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Good Times

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> Description

The character Florida Evans (played by Esther Rolle) had been Maude Findlay's houskeeper on Maude, but in early 1974 the character was transplanted 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. In this new incarnation, Florida lived with her husband James (John Amos) and children J.J. (Jimmie Walker), Thelma (BernNadette Stanis), and Michael (Ralph Carter). When the series began, J.J. and Thelma were both in high school and Michael, called "the militant midget" by his father due to his activism, was ten years old. Their exuberant neighbor, and Florida's best friend, was Willona Woods (played by Ja'net Dubois).

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 at least owned 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, as he struggled to provide for his family. Being a sitcom, however, the episodes were more uplifting and positive than they were depressing, as the Evans family stuck together and persevered.

Show Description Credit: Wikipedia

> Airing History & Information

Last Airing

Aug 01, 1979

Premiere

February 1, 1974

Episodes

133

Network

CBS

Format/Time

Color / 30 Minutes

Country

United States

Upcoming Airs

Not currently airing

> Cast

Esther Rolle....   Florida Evans (1974-1977, 1978-1979)
Jimmie (J.J.) Walker....   James 'J.J.' Evans, Jr.
John Amos....   James Evans (1974-1976)
Ralph Carter....   Michael Evans
Janet Jackson....   Penny Gordon/Woods (1977-1979)
BernNadette Stanis....   Thelma Evans-Anderson
Ja'net Du Bois....   Willona Woods

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> Show Media

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> DVD Releases & Reviews

Season 1 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
(August 10, 2004) Buy It (USA)

Season 6 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
(August 1, 2006)

Season 5 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
(August 23, 2005) Buy It (USA) (Canada)

Season 4 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
(February 15, 2005) Buy It (USA) (Canada)

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