Search - Good Times - The Complete Third Season on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/12/2022...

Great show to watch and enjoy with the ups and downs of a family and their friends!

An eventful, hilarious year in the Evans household

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 03/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

The last great season of Good Times

DEAN M. Dent | SAN LEANDRO, CALIFORNIA USA | 07/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Absolutely Dy-no-mite...!

Britt Gillette | Chesapeake, VA USA | 06/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nominated for three Golden Globes, Good Times premiered in mid-season 1974 to widespread critical acclaim and audience popularity. A spin-off of the Bea Arthur (of Golden Girls fame) sitcom Maude (1972), Good Times became the fourth of five highly successful sitcoms brought into being during the 1970's decade by Norman Lear. In addition to Maude, those sitcoms were All In The Family (1971), Sanford & Son (1972), and The Jeffersons (1975). The second of three to focus exclusively on African-American family life, Good Times became a source for groundbreaking social commentary in compliment to its penchant for hilarious family comedy...

Good Times centers around the lives of James (John Amos) and Florida Evans (Esther Rolle), an African-American couple raising their three children in a Chicago housing development. Eldest son J.J. (Jimmie Walker) is a skinny, wisecracking ladies man with an affinity for painting. Middle child Thelma (BernNadette Stanis) plays the role of moderating influence on the passions of her two brothers, while youngest son Michael (Ralph Carter) is always involved in a cause to help others or end an injustice. The family is often visited by Florida's best friend from high school, Willona (Ja'net DuBois), who also lives in the project. In later seasons, she's accompanied by adopted daughter Penny (Janet Jackson). With additional comic relief provided by overweight super Nathan Bookman (Johnny Brown), Good Times is a family-oriented TV series laden with great one-liners and plenty of laugh-tracks...

The Good Times (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "A Real Cool Job" in which James, having taken a number of courses at a trade school, is finally offered the high-paying job of his dreams. But there's a catch, the job requires a transfer to the frozen tundra of Alaska... Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "Love in the Ghetto" in which Thelma announces she's engaged, much to the chagrin of James and Florida, and "The Mural" in which J.J. paints a mural for a bank in order to earn the money necessary for Thelma to attend college...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Good Times (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 38 (A Real Cool Job)
Episode 39 (The Family Gun)
Episode 40 (Operation Florida)
Episode 41 (Love in the Ghetto)
Episode 42 (Florida's Rich Cousin)
Episode 43 (The Weekend)
Episode 44 (The Baby)
Episode 45 (Michael's Big Fall)
Episode 46 (The Politicians)
Episode 47 (Willona's Dilemma)
Episode 48 (Florida's Protest)
Episode 49 (The Mural)
Episode 50 (A Loss of Confidence)
Episode 51 (Cleatus)
Episode 52 (The Family Tree)
Episode 53 (A Place to Die)
Episode 54 (J.J.'s Fiancee: Part 1)
Episode 55 (J.J.'s Fiancee: Part 2)
Episode 56 (Sweet Daddy Williams)
Episode 57 (The Investigation)
Episode 58 (J.J. in Trouble)
Episode 59 (Florida the Woman)
Episode 60 (The Break Up)
Episode 61 (The Rent Party)

The DVD Report"