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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An eventful, hilarious year in the Evans household, March 4, 2005
By Season Three, Good Times had fully hit its amazingly entertaining stride, delivering nonstop laughs week in and week out while beginning to introduce some more serious issues into the lives of the Evans family. People always say that J.J. got the most attention, and he certainly did draw in a lion's share of the audience (especially kids like me, who placed him behind only Fonzie on our list of characters to be imitated) with his obligatory Kid Dy-No-Mite pronouncements and hilariously goofy behavior, but the heart and soul of Good Times was still James Evans. Watching all these episodes again has been a real revelation to me. When I was a kid, I didn't like James - he sort of scared me because he was yelling all the time. As an adult, though, I have a much better appreciation of the remarkable job John Amos did playing such a strong and truly heroic husband and father who worked like a dog to support his family. Amos gives his best performance ever in Season Three's episode The Family Tree, in which he meets and comes to terms with his own father, a man who walked out on his family when James was still a kid. As for all that yelling - well, it's usually hilarious and, more importantly, understandable given the family's situation.
The Evans family experienced a number of fairly momentous events in Season Three. Thelma got engaged and almost moved to California; J.J. eloped, only finding out in the nick of time that his beloved was a junkie; Florida had to have gall bladder surgery, an event which put the family in bad economic straits for awhile (J.J.'s twelve cavities didn't help much, either); Michael got the family on the FBI watch list by requesting information from the government of Cuba; Florida got herself thrown in the slammer after picketing the local meat market (bad meat market, to be exact); Florida's bank-robbing nephew showed up and threw the family in turmoil; and J.J. learned he might have VD. Jay Leno and Debbie Allen put in guest appearances, J.J. sported his chicken- and ribs-delivery hats for the first time, Bookman turned up again and actually put on quite a show at the season-ending rent party episode (which also features the memorable "Supremes" performance), and - best of all - you had the first appearance of the man, the legend, the icon - Sweet Daddy Williams.
J.J.'s catch phrases can get a little old if you watch these episodes one after another, as do the constant arguments between J.J., Thelma, and Michael, but this was probably the show's funniest season. There is even comedy to be found in the worst of the family's struggles. Perhaps my favorite line from the whole show belongs to James - lamenting the money problems he faces after Florida's operation, he complains that his tombstone will say "Here lies James Evans, back in the hole again." Good Times was still a great show in its later seasons, but it was really never the same after Season Three and John Amos' exit.
I can't imagine not having grown up watching Good Times - during its original run and then, for many years, in syndication. I came home from school to shows like Good Times, What's Happening!!, Sanford and Son, and Happy Days; all kids have nowadays are, ugh, talk shows. Good Times was family entertainment at its best. If you're a parent, do your kids a favor and let them see just how funny TV used to be.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The last great season of Good Times, July 9, 2004
The third season of Good Times was the peak of the series as it was the last with John Amos.
The laughs kept on coming, although JJ(Jimmie Walker) was at the time the focus of the show despite the talented Amos and Esther Rolle (who also left the show when she became fed up with the buffoonery behind Walker's character).Not an episode was broadcast without one "Dy-No-Mite".
The classic episodes of the season includes The Family Gun, Florida's Protest, Cleatus, J.J.'s Fiancee ,Sweet Daddy Williams,The Investigation, and J.J. in Trouble.
Unfortunately Amos was asked to leave the show and his character was killed off in an auto accident.The show would last three more seasons (including the fifth where Rolle left the show, only to return in the final season),but it was obvious that season three was it's peak.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Last Season With James, Classic Episodes, October 14, 2004
The third season of Good Times is bittersweet to fans of the show because this is the last season that the patriarc of the family James will be on the show. The show was never the same after the third season and this season includes some of the funniest episodes. The show continues to push the envelope with different issues relavent to ghetto (and overall family) life in the 70's. In one episode, Florida gets a job and James finds himself jealous of the attention Florida gets at work. There are a few episodes during season three that truly stand out in the Good Times series. The episode "The Family Gun,"
"Operation Florida (where Florida needs a gall bladder operation and finds herself in a nice hospital that James is afraid he can't pay for)," the two part episodes where JJ's girlfriend (Debbie Allen) is strung out on drugs, the episode when Florida and Willona are thrown in jail for a protest outside of a grovery store that sells bad meat (and they eventually give the store manager a taste of his own meat) and there are more great episodes on this set. As the previous seasons are, there are no extras included, but if your a building your classic TV on DVD collection you won't want to miss the third season of Good Times!
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