Good Times (1974–1979): Season 3, Episode 13 - A Loss of Confidence - full transcript

♪ Good times Any time
you meet a payment ♪

♪ Good times Any
time you need a friend ♪

♪ Good times Any time
you're out from under ♪

♪ Not gettin' hassled
Not gettin' hustled ♪

♪ Keepin' your
head Above water ♪

♪ Makin' a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs Good times ♪

♪ Easy credit
rip-offs Good times ♪

♪ Scratchin' and
survivin' Good times ♪

♪ Hangin' in a chow
line Good times ♪

♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em? ♪



♪ Good times ♪♪

Dad, can I borrow your razor?

Why? You ain't using
tweezers no more?

Oh, Dad.

Oh, sure, you can
use my razor, Junior.

Who's your big
date with tonight?

Gorgeous Gertrude, the
glamour girl of the ghetto.

Whatever happened
to your one and only,

Delightful Delilah?

Oh, no, Dad, the
flame has flickered out.

Aw, who turned off
your pilot light, Romeo?

I did, Ma.

The other night we went
out for french fries and a malt,

and she didn't come out
with her half of the loot.



I got one rule
with all my chicks,

they gots to pay their own way.

Our son, the lover.

Yeah. Well, that
stands to reason.

I mean, look who his father is.

Baby, it won't be long
before old Michael here

be chasing after girls too.

I got news for you, Daddy.
I already caught a few.

That boy is growing up
faster than we thought.

Yeah.

Look here.

Who's your main
squeeze these days,

Romeo Number Two?

Well, Daddy,

I don't have just
one main squeeze.

I'm gonna take
my advice from J.J.,

and I'm playing
the field. All right!

Since when have you
been taking advice from J.J.?

J.J. talks a lot in his sleep,
and I do a lot of listening.

Hi, Ma, Dad.

Hello.

You remember me talking about

my girlfriend Jo
Ann Taylor, right?

Uh-huh.

Well, Jo Ann.

This is my mother,
my father, Hello.

And my brother Michael. Hi.

We're having a French
test this weekend.

I'm gonna help Jo Ann.

Oh, that's nice.

Thelma told me about you

being voted homecoming queen

for your senior class.

Congratulations.

Thank you,

but if I don't do
better with my grades,

I might still be in the
senior class next year.

Oh, now, don't go
putting yourself down.

That's right, Dad.

In French, she's
just a little weak

on verbs.

And adverbs, adjectives,
prepositions and nouns,

especially nouns...
like the word door.

I mean, I know in
French it's porte,

but you got to know

whether it's
masculine or feminine.

Oh, that's easy.

I mean, if the door
is marked men,

then it's masculine.
If it's marked ladies,

then you know it's feminine.

Come on, Jo Ann.

My room is this way. Okay.

Hey, now.

Far out, Thelma! Who
is the artist around here?

Uh, my brother J.J.

I think I've seen some
of his paintings around.

You probably saw them
down at the community center.

He took up some of his
work over to the art show

a couple weeks ago.

He won first prize.

Hey, now, that's out of sight.

Hey, where's the
aftershave lotion?

Uh, J.J.

Uh, Jo Ann, this
is my brother, J.J,

in the flesh...
whatever there is of it.

Hi, J.J.

Nice to meet you, J.J.

J.J.

J.J.?

J.J.

Nice to meet you, Mama.

Whoa.

Something tells me he's
gonna do a lot of talking

in his sleep tonight.

Come on, Jo Ann.

Let's get started
on that French.

Okay.

Hello, Jo Ann.

She's gone.

Yeah, and so is Junior.

Hey, J.J.

J.J.! Hey, J.J.!
Snap out of it, man.

I thought you had a date
with Gorgeous Gertrude.

Who?

The glamour girl
of the ghetto, man.

Oh, no, now she's
on the junk pile

with Delightful Delilah.

Well, I better go
put on my shirt.

I probably drove Jo Ann crazy

with this... fantastic body.

Oh, uh, Dad,

can I borrow your
aftershave lotion?

I'm all out, Junior.

Oh, that's okay. I'll use
Thelma's Afro Sheen.

J.J., that's a hair conditioner.

Oh, better yet, Ma.

Makes my mustache
more soft and... kissable.

Well, when it comes to girls,

J.J. flips faster
than a pancake.

You can't keep up with him

without a score card.

Gorgeous Gertrude,
Delightful Delilah,

Marvelous Myrna,
the human burner.

Yeah, and don't
forget Sizzling Suzy.

I never heard him mention her.

I know, Mama. That's
because she's one of my chicks.

Young man,

don't you have some
homework to do?

Yeah, some biology,

and I'm learning
that subject fast.

Not too fast.

Well, Florida, you
really can't blame girls

for chasing after our sons.

I mean, there's something
about the Evans men.

It runs in the family.

It does, huh?

Yeah, well, I mean...

Like, when I was
Junior's age, baby,

I didn't have no
problem with girls either.

I'd see a good-looking
girl, and I'd say to myself...

What did you say, James?

I say, "Self, that
ain't the right one."

Yep, you sure said that.

Well, Florida, you know
you're the only one for me.

The minute I saw you,
baby, I said, "That's it."

Well, you must have done
a lot of window shopping

before you decided what to buy.

Of course, baby.

I mean, when a man
is looking for a wife,

he wants to make sure
he gets a quality product.

Let's face it. I did.

Careful how you
handle the merchandise.

Thelma!

Would you and Jo Ann
like something cold to drink?

Oh, that would be
great, Ma. Thanks!

Uh, they still in
there studying?

Mm-hmm.

Uh, Ma, what you
doing over there?

Well, I'm giving the girls

something cold to drink.

Well, let me take
it in the room, Ma.

Wow, how come you're
so helpful all of a sudden?

Just that I know

my little sister is
in there studying,

and I wanna make sure she
has the proper nourishment.

All right, J.J., you
wanna take this tray in,

here.

Oh, Ma, could you
hold these for a minute?

Sure, what's the matter?

Boy, take this tray!

Come in.

I mean, ouvrez la porte.

Uh, I brought y'all the drinks.

Thank you, J.J.

You're welcome.

Thank you...

J.J., the drink.

It's delicious.

Oh, uh...

How you all doing
with the French?

Well, Thelma is
really a great teacher,

but, man, I'm still
having trouble.

Well, then, uh...

maybe I can help you out here.

You know, when I was a
mere youth in high school,

French was one
of my big subjects.

J.J., you took Spanish.

You don't know any French,

so why don't you
get out of here?

What you talking about, girl?

Remember the time the family
went to that fancy restaurant?

I ordered the entire
meal in French.

Yeah, but it was a
Chinese restaurant.

Come on now, Thelma,
what's the difference?

You speak one foreign language,

you speak them all.

Let me tell you
something, Jo Ann.

Yes?

The main thing
you gotta remember

about speaking a
foreign language is...

never speak it in English.

I got to remember that.

Yeah, and when you go on
the road, always remember...

Uh, J.J. If you don't mind,

we have a lot of work to do.

Oh, so do I. I gotta
finish a painting.

Even though I may be
big on foreign language,

art is still my numero uno.

Great, fantastic, fine.
Now, will you get out of here,

s'il vous plaît.

Okay.

And until next
time... Si-si bon.

Arriv-a-derch!

And, uh... sari-nara.

Well, hit another bull's-eye.

You mean, you
racked up some points

with the beauty queen?

The beauty queen melted
at the sight of the beauty king.

She really fell
apart, huh, Junior?

Let me put it to
you this way, Dad.

After seeing me,

the only French words she
could say was, "Ooh-la-la."

That boy's foot is a size 12,

and his head is
catching up fast.

J.J., what are you doing?

Oh, just getting some threads

more suitable for the occasion.

Oh, no.

Not those, Junior. Those
are your killer threads.

Why don't you have
mercy on the girl?

Well, Dad,

since she's gonna
be my future fox,

she might as well see
the whole enchilada.

You know, I don't
believe that boy.

I tell you, baby, I mean,

can you imagine anybody
being that stuck on their self.

Mm-hmm.

I married him.

Oh, now, wait a
minute now, baby.

I mean, I admit I
am handsome... Oh.

But you never heard me doing

that much horn blowing.

Oh, come on, James,
you blow so many horns,

you could be the
whole brass section

for Count Basie.

You gotta admit one thing, baby.

What?

We're making
beautiful music together.

We sure have.

Oh! They're at it again.

The Liz and Dick of the ghetto.

Willona, do you ever
even think about knocking?

Yeah, the thought
has occurred to me,

but I drove it right
out of my mind.

The bicentennial is
getting next to me,

and I wanna be able
to say I was there,

and that's the way it was.

Ho, ho, ho, hey, hey!

Well, if you want to
make it a real bicentennial,

why don't you just visit
us every 200 years?

Ha, ha, ha, hoo, hoo!

Ho, ho!

Oh, James.

That's all right, Flo.

We just starting the
fireworks a little early.

Hmm.

Awfully quiet around here.

Where are the kids?

Oh, don't tell me
they all left home,

and you was getting
ready to start another set.

Michael is in our room
doing his homework.

Thelma and Jo Ann
Taylor are in there.

She's helping her
with some school work.

Jo Ann Taylor? Mm-hmm.

Oh, isn't she the high
school homecoming queen?

Yup, and she's beautiful.

She sure is.

She looks just like
me when I was her age.

And homecoming queen myself.

You a long way
from home, sweetie.

You know, Flo,

when I was a bridesmaid
at your wedding,

I remember thinking to myself,

"Crazy. Here I am
carrying a bouquet of roses,

just because Flo caught
herself a clump of poison ivy."

Willona Woods
done done it again.

Give me five!

Well, I better blow the whistle

before we go into overtime.

Whoo-ooh!

NBC lost its peacock

and look where it landed!

Well, how y'all folks like it?

You look like an
explosion in a paint factory.

I better go home and
get my sunglasses.

The glare is blinding me.

Have a nice time, sugar.

- I'll see y'all later.
- Okay, bye.

All right, Willona,
take it easy.

Well, Junior, if you
was any sharper,

you could be considered
a dangerous weapon.

Yeah, I thought about that, Dad.

That's how come I wore
my conservative socks.

Are you two finished
studying already?

Yeah, I guess so, Mrs. Evans.

I just can't seem
to get it together.

Yeah, I think it's better

if we start off fresh
some other time.

Yeah. Goodbye, everybody.

Bye-bye. THELMA: Okay.

Thanks for your help, Thelma.

Any time.

Uh, Jo Ann.

Yeah?

Look here, I got some
tickets for the O'Jays concert

on Saturday night.

You're welcome to
be my guest, and, uh...

you don't even have
to pay your own way.

I'm sorry, J.J., but I
really can't make it.

I'm busy Saturday night.

Uh... How about Sunday?

I got some tickets

for the Isley Brothers concert,

and they even hotter
than the O'Jays!

But I got to study Sunday.

Well, I just happen to be free

on Monday night.

Oh, J.J., I'm sorry, but
I really can't make it.

Uh... Tuesday afternoon?

Oh, J.J.,

listen, I'm gonna be
kinda busy the whole week.

I'm sorry. Bye.

Bye.

New Year's Eve?

Florida, how come
it's so quiet out here?

What are you
talking about, James?

Well, I'm trying
to get some sleep,

but I can't.

Ain't nobody yelling.

Well, J.J.'s not around.

Oh.

You know, he hasn't been himself

since Jo Ann
walked into his life

and then walked right back out.

Oh, don't worry about J.J.

You can't keep
him down too long.

Yep, it's his nature,
happy-go-lucky.

He'll bounce back.

Hi, y'all.

Well, the only thing I
seen bouncing lately

is that bird on his head.

How's it going, son?

How's the
poultry-pushing business?

I don't know, Dad.

My heart just
ain't into my work.

Come on, J.J., snap out of it.

Anyhow, how much heart do
you need to deliver chicken?

Thelma, I really
messed up today.

One of my big customers
too, the Thomases.

They're usually a wings family,

but by mistake, I brought over

two buckets of legs.

And when you're into wings,

you don't like to
mess with no legs.

Mr. Thomas got so mad,
he nearly broke both of mine.

Oh, come on, J.J.,
everybody makes a mistake.

Yeah, Ma, but I just
can't concentrate.

J.J, you shouldn't let
that thing with Jo Ann

get you down.

You have to realize
she's very busy,

and she's also a
very popular girl.

I don't even think
about chicks anymore.

The only chicks I bother
with are the ones I deliver.

Wait a minute. Hold
it. Now, that ain't fair

to all the rest of
them girls out there,

climbing all over each other

just to get a lock
of your mustache.

Huh?

Yeah, I wish I had a
bad mustache like that.

J.J., you're so handsome,

I hear that Billy Dee
is eating his heart out.

Yeah, and Diana
Ross tore up his number

and is now looking for yours.

Oh, now, hold on.
Stop it, all of you.

Just stop it.

Now, look here.

Let's get something
out front right now.

Dad, you a handsome dude.
Ma, you're a beautiful lady.

Thelma, you're good-looking.

Michael, you're good-looking.

Tell me, what happened to me?

Now, J.J.,

you're our first born.

You were beautiful then,
and you're beautiful now.

And what about all those girls?

There is Delightful
Delilah, Gorgeous Gertrude,

Marvelous Myrna.

Oh, Ma, let me
tell you something.

Delightful Delilah is
really Delilah the Dog.

Gorgeous Gertrude is
really Gertrude the Gorilla.

And Marvelous Myrna is
really Myrna the Monster.

Junior, what you talking about?

No, Dad, I knew I
was out of my class

when I tried to date Jo Ann.

The only kind of
girls I go out with

is the kind the
other dudes reject.

I get more recalls than
General Motors, Ford

and Chrysler together.

J.J.

Well, I'm gonna
change for art school.

Oh, James, it hurts
me to see him this way.

I can't believe that's J.J.

Yeah, I know what
you mean, baby.

I guess it's all my fault.

I should've never
brought Jo Ann here.

Oh, now, stop that, baby girl.

It's all right.

Well, Jo Ann really
bowled him over.

Hello, Mrs. Evans.

Hello, Jo Ann.

Jo Ann?!

Well, hi, Thelma.

Don't you remember?

We made up to meet tonight

for you to help
me with my French.

Well, don't you remember?

Oh, yeah.

Look, you guys better
start studying right now.

Right now, hear?

Oh, come on, Jo
Ann, let's get started.

Yes, honey, the
faster, the better.

Right, Ma.

Oh. Uh, hi, J.J.

Oh, hi, Jo Ann,

I'm getting ready
to go to art school.

Bye. Bye, y'all.

Uh, just a minute.

J.J., can I talk to
you to a minute?

You wanna talk to me?

Yeah. In private.

Y'all wanna talk in
private, go ahead.

We'll get out of the way.

Well, uh, now that
we got all this privacy,

why don't you sit down.

Thank you, J.J.

Michael, don't you
see they want privacy?

I'm reading this magazine.

I ain't interested
in what they doing.

Get your butt over here!

Well, J.J., I don't
know how to begin.

Why don't you
start at beginning?

Shh! James!

Uh, J.J., about the other day,

when you asked me out for a date

and I turned you down.

Well, I got thinking
about it, and, wow, J.J.,

I mean, the way I
must've sounded.

I hope I didn't
hurt your feelings.

Are you kidding?

I never even gave
it a second thought.

I'm glad,

because the reason I
gave you all those excuses

was just that, well...

Oh, I was scared to
go out with you, J.J.

Scared?

Well, yeah. I mean...

I usually go out with all
those big, husky dudes

on the football team
and the basketball team,

and, well, J.J.,

I've never gone out
with someone like you.

What you mean, someone like me?

What you mean,
someone like him?!

James!

Well, J.J.,

what I mean, is
just that, well...

you're so intellectual.

J.J., you are deep.

I am?

Well, yeah.

I mean, all those
far-out paintings you do,

winning all those prizes.

Well, J.J., you are
just a creative genius.

I know.

Oh, I don't like
to brag, though.

Brag, brag!

Anyway, J.J., the
reason I was scared

to go out with you is that,

well, I wouldn't even
know what to talk about.

I mean, J.J.,

I'm not the smartest person
in the world, you know.

Who cares?

Uh, look here, Jo Ann,

uh, if you still wanna go out,

you know, uh, well,

maybe I may be
able to find the time.

Hallelujah, our boy
is back to normal.

Amen.

Well, what night would
be good for you, J.J.?

Well, uh, let me see, now...

Schedule is pretty tight here.

Well, no. Well,
yeah. Uh, well, uh...

How about, uh, tonight?

Well, J.J., I gotta
study with Thelma,

and, well, I thought you
had to go to art school.

I do, but I'll be home by 9:30,

and McDonald's
don't close till 11.

We got the whole
evening ahead of us.

Oh, wow, that sounds hip.

I just hope I don't
disappoint you.

No way.

Well, until then...
au revoir, bonn-ami.

Que sera, sera...

And, uh... cognac!

Come on, Jo Ann,
let's get started.

Okay, Thelma.

You know something,
Mr. and Mrs. Evans?

Like, your son really has class.

We know. We know.

♪ Mm-mm-mm ♪

♪ Just lookin' Out
of the window ♪

♪ Watching the asphalt grow ♪

♪ Thinkin' how It all
looks hand-me-down ♪

♪ Good times Good times ♪

♪ Keepin' your
head Above water ♪

♪ Makin' a wave When you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs Good times ♪

Good Times is recorded on tape

before a live audience.

♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em? ♪

♪ Good times ♪♪