Good Morning POU!
The popularity of blaxploitation coinciding with the Black Power movement gave rise to many popular black sitcoms during the 70s that include That’s My Mama, Good Times, Sanford and Son, What’s Happening!!, and The Jeffersons.
Sanford and Son made its debut on NBC on Jan. 14, 1972, while Good times aired on CBS on Feb. 8, 1974, and then The Jefferson’s also aired on CBS, on Jan. 18, 1975. Good Times was originally a spin-off of the show Maude, while Maude was a spin-off of All in the Family. These sitcoms were developed by the legendary Norman Lear.
Sanford and Son ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the BBC Television program Steptoe and Son, which had its original broadcast run in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1965.
Known for its edgy racial humor, running gags and catchphrases, the series was adapted by Norman Lear and considered NBC’s answer to CBS‘s All in the Family. Sanford and Son has been hailed as the precursor to many other African-American sitcoms. It was a ratings hit throughout its six-season run.
Lamont Goes African
While the role of Fred G. Sanford was known for his bigotry and cantankerousness, the role of Lamont Sanford was that of Fred’s long-suffering, conscientious, peacemaker son. At times both characters involved themselves in schemes, usually as a means of earning cash quickly to pay off their various debts. Other colorful and unconventional characters on the show included Aunt Esther, Grady Wilson, Bubba Bexley, and Rollo Lawson.
Good Times aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974 to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (who played Lionel on the sitcom The Jeffersons) and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television’s first African American two-parent family sitcom. Good Times is a spin-off of Maude, itself a spin-off of All in the Family.
Florida and James Evans and their three children live at 921 North Gilbert Avenue, apartment 17C, in a housing project in a poor, black neighborhood in inner-city Chicago. The project is unnamed on the show but is implicitly the infamous Cabrini–Green projects, shown in the opening and closing credits. Florida and James have three children: James Jr., also known as “J.J.”; Thelma; and Michael, whose passionate activism causes his father to call him “the militant midget.” When the series begins, J.J. is 17, Thelma is 16 and Michael is 11. Their exuberant neighbor and Florida’s best friend is Willona Woods, a recent divorcée who works at a boutique. Their building superintendent is Nathan Bookman (seasons 2-6), who James, Willona and later J.J. refer to as “Buffalo Butt” or, even more derisively, “Booger.”
The Mural
Episodes of Good Times deal with the characters’ attempts to overcome poverty, living in a high-rise project building in Chicago. James Evans often works at least two jobs, mostly manual labor such as dishwasher, construction laborer, etc. Often, he is unemployed, but he is a proud man who will not accept charity. When he has to, he hustles money playing pool, although Florida disapproves of this.
Good Times was intended to be a timely show in the All in the Family vein focused on Rolle and Amos. Both expected the show to deal with serious topics in a comedic way while providing positive characters for viewers to identify with. However, it was Walker’s character of J.J. that was an immediate hit with audiences and became the breakout character of the series. J.J.’s frequent use of the expression “Dy-no-mite!” (often in the phrase “Kid Dy-no-mite!”), credited to director John Rich, became a popular catchphrase (later included in TV Land‘s The 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catch Phrases special). Rich insisted Walker say it in every episode. Walker and executive producer Norman Lear were skeptical of the idea, but the phrase and the J.J. Evans character caught on with the audience. As a result of the character’s popularity, the writers focused more on J.J.’s comedic antics instead of serious issues. Throughout seasons two and three, Rolle and Amos grew increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the show and especially with J.J.’s antics and stereotypically buffoonish behavior. Rolle was vocal about her hate of his character. In a 1975 interview with Ebony magazine she stated:
He’s 18 and he doesn’t work. He can’t read or write. He doesn’t think. The show didn’t start out to be that…Little by little—with the help of the artist, I suppose, because they couldn’t do that to me—they have made J.J. more stupid and enlarged the role. Negative images have been slipped in on us through the character of the oldest child.
Although doing so less publicly than Rolle, Amos also was outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the J.J. character, stating:
The writers would prefer to put a chicken hat on J.J. and have him prance around saying “DY-NO-MITE”, and that way they could waste a few minutes and not have to write meaningful dialogue.
While Amos was less public with his dissatisfaction than Rolle, he was ultimately fired after season three due to disagreements with Lear. Amos’ departure was initially attributed to his desire to focus on a film career, but he admitted in a 1976 interview that Lear called him and told him that his contract option with the show was not being renewed. Amos stated, “That’s the same thing as being fired.” The producers decided not to recast the character of James Evans, instead opting to kill off the character in the two-part season four episode, “The Big Move,” with Florida finding out that James was killed in an automobile accident while in Mississippi.
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