Let the ‘Good Times’ Roll with Our Quiz

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The groundbreaking series Good Times debuted on CBS in 1974. Beyond being the first prime-time sitcom portraying a two-parent Black family, during its six-season run, the show depicted

serious subjects like discrimination, poverty, unemployment, gang violence and child abuse. In honor of the program’s 50th anniversary, take our Good Times quiz, and see how well you

remember Florida, James and the rest of the Evans family.

In what major U.S. city did Good Times take place?

Good Times was set in Chicago — in particular, its infamous Cabrini-Green public housing project, which was plagued by drugs and gang violence for years before being demolished in the early

2000s. Good Times cocreator Eric Monte set the show in Cabrini-Green because that’s where he grew up. “The whole show was about his life,” Carlena Evans, daughter of Mike Evans — who created

Good Times with Monte — stated in a 2022 interview. “A lot of those characters were people he grew up with.”

True or false: Executive producer Norman Lear coined the famous Good Times catchphrase “dyn-o-mite!” and delighted in its success.

Audiences couldn’t get enough of Jimmie Walker and his comedic catchphrase, “dyn-o-mite!” Director John Rich loved it so much, he decided Walker’s character, J.J., would utter it in every

episode. But executive producer Norman Lear wasn’t a fan. “Norman Lear detested it,” Walker once said in an interview. “He hated it. It literally made him throw up.” 

Good Times was a spin-off of what popular 1970s TV show?

Good Times is a spin-off of the hit 1970s comedy Maude — which itself is a spin-off of the hit 1970s comedy All in the Family. In Maude, the titular character hires Florida Evans, played by

Esther Rolle, as her housekeeper. Florida regularly appeared in the show alongside her husband, Henry, played by John Amos. When Maude and All in the Family producer Norman Lear decided to

produce a series about a Black family, he made Florida and Henry (whose name was changed to James) its stars.

True or false: One of the actors on The Jeffersons helped create Good Times.

Good Times cocreator Mike Evans is best known for playing Lionel Jefferson, the son of George and Louise, on The Jeffersons. Evans originated that role on Norman Lear’s All in the Family,

where the Jefferson family was originally Archie Bunker’s Black neighbors. (Lear created The Jeffersons to portray a wealthy Black family instead of the poor Black families that dominated

U.S. airwaves at the time.) Later, Lear collaborated with Evans to develop Good Times. 

Which female pop star appeared on Good Times when she was a child?

In Season 5, Willona Woods (played by Ja’Net DuBois) adopts Penny Gordon, whose abusive birth mother abandons her to Woods’ care. Playing the role of Penny was 11-year-old Janet Jackson, who

made her TV debut on Good Times in 1977 and remained on the show for two seasons until it ended in 1979.

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