Good Times

For other uses, see Good Times (disambiguation).
Good Times
Genre Sitcom
Created by Eric Monte
Michael Evans
Developed by Norman Lear
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme "Good Times" performed by Jim Gilstrap and Blinky Williams
Composer(s) Dave Grusin
Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 133 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Allan Manings
  • Jack Elinson (1975–76)
  • Norman Paul
  • Austin and Irma Kalish
  • Lloyd Turner (1977–78)
  • Gordon Mitchell (1977–78)
  • Sid Dorfman (1978–79)
Location(s) CBS Television City, Hollywood, California (1974–75)
Metromedia Square, Hollywood, California (1975–79)
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 22–24 minutes
Production company(s) Tandem Productions
Distributor
  • PITS Films (1978–82)
  • Embassy Telecommunications (1982–86)
  • Embassy Communications (1986–88)
  • Columbia Pictures Television (1988–96)
  • Columbia TriStar Television (1996–2002)
  • Sony Pictures Television (2002–present)
Release
Original network CBS
Original release February 8, 1974 (1974-02-08) – August 1, 1979 (1979-08-01)
Chronology
Preceded by All in the Family
Maude
Related shows Checking In
The Jeffersons
Archie Bunker's Place
Gloria
704 Hauser

Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on CBS. It was created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer. Good Times is a spin-off of Maude, which is itself a spin-off of All in the Family.

Synopsis

Florida and James Evans and their three children live in a rented project apartment, 17C, at 963 N. Gilbert Ave., 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)[1][2] in a poor, black neighborhood in inner-city Chicago. Florida and James' children are James Jr., also known as "J.J.", Thelma, and Michael. When the series begins, J.J. and Thelma are seventeen and sixteen years old, respectively, and Michael, called "the militant midget" by his father due to his passionate activism, is eleven years old. Their exuberant neighbor, and Florida's best friend, is Willona Woods, a recent divorcée who works at a boutique. Their building superintendent is Nathan Bookman (seasons 2–4), to whom James, Willona and later J.J. refer as "Buffalo Butt", or, even more derisively, "Booger".

Florida and son J.J., 1974

The characters originated on the sitcom Maude as Florida and Henry Evans, with Florida employed as Maude Findlay's housekeeper in Tuckahoe, New York and Henry employed as a firefighter. When producers decided to feature the Florida character in her own show, they applied retroactive changes to the characters' history. Henry's name became James, there is no mention of Maude, and the couple now live in Chicago.[3][4]

Episodes of Good Times deal with the characters' attempts to survive in a high rise project building in Chicago, despite their poverty. When he is not unemployed, James Evans is a man of pride who often stated he would not accept charity. He usually works at least two jobs simultaneously, from a wide variety such as dishwasher, construction laborer, etc. When he has to, he plays pool in order to hustle money, though Florida disapproves of this.

Cast conflicts

Good Times was intended to be a vehicle for Esther Rolle and John Amos. Both expected the show to deal with serious topics in a comedic way while also providing positive characters for viewers. However, the character of J.J. was an immediate hit with audiences and became the breakout character of the series. J.J.'s frequent use of the expression "Dy-no-mite!" (often in the phrase "Kid Dy-no-mite!"), credited to director John Rich, became a popular catchphrase (later included in TV Land's The 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catch Phrases special).[5] Rich insisted Walker say it on every episode. Both Walker and executive producer Norman Lear were skeptical of the idea, but both the phrase and the J.J. Evans character caught on with the audience.[6] As a result of the character's popularity, writers focused more on J.J.'s comedic antics instead of serious issues. As the series progressed through seasons two and three, Rolle and Amos grew increasingly disillusioned with the direction the show was taking, especially with J.J.'s antics and stereotypically buffoonish behavior.[7] Although she had no ill will toward Walker, Rolle was vocal about her dislike of Walker's character. In a 1975 interview with Ebony magazine she stated:

He's 18 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 littlewith the help of the artist, I suppose, because they couldn't do that to methey 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.[3]

Although doing so less publicly, Amos also was outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the J.J. character. Amos stated:

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.[8][9]

While Amos was less public with his dissatisfaction, he was ultimately fired after season three due to disagreements with Norman Lear. Amos' departure was initially attributed to his desire to focus on a film career, but he admitted in a 1976 interview that Norman Lear called him and told him that his contract option with the show was not being renewed. Amos stated, "That's the same thing as being fired."[10] The producers decided not to recast the character of James Evans, instead opting to kill off the character in the two-part season four episode, "The Big Move".[11][12]

Final seasons

By the end of season four, Esther Rolle had also become dissatisfied with the show's direction and decided to leave the series. In the final two episodes of the season, "Love Has a Spot On His Lung", Rolle's character gets engaged to Carl Dixon (Moses Gunn), a man she began dating toward the end of season four. In the season five premiere episode, it is revealed that Florida and Carl married off screen and moved to Arizona for the sake of Carl's health.[13]

With Amos and Rolle gone, Ja'net Dubois took over as the lead character, as Willona checked in on the Evans children since they were now living alone.[2][14] In season five, the character of Penny Gordon Woods (played by Janet Jackson) was added, as an abused girl who is abandoned by her mother and eventually adopted by Willona.[13]

Before taping of season six began, CBS and the show's producers decided that they had to do "something drastic" to increase viewership. According to then-vice president of CBS programming Steve Mills, "We had lost the essence of the show. Without parental guidance the show slipped. Everything told us that: our mail, our phone calls, our research. We felt we had to go back to basics."[13] Producers approached Esther Rolle with an offer to appear in a guest spot on the series. Rolle was initially hesitant but when producers agreed to a number of her demands (including an increased salary and higher quality scripts), she agreed to return to the series on a full-time basis. Rolle also wanted producers to make the character of J. J. more responsible, as she felt the character was a poor role model for African American youths. She also requested that producers write out the character of Carl Dixon; Rolle reportedly disliked the storyline surrounding the Carl Dixon character, as she believed Florida would not have moved on so quickly after James' death or leave her children. Rolle also thought the writers had disregarded Florida's devout Christian beliefs by having her fall for and marry Carl, who was an atheist.[13][15]

In the season six premiere episode "Florida's Homecoming: Part 1", Florida returns from Arizona without Carl to attend Thelma's upcoming wedding to professional football player Keith Anderson (Ben Powers, who joined the cast for the final season). In a rare uncut version of "Florida's Homecoming: Part 2", after Florida arrives home from Arizona, Willona briefly pulls her aside and mentions Carl, to which Florida sadly smiles and shakes her head implying that Carl had died from cancer. Florida later mentions Carl one last time when she tells Michael about a book they'd both bought him.[4] Despite changes in the series at Esther Rolle's request and her return, ratings did not improve and CBS canceled the series during the 1978–79 season.[16][17] In the finale, "The End of the Rainbow", each character finally gets a "happy ending." J.J. gets his big break as an artist for a comic book company with his newly created character, DynoWoman, which is based on Thelma (much to her surprise and delight), and is moving into an apartment with some lady friends. Michael attends college and moves into an on-campus dorm. Keith's bad knee heals due to his exercise & own physical therapy, leading to the Chicago Bears offering him a contract to play football. Keith announces that he and Thelma are moving into a luxury apartment in the city's upscale Gold Coast district. Thelma also announces that she is pregnant with the couple's first child. Keith offers Florida the chance to move in with them so she can help Thelma with the new baby. Willona becomes the head buyer of the boutique she worked in and announces that she and Penny are also moving out of the projects. Willona then reveals that her new apartment is in the same apartment building that Keith, Thelma and Florida are moving to and, once again, she and Penny become the Evans' downstairs neighbors.[17]

Cast and characters

Main

Actor Character Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6
Esther Rolle Florida Evans Main Main
John Amos James Evans, Sr. Main
Ja'net Dubois Willona Woods Main
Jimmie Walker James "J.J." Evans, Jr. Main
Ralph Carter Michael Evans Main
Bern Nadette Stanis* Thelma Evans Anderson Main
Johnny Brown Nathan Bookman Recurring Main
Janet Jackson Millicent "Penny" Gordon Woods Main
Ben Powers Keith Anderson Main
*Bern Nadette Stanis was credited as "Bern Nadette" during early episodes of season one.

Minor characters

Notable guest stars

Louis Gossett, Jr. as Florida's brother, Wilbert

Production notes

Good Times was created by Eric Monte and actor Mike Evans. The series also features a character named "Michael Evans", after co-creator Mike Evans who portrayed Lionel Jefferson on the Norman Lear-produced series All in the Family and The Jeffersons.[18]

Theme song and opening sequence

The gospel-styled theme song was composed by Dave Grusin with lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was sung by Jim Gilstrap and Blinky Williams with a gospel choir providing background vocals.

The lyrics to the theme song are notorious for being hard to discern, notably the line "Hangin' in a chow line"/"Hangin' in and jivin'" (depending on the source used). Dave Chappelle used this part of the lyrics as a quiz in his "I Know Black People" skit on Chappelle's Show in which the former was claimed as the answer.[19] The insert for the Season One DVD box set has the lyric as "Hangin' in a chow line". However, the Bergmans confirmed that the lyric is actually "Hangin' in and jivin'."[19] Slightly different lyrics were used for the closing credits, with the song beginning on a verse instead of the chorus.

Episodes

Reception

Ratings

The Evans family (l–r) Michael, Thelma, J.J., Florida, and James

The program premiered in February 1974; high ratings led CBS to renew the program for the 1974–75 season, as it was the seventeenth-highest-rated program that year. During its first full season on the air, 197475, the show was the seventh-highest-rated program in the Nielsen ratings, with more than 25% of all American households tuning into an episode each week. Three of the top ten highest-rated programs on American TV that season centered around the lives of African-Americans: Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.

The Nielsen ratings for the series declined over time, partly because of its many time slot changes and the departure of John Amos.[20] The ratings went down considerably when the show entered its final two seasons:

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Recipient(s) / work Result
1974 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Television Jimmie Walker Nominated
1975 Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy Esther Rolle Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Television Jimmie Walker Nominated
Humanitas Prize 30 Minute Category John Baskin and Roger Shulman / episode: "The Lunch Money Ripoff" Nominated
30 Minute Category Bob Peete / episode: "My Girl Henrietta" Nominated
2006 TV Land Awards Impact Award John Amos, Ralph Carter, Ja'net DuBois, Esther Rolle (posthumously), BernNadette Stanis, and Jimmie Walker Won

Syndication

The cable network TV One aired reruns of the show since its launch on January 19, 2004 until October 5, 2012. The network began airing the series again in June 2013. Good Times has also aired at various times on TV Land, Antenna TV and on the Canadian specialty cable channel DejaView. Minisodes of the show are available for free on Crackle.

DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 between February 2003 and August 2006, with a complete box set following the separate seasons on October 28, 2008. Season 1 was released on DVD in Region 4 on December 27, 2006.

On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Good Times.[27] They have subsequently re-released the first four seasons on DVD.[28][29]

On September 1, 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment will re-release Good Times- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[30]

DVD nameEp #Release date
The Complete First Season 13 February 4, 2003
January 21, 2014 (re-release)
The Complete Second Season 24 February 3, 2004
January 21, 2014 (re-release)
The Complete Third Season 24 August 10, 2004
May 20, 2014 (re-release)
The Complete Fourth Season 23 February 15, 2005
May 20, 2014 (re-release)
The Complete Fifth Season 24 August 23, 2005
The Complete Sixth and Final Season 24 August 1, 2006
The Complete Series 133 October 28, 2008
September 1, 2015 (re-release)

References

  1. "Cabrini-Green Set For Demolition". cbslocal.com. December 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Simms, Gregory (September 8, 1977). "Ja'Net DuBois Tells Diet And 'Good Times' Secrets During Swing Through Chi.". Jet (Johnson Publishing Company) 52 (25): 62–63. ISSN 0021-5996.
  3. 1 2 Robinson, Louie (September 1975). "Bad Times On the 'Good Times' Set". Ebony (Johnson Publishing Company) 30 (11): 35. ISSN 0012-9011.
  4. 1 2 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (October 17, 2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (9 ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 869. ISBN 0-345-49773-2.
  5. The Star Ledger. December 11, 2006
  6. "Jimmie 'J.J.' Walker lights 'Dy-no-mite' on gay marriage, Leno and dating". CNN. July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  7. Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (August 4, 2009). The A to Z of African-American Television 49. Scarecrow Press. p. 169. ISBN 0-810-86348-0.
  8. Mitchell, John L. (April 14, 2006). "Plotting His Next Big Break". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2006.
  9. Ingram, Billy. "Good Times?". tvparty.com. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
  10. "'I Was Fired,' Reveals Good Times' John Amos". Jet (Johnson Publishing Company) 50 (10): 57. May 27, 1976. ISSN 0021-5996.
  11. Dawidziak, Mark (January 17, 1994). "Lear, Amos paired up again". Herald-Journal. p. C3. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  12. 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows On DVD. Random House Digital, Inc. November 9, 2011. p. 125. ISBN 0-307-79950-6.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Marguiles, Lee (June 10, 1978). "Esther Rolle Returning To 'Good Times'". St. Petersburg Times. p. 11B. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  14. Beck, Marilyn (September 23, 1977). "It's 'good times' for Ja'net Dubois". St. Petersburg Times. p. 14D. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  15. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (October 17, 2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (9 ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 552. ISBN 0-345-49773-2.
  16. Newcomb 2004 p.1012
  17. 1 2 Bodroghkozy, Aniko (January 1, 2012). Equal Time: Television and the Civil Rights Movement. University of Illinois Press. p. 223. ISBN 0-252-09378-X.
  18. Lewis, Dan (February 19, 1974). "Good Times Is Maude Spinoff". St. Joseph News-Press. p. 15. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  19. 1 2 "Backstage with... Alan and Marilyn Bergman". timeout.com. Time Out New York. February 1, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  20. "Good Times In Trouble; Jeffersons Holding Own". Jet (Johnson Publishing Company) 55 (13): 64. December 14, 1978. ISSN 0021-5996.
  21. "TV Ratings > 1973". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  22. "TV Ratings > 1974". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  23. "TV Ratings > 1975". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  24. "TV Ratings > 1976". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  25. "TV Ratings > 1977". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  26. "TV Ratings > 1978". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  27. Lacey, Gord (August 27, 2013). "Mill Creek Entertainment Signs Deals With Sony Pictures Home Entertainment To Expand Their Distribution Partnership". tvshowsondvd.com.
  28. Lambert, David (November 8, 2013). "Dyn-O-Mite! Mill Creek Brings the First Two Seasons Back to DVD Soon!". tvshowsondvd.com.
  29. Lambert, David (April 15, 2014). "Good Times - We've Got Mill Creek's Box Art Now for Their 3rd and 4th Season Re-Releases!". tvshowsondvd.com.
  30. 'Complete Series' Re-Release is Now Official; Package Art Revealed!

External links

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