Good Times [TV Show] (DVD)

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Rolle left the series too, for a time, upset with the image that the cavalier, self-absorbed and posturing J.J. was projecting for young blacks. J.J.'s catch-phrase, "Dy-no-MITE!" became a national catch-phrase and tilted the shows away from serious issues and more toward J.J.'s goofiness. But when Rolle was assured that the writers would get things back on track again, she returned a season later. Rounding out the cast, a very young Janet Jackson played Penny Gordon Woods, Willona's adopted daughter, Ben Powers plays Keith Anderson (a football star that Thelma marries), and Theodore Wilson plays Sweet Daddy, a loan shark who surfaces for the series last two seasons.

All 133 episodes from the show's six seasons are included in this compact, bargain-priced set ($59.95). As with previous "Complete Series" packages from Sony, this one features a single box with flap that has the episodes listed on it and houses a thin plastic spindle insert, upon which the discs are stacked--the way that DVD-Rs are stacked when you buy them in bulk.

Video:
"Good Times" is presented in 1.33:1 "full screen," but even remastered in High Definition as this series is, the Norman Lear comedies were shot on the cheap and have always looked a little rougher than some of the other sitcoms. The colors are a bit faded (especially in the earlier seasons) and even when the colors pop out at you there's a slight graininess and subtle blurring around the edges of objects and figures. None of this is so bad that it detracts from the viewing experience, and again I want to emphasize that these are the exact same discs that were previously issued in six separate season collections. The quality varies from season to season, but overall I'd have to say the video is in the 5-6 range.

Audio:
The audio is a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, but because this show (like all the Lear comedies) has a highly staged quality and so much of it is talk and laugh-track, everything is so centered near the front that it feels more like Mono. It's nothing special, in other words. Another 6 overall, though some seasons are crisper than others.

Extras:
Sorry. No bonus features.

Bottom Line:
When I first reviewed one of these complete sets, I wasn't sure about them. But on October 28 Sony is releasing three more: "Newsradio," "Sanford and Son," and this series. When you look at all three next to each other on the shelf, in their black cartons with a square color photo at the top, you realize that these are library issues. People probably aren't going to be watching these shows over and over, but collectors and fans with that "gotta have it" impulse who want to get the whole series will appreciate that it really does take up far less space than all six individually packaged seasons. The discs are exactly the same ones from the individual packages, too. The downside is that so-stacked, the discs are a little tougher to handle and there's more of a chance of bobbling or dropping them. But if these are archival collectibles that are there on the shelf for rainy-day or nostalgic watching, it now strikes me as a perfect format. A cardboard "donut" holds the 17 single-sided discs tightly in place. They're perfect for collectors who'll be watching the shows occasionally rather than repeatedly.

"Good Times" was an important milestone insomuch as it gave us a black family sitcom with an all-black cast that tackled socially relevant issues like gun control, gang problems, minimum wage, birth control, sexual attitudes, abortion, and, of course, racism. If "All in the Family" was Lear comedy at its best, "Good Times" was a decent second-tier series. The first three seasons kicked butt, but the last three got a little too "aren't we cute" for my taste. You went from believing this family to watching actors deliver their lines to way-too-thunderous applause.

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