Still one of the most beloved of all shows about black families, Good Times still stands for good and bad reasons as a benchmark for black television. On to the tale of the tape…
Relevance: The story of the Evans family, struggling to make ends meet in the projects of Chicago. Nuff said.
Legacy: The first sitcom about an African-American family. There were other TV shows with black lead characters who had families, but this is the first one where the family was the star. Let’s also add in this was the beginning of Janet Jackson’s acting career. And um, how do I say this? Oh yes…DY-NO-MITE!!!
Craft: I’ll be the first one to admit not remembering this, but an old girlfriend bought the Season 1 DVDs, and let me tell you something: before ‘Dynomite’ took off, this show was really about something. Michael started off as a Black Panther wannabe; that’s one example that sticks out in my mind. And I don’t think anyone would deny that Esther Rolle and John Amos were both true black actors.
Crossover: ‘Temporary laid off!’ ‘Easy Credit Rip Off!’ Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Well, as noted, J.J. became the star of the show. You can call it ego or you can call it standing up for the culture, but both John Amos and Esther Rolle complained publicly about the ‘directon’ of J.J. as his character gained steam. Not by coincidence, both of their characters would be written out of the show. Which leads of course to…
Apollo:
Some recent television greatness is coming when the countdown continues…
