Customer Reviews

Good Times - The Complete Fifth Season

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have all the good times DVD's, but the best thing I like about the show is not the comedy or the nostalgia; it is the controversial and political subjects that the show has portrayed over all the seasons. From the subjects of drug use, gang violence, and especially the way the fourth season carried on without the patriarch of the family, and how the family struggled more but grew stronger. Season five has the best of all these seasons combined, that is, when they brought the subject of child abuse, single parenthood and adoption of children to poor people in a five part continuing story of the new girl in the neighborhood(PLayed By Janet Jackson)and her abusive mother and how Wilona (Ja'net Dubois) save her from this horrible situation. I think of all the topics of Mr. Norman Lears Television shows during the seventies, this particular story stayed with me the most. I watched it when I was a child, and it still has the same profound impact on me today as it did when I first seen it on TV. My friend who has never seen the show being from another country who watches it with me frequently, agrees that this is one of the most underrated TV shows in TV history. THese issues are as important today as they were thirty years ago.

In season five we are introduced to a little girl in a bad situation. Janet Jackson joins the cast as Esther Rolle leaves the show for a while. The Evans kids really show remarkable growth into adult hood in season five. They still tease each other and make us laugh but that's just a sibling thing.

Wilona Woods really gets her chance to shine as the new lead actress of the series. She takes Janet Jackson's character Penny under her wing as we discover Penny's home is nowhere for a child to be living.

The writers really did a good job at recapturing the mood of Good Times as it was in the first season even without the lead actors it began with.

SEASON 5 IS THE WORST SEASON OF THE SERIES I AM THE WORLD'S BIGGEST "GOOD TIMES" FAN.... SO I FEEL COMFORTABLE SAYING THAT.
IT IS SAD TO SAY BUT SONY SHOULD HAVE JUST RELEASED EPISODES 1-4
OUT OF THIS SEASON, BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST OUT OF THE 24 EPISODES JANET DU'BOIS AND CHIP FIELDS BOTH GIVE TOUR-DE-FORCE PERFORMANCES IN THE EPISODES TITLED "THE EVANSES GET INVOLVED"
I LOVE AND ADMIRE THE LATE GREAT ESTHER ROLLE AND RESPECT HER FOR HER STANCE ON THE DIRECTION THE SHOW WAS HEADING AND THE BAFOONERY OF JJ'S CHARACTER HE WAS WAY TOO OLD TO BE STILL SAYING "DYNOMITE" EVERY 5 MINUTES. I BELIEVE THE PRODUCERS PLAYED THE OLE "DIVIDE AND CONQUER" ROUTINE AMONGST JIMMIE WALKER AND ESTHER ROLLE. IT IS SAD THAT IT HAD TO BE THAT WAY. HOWEVER- JOHN AMOS BOWED OUT GRACEFULLY AT THE END OF SEASON THREE...WAY BEFORE THEY COULD PLACE HIM IN THIS DEBACLE. IF YOU ARE A "GOOD TIMES" FAN YOU WILL BUY THIS SET LIKE I DID. BUT IF THIS YOUR FIRST TIME BUYING A "GOOD TIMES" SET DONT START WITH THIS SEASON START WITH SEASON ONE AND WORK YOUR WAY UP SO BY THE TIME YOU GET TO SEASON FIVE YOU WILL HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE SHOW STARTED OFF LIKE. I CANT WAIT FOR SEASON SIX IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SEASONS....IT IS A MUST HAVE FOR THREE REASONS
1. THELMA AND KEITH'S WEDDING
2. THE RETURN OF PENNY'S MOTHER (EXPLOSIVE EPISODE)
3. THE EVANSES FINALLY MAKE IT OUT OF THE PROJECT'S

I'm a die-hard Good Times fan, but it's hard to completely endorse this season of the show. It's like the writers just gave up completely. The jokes are so stale they are almost evil - pure garbage. You really can't imagine people sitting at a typewriter believing anyone would think the jokes are funny - the writers should be ashamed of themselves. When sit-com writing gets this stupid, it sucks at your brain. There are many disappointments - J.J. trades his dream to become a artist and works at an advertising agency, never to pick up a paint brush again, Michael, our black genius gets a "D" on his report card, and as an African American, I'll never understand why a show that makes so many comments on discrimination has so many crude fat jokes. (also see What's Happening.) Bookman was never strong enough to be a main character, but there was really no one else, I guess, to consider.

That said, this may still be a "must buy" for a few reasons. One is the early Penny eposides("The Evans Get Involved")when Penny is introduced as an abused child. These episodes do what Good Times does best - poignant dramatic comedy with an edge. Watching Kit Fields and Janet Dubois' confrontation over her abuse allegations is amazing, and Janet Jackson is heartbreaking when she says to her mother who she is protecting, "I didn't tell them anything Mama." I never forgot these episodes when they aired in the seventies and now understand why.

Part of the advantage of watching the shows in order by season is that you can see the progress (or decline.) I happen to like Wilona as a lead character and Janet Dubois as a actress definitely has her moments. Some of the situations she's put in are ridiculous, but her acting is strong and it is always touching the way she becomes a mother to Penny.

And finally, there is "Write On, Thelma." Thelma is asked by Mr. Nichols to change her play and finally delivers words to live by. For my family, this was a classic and the DVD was worth it for this episode alone. When Thelma recites her main character's monologue "My Daddy Always Told Me......." it is amazing how John Amos, gone from the show for two seasons, still makes an impact on the viewer's mind as "James."

Good Times was a complicated show and has been criticized rightly for many reasons. But I still love it, and James Evans was unprecedented in terms of the presentation of black fathers on television.

This season began with the introduction of Janet Jackson's character of Penny who became Willona's daughter. The first few episodes with Penny's mother (Chip Field's) are some of the best episodes of the entire run.

The remainder of the season however leaves alot to be desired. The plots seem contrived and the writers appear to be struggling to include each character in every episode.

However, as a die hard fan, I contined to tune in then and I enjoyed the DVD now.

This is the season of Good Times where the mainstream veiwers were tapering off, and left with only the hard-core(i.e. African-American) fans.Not only was John Amos killed off long ago(while getting acclaim for his portrayal of adult Kunte Kinte in Roots),but Esther Rolle departed the show due to the direction the show has taken.
By the fall of 1977,the fifth season was re-tooled with not only Ja'net Dubois taking center stage, but gaining a new daughter in the form of Penny Gordon (Janet Jackson) an abused child who was abandoned by her mother.
Although the Evans' parents were gone, the hub of activity was still the Evans apartment as the children were left to fend for themselves under the watchful eye of Willona.The new retooling of the show displayed the drama of backstage politics manifest itself into the show that was itself self destructing.

I watched this show when it was on in the 70s and I've been a big fan. It just goes to show you that "there is nothing new under the sun...". The concerns and problems the Evans family dealt with then are mostly the same ones we have today. The surviving cast should do a reunion movie.

I love me some Good Times if I am not reading a book. I am watching Good Times. This is my favorite season with Penny (Janet Jackson). I used to do my homework while watching Good Times. I thank whomever came up with the idea of putting it on DVD.

During the 1977-78 season, Florida is on her honeymoon with Carl (in reality, Esther Rolle left the show because she got so fed up with the buffoonery of the JJ character, but she returned the next season), making longtime neighbor Wilona (the superb and multitalented Ja' Net Dubois) the motherly figure of the household. I won't review every episode, but I did highlight a few that stand out:

THE EVANS GET INVOLVED (Parts 1-4). Enter Janet Jackson - before the hit records, the Grammys, and the disastrous "wardrobe malfunction." She plays Penny, a strange yet charming little girl who's abused by her mother (Chip Fields, Kim's mom). Wilona intervenes and ends up adopting her. These are some of the most memorable episodes of the entire series.

THELMA MOVES OUT Thelma gets fed up with sharing her pad with her two brothers, so she moves out into her own apartment, which she shares with a nerd, a fat slob, and a flirtatious woman who makes a move on Thelma's man. The moral to the story? The grass ain't always greener on the other side.

THELMA'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER Any man who dates you only during lunch hours, won't give out his number, and refuses to invite you to his place is a red flag for trouble. Thelma learns this the hard way.

PENNY'S CHRISTMAS That Penny girl just can't stay out of trouble. She gets busted for shoplifting at a department store. The timing couldn't be any worse, as her adoption is close to being finalized.

JJ AND THE BOSS' DAUGHTER In which JJ learns a valuable lesson: never mix business with pleasure. He dates a co-worker who is not only his assistant but also his boss' daughter. Things get messy when she threatens to have him fired after he breaks a date with her.

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE The couch is set on fire. Thelma, JJ, Michael, and Penny all give different versions of the story, but only one is telling the truth. Guess who?

JJ's CONDITION JJ is stressing and he's getting an ulcer. Is it because of Thelma's cooking? Nope, he's dating a woman who's still married to her husband. Two's company, but three is definitely a crowd.

As with the other "Good Times" DVDs, there are no extra features. It would have been nice if they had a documentary or some interviews, but all we get are the episodes and nothing more. Still, it's a good buy, and some of the season's best episodes can be found here.

The fifth season pulls you in with the four part story line, "the Evans Get Involved." I was too young to see it when it first aired but it hooked me in from the start. Janet Jackson fits the role of sweet but troubled Penny and Wilona plays the mother role quite well. The season contains all sorts of laughs and predicaments as J.J is now the head of the household and has to hold it together. It would have been more believable though to see an episode where J.J actually gets the job at the ad agency. As another reviewer commented there were too many fat jokes in this season directed at Bookman and after a while they got stale. Since the show was about discrimination they sure had no problems attacking other types for a cheap laugh. The episode where J.J dreams that he has turned white was one of the weirdest ones in the season and it failed to actually make the point it was trying to make. Another memorable episode is when Wilona is offered a security job but has doubts when she discovers what she actually has to do. It truly was an episode ahead of its time taking into account all the surveillance cameras in the world today. I have to confess I did enjoy the season very much although I do have one complaint. In the first season the poverty is very much front and centre but here, one would be hard pressed to say the Evans are suffering in any true sense. The porridge that was a constant for breakfast in the first three seasons has been replaced by pancakes, eggs and bacon. Their fridge is now full of ribs, chicken, pork etc...they buy new furniture in this season without a fuss and there are forever going out and taking part in cultural events. The family in reality is now lower middle class. They might still live in the projects but so what? It's also interesting to see all the rich guys that come through Wilona's door. Nevertheless despite my minor quibble, this is a good season to own and I rated an A.