SYNOPSIS

Good Times was a spin-off from Maude, which in turn was a spin-off from All in the Family. Florida Evans was originally Maude Findlay's maid until, in the spring of 1974, she got a show of her own. Florida and James Evans were lower-middle-class blacks living with their three children in a high-rise ghetto on the South Side of Chicago. J.J. was the oldest (17 when the series started), Thelma was a year younger than he, and Michael was 10. Trying to make ends meet on the erratic income provided by James, who was always in and out of jobs, made life difficult, but there was plenty of love in the family. J.J. was an accomplished amateur painter who, though going to trade school, was always looking for some get-rich-quick scheme that would help get him and his family out of the ghetto. He formed a rock group, managed a young comic, and tried various other money-making ideas after he got out of school. He did manage to earn money with his painting and was also quite popular with the girls, something his mother viewed with mixed emotions. His catchphrase "Dy-No-Mite" became very popular in the mid-1970's. Florida's neighbor and best friend was Willona Woods.

At the start of the 1976-1977 season, there was a major change in the cast. James found a job working as a partner in a garage in Mississippi when he was killed in an auto accident. The entire family, which had been planning to move to their new home and start a new life, was now fatherless. J.J. became the man of the house and was even more determined to find a way out of the ghetto for his family, whether by means that were entirely legal or not. Some of his schemes became decidedly shady. Meanwhile, Florida found a new man in her life in the spring of 1977, in the person of Carl Dixon, the owner of a small appliance repair shop. They were married during the summer of 1977 (though the wedding was not seen), and in the fall were referred to on the show as being "on their honeymoon."

Series star Esther Rolle had become disenchanted with the role model for young blacks provided by J.J.'s "jive-talking," woman-chasing, less-than-honest character and, on the pretense of illness, left the series prior to the start of the 1977-1978 season. In the story line, Carl had developed lung cancer and he and Florida were living in a Southern location that was better for his health. Friend and neighbor Willona became a surrogate mother to the Evans household. Little Penny Gordon, a victim of child abuse, became Willona's adopted daughter. J.J. was working full-time at a small ad agency, a job he had gotten during the 197601977 season, and Bookman, the building superintendent, became a more prominent member of the cast.

The following fall Esther Rolle returned to the cast (sans Carl or any explanation on what had happened to him), with the promise that J.J. would be a more respectable character, and daughter Thelma married football star Keith Anderson. J.J., who was paying for the wedding, had lost his job at the advertising agency when a business slowdown forced them to lay him off. He had to borrow money from loan shark Sweet Daddy to pay for the wedding and, to make matters worse, accidentally tripped Keith during the ceremony, resulting in a leg injury that jeopardized Keith's million-dollar pro-football contract. Money was hard to come by, and the newlyweds were living in the Evans apartment while Keith recuperated. Though depressed by his physical problems, Keith drove a taxi to help out, while Florida got a job as a school-bus driver and J.J. taught art at home.

With falling ratings, Good Times was pulled from the CBS schedule in December. It returned in the spring and, in the last original episode (there were no reruns aired in the last season), everything worked out for the series principals. Keith got his big contract as a running back and moved into his own place with Thelma, who was expecting their first child; J.J. sold the comic strip he had developed to a syndicate for a healthy advance; and neighbor Willona got promoted to head buyer at the clothing boutique where she worked.