"Good Times" to be the next '70s show to get a live remake on ABC
Remember that weird special where modern actors remade two (fairly forgettable) episodes of "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"?
Well, it's happening again -- this time with "Good Times".
All of the "Good Times" main cast is still alive, aside from Esther Rolle (Florida Evans). However, it's unclear if any will have cameos. The roles of the characters will be played by modern actors.
https://i2.wp.com/tvone.tv/wp-conten...trip=all&ssl=1
https://i0.wp.com/tvone.tv/wp-conten...trip=all&ssl=1
Sadly, neither creator of the show will be involved. Mike Evans, who also played Lionel on "The Jeffersons", died at a young age of throat cancer a number of years ago. Eric Monte fell upon hard times after bad financial decisions and a drug problem. Last I heard, he was homeless, and had attempted a number of legal actions against Norman Lear, CBS, ABC, and others for "stealing" his ideas to create shows like "The Jeffersons", "What's Happening", and "Good Times". They settled for $1 million in 1981, which he promptly blew.
The show "Good Times" itself was not without controversy. Based upon the infamous Cabrini Green housing project in the ghetto of Chicago, "Good Times" was the first television series to depict a poor black family and the struggles they endured living in the ghetto, sometimes at the hands of their own people. However, the television audience most enjoyed the buffoonish JJ character, so eventually that character took center stage, and took upon more of a lighthearted comedy tone than its original conception of a comedy/drama. This caused Esther Rolle and John Amos to quit the show, but Rolle returned a few years later when she had money problems and needed the work.
The show even took a stab at the well-known corruption of Chicago city officials, a problem that still persists 45 years later.
A young Janet Jackson was on the show towards the end of its run, playing an abused little girl who was adopted by neighbor Willona Woods when the girl's mother got in trouble for what she had been doing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6gNo4-1r6k
