Good Times - The Complete First Season

Product Description The complete first season of the TV series Good Times. Amazon.com What first comes to mind is super-skinny Jimmie Walker proclaiming "Dyn-o-mite!" and waving his arms like a funky scarecrow in a whirlwind of 1970s jive. But while Walker's James "J.J." Evans Junior became the most famous face of Good Times, the bedrock of the sitcom were the actors playing his parents, Esther Rolle and John Amos as Florida and James Evans, two good-hearted but fallible people struggling to raise their family amid the poverty of the Chicago projects. Add to the mix boy-crazy daughter Thelma (Bernnadette Stanis), preadolescent black activist Michael (Ralph Carter), and Florida's world-wise best friend Willona (sassy Ja'net DuBois), and you've got one of the best comic ensembles of the time. Modern politically correct sensibilities may wince a bit at J.J.'s sometimes cartoonish antics, but what's far more striking about the first season of Good Times is how frank the show was willing to be about race, politics, class, religion, sexual double standards, and family conflicts--considerably more direct and daring, in fact, than just about anything you'll find on television today. The topics of shows range from the corruption of television evangelism and white-centered history classes in school (Michael gets suspended for stating that George Washington owned slaves) to more typical sitcom themes like a housekeeping contest or J.J.'s girlfriend troubles--but even the most lightweight episodes tosses out a few acerbic (and genuinely funny) comments on the difficulty of being black in America. --Bret Fetzer From the Back Cover Good Times was that rare hit show which was a spin-off of a spin-off (TV's All in the Family begat Maude, which in turn spawned Good Times on CBS). Airing for five highly rated seasons, Good Times altered America's cultural landscape by tackling topical, often controversial issues from a uniquely African American perspective, while delivering heart-warming laughs. Focusing on a poor but proud family in the Chicago projects, the Evans clan--headed by James (John Amos) and sharp-tongued mother Florida (Esther Rolle)--struggled against adversity while keeping their heads high, striking a chord with audiences of all colors. The trailblazing show also made a star of jive-talkin' comedian Jimmmie Walker, whose catchphrase "Dyn-O-Mite!" beca