kpowers said:

DesireeNevermind said:

I like to watch a lot of old TV shows just to see what the generation before got their laughs at and to compare it to the crap I was weaned on. Old family sitcoms are the best especially Good Times. I must say though, I saw the two part episode where James died. Florida has a wake at ther home for the deceased James Evans. He went to Mississippi for work and was supposed to send for his family but instead Florida got a telegram that he had been killed in an auto accident. She got the telegram on the day the family held a party to celebrate their relocation.

Anyway I couldn't believe myself. I burst into tears when, after all the funeral guests left, Florida is cleaning the kitchen and she's by herself. She picks up a glass punch bowl and just smashes it on the floor and screams "Damn, damn, damn!" and bursts into tears hiding her face in her hands. Then the kids run out to console her. Terribly sad.

Anybody a fan of Good Times? Why did John Amos leave the show? Why did they have to have his exit be a death? Why couldn't the Evans ever get out of the ghetto? I swear the episodes following the absence of the father figure are so mediocre. Ester Rolle is cool but she just couldn't hold it down without John Amos.

I think E! did a behind the scenes of Good Times. From what I remember John Amos and Ester Rolle were not happy because Jimmy Walker emerged as the star of the show, thus John Amos left the series. Ester Rolle left the series for a year (came back later). Well the show was about a family living in the projects so the last episode was them leaving the projects.

Amos and Esther both publicly spoke out against the direction of the show, especially in Ebony magazine

Harlepolis said:

This is the funniest moment to me...

The lord is my german shepherd...

This is my FAVORITE episode! Absolutely hilarious!!!

kewlschool said:

Good times, Sanford and Son, and Jeffersons (until the show jumped the shark.) All funny shows.

'The Jeffersons' was great until they got into the 80s.The show lost its spark.Some of the episodes from 1983/84 are boring and lifeless.

DesireeNevermind said:

I like to watch a lot of old TV shows just to see what the generation before got their laughs at and to compare it to the crap I was weaned on. Old family sitcoms are the best especially Good Times. I must say though, I saw the two part episode where James died. Florida has a wake at ther home for the deceased James Evans. He went to Mississippi for work and was supposed to send for his family but instead Florida got a telegram that he had been killed in an auto accident. She got the telegram on the day the family held a party to celebrate their relocation.

Anyway I couldn't believe myself. I burst into tears when, after all the funeral guests left, Florida is cleaning the kitchen and she's by herself. She picks up a glass punch bowl and just smashes it on the floor and screams "Damn, damn, damn!" and bursts into tears hiding her face in her hands. Then the kids run out to console her. Terribly sad.

Anybody a fan of Good Times? Why did John Amos leave the show? Why did they have to have his exit be a death? Why couldn't the Evans ever get out of the ghetto? I swear the episodes following the absence of the father figure are so mediocre. Ester Rolle is cool but she just couldn't hold it down without John Amos.

If I am not mistaken, his was the first character to be "killed off", a show. I believe he left for a number of reasons. Among them, he did not like the direction of the show, they were using his character as compared to JJ's. The whole "Dynomite", thing just got tired to him. Incidently the show was created by Michael Evans, the first "Lionel", on the "Jeffersons".

Man, I still watch Good Times. Thanks to the expanded cable/dish package and TVONE, DVDs, Also, TV Land.

It is funny when my students and my own kids, kids born in the '90s, are watching Good Times, Stanford and Son, and The Jefferson's, and for the most part they like these shows. It is pretty cool. My son loves the episode of Good Times when The Evans thought that Gertrude made meatloaf out of dog food. That was some funny stuff. And it was sad when the writers killed off James Evans.

I'm a proud owner of the 'Good Times' DVDs I have all six seasons

Less all go over to SoulAlive's house. !! I'll bring the beer.

TD3 said:

Less all go over to SoulAlive's house. !! I'll bring the beer.

It took me years 2 realize where Martin stole the "Damn, damn, damn" comment.

JellyBean said:

Man, I still watch Good Times. Thanks to the expanded cable/dish package and TVONE, DVDs, Also, TV Land.

It is funny when my students and my own kids, kids born in the '90s, are watching Good Times, Stanford and Son, and The Jefferson's, and for the most part they like these shows. It is pretty cool. My son loves the episode of Good Times when The Evans thought that Gertrude made meatloaf out of dog food. That was some funny stuff. And it was sad when the writers killed off James Evans.

To me, he was the one who brough substance, realism and humor to the show without being overboard about it, the minute they wrote him off, the show died along with his character IMO.

Nothing disrespectful to Esther Rolle, I think she's a fine actress but there was nobody to balance her character, she was overly depressing to watch(since its a sitcom) and Amos was the one person who added the element that made her tolerable to me.

She had her "funny" moment though, like when she went to this Japanese resturant on a date with Thalmus Rasulala's character.

DesireeNevermind said:

I like to watch a lot of old TV shows just to see what the generation before got their laughs at and to compare it to the crap I was weaned on. Old family sitcoms are the best especially Good Times. I must say though, I saw the two part episode where James died. Florida has a wake at ther home for the deceased James Evans. He went to Mississippi for work and was supposed to send for his family but instead Florida got a telegram that he had been killed in an auto accident. She got the telegram on the day the family held a party to celebrate their relocation.

Anyway I couldn't believe myself. I burst into tears when, after all the funeral guests left, Florida is cleaning the kitchen and she's by herself. She picks up a glass punch bowl and just smashes it on the floor and screams "Damn, damn, damn!" and bursts into tears hiding her face in her hands. Then the kids run out to console her. Terribly sad.

Anybody a fan of Good Times? Why did John Amos leave the show? Why did they have to have his exit be a death? Why couldn't the Evans ever get out of the ghetto? I swear the episodes following the absence of the father figure are so mediocre. Ester Rolle is cool but she just couldn't hold it down without John Amos.

GURL.

That is one of the great, great, GREAT iconic moments in 70's tv acting, especially for black American situation comedies (you pick a winner, Missy ...)

chocolate1 said:

I bawled like that when Edith died on "All in the Family"- actually "Archie's Place"- too.

When a comedy gets all serious like that, it throws you for a loop.

Ottensen said:

chocolate1 said:

I bawled like that when Edith died on "All in the Family"- actually "Archie's Place"- too.

When a comedy gets all serious like that, it throws you for a loop.

Now I'm getting upset. Thanks a lot you two.

I'll tell you all what REALLY happened.

Florida, with her ho ass, went and had sex with Shrek, and then they had a baby.

TD3 said:

Less all go over to SoulAlive's house. !! I'll bring the beer.

Hopefully somebody can bring the Chik-Fil-A, unfortunately there's not one out by me, so the best I can do is bring Subway sandwiches !!!

DAG, that was a powerful episode.

I like the old-school family sitcoms 2...

Sanford & Son, All in The Family, Jeffersons, etc.

I thought I remembered Amos having a beef with the show, and with J.J.s character specifically.

Esther Rolle also had the same beef... They thought the show was becoming more and more degrading, and John Amos basically quit.

Ottensen said:

TD3 said:

Less all go over to SoulAlive's house. !! I'll bring the beer.

Hopefully somebody can bring the Chik-Fil-A, unfortunately there's not one out by me, so the best I can do is bring Subway sandwiches !!!

DesireeNevermind!

Subway samiches and ice cold beer go together.

JerseyKRS said:

I'll tell you all what REALLY happened.

Florida, with her ho ass, went and had sex with Shrek, and then they had a baby.

[img:$uid]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243/Tacotoole/coach_ray_meyer_219x262.jpg[/img:$uid]

Ottensen said:

chocolate1 said:

I bawled like that when Edith died on "All in the Family"- actually "Archie's Place"- too.

When a comedy gets all serious like that, it throws you for a loop.

THIS GODDAMNED NEW SYSTEM ERASES MY WORD REPLIES!!!! I GET NOTHING BUT EMOTICONS!!!

DAMN.

DAMN.

DAMNNNNN!!!!!!

Ottensen said:

Ottensen said:

THIS GODDAMNED NEW SYSTEM ERASES MY WORD REPLIES!!!! I GET NOTHING BUT EMOTICONS!!!

DAMN.

DAMN.

DAMNNNNN!!!!!!

Damn!!!!

Ok so you know I gotta share this story with my step dad (old as he is) and get some more scoop. so um...what's this about Florida leavin' the show and the kids were living by themselves?

He sho did tell me that. Pops said that at some point, Florida took a trip or something and just never came back. Good Times was just about the kids living alone. Wha?????????????????

Graycap23 said:

It took me years 2 realize where Martin stole the "Damn, damn, damn" comment.

If you pay real close attention -you will see that The Martin show is a modern version of Sanford and Son. Similar in set up, however, the same in delivery. Martin takes on the role of the fly ladies man (Like Sanford), gets in fights with Pam (like Aunt Esther), Gina is stuck in the middle (like Lamont). Also Martin tries to scam and it always fails or is caught (Like Sanford). The friends of Martin are just like the friends of Sanford-punch lines for Martins jokes/insults. I personally feel that season 3 and 4 of the Martin show captured that essence of the Sanford and Son in a contemporary yet very effective way.

Harlepolis said:

Nothinbutjoy said:

He was killed off to make a statement. He WAS NOT coming back.

As for the family never getting out of the ghetto...that doesn't always happen. I always thought it made the show a bit more realistic.

Thats my main issue with the show, THAT bullshit right there. It clearly showed that the writers went out to lunch on this one.

But then again, both shows(Jeffersons And Good Times) were what Norman Lear thought black America was all about I still watch the shows for nostalgic reasons but the older I get, the more I count the eyebrow moments.

Folks call "The Cosby Show" unrealistic, but I've met MANY Huxtables in my life, I didn't even have to live the middle class life to relate to it.

The main reason behind the success of The Jeffersons, Good Times, and (especially) All In The Family is the political incorrectness of it all. If you're not a causal fan of politically incorrect humor, those shows were not good for you.

chocolate1 said:

Harlepolis said:

Thats my main issue with the show, THAT bullshit right there. It clearly showed that the writers went out to lunch on this one.

But then again, both shows(Jeffersons And Good Times) were what Norman Lear thought black America was all about I still watch the shows for nostalgic reasons but the older I get, the more I count the eyebrow moments.

Folks call "The Cosby Show" unrealistic, but I've met MANY Huxtables in my life, I didn't even have to live the middle class life to relate to it.

And don't forget "Sanford and Son".

Norman Lear had a very narrow-minded view of minorities....

My sister and I had this same conversation last week.

Be as it may, THIS^ is my all-time favorite classic episode, raw and uncut.

I understand the eyebrow raising moments especially with Good Times. But we have to understand that a sitcom is not real life and that it doesn't represent a real picture of life. A distorted picture at best-normally for the sake of humor. Like The I love Lucy Show portrays a woman as a nitwit that acts like a spoiled child-that is one of the major forces in the humor with in the show. Point being that just because a show portrays women as nitwits and spoiled children does not mean I think that women are. Sometimes comedy is just that comedy. That's why I like Family Guy-everybody's fair game. I understand and enjoy shows like Cosby where there is a deeper meaning with in the show's comedy. But sometimes you have to get your jokes on.

kewlschool said:

Graycap23 said:

It took me years 2 realize where Martin stole the "Damn, damn, damn" comment.

If you pay real close attention -you will see that The Martin show is a modern version of Sanford and Son. Similar in set up, however, the same in delivery. Martin takes on the role of the fly ladies man (Like Sanford), gets in fights with Pam (like Aunt Esther), Gina is stuck in the middle (like Lamont). Also Martin tries to scam and it always fails or is caught (Like Sanford). The friends of Martin are just like the friends of Sanford-punch lines for Martins jokes/insults. I personally feel that season 3 and 4 of the Martin show captured that essence of the Sanford and Son in a contemporary yet very effective way.

Never thought about it that way..............but I do see your point.

TonyVanDam said:

Harlepolis said:

Thats my main issue with the show, THAT bullshit right there. It clearly showed that the writers went out to lunch on this one.

But then again, both shows(Jeffersons And Good Times) were what Norman Lear thought black America was all about I still watch the shows for nostalgic reasons but the older I get, the more I count the eyebrow moments.

Folks call "The Cosby Show" unrealistic, but I've met MANY Huxtables in my life, I didn't even have to live the middle class life to relate to it.

The main reason behind the success of The Jeffersons, Good Times, and (especially) All In The Family is the political incorrectness of it all. If you're not a causal fan of politically incorrect humor, those shows were not good for you.

OH PLEASE!

Spike Lee's movies are politically incorrect and right on the money. Norman Lear shows were what you might tell a 12 years old whippersnapper with a "Lets shut those n*ggas from NAACP up with a couple of shows so they won't boycott us" atmosphere

They're light humor sitcoms, if you wanna check your brain at the door, they're the shows for you, and like Chocolate said, Norman Lear's view of black people was probably from a paragaraph he read from a book.

DesireeNevermind said:

Ok so you know I gotta share this story with my step dad (old as he is) and get some more scoop. so um...what's this about Florida leavin' the show and the kids were living by themselves?

He sho did tell me that. Pops said that at some point, Florida took a trip or something and just never came back. Good Times was just about the kids living alone. Wha?????????????????

Yes she got re-married and moved to Arizona. Willona would stop by and check on them.

But she would "call" and they would "pretend" to talk to her on the phone

She came back for the final season though. They got a new place outside of the ghetto (even Willona moved next door)

[Edited 6/2/10 12:38pm]

SHOCKADELICA1 said:

Yeah, I heard that John Amos had some kinda beef with the "powers that be" so he bounced. I guess they coulda just had them like, divorce or somethin instead of killin him off.....but then if they did that then we wouldn't have that classic DAMN, DAMN, DAMN moment!!!

I heard that he wanted more money and quit when they wouldn't give it to him. I'm glad they killed him off because, like you said, it made for a classic, and very powerful, TV moment. You can truly relate to Florida's pain.

ThreadCula said:

DesireeNevermind said:

Ok so you know I gotta share this story with my step dad (old as he is) and get some more scoop. so um...what's this about Florida leavin' the show and the kids were living by themselves?

He sho did tell me that. Pops said that at some point, Florida took a trip or something and just never came back. Good Times was just about the kids living alone. Wha?????????????????

Yes she got re-married and moved to Arizona. Willona would stop by and check on them.

But she would "call" and they would "pretend" to talk to her on the phone

She came back for the final season though. They got a new place outside of the ghetto (even Willona moved next door)

[Edited 6/2/10 12:38pm]

Wow!!! I've got to get my hands on that final season. Heck...I need the whole dang series!