Good Times (1974–1979): Season 3, Episode 15 - The Family Tree - full transcript

♪ Good times Any time
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♪ 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 ♪♪

Hey, Ma,

how do you like
Dad's birthday sign?

Not so loud, J.J.!

I don't want your
daddy to hear it...

and put away the birthday sign!

This is supposed to be
a surprise party tonight.

I don't know, Ma.

These surprise parties
can be dangerous.

What do you mean by that?

Well, I know this one lady
gave a surprise birthday

for her husband.

All the guests were there,
and they heard footsteps,

so they turned out the lights.



The door opens and
everybody yells, "Surprise,"

and boy, it was a surprise.

It was some other dude
she been going out with.

And he was surprised
a minute later

when her husband walked in.

Well, that's one thing
your daddy and me

don't have to worry about.

J.J., now, I want
you to go over there

and sweep the floor. Aw, Ma,

but sweeping the floor
is bad for my image!

It's perfect for your image

when you're built
like a broomstick.

Now, get going.

Michael, you go
dust the furniture.

Oh, okay, Ma.

Ma, I'll do this housework,
but I'm doing it under protest.

I mean, these are
the delicate hands

of an artiste.

And these are the delicate hands

that can still
blister your behind.

Okay, Ma. Sweeping the floor.

But I mean, what would happen

if one of my chicks came
over here and saw me,

the "Maharajah of Love,"

sweeping the floor?

Well, if her eyesight
is good, she'd say,

"You missed that
spot right there."

If her eyesight's real good,

she wouldn't be
one of J.J.'s chicks.

That's all I need now,
getting shelled by a peanut.

Now, get on with the cleaning!

This is the first surprise
party your daddy ever had.

I want everything
to be just perfect.

Well, how come Thelma
ain't here helping us clean?

Well, she's still working
on some research

for that paper she's
writing at school.

You mean, she's still
working on that jive project

about our family tree?

That's not jive, J.J.

Tracing your family
tree is very important.

Now, you know,
there is a black writer

named Alex Haley
who traced his ancestors

all the way back to the
tribe he came from in Africa.

Then he wrote a book
about it and called it Roots.

Hey, it's very important
for black people to know

where they come from too.

You know, Michael,

it's more important to
know where they going.

J.J., how do you know
where you going, man,

when you don't
know where you at?

What are you talking about?

I know exactly... ♪
Happy birthday to me ♪

♪ Happy birthday to me ♪

♪ Happy birthday ♪
♪ Happy birthday ♪

♪ James Evans ♪
♪ Dear Daddy ♪

♪ Happy birthday ♪

♪ To you ♪
♪ To me ♪

Yeah!

Happy birthday, James.

Well, thank you, baby.

Let me get you some coffee.

I ain't got time, but
I'll take the sugar.

Mm.

Well, you will be back tonight.

Have mercy.

Hey, uh, Dad. Huh?

How does it feel
to be a year older,

a year closer to social security

and denture stains.

James...

you're still as handsome
as the day I married you.

Well, Florida, in
view of the fact

that this is my
birthday, I ain't gonna lie.

I agree. Oh!

I'll see you all later, hear?

Have a nice day, honey.

See you later, Daddy. All right.

Oh, by the way, uh,

what time is my surprise
birthday party tonight?

Oh! Oh! Hey!

I'll see you all later.

Okay. See you later.

I'm going to the store
and get the ice cream.

Mama, I don't care what
kind of ice cream you get,

as long as you get chocolate.

Michael... we always
have chocolate.

I'm going to get
vanilla this time.

Mama, I cannot get down
if my ice cream ain't brown!

All right, young man,

then I will take your
portion and barbecue it.

Ma, Ma! Guess what.
Guess what. What is it?

Oh, Mama! Thelma, what's up?

You'll never believe this!

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Settle down!

Your mouth is going
a mile a minute.

Yeah, put your lips into park.

What happened?

Ma, listen.

While I was chasing
our family tree,

I discovered
something so fantastic,

I can hardly believe it myself!
Hey, we got a grandfather!

I found Daddy's father!

We got a grandfather?

Thelma, what are
you talking about?

Your grandfather
died a long time ago.

But it's not true. I
just left Daddy's father!

Now, let me tell
you what happened!

Yeah, we know what happened.

Your head ain't
wrapped too tight.

Tell me your story.

Well, Ma, three weeks ago,

I wrote Daddy's
cousins down South

to get some
information on our family.

They wrote me
back, and they said

that Daddy's
father, named Henry,

is a cook on a ship
called the Meridian.

But Thelma, how can that be?

Why would your Daddy
say his father is dead

if he's alive?

Oh, Ma, let me finish,
and then I'll tell you.

I read that the
Meridian was scheduled

to pull into Chicago today,

and then I got down to
the pier as soon as I could.

They let you on the pier,

the girl with the face that
sank a thousand ships?

J.J., will you be quiet, please.

What happened next, honey?

Well, next, I asked if
Henry Evans was aboard.

They said he was,
and I found him!

Thelma, he may have
been Henry Evans,

but how do you know
he was Daddy's father?

Well, from all the things

he told me about the
family and everything.

And Ma, he even
had a picture of Daddy

when he was a little boy.

Oh, he's Daddy's
father, all right!

Why would your father
say his daddy is dead

when he is alive?

Ma, he explained that.

He said he hadn't been in
touch with Daddy in so long,

anybody would think he was dead.

You mean, after all these
years, I got myself a grandfather.

He owes me 19 years'
worth of birthday presents.

Thelma, how come you
didn't bring him home with you?

Doesn't he want to meet us too?

Oh, yeah, he wants
to meet everybody,

so I invited him

to Daddy's birthday
party tonight.

Hey, that's great!
All right. Oh!

Hey, that's too much.

I figured his being here
would be the greatest present

Daddy could ever
have from all of us.

Thelma, that is beautiful.

Now we got the surprise
back in the surprise party.

Right!

And this is even
a greater surprise

than I could've hoped for.

Oh, Ma, isn't it wonderful?

Oh, sweetheart.
This is terrific!

It's just great! Hey!

And just think how
excited Daddy's gonna be

when he sees he has a father.

Right on! Hey, hey, hey.

Wait a minute. I just
thought of something.

We gonna need a
place to hide him.

Yeah, where can
we keep it a secret?

Hi, y'all.

I think we just found ourselves

a safety deposit box.

Girl, what you talking
about? What's going on?

Willona... Huh?

Can you keep a secret?

Flo, I'm surprised at
you. Can I keep a secret?

I love keeping secrets.

Ain't but one thing I like
better than keeping a secret.

What's that?

Blabbing it out. Oh, come on.

Come on. Okay, okay.

What is the big news?

Are you ready for this? Mm-hmm.

Thelma found out...

that James's father is alive.

Oh, you jiving.

No, I'm not.

Ooh, this is too hot to sit on.

How do I...

How do I contact
Walter Cronkite?

Oh, now, don't... Okay, okay.

Now, look, this is
where you come in.

We would like to hide
James' father in your apartment

until the big moment.

Oh, that's cool with me.

Good.

Ooh, child!

This is gonna be a
night to remember!

Well, I want to thank y'all

for the presents.

I got the greatest
family in the whole world.

Well, you know how...

Hey, speaking of family,

James, we got a
surprise for you.

Yeah, what now?

There's going to be an addition.

Oh, James!

Willona.

Oh, Willona Woods
carrying out the orders.

Where's Willona going?

Don't worry, Daddy, you'll see.

James, all the
presents you got before

ain't nothing to the one
you fixing to get now.

I got it.

Junior's gonna take
a vow of silence.

Oh!

No? No, Dad.

It's an even better
present than that!

Yeah, Dad, now the
Waltons ain't gonna be

the only poor family
with a grandfather.

J.J.! J.J.! J.J.!

What did you say, Junior?

Uh, nothing, Dad.

No, you said, "grandfather."

No, Dad. Heh-heh-heh.

Yes, Junior. Heh-heh-heh.

Now, you said, "father."

By any chance, were you
talking about my father?

Well, now that the
cat is out of the bag,

I might as well
tell you. James...

Thelma found out
that your daddy is alive!

Yeah, Dad, he's at Willona's,

and he'll be here in a minute.

Oh, Daddy isn't that exciting?

Yeah, ain't that
great? Honey, even...

Even though that J. J. blew it,

it still got to be
the biggest surprise

in your life, right?

Isn't that, Daddy?
Isn't that great?

Well, I got a big
surprise for all of you.

I don't wanna see the man.
I don't ever wanna see him.

Why you staring at me?

I'm not staring at
you. I'm thinking.

Why you thinking at me?

James, I'm not thinking at you.

I'm thinking about you.

Oh, James.

Honey, we all thought you
were gonna be so happy

to find out your daddy is alive.

Florida, I've always
known he was alive.

What?

And you didn't tell me?

James, we're husband and wife.

We never kept
anything from each other.

Florida, this happened
before we got married.

It ain't in your jurisdiction.

Well, sometimes it's good

to talk about these things.

Uh-uh. Not this, Florida.

I been keeping it up inside me

because it just hurt too
much to tell anybody about it,

even you!

Honey... what could he have done

that's hurting you
so all these years?

Well, Florida,
over 35 years ago,

we had a whole family
just like you and me got

right now.

Then this man,
my beloved father,

walked out on us.

You mean, he just up and left,

just like that?

No, one day he said he
was going out to the store

for a loaf of bread, and
he never come back.

I guess after everybody
else had give up on him...

I couldn't. I mean, I
just kept sitting there

waiting... hoping
he'd come back.

I must have loved him
more than all the rest of them,

because I never
stopped waiting for him.

You don't have to wait
for him anymore, James.

He's here now.

You can see him.

I don't wanna see him, Florida.

I mean, I love him, but I
hate him for what he did.

I might... I don't
know how I'd act.

I might break down crying.

I might throw him
out on his butt.

One way or the other,
it's better that he leave.

He won't mind.
He's done it before.

Oh, now, come on,
y'all! Get off my back!

It just kind of slipped out.

The size of your mouth,

your whole body
could just slip out.

I know your brains
left ages ago.

Yeah, that's right... but
I still don't understand

why Daddy doesn't
wanna see his own father.

Ready with the
surprise of the century?

Introducing Henry Evans! Ta-dah!

Hi, Grandpa!

Hi. Hi.

Hello, children. How are you?

Fine! Fine, sir, thanks.

Uh, well, I brought
in the surprise.

- Where is the surprisee?
- Uh...

Uh, J.J. gave it away,

and Daddy was so overwhelmed,
he went into his room,

and he's probably
crying for joy.

Uh, where is your mother?

Uh, she's supplying the Kleenex.

Kleenex?

Uh, Grandpa,

this is your youngest
grandson, Michael.

Hi, Grandpa. Michael.

Uh, saying "Grandpa"
sounds kind of strange.

I'm not used to it yet.

Well, Michael, saying "grandson"

is something I
always wanted to do.

And this is J.J.

I'm afraid he's
your grandson too.

Well, that suits me just fine.

Grandpa Henry,
you look just like

I thought you was gonna look:

Big, with muscles.

Must run in the Evans family.

You started off
with the big muscles,

then Dad came along
with the big muscles,

then... Came bones!

Thelma, how long are
they gonna be in there?

Uh, oh, Daddy's so
happy, he's probably trying

to get himself together.

Yeah, but I want to... Uh!

Grandpa, uh, how long
were you a cook on the ship?

Thelma, there is some
dudes would swear

that I made meals
for John Paul Jones.

Oh!

Well, then maybe you can
give Thelma some advice.

Around here we
call her "Old Salt."

Everything she cooks
tastes old and salty.

Now, J.J., I can't believe

that Thelma's a bad cook.

Wanna bet? I'm not. I'm not.

They're always
teasing each other.

I wish they would come out.
Henry is dying to see his son.

Michael... Um,
Grandpa, um, um...

Why don't you tell us some
of the places you've been.

Oh, Michael, I've been
to a lot of different places:

Africa, Europe,
Asia, South America...

I bet with all the
sights you've seen,

you've never seen
a sight like J.J.

You got some nerve
talking about sights.

If the Leaning Tower
of Pisa seen you,

it would've... straightened up.

Oh, come on. Don't
get carried away now.

Kids, kids, come on.

Don't argue in front
of your grandfather.

Oh, no, no, let them
alone. I'm enjoying it.

I finally got a chance to
meet my grandchildren,

and that means a lot to
someone when they reach my age.

I can understand that.

I think I'm gonna go in there

and get them out.

Oh, wait, don't
do that, Willona.

Uh, they'll be out
in a minute, Willona.

Yeah, I don't think
Dad's got to the bottom

of the Kleenex yet.

Don't your father
want to see me?

Uh, what would make you
ask a question like that?

Flo.

Florida?

Hello, Henry.

Well...

Oh!

James picked him one
fine wife, I can tell you that.

Thank you.

Flo, where is James.
Is anything wrong?

Oh, no, no, no, no.

He was just thinking,

and he said he
wanted to look right

for the occasion,

so he's changing
into his other suit.

But Dad's only got one suit.

J.J.!

Well, look, Florida,

you don't have to put me on.

I know what you're doing,

and I know what
the kids are doing.

Well, I don't know
what they're doing!

Florida.

James don't want
to see me, right?

I'm sorry, Henry...

but give him a little time.

Maybe he'll change his mind.

Yeah, well, I was hoping
after all these years

the hurt would disappear.

I... guess it's too deep.

And anyway, it don't make
sense after all this time,

I come barging into your lives.

So I'll just... I'll
just say goodbye.

Henry?

Yeah?

He's right in there.

Maybe he's really
waiting to see you.

There may never
be another chance.

Well, I've come this far.

Wish me luck... daughter.

Oh... I do. I do.

Jimmy?

Jimmy?

Um... hi.

You've really grown.

Grown. Well, what
you expect, man?

It's been over 35 years.

No, no... No, I mean,
you're a big man.

I've had to be a big man

ever since the big man
in our house walked out.

Well, I guess you...
haven't recognized

that I've changed a little.

I mean, quite a bit...
I put on a little weight.

I guess when you only
got one mouth to feed,

it's easy to eat good, ain't it?

May I sit down?

Yeah, you can sit down
if you can find a chair.

'Course, that might
not be too easy for you.

Seems to me you once misplaced
a house and a whole family.

Son, I know how you feel,

but don't you want to
hear my side of the story?

Oh, man.

Jimmy, my walking
out on your mother

and my little children was
the hardest thing I ever did.

Hard? All you had to do

was put one foot in front of
the other and keep walking.

That's real hard, ain't it?

Jimmy, it couldn't be helped.

I wasn't making enough money
sharecropping to feed a tick.

There was no jobs anywhere.

So... my leaving only
meant one less mouth to feed.

And you think that was
a good enough reason

to split?

Huh?

I thought so at the time.

Well, I got you to
thank for one thing.

I tell you, there's a
lot of days around here

we don't know whether
we's gonna make it or not.

I must've inherited
your stubbornness,

because there's one thought
that never crossed my mind,

and that was walking out.

See, because I knew how
my family was gonna feel.

So I stayed, man. I stayed!

I... I guess you're right.

Maybe I should
have stuck it out...

but that's been over 35 years.

I'm a different man now.

When I left Mississippi,

I bummed around for a
long time looking for work.

A long time... A long
time before I went to sea.

And when I was able to
send some money home,

you all had gone.

Yeah?

Man, how come you
never tried to find me?

I ain't never got a postcard,
a phone call, nothing.

Where you been, man?

I tried to find you at first...

but then, nobody
knew where you went.

If it wasn't for Thelma,

I still wouldn't know
where you were.

Yeah?

Well, that don't
cut no ice with me.

I really used to look up to you.

I swore the sun
rose and set on you.

We sure missed out
on a lot of fun together.

Jimmy, I missed over
35 years without a son.

Yeah, and me without a father.

Well, it's too late now.

Can't neither one
of us ever get it back.

Yes, I know... and
this is a hell of a time

to admit a mistake.

Yes, I've been stubborn
and full of foolish pride.

And after all this time,

I have some gall coming in
here and calling you "son."

So I...

Maybe I gave up that
right a long, long time ago.

So I guess... I
best be shoving off.

But, Jimmy, you've
got to understand this.

My leaving wasn't
because I didn't love you.

It was because I did.

Oh, man...

Bye, Jimmy.

Uh... Look here.

We got, um, some
birthday cake and stuff,

and you here,

you might as well
stay for the party.

You sure you want me to stay?

Well, you was
always the one saying

don't never waste
no food, wasn't you?

Yes. Yes I did.

Well, y'all can get on with
your birthday business.

My, uh... He, uh...
We got company.

Oh, James! THELMA: All right!

Oh, that's wonderful.

Hey, I knew everything
would be all right

between the granddad
and dad of Kid... Dy-no-mite!

Have mercy!

That's James' daddy, all right.

Well, Dad.

Let's see if you got enough air

in that old inner tube to
blow out those candles.

Don't forget to make a wish.

All right, Daddy! All right!

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, James.

Uh, thank you.

Honey, what'd you wish?

Well, I...

I guess I wished for
another hundred years to...

make up for the ones
that me and, uh... Pop lost.

♪ 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 ♪♪