Good Times - The Complete First Season

Good Times - The Complete First Season
by Bob LaHendro, Donald McKayle, Herbert Kenwith, John Rich, Perry Rosemond

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DVD Reviews of Good Times - The Complete First Season

DVD Review: This groundbreaking comedy series is Dyn-O-Mite!
Summary: 5 Stars

Almost thirty years later, Good Times is still funnier than almost every other television show ever produced. What impressed me is the way the show began; the look and feel of the series was already firmly established in the very first episode, as James struggles to pay the rent and keep his family off the streets. When I was little, I didn't particularly like James because he seemed mean to me with his constant yelling. As an adult, I am a tremendous fan of John Amos' portrayal of the proud, hardworking family patriarch. This man worked like a dog in order to provide for his family, and the constant problems he faced getting and then keeping jobs is more than enough reason to explain his sometimes heated words and deeds. I no longer look at Good Times as the J.J. show; this first season seems to me to built around James Evans, Sr., although Esther Rolle, Jimmie Walker, Ralph Carter, Bernnadette Stanis, John Amos, and Ja'net Du Bois all delivered truly wonderful performances. Toward the end of these first 13 episodes, J.J. does begin to emerge as the prominent comedic talent, having served earlier as dependable but not yet featured comic relief. Jimmie Walker really comes into his own on the final episode included here, "My Son the Lover," setting the stage for great and equally hilarious things to come in later seasons.

I won't go into an episode by episode discussion, but I will mention a few of the really significant storylines that appeared. The struggle James has bringing home the bacon is a constant, but the burdens caused by his lack of education deliver a strong message to both J.J. and the viewing audience in "Junior the Senior." Teenage sexuality is addressed in "Sex and the Evans Family," a story featuring a classic display of the double standard that exists between males and females. Racism is constantly at the fore, personified in young Michael (or as James often calls him, "the militant midget"). The importance Florida places on religion and always doing what is right, no matter the costs incurred by your decision, is another strong element of the show, one given a brilliant exposition in the very second episode, "Black Jesus." Every episode imparts a meaning to the audience, one never lost amidst all of the comedy - and I do mean comedy. Good Times is still laugh-out-loud funny; it actually seems funnier now than it did years ago. While young viewers may not "get" some of the jokes based on 1970s pop culture, there is more than enough comedy spread around to guarantee a fun time will be had by all. There are no frills to this DVD package, though. I would have liked to see at least some sort of special feature, be it interviews with cast members or some kind of feature relating the story of how Good Times made it on to CBS as a somewhat controversial spin-off of a spin-off (All in the Family begat Maude, and Maude begat Good Times). You do get a little promo advertising the other vintage television shows already released by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, but this can hardly be called a special feature. In the end, though, what matters most is the newfound opportunity to enjoy the episodes themselves once again. I hope more seasons of Good Times are forthcoming because the thirteen shows from Season One, as great as each and every one of them are, are simply not enough to satisfy my demands for more.

Description of Good Times - The Complete First Season