. If, as you say, the head of the household is always losing his job, it's going to be kind of hard to keep a roof over your head and food on the table. It's kind of hard to eat fillet mignon on a hot dog budget.

3. "(James) threatened with violence for everything. I don't remember him sitting down and explaining (anything)": You must have missed those episodes, I can remember numerous times when James sat down and talked things out without yelling or threatening to take off his belt. In fact, there was even one episode when he apologized to Michael, which in turn led to Michael feeling as if he could apologize for acting up in school.

4. "James got in front of white people and did that stupid laugh": Wrong! If you look at the show again, you will see that James would do the laugh (A-heh-heh-heh!) only when he got caught in a lie by Florida. Usually about an old girlfriend.

5. "Michael . . . would get put down (for his militantism) and made to seem foolish . . .": Those scenes were done to show to Michael that everything wasn't as simple as black-and-white, so to speak. Example: Florida's rich cousin announces that he had just been laid off from his high-paying job.

Michael: "I'll bet the only reason you were fired was because you're black." Cousin: "Well, if they did, then they also fired six other men because they were white." Get the picture?

6. "It says we're content to live like . . . animals": You could say a lot of things about the Evanses and Willona, but you can't say that they were content with their lot in life. James was always looking for better paying jobs. J.J. (yes, I will admit that he was a BIT much) kept working at his painting as well as looking for artistic jobs. Thelma wanted to be a dancer (and, no, not a stripper). Michael let a street gang know that he wanted more with his life than to settle for being a ghetto resident. To paraphrase Florida in one episode: there is no such thing as a waste of hope.

For the most part, I liked the show during the "James Years". The humor was believable and came from the heart. After John Amos left, the quality of the show really went down. When Ester Rolle left, it took an even bigger dive. Adding Janet Jackson did NOT help things any. When Rolle returned, the damage had been done too far to repair. Mr. Wall, I hope you will look at the show again and think over your past comments. You will see that they DEFINITELY do not apply to the show that was on then.