Good Times

From Fonzie from Happy Days to Urkel from Family Matters, TV series have a long history of reorienting themselves around tiny characters who unforeseen skyrocket in fame. The messiest illustration was maybe found in this Maude spin-off by Norman Lear. As parents Florida (Esther Rolle) and James (John Amos) raised their three children in a Chicago housing project, Good Times was meant to be an issue-focused comedy. It's a tale of two shows for Good Times. Esther Rolle and John Amos play the parents in the first, a socially aware sitcom about a poor but proud Black family living in public housing in Chicago. The parents struggle with underemployment or degrading jobs while maintaining their dignity.

The second is a catchphrase comedy centered on their oldest son, Jimmie Walker's J.J., who was practically a cliché thanks to his catchphrase "Dy-no-mite!" and exaggerated laziness. But after the first season, he began to dominate the program, becoming its Fonz or Urkel. As a result, Rolle and Amos quit the show at various periods, with the latter doing so permanently after the third season. The first season is a traditional Norman Lear sitcom with progressive politics and a strong worldview, but the rest of the series is essentially just a dumb network sitcom. However, there was still some shrewd criticism and clever comedy in subsequent seasons.

Years: 1974-1979
Creators: Eric Monte, Mike Evans, Norman Lear
Stars: Esther Rolle, John Amos, Ja’net Dubois, Ralph Carter, Jimmie Walker, Bern Nadette Stanis, Johnny Brown, Janet Jackson, Ben Powers
Network: CBS