Did "Good Times" actually improve after John Amos left - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 07-06-2018, 07:14 PM

(1) J.J., now being the man of the house in James' absence, finally matured (he rarely if ever said "dy-no-mite" anymore) and didn't act the fool like he did in the show's earlier seasons, quite convincingly taking over as head of the house particularly during the season in which Esther Rolle was temporarily written out of the series; and (2) the show's focus expanded, primarily because the writers found other kinds of stories to write besides the latest chapter in how poor are the Evans family were

Anna Karenina · 07-06-2018, 07:55 PM

Also we found out that he "hates girls that smoke!"

And dating married women gave him ulcers.

hatwink · 07-07-2018, 01:54 PM

Not totally, had its bright spots.

Snickerboobie · 10-27-2018, 12:53 PM

No.It went down when James was killed.

Sonny Carson · 12-04-2018, 11:08 PM

Just a plain 'NO' will suffice!

MikeLutton · 12-06-2018, 06:37 PM

No it actually declined

TMC · 01-07-2019, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snickerboobie

No.It went down when James was killed.

The removal of James from the show also more than likely hurt JJ's character because without his angry father to annoy and trigger, JJ lost most of his spark.

GoldenTV · 01-14-2019, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

The removal of James from the show also more than likely hurt JJ's character because without his angry father to annoy and trigger, JJ lost most of his spark.

IMO JJ improved after James left. He didn't act like a fool anymore and quit quarreling with Thelma left and right which got annoying.

Janice Johnson · 01-19-2019, 01:52 PM

Jimmie Walker himself said he thought JJ was really immature for his age and wanted JJ to grow up. "JJ is 18, still acting like he's a little kid. Come on!"IIRC, Jimmie had a hand in JJ's sudden maturity. JJ also became snarky and sarcastic in his jokes which he wasn't in the Seasons with James. His snarky,"Something happen to your cat too? And that ***** cat sure leaves a dangerous life!" We're prime examples of how snarky and sarcastic he was in the later Seasons. Let's not forget, he helped save Penny from her abusive mother. Had he not helped her on the bus she possibly would not have known The Evans and eventually Willona who ultimately adopted her saving her from her abusive mother.

Heenan Fan · 01-25-2019, 02:01 AM

I liked the show better before James was killed off.

QTMcWhiskers · 03-16-2019, 03:25 PM

Seasons 1-3 are the best, followed by 6 then 4. IN terms of a whole show, even with aspects that didn't always work. (5 was weak but would have been a lot worse without Wilona and Penny.)

But, yeah, aspects of the show DID improve after season 3-

JJ was no longer the one-note "Kid DYN-O-MIIIIIIIIIIIITE!" routine that wasn't funny unless James or Florida made a snappy response in return.

JJ did care about his siblings.

And their neighbor Wilona.

But those are aspects. The balance, the show as a whole, became lopsided after James left, and as entertaining as 5 is I still can't fathom how they attempted it without Rolle. And her return in season 6 is quite a blessing as 6 is a return to form, but too late as viewers left during the previous year. Even bringing in Penny (who was a successful addition, rare for TV IMHO) wasn't enough as viewers at the time thought the new situation in season 5 was just... too weird. Ironically, Jimmy was that popular that they attempted the 5th (and 6th) seasons. CBS saw JJ but didn't see the whole show in which he was as much a needed part of as anyone else.

TVFactFan · 03-16-2019, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QTMcWhiskers

Seasons 1-3 are the best, followed by 6 then 4. IN terms of a whole show, even with aspects that didn't always work. (5 was weak but would have been a lot worse without Wilona and Penny.)

But, yeah, aspects of the show DID improve after season 3-

JJ was no longer the one-note "Kid DYN-O-MIIIIIIIIIIIITE!" routine that wasn't funny unless James or Florida made a snappy response in return.

JJ did care about his siblings.

And their neighbor Wilona.

But those are aspects. The balance, the show as a whole, became lopsided after James left, and as entertaining as 5 is I still can't fathom how they attempted it without Rolle. And her return in season 6 is quite a blessing as 6 is a return to form, but too late as viewers left during the previous year. Even bringing in Penny (who was a successful addition, rare for TV IMHO) wasn't enough as viewers at the time thought the new situation in season 5 was just... too weird. Ironically, Jimmy was that popular that they attempted the 5th (and 6th) seasons. CBS saw JJ but didn't see the whole show in which he was as much a needed part of as anyone else.

The only watchable moments after James left was

Carl

JJ Friends

What killed the show was adding Janet Jackson

TMC · 02-20-2020, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

The only watchable moments after James left was

Carl

JJ Friends

What killed the show was adding Janet Jackson

In hindsight (and I'm not necessarily just saying this in light of Ja'net Dubois' recent passing), Wilona was really the glue that held the show together after James was killed off and Florida went on her Arizona "vacation" for a year. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise for Esther Rolle to be out of the picture for a while because Florida at that point, could get really smug and sanctimonious at times.

Penny's addition however, immediately created problems because before that, did Wilona ever expressed any desire for children. It was probably emblematic of how the show really went all over the place after John Amos (and later Esther Rolle) left the show. Before that, we knew that Good Times was about a close knit black family (with James as that strong father figure) doing what they could to get by and get ahead.

TVFactFan · 02-20-2020, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

In hindsight (and I'm not necessarily just saying this in light of Ja'net Dubois' recent passing), Wilona was really the glue that held the show together after James was killed off and Florida went on her Arizona "vacation" for a year. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise for Esther Rolle to be out of the picture for a while because Florida at that point, could get really smug and sanctimonious at times.

Penny's addition however, immediately created problems because before that, did Wilona ever expressed any desire for children. It was probably emblematic of how the show really went all over the place after John Amos (and later Esther Rolle) left the show. Before that, we knew that Good Times was about a close knit black family (with James as that strong father figure) doing what they could to get by and get ahead.

the 5th season was unrealistic because thelma and jj was too old to be told what to do. And willona wasnt even their real aunt lol

Lisalu · 10-21-2020, 09:26 PM

The character of James was key to the show, it was never the same after he left. The whole premise of the series hinged on the concept of an intact nuclear family living in the ghetto. After James was killed off, the show became too female-centric - JJ was still just a comic foil, he could never fill his father's role, and he certainly didn't have the sex appeal of John Amos. With James gone, Good Times lost it's direction and devolved into a series of tiresome single mother plots.

07-06-2018, 07:14 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,305	Did "Good Times" actually improve after John Amos left (1) J.J., now being the man of the house in James' absence, finally matured (he rarely if ever said "dy-no-mite" anymore) and didn't act the fool like he did in the show's earlier seasons, quite convincingly taking over as head of the house particularly during the season in which Esther Rolle was temporarily written out of the series; and (2) the show's focus expanded, primarily because the writers found other kinds of stories to write besides the latest chapter in how poor are the Evans family were

12-06-2018, 06:37 PM	#6
MikeLutton Mike Lutton DVD Legend! Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 05, 2005 Location: usa pennsyvania Posts: 6,886	No it actually declined
	__________________ Tv And DVD Addict got over a hundred dvds in my collection more than anyone in the neighborhood. also huge Animal lover family man

07-06-2018, 07:55 PM	#2
Anna Karenina Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 09, 2006 Posts: 10,086	Also we found out that he "hates girls that smoke!" And dating married women gave him ulcers.

07-07-2018, 01:54 PM	#3
hatwink Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 19, 2004 Posts: 773	Not totally, had its bright spots.

10-27-2018, 12:53 PM	#4
Snickerboobie Member First Time Poster Join Date: Oct 27, 2018 Location: Atl Posts: 1	No.It went down when James was killed.

12-04-2018, 11:08 PM	#5
Sonny Carson Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 26, 2012 Location: Southfield, Michigan Posts: 395	Just a plain 'NO' will suffice!

01-19-2019, 01:52 PM	#9
Janice Johnson Commercial Lover Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 30, 2003 Location: Miami, Florida Posts: 4,739	Jimmie Walker himself said he thought JJ was really immature for his age and wanted JJ to grow up. "JJ is 18, still acting like he's a little kid. Come on!"IIRC, Jimmie had a hand in JJ's sudden maturity. JJ also became snarky and sarcastic in his jokes which he wasn't in the Seasons with James. His snarky,"Something happen to your cat too? And that ***** cat sure leaves a dangerous life!" We're prime examples of how snarky and sarcastic he was in the later Seasons. Let's not forget, he helped save Penny from her abusive mother. Had he not helped her on the bus she possibly would not have known The Evans and eventually Willona who ultimately adopted her saving her from her abusive mother.

01-25-2019, 02:01 AM	#10
Heenan Fan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Oct 19, 2016 Posts: 6,001	I liked the show better before James was killed off.

03-16-2019, 03:25 PM	#11
QTMcWhiskers Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 06, 2017 Location: USA Posts: 124	Seasons 1-3 are the best, followed by 6 then 4. IN terms of a whole show, even with aspects that didn't always work. (5 was weak but would have been a lot worse without Wilona and Penny.) But, yeah, aspects of the show DID improve after season 3- JJ was no longer the one-note "Kid DYN-O-MIIIIIIIIIIIITE!" routine that wasn't funny unless James or Florida made a snappy response in return. JJ did care about his siblings. And their neighbor Wilona. But those are aspects. The balance, the show as a whole, became lopsided after James left, and as entertaining as 5 is I still can't fathom how they attempted it without Rolle. And her return in season 6 is quite a blessing as 6 is a return to form, but too late as viewers left during the previous year. Even bringing in Penny (who was a successful addition, rare for TV IMHO) wasn't enough as viewers at the time thought the new situation in season 5 was just... too weird. Ironically, Jimmy was that popular that they attempted the 5th (and 6th) seasons. CBS saw JJ but didn't see the whole show in which he was as much a needed part of as anyone else.

10-21-2020, 09:26 PM	#15
Lisalu Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 21, 2016 Posts: 36	The character of James was key to the show, it was never the same after he left. The whole premise of the series hinged on the concept of an intact nuclear family living in the ghetto. After James was killed off, the show became too female-centric - JJ was still just a comic foil, he could never fill his father's role, and he certainly didn't have the sex appeal of John Amos. With James gone, Good Times lost it's direction and devolved into a series of tiresome single mother plots.