Good Times (1974–1979): Season 1, Episode 8 - Junior the Senior - full transcript

Its report card day and as expected Thelma and Michael both get good grades. However JJ, who was expected to get straight F's except in art, winds up getting not only an A in art, but all C's ensuring promotion to the 12th grade. When Florda and James see that his test papers were all failing they visit the principal to find out what is going on. It is later explained that the principal promoted JJ in order to ensure that the school would get funding for the next term. This doesn't sit well with Flo and James who demand that JJ stay back a year until he get's his academic act together. Will JJ do what his parents expect or will he continue to skate through school?

ANNOUNCER: From
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♪ Making a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs ♪



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JJ, Michael, it's
time for school.

It's 7:00.

Come on. Let's go.
Rise and shine, boys.

Mama, "boy" is a
white racist word.

I don't believe it.



That child is even
militant in his sleep.

Come on, move it, JJ.

This is your big day.

You're getting your
report card today.

I can't get 'em to bed at night,

and I can't get them
up in the morning.

All right, come on, come on.

Michael, up, up, up.

Aw, Mama.

All right, JJ.

I was just kissing The Supremes,

and I don't mean one at a time.

Well, let me give you
some facts of life, honey.

If The Supremes really love
you, they'll be back tonight.

Ooh! It's freezing in here!

What happened to the heat?

By the time it gets up
here, it's air-conditioning,

Mama, did you see
my can of hairspray?

No, honey.

Yeah, it's under the sink.

I used it last night to
wipe out some bugs.

You used my hairspray on bugs?

Yeah, but it didn't
do a thing for them.

They was all bald.

Enough of that, JJ.

How do you expect to do
on your report cards today?

Well, I'm a cinch
to cop an A in Art.

You always do that. What
about your other classes?

What kind of marks
do you expect?

Well, algebra, so-so.

English, could
be, History, maybe,

and Español, comme-çi, comme-ça.

Comme-çi, comme-ça
is French, stupid.

Which gives you an idea
how I'm doing in Español.

I just hope your
grades are good enough

to get you through
the 11th grade.

You're the tallest
boy in that class.

You think I'm having
problems, Mama?

You should see the
kid who sits behind me.

He's five feet four.

He can't pass

'cause he's having trouble
seeing the blackboard.

And you're right with him.

JJ, you haven't got
a prayer of passing.

You never even looked
at a book this term.

Keep her talking, Michael.

I'll grab the bathroom.

Oh, no, you don't!
I was there first!

Those with the shortest legs

got the longest wait.

Mama, does a rich man
have more than one bathroom?

Yeah, but just like a poor man,

he can't use but one at a time.

Get dressed.

You're going to
be late for school.

Foxy mama!

Cool it, lover boy.

My husband is due
home any minute.

Oh, James!

It's you, foxy papa.

You'd better believe it.

Except neither one of us

has had a chance to be very foxy

since you been working
that midnight shift.

Well, baby, I've got a feeling

all that's going to
change real soon.

The janitorial service
is looking for a foreman

for the day shift,

and they're considering me.

A foreman's job, huh?

That's right, baby.

I'm going to be the
boss... the main man.

A cat ain't doing his
work to my satisfaction,

I say just to him,
"Hey, Robinson..."

Robinson?

You call your employees
by their last name?

Well, baby, that is an
employer's prerogative.

Hey, Robinson. I
don't like the way

you're washing
them windows, man.

You're just hanging
out the window,

day-dreaming.

You finished, chump.

Give me that safety belt.

Cat didn't even hang
around for his paycheck.

Oh, James, it sure would
be fine if you get that job.

When do you think
you'll know for sure?

They're supposed to call
me for an interview today,

and if we're lucky,

it's back to regular
hours, regular meals...

And regular loving.

Have mercy!

Mama! Papa!

Isn't there any decency?

Come on, kids,
have your breakfast,

or you'll be late for school.

James, I'll heat you up
some stew for breakfast.

I think I'll just have
some coffee, baby.

Daddy, don't forget
to sign my report card.

I got all As.

All right, my man.

And I get my report
card today, Daddy.

I should get mostly As and Bs.

Good.

You want to talk about
your report card now, Junior?

I sure would like to, Dad,

but it's my turn to
say the blessing.

All right, son, go ahead,

and take this hat off.

Lord, thank you for the food,

and now that I've
done something for you,

I could use a boost in
the algebra department.

Amen.

JJ, you are not supposed
to use your prayers

to ask for personal favors.

You know, Junior,
when you was born,

I just dreamed of the day
that you'd go to college.

I never figured on

a little stumbling block
called "high school."

James, let's don't
jump to any conclusions.

I was a little bit worried too,

but JJ has passed before,

and he probably will pass again.

That's right.

I always get off
to a slow start,

but I always come
through in the stretch.

JJ, you wouldn't care to bet

on making it to the
12th grade, would you?

Yeah, and if I pass,

I'm in the bathroom
first for a whole month.

A bet?

And if you don't pass,

you do the dishes
for a whole month.

A bet?

A bet.

Hey, it's getting late. You
kids better get moving, now.

Time's running out.

Bye, Ma.

Bye, sweetheart.

Bye, now.

You be careful.

Okay, Mama, we'll be careful.

And you all go straight
to school, you hear?

And come straight home.

Yeah, without a doubt.

See you!

Okay, baby.

Oh, baby, I sure hope
Junior does make it.

Me too.

Imagine, next year,

this family will go to its
first high school graduation.

Yeah, Florida, that's something
I've been looking forward to.

The whole family sitting there

watching Junior
march down the aisle

in his cap and gown,

the head of his
graduation class...

I'll settle for the
middle of the class.

I'll settle for the
end of the line.

Hi.

Hi.

I smell meat.

What happened? Junior mug a cow?

No, I'm heating up some
stew for James' breakfast.

He ought to be getting up soon.

Mmm, mmm, mmm. Stew at 2:00.

Honey, if I ever
get married again,

I'm going to make sure my
husband don't work nights...

except at home.

Like the Good Book says,

a husband shall
cleaveth unto his wife,

and in that respect,
I'm from Cleave-land.

Awfully quiet around here.

The kids aren't back
home from school yet?

Nope.

This is the day of judgment.

Report card day!

Oh, I'm sure
they'll all do fine.

I hope so, Willona.

Look, how do you
like my new dress?

Hey, hey, hey.

What holds that up?

City Ordinance 705.

I'm wearing it for
a wild date tonight.

Who's the lucky guy?

Name's Scooter Johnson.

Used to be a football
player for the Chicago Bears.

Come on, now,
where'd you meet him?

At the AA club.

Alcoholics Anonymous, Willona?

No, Alimony Anonymous.

It's a club for divorced people.

We got a limited membership,

but we had a great
turnout last night.

38 men and six women.

How come only six
women showed up?

'Cause that's our limit.

When you got a good thing
going, you don't advertise.

Have a good time, Willona.

Honey, if I don't, this
dress goes back tomorrow.

Hi, Willona, how you doing?

Ma, here's my report
card. All As and one B.

I'll catch up with
you yet, Michael.

Michael, Thelma,
I'm so proud of you.

Oh, and look at that, Thelma.

An A in English,
B+... an A in History!

Oh, your daddy is going
to be so proud of you.

We've got two geniuses here.

Well, Mama...

now from the sublime
to the ridiculous.

That bad, huh?

Don't forget, Mama,

I'm the victim of 300
years of oppression.

All right! Just what
I always wanted!

Sleep-in help.

Thelma, this is no time
to tease your brother.

I won a bet, Ma! I won a bet.

Didn't you pass anything?

Don't forget, Mama,

I'm still your first born.

JJ, what are you talking about?

You passed!

Passed?

Right on! Faked y'all out!

Dy-no-mite!

And girl, take a good
look at that bathroom,

'cause that's the last time
you will see it for a month.

What's all the hollering about?

James, JJ passed
into the 12th grade.

Say what?

You heard me. JJ passed.

I heard you, but when your son
scores the winning touchdown,

you want to hear
it on instant replay.

You want an instant replay?

I'll show you an instant replay.

Faked y'all out!

Oh, Junior, I'm really
proud of you, son.

You got an A in Art

and a C in all the
rest of your classes.

How, Junior?

How'd you get those grades
without doing any studying?

I'll tell you how.

'Cause I'm blessed
with total recall.

I read something once,
and it stays right here,

like it's chiseled in stone.

You mean penciled
in Silly Putty.

JJ, you got a C in History
on your report card,

but you got an F
on this History exam.

How come?

I can explain that, Mama.

Good.

Then maybe you can also tell me
what happened in the year 1066.

How should I know?

I wasn't even born yet.

Junior, your mother
asked you a question.

Now, go on and tell her
what happened in 1066.

The Battle of Hastings.

Right. Come on, Junior, tell us.

What happened in 1066?

That's easy.

See, I was just kidding before.

I figure these things
out by word association.

Now, what is the first thing
a referee says to a boxer

when he's counted out?

10, right?

So right away,

I know that 10
stands for "boxer."

Now, the 66.

I add 10 to the 66,
and that gives me 76.

That's the year

the colonies rebelled
against England,

which gives me
the word "rebellion."

You put "boxer"
with "rebellion,"

and what do you get?

1066. Boxer Rebellion!

I ought to box your ears.

1066 was the Battle of Hastings.

Well, my system is
subject to human error.

All right, let's try algebra.

If it takes two men three days

to dig a ditch 20
feet by 30 feet long,

how long would it take four men

to dig the same ditch?

Come on, Junior, tell her.

Aw, come on, Dad.

I ain't no ditch-digger.

I'm an artiste.

What do I have to know
algebra for, anyway?

What am I, an Algerian?

There's something
wrong with this report card.

I'm reading Cs,
but I'm hearing Fs.

Something tells me
you ain't learning nothing.

Maybe we ought to
go down to that school

and have a talk
with your principal.

I tell you, this
is the last time

I'm coming home
with a good report card.

We're going to give
you one more chance.

Now, if you don't
answer this question,

we're going to march you

straight down to
the principal's office.

Fair enough.

I have confidence in my ability.

Go ahead. Lay it on me.

What is a dangling participle?

Well, let's go.

Honey, your daddy and I

want everything
to work out right.

Now, wait here.

Come on, Mama. How
can I have a fair trial

without being allowed in there?

We want to talk to
the principal alone first.

Mama, my life is on the line.

I demand the right to
defend my life in person.

Shut up.

I withdraw the demand.

Come in.

I'm Mr. Kirkman.

Hi, Mr. Kirkman. I'm Mr. Evans.

This is Mrs. Evans.

How do you do?

Sit down, please.

Thank you.

Well, how can I help you folks?

Well, we came here

to complain about
our son's grades.

Oh, that's too bad.

You have no idea
how often I hear that.

The boy's failing...
The boy's passing.

I'm sorry, folks.

There's nothing I can
do... He's passing?

That's right.

Well, then, what's the problem?

His head.

Whatever you all
are putting in here,

he's leaving someplace else,

'cause he sure ain't
bringing it home.

Yeah, he don't know
what happened in 1066,

and if you put him in
a ditch 20 by 30 feet,

there ain't no way in the world

he could dig hisself out.

Here, look at this.

Well, now, Mr. and Mrs.
Evans, this is a good report.

All Cs and an A in art...

Young James is doing well.

Yeah, but old James
wants to know how he did it.

Our son is going to be facing
a tough world pretty soon,

and we want to make sure
he has a real education.

We don't want him
pushed through high school

like he was going through
a three-minute car wash

and coming out still
wet behind his ears.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans,

I appreciate how you feel
about your son's education,

but, you see,

we lack the facilities and money

that schools in more
privileged areas have.

This has been
happening in all the cities

in the United States.

You do understand that, hm?

Oh, yeah, we understand
the lack of money real good.

Well, that's good.

Perhaps you could
understand this.

I have thousands of
students in this school,

and a graduating
class of over 600.

Now, if I don't graduate

a large percentage
of that group,

I wind up looking like I'm
not doing too good a job.

You, uh... you dig?

Better than that. We understand.

Well, now, if I don't
graduate a high percentage,

our budget is cut,

and if our budget is cut,
our teaching staff suffers,

and if our teachers suffer,
the students' education suffers.

Mr. Kirkman,

that's exactly what we came
here to talk to you about.

You certainly did.

I see we're in total agreement.

Total agreement, my foot, man.

We're in total confusion.

Sir, you have to
understand the system.

One hand washes the other.

You have to help us
move the pupils along,

and I'll help you by
giving your son a diploma,

and with that diploma,
help him get a job.

A job? What the hell
good is a job, man?

I've got a job.
I've got two jobs.

Hell, I had jobs all my life,

but I want something
more for my son.

I want him to have
an opportunity,

and you and I both know

that opportunities only
come through an education.

Either James Evans Jr.
Gets a good education,

or we're going to know why.

That's right.

But, folks, the system...

Hey, Mr. Kirkman, please
don't make me tell you

what you can do
with your system.

You really want me to keep
your son in the 11th grade?

You got it.

You realize

that he'll be falling
behind his classmates.

Do you think
he'll agree to that?

I assure you he'll agree to it.

James, it has to
be his own decision.

Come in, Junior.

Now, JJ, you've got a
big decision to make.

James, it's up to you now.

If you want to move
along in the senior year

with your classmates,

our school is right behind you.

We found out they're just
pushing you through here.

Them grades you got,
you didn't deserve them.

They just gave them
to you to get rid of you.

But we told Mr. Kirkman our
son came to school to learn,

not to just get pushed around.

'Cause he's got pride.

Just like his daddy,

and nobody's going to
push him through school

without putting
something into his head.

'Cause he's got pride.

So Mr. Kirkman is
giving you a choice.

Now, either you
do the smart thing

and stay in the 11th grade

or let them push you
through the 12th grade

like a big jackass.

Now, make up your mind, son.

And remember,
Junior, you got pride.

Well, what do you say, Junior?

Well, Mr. Kirkman...

I'm proud to go along
with your quota system

and take my place
in the senior class.

JJ, I don't know what's
going to become of you,

sliding through
school like this.

Oh, Mama, don't worry about me.

I can always make
a living as a painter.

That's right, Mama.

He's an artist,

and artists don't
need intelligence.

JJ, I've got to tell you

that your daddy and me was
real disappointed in you today.

Aw, Mama!

You're going to
need that education

when the school turns
you out into the streets.

Mama, what's going to happen?

Somebody is going to pull
me into an alley and say,

"Tell me what happened in 1066,

otherwise I'll blow
your brains out?"

He could blow your brains
out with a soda straw.

Look who's talking about smarts.

The same girl

who talks to pictures
of Billy Dee Williams

and cries when they
don't answer back.

You two get along
like Sonny and Cher.

Ma, don't be mad.

I'm not mad.

I may do real good
in the 12th grade.

I may surprise you.

They may even pick me to
make the graduation speech.

That'll be the day.

Thelma... Classmates, parents,

faculty, and
juvenile authorities.

As we leave these
ivory-colored walls,

let us be inspired
by our principal,

who once said,

"Show me a man who
can laugh when he's down,

and I'll show you a happy wino."

I would now like to leave you

with these two Latin
words... Cesar Romero.

You know, that's the closest
you've been to a book all year.

How did you do with
the interview, honey?

Daddy, are you going
to be the new foreman?

No, baby.

Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry.

You want to tell
me about it, James?

There's not much to tell, baby.

Went down there,

and the man said I was
qualified and had the experience,

but when I got
to the application,

that's where I blew it.

You know on the
bottom of the application

where they ask you to put down

why you think you're
the right man for the job?

Well, baby, I just couldn't
put my words together.

The words I could think of,

I wasn't sure if I was
spelling them right,

and the words I
was sure could spell

didn't have nothing to
do with what they wanted.

And, Florida, it was a chance,

and you don't get
too many chances

when all you got going for
you is a sixth-grade education.

Well, there's another
way of looking at it, honey.

At least you're
getting turned down

on better jobs.

Daddy, I've been thinking.

Yeah, Junior?

You know, it ain't that
I don't want to learn.

It's just that I was too proud to
be left behind my classmates,

so... JJ, does that mean

you're going to stay
in the 11th grade?

I said I'm proud,
Mama, not crazy.

But what I was thinking

was that next term
in my senior year

I'm going to study hard,

I'm going to pay
attention in class,

and I'm going to do my homework,

and if I get stuck, I'll ask
somebody to help me.

I'm always available, Junior.

Son, now you're talking
sense, 'cause you know, Junior,

I don't want you to
ever blow an opportunity

because you don't know how
to hang the right words together.

You hear me?

All right.

Baby, think Junior can make
it through his senior year?

He already has.

You should have heard
his graduation speech.

It was beautiful.

He left us with
two Latin words...

Cesar Romero.

[TELEVISION BLARING]

Children, turn that sound down.

Your brother is studying.

If he's studying so hard,

let's see if he knows the answer

to that algebra problem.

Hey, JJ, if it takes
two men three days

to dig a ditch 20
feet by 30 feet,

how long would it take four men

to dig the same ditch?

That's easy.

Eight weeks.

JJ, keep studying.

How come it takes so long, son?

'Cause one of those
men is Ned the Wino,

and it takes a long
time to shovel dirt,

pick up Ned, shovel
dirt, pick up Ned,

shovel dirt, pick up Ned...

♪ Mmm ♪

♪ Just looking out
of the window ♪

♪ Watching the asphalt grow ♪

♪ Thinking how it all
looks hand-me-down ♪

♪ Good Times Good Times ♪

♪ Keeping your
head above water ♪

♪ Making a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

NARRATOR: Good
Times is recorded on tape

before a live audience.

♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em ♪

♪ Good Times ♪♪