Good Times [TV Show] (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

11) "Requiem for a Wino"—Fishbone's wallet is stolen, and when the thief gets killed everyone think's Fish is dead, so they hold a wake for him . . . which he attends.

12) "Penny's Christmas"—Penny gets arrested for shoplifting right before Christmas, and right before her adoption was to be finalized.

13) "No More Mr. Nice Guy"—J.J. turns disciplinarian after the delinquent Penny and Michael are caught driving a stolen vehicle.

14) "Willona's Mr. Right"—Willona's old boyfriend asks her to marry him and wants to travel, but now she's got Penny to think about, and a big decision.

15) "J. J. and the Boss's Daughter"—J.J. dates his new assistant, who unfortunately turns out to be the boss's daughter . . . and hell hath no fury.

16) "Where There's Smoke"—When the sofa catches fire, Willona hears three different stories, but Penny sets the record straight.

17) "I Had a Dream"—If you hate dream episodes, you won't like this one about J.J.'s "Watermelon Man" dream.

18) "The Boarder"—Looking to take in some extra money, J.J. opens the door to trouble instead when he rents a room to a man who's been targeted for a hit.

19) "J.J.'s Condition"—It's ulcer time when J.J. starts seeing a married woman who has no intention of getting divorced.

20) "Willona, the Other Woman"—Bookman's wife suspects the super of having an affair with Willona, and gives him the boot.

21) "Something Old, Something New"—The Evans children try to marry off grandpa, but he's more interested in selling his invention.

22) "Willona's New Job"—After a big promotion, Willona's boyfriend turns up, wanting her to marry him and quit her job.

23) "Write On, Thelma"—Thelma writes a play that's produced by a community theater group, but she's not real happy about changes the director wants to make.

24) "That's Entertainment, Evans Style"—Extravaganza time, as Willona and the Evans put on a benefit to raise money for a new day-care center.

Season five had Jackson, but the rest of the cast clearly missed playing off of the spirited Rolle. Everything rang just a little hollow as the actors tried to carry on without her, and by the fifth season the writers were running out of relevant topics. There were a few good shows, still—as when J.J. dates a married woman and frets himself half to death thinking about his own possible demise at the hands of her husband—and Jackson is interesting to watch before her "Nasty" days. But most of the episodes still feel like everyone is going through the motions. There's no zip, no energy, and, surprisingly, after four years of togetherness, not much in the way of cast chemistry.

Video: The video quality (1.33:1 ratio) won't win any prizes. It's fuzzy and grainy and on widescreen there's plenty of distortion on both sides where the picture has been stretched.

Audio: Same thing here. There's a scratchy quality to the audio, which also seems heavy on the treble.

Extras: There are no extras. What did you expect? A commentary by Janet Jackson?

Bottom Line: The first three seasons were the show's best, with socially relevant topics and character portrayals that made you believe these people were a family. By the fifth season, the trash-talk has gotten annoyingly silly and the characters seem to have gotten shallower—perhaps because the show is caught in an uncomfortable limbo between social relevance and over-the-top caricature. The result is that we're all the more aware of them as a group of actors saying their lines.

---

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---