Thelma was so boring - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Tap Dancer · 11-06-2013, 02:47 PM

I wish they had given her some interesting storylines. All she ever did was argue with JJ, cook badly, and get engaged.

TVFactFan · 11-06-2013, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tap Dancer

I wish they had given her some interesting storylines. All she ever did was argue with JJ, cook badly, and get engaged.

The interesting storylines are normally saved for lead characters

Tap Dancer · 11-06-2013, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

The interesting storylines are normally saved for lead characters

I consider the whole Evans family and Willona to be the lead characters. Thelma should have taken the scholarship or married Larry and moved to CA. I know she loved her family, but damn, she let some really good opportunities slip away. I would have jumped at the chance to have a better life...and then try to help my family later when I could.

TVFactFan · 11-06-2013, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tap Dancer

I consider the whole Evans family and Willona to be the lead characters. Thelma should have taken the scholarship or married Larry and moved to CA. I know she loved her family, but damn, she let some really good opportunities slip away. I would have jumped at the chance to have a better life...and then try to help my family later when I could.

The leads were the Parents and JJ. Everyone were supportive characters.

And since Thelma was not a main character we didn't need to see a lot of episodes about her during the season

OH Nuts! · 11-06-2013, 11:16 PM

I would have liked to see ANY character given more time and development than JJ. JJ worked my nerves big time. Willona was the only character on the show I really loved; she had a heart as big as the great outdoors. Pretty much the only times I watched Good Times on Antenna was when Willona figured heavily in the ep.

TVFactFan · 11-06-2013, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

I would have liked to see ANY character given more time and development than JJ. JJ worked my nerves big time. Willona was the only character on the show I really loved; she had a heart as big as the great outdoors. Pretty much the only times I watched Good Times on Antenna was when Willona figured heavily in the ep.

Willona was the female JJ

OH Nuts! · 11-06-2013, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Willona was the female JJ

Not quite sure what you mean by that. Explain

TVFactFan · 11-06-2013, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

Not quite sure what you mean by that. Explain

A clown who wore a hat all the time and never serious

OH Nuts! · 11-07-2013, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

A clown who wore a hat all the time and never serious

I didn't see her that way. Yes she joked around but was a much more solid and practical person than JJ. Her jokes were funny and earthy while JJ's were cliched, juvenile AND VERY GRATING - at least to me.

cleverfun3000 · 11-07-2013, 08:02 AM

I gotta agree with TV Fact Fan on this one. Wilona was a mouthy, jive talking' gossipy, inner-city slickster that acted like she wasn't living in the PRO-jects. LOL

OH Nuts! · 11-07-2013, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cleverfun3000

I gotta agree with TV Fact Fan on this one. Wilona was a mouthy, jive talking' gossipy, inner-city slickster that acted like she wasn't living in the PRO-jects. LOL

Well, it'd be a boring world if we all thought the same way. And it is interesting how others view a particular character. I think what's always endeared me about Willona was how she stood up for and adopted Penny. So...it's hard for me to see Willona in anything but a positive light. Also, it was nice to see a young Janet Jackson( (Penny). Because of the kindness and strength of Willona's heart, I see her foibles as charming eccentricities.

(All of this is giving me a good idea for a new thread - just have to figure out which forum.)

TVFactFan · 11-07-2013, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

Well, it'd be a boring world if we all thought the same way. And it is interesting how others view a particular character. I think what's always endeared me about Willona was how she stood up for and adopted Penny. So...it's hard for me to see Willona in anything but a positive light. Also, it was nice to see a young Janet Jackson( (Penny). Because of the kindness and strength of Willona's heart, I see her foibles as charming eccentricities.

(All of this is giving me a good idea for a new thread - just have to figure out which forum.)

Well they had to tone her goofiness down once she was trying to adopt Penny

The willona from season 1 and 2 was nothing like the Willona from season 5

Tap Dancer · 11-07-2013, 09:42 PM

I'm re-watching the show again after a long hiatus and I have to say that Willona is very annoying at times. She really grates my nerves when she goes off on one of her tirades. On the episode where Florida wants to get her high school diploma and James acts surprised that Willona has her diploma, Willona gets going about picking cotton or some crap. I don't remember what she said because I tune her out or change the channel when she starts up. It was similar to the time the old man wanted to die at the Evans' apartment. Once that woman got going, she wouldn't shut up. I found that more annoying that anything JJ ever did.

cleverfun3000 · 11-08-2013, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tap Dancer

I'm re-watching the show again after a long hiatus and I have to say that Willona is very annoying at times. She really grates my nerves when she goes off on one of her tirades. On the episode where Florida wants to get her high school diploma and James acts surprised that Willona has her diploma, Willona gets going about picking cotton or some crap. I don't remember what she said because I tune her out or change the channel when she starts up. It was similar to the time the old man wanted to die at the Evans' apartment. Once that woman got going, she wouldn't shut up. I found that more annoying that anything JJ ever did.

Wow! You hit the nail right on the head! What made Wilona most annoying was when she went into those ole tired black-isms and jive/talk sayin's like "I'sa comin', massa. . ." and then she would lean over and shuffle forward while letting her face droop to show her interpretation of a old black man back in 1860's Mississippi. She did those kind of ebonics and imitations often throughout the years on Good Times and they really grated on the nerves. I seem to recall Penny being in the room once when she went into her minstrel show act.

Tap Dancer · 11-08-2013, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cleverfun3000

Wow! You hit the nail right on the head! What made Wilona most annoying was when she went into those ole tired black-isms and jive/talk sayin's like "I'sa comin', massa. . ." and then she would lean over and shuffle forward while letting her face droop to show her interpretation of a old black man back in 1860's Mississippi. She did those kind of ebonics and imitations often throughout the years on Good Times and they really grated on the nerves. I seem to recall Penny being in the room once when she went into her minstrel show act.

It was painful because it dragged on for 2-3 minutes. One quick joke might have been okay, but after that it wasn't funny at all. I guess she kept hamming it up because the others would laugh and clap and carry on. I would have yelled for her to shut up after about 15 seconds. LOL

11-06-2013, 02:47 PM	#1
Tap Dancer Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 20, 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 754	Thelma was so boring I wish they had given her some interesting storylines. All she ever did was argue with JJ, cook badly, and get engaged.

11-06-2013, 11:16 PM	#5
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	I would have liked to see ANY character given more time and development than JJ. JJ worked my nerves big time. Willona was the only character on the show I really loved; she had a heart as big as the great outdoors. Pretty much the only times I watched Good Times on Antenna was when Willona figured heavily in the ep.

11-07-2013, 08:02 AM	#10
cleverfun3000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Manhattan Posts: 1,685	I gotta agree with TV Fact Fan on this one. Wilona was a mouthy, jive talking' gossipy, inner-city slickster that acted like she wasn't living in the PRO-jects. LOL

11-07-2013, 09:42 PM	#13
Tap Dancer Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 20, 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 754	I'm re-watching the show again after a long hiatus and I have to say that Willona is very annoying at times. She really grates my nerves when she goes off on one of her tirades. On the episode where Florida wants to get her high school diploma and James acts surprised that Willona has her diploma, Willona gets going about picking cotton or some crap. I don't remember what she said because I tune her out or change the channel when she starts up. It was similar to the time the old man wanted to die at the Evans' apartment. Once that woman got going, she wouldn't shut up. I found that more annoying that anything JJ ever did.