Good Times's "DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!" scene--the most powerful scene in sitcom history?

Florida's breakdown after James's funeral is a pretty moving scene. I think it goes down in history as one of the most powerful scenes in sitcomdom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKUwcCp7LPE



• Made me cry when I first saw it decades ago and made me cry as I watched it just now, yes, it's a very moving scene.

• It's the subtext that is significant. Esther Rolle, in the guise of Florida Evans, is voicing her frustration that the clownish Jimmie J.J. Walker had become the real star of Good Times.

• Here's some confusion I always had about Good Times. It was a spinoff of Maude. Florida was her maid. Maude lived in upstage New York. Good Times took place in Chicago in Cabrini-Green. Why would anyone leave upstage New York for Cabrini Green?????

• At the time did people know John Amos was leaving the show? I only watched afternoon reruns as a kid and knew nothing about the original production so I was shocked they would kill off a main character like that.

• It don't hold a candle to this, darlin'. Jessie/Nomi on speed! (a.k.a. caffeine pills)

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DljtuGoIIKGs

  Cristal%20C.

• So many to choose from...so many "Very Special Episodes" to make one cry.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxTPgaAE3Eo

• "Maude lived in upstage New York." Yes. Yes, she did.

• Yes, of course, OP. That's why we post the scene so often here. Because it so powerful and dear Esther Rolle handled it so well. Such timing. Such subtext. Such grace. And I have to agree with R3. Florida belonged with Maude in Upstage New York. It reminds me of the question I have about what city that English show takes place in because for being Downtown it's awfully green and unpopulated and after two seasons I'm still waiting to find out who Abby is.

• Smash it, Florida!

  woman%20in%20the%20live%20studio%20audience

• Archie Bunker picking up Edith's slipper after she had died and his monologue is also a classic moment of excellent acting.

• I vote for the young guy dying of AIDS on Designing Women.

• I always thought she was specifically mourning James Evans's hot, tightly-pantsed ass.

• On "Seinfeld," when Mel Torme thinks Kramer is mentally challenged and serenades him ... I freaking LOST IT, bitches.

• Both Amos and Sherman Hemsley of 'THE JEFFERSONS' were 20 years younger than the women that they starred opposite on their shows.

• It's a crime that Esther was never nominated for the Emmy. Ditto Ja'net Dubois for Supporting. And since R14 brought the show up, add to the list Zara Cully for THE JEFFERSONS. Mother Jefferson was one of the best supporting roles on a comedy show. I'd put her on par with Estelle from GOLDEN GIRLS. Cully was a riot whenever she was on.

• John Amos left Good Times because of the buffoonery of the JJ character, and because he wanted more money. Esther had issues with it as well, and left the show for a while but came back for the last season. [quote]...James Evans's hot, tightly-pantsed ass. That, it was...

  http://oi41.tinypic.com/axm2x.jpg

• [quote]John Amos left Good Times because of the buffoonery of the JJ character, and because he wanted more money. Esther had issues with it as well, and left the show for a while but came back for the last season. I can't say I blamed him. JJ's character was a buffoon. The 'DYNOMITE' got really tired after the first few seasons. And Jimmie Walker was and is so mind-numbingly ugly. Amos was magnificent as an adult Kunta Kinte in 'ROOTS'. Totally earned that part after having to deal with that show.

• That was the most depressing-looking home I've ever seen on TV. Florida had a sweet gig with Maude, she didn't have to do much and Maude let her drink martinis in the middle of the day. Why would she give all that up to move to the ghetto?

• No, she didn't, R7. Maude lived in Tuckahoe, Westchester County, which is a very short distance from NYC. It's definitely not considered to be Upstate New York.

• What episode was it where you heard a member of the studio audience yell out, "You tell it, Eilona!". (or something like that.). It was posted here years ago and killed me. I, even as a kid, hated those sitcoms (like Happy Days) where the audience would all clap like crazy anytime a regular character made their first entrance or where the audience would, "Wooooo!" when two characters kissed. Its one thing to have a laugh track but another to let the audience go mad.

  You Tell it, R19!!!;

• I LOL'd in the episode where Penny's mother said "I'm taking her home now," and an audience member screamed "Oh no you ain't!"

• What would Ta-Tanisha, of Room 222 fame, do?

• It was audience behavior like the ones at Good Times and What's Happening that led to James Earl Jones publicly bemoaning the fact that "vocal interruptions" were ruining certain key dramatic moments during performances at his Broadway play Fences in the 1980s.

• "You go, Mizz MacBeth. You wash them hands. Ain't gonna do you no good, no how! I know that's right!"

  Shakespeare in the Park Audience Member

• GOOD TIMES was not intended to be a direct spin-off from MAUDE, R3. The "Florida" on GOOD TIMES wasn't supposed to be the same woman who had been Maude's maid. It was a new show and Esther Rolle was playing an all-new character. CBS was probably afraid that if they gave her a new name, people who loved her on MAUDE might not like her as much or maybe not even recognize her. A sit-com about a poor black family in the projects was a gamble. Knowing that viewers already liked "Florida," the network was just playing it safe by holding on to that name.

• [quote]"You tell it, Eilona!". (or something like that.). Turn in your Datalounge membership card right now! "SLAP HER, WILLONA!!!"

• This is the scene. I just watched the entire thing and I didn't hear either one.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Do8ngkdWPItA%26feature%3Drelmfu

• r.25, that makes no sense whatsoever.

• I hated it whenever one of the characters said something really profound on spot-on, the audience would go, "RIGHT ON!!!" or something like that. I saw Bernadette Stanis (Thelma) on a TV talk show a couple of years back. She's almost 60 and absolutely beautiful! There was a rumor circulating on the web that Ralph Carter was a PWA, but doing all right. He pinged from the moment I first saw him. I always found it unbelievable that none of the kids even remotely resembled one another. I mean, aren't casting directors supposed to look for that when casting people portraying siblings?

• They all look alike, R29. Didn't you know that?

  casting%20directors

• SO not funny, R30 (but I chuckled, anyway). Ralph Carter, later in the series, had quite the nice rump on him. I figured he inherited his ass from James.

• [quote] R25, that makes no sense whatsoever. From IMDB: When Norman Lear, Mike Evans, and Eric Monte were first developing this show, it was not a spin off of Maude (itself a spin-off of All in the Family). Later, they decided to cast Esther Rolle and John Amos as the leads and promote the show as a spin off featuring Florida Evans and her family. The originally chosen family name was changed to Evans and the wife/mother's first name to Florida, but those of the other characters were left unchanged. It was nothing but coincidence that the younger son's name thus became the same as co-creator Mike Evans'. Two huge contradictions with "Maude" - that John Amos's character there was a Tuchahoe, N.Y., fire fighter named Henry who insisted that his wife cease demeaning herself and quit her job as a servant to a white family when he received a hefty raise as part of a promotion and they no longer needed that additional income, while here he was a man named James who was unemployed and had been for a significant amount of time; and that the characters here live in Chicago, Illinois, projects rather than the aforementioned New York suburb and repeatedly indicate that they have done so for many years - reveal that this series does not genuinely qualify as a spin-off of "Maude".

• John Amos got fired from the show after he complained about the atmosphere on the set to Ebony magazine. I wanted to clarify that to you, r16.

• Congrats, R19! A+ in geography, D in spelling and irony.

• No, the best dramatic scene was when Shirley implied that Laverne was not a virgin, to wit, Laverne curls up her fist and says, 'What it Shurl I'm wearing white.'

• According to the e true hollywood story john amos kept complaining about jimmie walker after they gave him a salary hike and showed him the door. Then esther rolle left the season after. It was strange watching the kids with no parents but there was more janet dubois to watch which was good. Esther came back after one season but the show wasnt as good as when john was there. Esther has said she signed up to do a show about a black family not a single parent household. Big mistake letting john go. I love esther and her damn damn damn scene but there are lot of great dramatic moments in comedies. When edith is nearly raped on all in the family comes to mind. Esther and janet never won emmys for good times but they both won for other projects.

• John and Esther might have complained but the reality is that JJ was the breakout character, and that was among the African American audiences. It was similar to when Fonzie broke out of "Happy Days." Lots of African Americans were more upset that these shows always depicted AA mothers as fat. In a sense, Rolle's Florida was as much a stereotype as JJ.

• That's weird r32. I always thought Maude hired Mrs Naugatuck when Florida moved back to Chicago. I didn't know the Florida character had a well-to-do husband in Tuckahoe.

• Archie finding out about Gloria's miscarriage. Couldn't find the shorter clip of just Archie finding out and talking to Gloria. So you can skip to 6:10.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dzz3G1hGHftU

• I can't believe in the clip of 50 Very Special Episodes, Blossom appears only once. Every fucking week was a Very Special Episode of Blossom. By the way, the clip is worth watching if only for the scene of Arthur Carlson telling Gary Coleman how much fun they would have with their clothes off.

• lol r31. Ralph Carter must have gotten more dick than he knew what to do with after he finished Good Times. That ghetto booty was always on display on national TV in those tight pants.

• Right, R41! Janet Jackson has told the story of how her first kiss was with him. Apparently after the series wrapped, he kissed her behind the set or something. If only she knew then that it was just a friendly kiss.

• r42 I hope Janet took that opportunity to squeeze his butt lol

• LOL me too

• Wasn't Carter diagnosed with the germ?

• R45, I believe he confirmed this a few years back, but seems to be doing well for his age.

• Loved the hyper studio audience. In one of the Christmas episodes, after Penny's wallet is stolen in the department store, she decides to shoplift a piece of jewelry for Willona. As she's about to take the jewelry, you can hear someone in the studio audience yelling, "No, Penny, don't do it!!"

• Aow, I adore 'omosexuals!!!

  Mrs. Naugatuck

• R47 - I love those reactions more than ones like the Friends episode where Chandler and Monica got engaged. The audience screams because they're so happy and come on people, it was written that way! The reactions to the Good Times scenes were far more authentic.

• Penny shoplifting @9:34. The audience's "Awww"s when the dude steals her purse are hilarious!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cjnn6mEhqo

• I always wondered why Florida never worked if James was such a poor provider. Then if you notice, she did work but they barely mention it or show it as Rolle didn't want to be shown playing a maid ever again. She must have changed her mind for "Driving Miss Daisy."

• Remember the episode where Arnold and Willis visited and said, "Get yourself some white folk"

• Surprised to read that on "Maude", Florida and her husband were supposed to have lived in Tuckahoe--I assumed that she was getting on a Metro-North train at 125th St. and riding it up every day.

• I guess her dropping the bowl of peas in "Driving Miss Daisy" was an homage to this scene?

• Florida took the bus to Tuckahoe. All the maids did.

• I would've liked the scene better if she had been left alone and not had the others rush in.

• If only she'd smashed it several minutes earlier so she could abruptly end Willona's "ham ditty" and get rid of all those greedy mourners.

• Why was Jimmie Walker so damned ugly?

• Esther also played Mammy in that awful "Gone With the Wind" sequel. And then she died.

  Mammy, that is.

• Lol at Sweet Daddy's outfit at 5:00 -

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DOqihCo0Zm1c

• What the hell was Wilona a SINGLE woman doing living in the projects? That wouldn't have ever happened. And the Evan's flat was nicer than 90% of all the expensive apartments in Chicago.

• When Weazy witnesses the murder from the terrace on Halloween.... omg!!!

• Someone should start a "very special episodes" thread with the video @r6

• You people are Old! Old! Old!

• The Diff'rent Strokes Nancy Reagan "just say no" episode has to be the most memorable, if not the most notorious, very special ep of all time. One of the most cringeworthy VSEs has to the GG one where they spend the night in the homeless shelter. At least the Rita Moreno ep is good for unintentional laughs. The shelter episode is practically unwatchable.

• The best one was when JJ got promoted because they wanted the blacks out of the school and he was just stupid. Then the Evans held him back because it wasn't fair to him to graduate him and not have him prepared for the world. And JJ is like, "I stand on the street corner and say DYN-O-MYTE" then base people for their money

• LOL r62

• I like the episode when Fred Sanford visited and Florida and Aunt Esther were bashing Fred verbally and Fred said What's the difference between a pickpocket and a peeping tom? A pick pocket snatches watches

• Sanford and Son had a few good ones.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRQhiZpLJtcg

• [quote]A pick pocket snatches watches Fred rocked!!! I love Steptoe and Son, but it's a much darker and different show. Even though the scripts from Sanford and Son are identical in some cases, Steptoe and Son is darker.

• I heard, "Slap him Wilona." Not slap her.

• Nothing will ever go higher on the sadness and tear inducing scale than when Dr. Greene died on ER.

• Obviously, R72 never saw the Season 5 premiere of "Gimme A Break" when the cast is mourning The Chief's death. I've never been the same.

  Joey%20Lawrence%20in%20blackface

• And ER was known for its belly laughs.

• Why didn't Esther Rolle have a neck?

• [quote]Nothing will ever go higher on the sadness and tear inducing scale than when Dr. Greene died on ER. Disagree! I was like "Oh, for god's sake, just die!" For me it was the one where Bradley Whitford's pregnant wife died in labor.

• But if we're sticking to sitcoms... it was the All In The Family when they find out Beverly LaSalle had been killed.

• I found out Willona/Ja'Net Dubois sang the theme song to "The Jeffersons" too. I also liked how Janet Jackson cast her as her mom in the extended video for "Control" years later in 1986. I hated it when Thelma got married and they still lived with the family. They made a good looking couple so if this was real life, they would have been fucking like rabbits, which was practically impossible with nosy ass Florida, goofy ass JJ, or Mike probably trying to see what Kevin was working with. What ever happened to the guy who played her husband (Ben Powers)? Homeboy was fine as hell. Seems like he disappeared from acting after that show was over. I bet he's a sexy old cat daddy by now:

  http://img4.bdbphotos.com/images/120x156/f/p/fp37k5n5z18l81.jpg

• I liked that they gave everyone a happy ending in that series. Thelma's husband got on a football team; Michael was off to college, I think; JJ got a big job offer. Why did they call the super 'Booger' Bookman? I never thought Florida wasn't Maude's Florida despite the tweaks in names and geography. And Henry/James' professions changing. Still, Maude never came to the projects.

  Big%20Mouth%20Woman%20on%20a%20Subway%20Train%21

• Thelma and her husband had their own room so they could've gotten nasty. Michael went off to college but then got HIV and had to drop out. JJ found out his job offer was really just a mlm company and he quit as he didn't like working for Don Lapre Penny's real mother won the lottery and Penny got so resentful that Wilona took her away from her real mommy that she murdered Wilona after her real mother gave her a bit of her winnings and Penny bought crack with it. Bookman was killed when he tried to be fat and funny around a real gangbanger Thelma's husband cheated on her with every NFL player and player's wife. Eventually he got HIV and was the one to spread it to his wife and brother-in-law After seeing her family crash Florida started wondering the streets in a daze saying "A state, WHY OH WHY am I named after a state?"

• The speech that Annie Potts delivers to the PTA in the "Killing All the Right People" AIDS episode of Designing Women still tears me up to this day. Poignant and powerful. And also the speech (the Thomasons were great with speeches, of course) that Delta Burke delivers when Suzanne goes to her high school reunion and everyone thinks she's fat. Very powerful.

• God, I hated Dixie Carter's holier-than-thou speeches near the end of what seemed like every episode. I wanted to slap her, she was so fucking arrogant. Designing Women was so horribly directed. When someone would be holding the floor talking about something there would often be a cut to one of the other women with a blank look on her face, which didn't add to the scene at all.

• bump

• [quote]After seeing her family crash Florida started wondering the streets in a daze saying "A state, WHY OH WHY am I named after a state?" LOL!! ww for r80

• [quote] Don Lapre Someone start a thread about him. He was so hot.

• Damn! Damn! DAMN! The multi-talented thespian, Jimmy Walker, came out today as opposing gay marriage. May he find Dy-No-Mite lit and shoved inextricably up his shithole.

  F. Evans

• r86 Of course he did, why else would people notice him? BTW who asked him?

• I don't know. But I have my sneaking suspicion Anita Bryant is staging a comeback tour and she's gathering her fellow has-beens for a big production number, "Drink Dy-No-Mite Orange Juice/Married People Reproduce!"

• Inspired by some of the witty quips here ("Smash it, Florida!" - "You wash them hands, Mizz Macbeth Sister Grrl!") someone should start a thread containing reactions like that through the best plays/films/TV shows throughout the ages. Sorry that I'm not paid up and asking someone else to start a thread.

  Slap her, MiIldred!

• Chip Fields was electrifying as Penny's mom. Love the episode when she returns as a wealthy married woman and tries to set up Willona as an unfit mother. She and Dubois totally worked those scenes. And the studio audience never failed to let them down.

• When Florence the maid from "The Jeffersons" was planning to commit suicide. That was a pretty good episode. I kinda wish she had done it; I couldn't stand that bitch.

• I've never seen nor heard of a plastic bowl shattering like that.

• lol @ a young John Witherspoon as Detective "Mike" in the Penny's mother clip

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8ngkdWPItA

  322Rich

• If you want powerful scenes, you have to look no further than when Peter Horton left Thirtysomething. The best character on the show leaves and nobody saw it coming. TV was never the same after that.