Good Times (1974–1979): Season 4, Episode 19 - A Stormy Relationship - full transcript

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Anytime you meet a payment ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Anytime you feel free ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Anytime you're
Out from under ♪

♪ Not getting hassled
Not getting hustled ♪

♪ Keeping your
head Above water ♪

♪ Making a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪



♪ Easy credit rip-offs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Scratching and surviving ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Hanging in a chow line ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em ♪

♪ Good Times ♪♪

Hey, J.J.

What is it?

Come here.

What is it this time, gal?

My glass is getting
a little empty.

So?



So? So fill it.

Hey, look here, girl.

I'm tired of you bossing
me around like this.

Look, J.J., we made a deal

that whoever would break

their New Year's
resolution first

would have to do
what the other one said

for a week, right?

And you lost.

You resolved not to
insult my boyfriends.

Hey, Thelma, I don't
consider that an insult.

I consider that a compliment.

All I said

was that "I enjoyed your
latest movie, Mr. Kong."

J.J., I don't think
that's very funny at all.

Just fill this glass up now.

You want it filled, huh?

Yes, I do. That's what
I called you in here for.

Okay. I'll fill it.

Oh, my good... J.J.,
look what you did.

You messed up the floor.

Look, you clean up
this house immediately,

and you start with
Michael's drawer, right now.

[IN HIGH VOICE]
Okay, Miss Scarlet,

but I don't know nothing
about birthing no babies.

Oh, boy.

Boy, look at all this junk
Michael's got in here.

His throwing away junk.

His keeping junk.

His future junk.

What's this?

It's a letter from
Michael's school.

Addressed to Ma.

Addressed to Ma?

What is it doing in
Michael's drawer?

Let me see this.

"Dear Mrs. Evans.

"We are sorry to inform you

"that your son, Michael Evans,

"has been replaced

"as leader of the honor assembly

because of the
stance he has taken."

The militant
midget strikes again.

J.J., this is very important.

Ma doesn't know
about this letter,

and she's downtown now,

buying him new
clothes for the assembly.

Well, I hope she buys him

a suit with two pair of pants,

because she going to beat
a hole in the other ones.

[FLORIDA CHATTING TO A NEIGHBOR]

Oh, no. Ma is coming now.

Oh, my goodness,

what are we going
to do with this letter?

Do what all good spies do

when they're caught with
incriminating evidence.

Eat it.

Oh.

What...

I want my money.

Hi, kids.

I don't know why the president
says the economy is suffering.

There must have been

at least 1500 people
in that store today.

Mm, and they're
all looking for jobs.

I'm sorry we're so late.

I guess I'd better
get dinner started.

Willona, why don't you stay?

We're having stew.

Oh, I had dinner
with you last night,

and it was stew.

Uh, hey.

I sure appreciate that, Flo,

but I got a pressing engagement.

Uh, all the girls
down at the shop

are having a meeting tonight.

We're thinking about
forming a union now,

because we are sick and tired

of the exploitation, and
the long working hours,

and the poor salary,

and something has got to
be done about it immediately.

Tonight, the stew
has meat in it.

Well, come to
think of it, honey,

it can wait till
tomorrow, can't it?

J.J., let me have
my apron, please.

With mon pleasure.

Mon pleasure.

Thelma, what are you doing?

Nothing, Ma.

Well, I mean, what
is all this about?

Oh, was I doing all that?

Uh, that's a new dance, Ma.

It's called the "Funky Finger."

See, you can do it like this,

or you can do it... like that.

I can't keep up
with these dances.

If it ain't the "Flaky Finger,"
it's the "Hustle Your Bustle."

Flo, that's, uh,
"Shake Your Booty."

Whatever.

Michael isn't home yet?

Oh, he's probably
working late, Ma.

You know how excited he is

about his new job at
the repair shop, right?

And his new boss.

Yeah.

I know.

Everything is "Mr.
Dixon says this,

Mr. Dixon says that."

You got that right.

If Mr. Dixon told Grampa
the world was flat,

he wouldn't go north of
the loop for fear of falling off.

Well, I hope he gets here soon.

Thelma, will you stop your dance

and help Willona set the table?

Ma, you know,

you've been working
too hard around here.

You know, it's up to
the family members

to take the load
off your apron...

I mean, your shoulders.

Thelma, you cook.

Thelma cook?

Honey, I'm going to the meeting.

J.J., stop your foolishness

and give me back my apron.

Hi, everybody.

Oh, hi, there, Michael.

I bought you a new sweater
and a new pair of pants

to wear to the honor assembly.

Oh.

That's great, Ma.

Come here, man of the hour.

Oh, am I proud of you, Grampa.

We all are.

Um, thanks, Willona.

So many good things
have been happening.

Michael leading the
Pledge of Allegiance

at the honor assembly.

Holding down a job.

You know, Michael,

you have hands
just like your father's.

He had strong hands too.

Boy, did he have strong hands.

Michael.

Yeah?

This is your father's tool belt.

I think it's about time
you should have it.

You can use it
in the repair shop.

Yeah, Ma. This'll work great.

I'm going to go down to the shop

and show it to Carl.

Well, first, I want you to
try on your new clothes.

I can try them on tomorrow.

I want you to do it now.

There may be some alterations.

I can do it later.

Oh, Michael.

You're going to look so good.

I might go to that
assembly myself.

Hey, that's a good idea.

No, it isn't, Ma.

Why isn't it?

Because of the "No Mamas
at the Assembly" rule.

See, what happens,

any Mamas caught at assembly

will have to get a
note from their children.

Sure, sounds silly, Ma,

but that's the new
law, you know.

Yeah, Michael
here voted against it,

but he was outnumbered.

All right. Something's going on.

Thelma, you've been

doing strange things
with your hands,

and, J.J., everything
you do is strange.

Now, what's going on here?

Strange you should
ask that question, Ma...

Especially when I
don't have an answer.

Thelma?

Uh... Well, you
see, Ma, it's like this.

Uh...

Ma, what was the question again?

Now, look.

I want to know, and
I want to know now.

Ma, it's not them.

They're trying to protect me.

Protect you from what?

Yeah, well, the
letter in my drawer

will explain everything.

It's not in my drawer?

Where is it?

Oh, so that's what

the new dance
craze is all about.

Michael.

It says here that you won't
be leading the honor assembly.

Why?

And don't give me
any fancy answers.

Ma, take it easy.

Hey, Thelma, don't worry.
Your mother will handle this.

Well, I'm only trying to get
some information from Michael.

Mm-hmm. All right.

And I'm asking him in a nice,
calm, gentle, motherly way.

All right. Okay.

Just what have you done
to upset that assembly?

Well, um... I'm
waiting, Michael.

Well, Ma, they wanted me

to say something
I didn't believe in.

You don't believe in
the Pledge of Allegiance?

Michael, have
you lost your mind?

Carl doesn't think so.

Carl?

Carl Dixon? Yeah.

What has he go to do with this?

Well, Ma, he says it's a
hypocrisy to say one thing

when you know, in your
guts, you feel something else.

All right, Michael.
Let's pin this down.

Just what is it about
the Pledge of Allegiance

that upsets you and your guts?

Probably that part about
liberty and justice for all.

No. It's that mumbo jumbo
about one nation under God.

What?

Yeah.

Carl says there is no God,

and I'm not going
to say there is.

What did you say? I...

Michael, don't say anything
till I have a chance to hide.

Maybe I can get out

of the lightning-striking
place there.

Well, Ma, there is no God,

and I'm not going
to say there is.

Michael, that's blasphemy.

What's gotten into you?

Flo, take it easy.

You know, just a
kid with wild ideas.

Don't mean nothing, honey.

Yeah. Remember the time

when he wrote to
President Nixon,

and said that the
south side of Chicago

should become an
independent black nation?

Remember that?

Yeah, and then Nixon wrote
back and said, "Where is Chicago?"

No, no. This one is different.

Michael, you are my child
and your father's child,

and we believe in God...

And so did you before
you were brainwashed.

Now, is that clear?

But the way I feel is...

I don't want to hear
anything except,

"Yes, Mama, I believe in God."

No, Mama.

Michael... was it Carl Dixon

who told you to
say there is no God?

Ma, Carl didn't tell
me to say anything.

He just opened my eyes.

Well, look, we can
talk about that later.

Let's have dinner now. Yeah!

We can't talk about
it later, Willona.

Michael... Carl
Dixon is a stranger.

Now, you letting a
stranger change everything

this family has always upheld.

Ma, Carl says if
you can't see it,

hear it, feel it, or touch it,

it's not there.

God is everywhere,
and you can feel it here.

How do you know
it's not heartburn?

Just jiving, Numero
Uno, just jiving.

Ma, I realize this
is upsetting you,

but as far as I'm concerned,

I'm not going to say
"One nation under God,"

and that's that.

Oh, Michael, baby.

Baby, there is a God.

A kind, loving, merciful God.

Ma, if he's so merciful,

how come we still
living in the ghetto?

Hey, Carl, what do you
want me to do with this?

Throw it away.

I spent 20 years in
the army, and I learned

that whenever you
have something left over,

throw it away.

Otherwise, they grind it up

and serve it to you on
a shingle the next day.

Oh, hello there, Mr. Barnes.

How are you?

Can't complain.

Got a TV and a wife,
and they both work.

You like that one, sonny?

There something
I can do for you?

My hearing aid. Cuts off and on.

I have to keep hitting it.

You know, I got a
hearing aid, false teeth,

an electric
pacemaker in my chest.

I'm a regular
eight-million-dollar man.

Mr. Barnes,

don't you mean a regular
six-million-dollar man?

Oh, no, sonny.

Don't you know things
in the ghetto cost more?

Well, Carl,

I'm going to go
deliver this griddle.

See you later, Mr. Barnes.

What's the kid mumbling about?

I don't know.

I'm going to have to
send it back to the factory.

I'll put a rush on it.

No hurry.

Starsky and Hutch

are just as funny
without the sound.

Well, it's closing time.

♪ Closing time ♪

♪ Closing time... ♪

It's closing time, Mr. Barnes.

Time to go!

I don't have to
go. I went at home.

[KNOCKS]

We're closed.

[INAUDIBLE]

Another one with
a hearing problem.

Lady, I'm trying to
tell you we're closed.

I'm sorry, but
this is important.

Okay, what's so important?

I am Michael Evans'
mother and we quit.

You can't quit.
You don't work here.

Well, as of now,
neither does Michael.

Oh, boy, I don't
want to miss this.

Why don't you want
Michael to work here?

Because you're a bad influence.

You've turned
Michael into an atheist.

Oh, come on.

He made up his own
mind about that God jazz.

Mr. Dixon, God exists,

and I don't like expressions
like, "That God jazz."

That God rock 'n' roll?

You're not funny, Mr. Dixon.

God exists.

Where? Where is he?

He's everywhere.
He's even in this shop.

Don't look at me, lady.

I may be old, but I ain't God.

Score: atheists,
1, believers, 0.

You want to take another
shot at it, Mrs. Evans?

Now, give me some
proof that God exists.

You.

You're here.

Of course, I'm
here. It's my shop.

I mean, he created you.

And all these years,

I've been sending a tie
to my dad on Father's Day.

Atheists, 2, believers, 0.

Look, lady.

"Bomb kills four in Belfast."

"Starvation in India."

"Two-week-old
baby dies in its crib."

If God existed,

would he allow these
things to happen?

And another thing...

Would he allow
the Boston Celtics

to beat the Chicago
Bulls 116-104?

Mr. Dixon, did you
bet on the game? Yeah.

Did you win? No.

Hah! There is a God.

Hot dog.

That's a two-pointer.

Score is tied. Score is tied.

[MOCKS LAUGH]

Lady, you want me

to believe in a god
that plays favorites.

Tell me something,

who's he picking at
Arlington in the fifth?

Look, I don't care what
you believe, Mr. Dixon.

I just don't want you

changing anything
my son believes,

and Michael believes in God.

If Michael believes in God,

he's the lousiest
atheist in town,

and if there is one thing
we atheists cannot abide,

it's a backslider.

Amen.

Well, it looks like this game

is running into overtime.

I am leaving.

I get a gracious plenty
of God on Sunday.

Now, don't forget to fix this.

I won't.

Mrs. Evans, look.

I've had it up to here.

I'm a busy man.

If God exists,

I wish he'd make
his presence known.

[TELEPHONE RINGS]

Hello.

Yeah.

What?

Okay.

That was the man upstairs.

Before you get carried away,

it wasn't your man upstairs.

It was my man upstairs.

Mr. Jennings.

He lives above the store,

and he wants to know
if his radio is fixed.

Mr. Dixon,

Michael is at a very
impressionable age.

Now, he was sure of his
beliefs until he met you.

I haven't influenced
him one way or the other.

Oh, yes, you have, and
there's no need to yell.

I'm not yelling!

You are so yelling!

I guess I should know yelling

when I hear yelling.

Mrs. Evans, what
do you see here?

Look, Mr. Dixon,

I'm in no mood to play games.

Come on. Come on.
What do you see here?

Two screwdrivers.

Now what do you see?

Two screwdrivers.

Now what do you see?

Two screwdrivers.

I say there are
three screwdrivers.

I'm sorry, Mr. Dixon,

but there are only
two screwdrivers there.

You say there are
two screwdrivers.

I say there are
three screwdrivers.

Now, will you admit that I
wasn't yelling if I'm wrong?

Why, certainly.

I'm wrong.

Okay, Mr. Dixon.

You flimflammed me.

You're right, Mrs. Evans.

That's just what I did.

Well, if you can do that to me,

don't you think you
can influence Michael?

You made your point, Mrs. Evans,

and you did it
without a screwdriver.

Mr. Dixon, I'm telling Michael

he can't work here any longer.

You're his mother,
and I can't stop you,

but do yourself a favor.

Let me do the dirty work.

If you lower the
boom on Michael,

he's going to resent it.

If I do it, what the hell.

He doesn't have to see me again.

Thank you, Mr. Dixon.

You're very thoughtful.

For an atheist?

Good night, Mr. Dixon.

Good night, Mrs. Evans.

Doggone it!

Carl, here's the
money from the griddle.

Anything else you want me
to do before we knock off?

How do you like that?

I worked all day and
all I took in was $10.

Don't worry, Carl. You
got a lot of work coming in.

Damn oil company.

Huh? You know what
they've done to the price of oil?

On a little can like that?

Look, Michael, on
a little can like this,

you multiply it by eight more,
and what do you get? Bankrupt.

Come on, Carl.

Michael, I mean it.

I'm going to have to
cut down on expenses.

I'm afraid I'm going
to have to let you go.

Over a little can of oil?

Michael, Michael. You
don't understand business.

It starts somewhere at the top

with some guy
digging in the desert,

and it works itself down,

and it's always the little man

who gets it in the neck.

Yeah, but around
here, I'm the little man.

There are only
two of us, Michael.

Who am I going to fire?

Me?

Tell you what.

I don't have to
come in every day.

I just come in
three times a week.

I'll take a cut in my salary.

I'll work for nothing

until the price
of oil goes down.

Damn.

Oh, come on, Michael.
It's only a part-time job.

Look at J.J.

He's been fired more times
than a Saturday-night special.

You got that right.

Just a part-time job.

You'll get another one, honey.

Yeah, it's just a shame

it had to happen 50
years before retirement.

[KNOCKING]

Oh, it never fails.

Now, who could
be so inconsiderate

as to come calling just
at the dinner hour...?

Mr. Dixon.

I brought Michael's tool belt.

I thought he might need it.

Won't you come in?

Thank you.

Ma, may I be excused?

You certainly may not.

We have company.

Mr. Dixon, these
are my children,

J.J., Thelma, and my
neighbor, Willona Woods.

How are you?

Hello. How are you?

Hey, look here, Mr. Dixon,

there's word out on the
street that you got a job open.

J.J., how could you?

It ain't for me, Ma.

It's for Thelma.

I figure we got to get
her out here working.

Doing something.

Michael.

Michael, I thought
you might want this.

Michael, you're being rude.

But he fired me.

He said he was my friend,
then he fires me for no reason.

Michael.

Michael, Mr. Dixon
didn't fire you.

I did.

I asked Mr. Dixon to let you go.

Ma, how could you?

Honey, I was trying to
do it for your own good.

You had no right to do that.

Michael.

Halt, soldier.

About face.

Knock it off.

Michael, when I read that letter

about the honor assembly

and heard your newfound
views on religion,

I had to do something about it.

Your mother was doing
what she thought was best.

You're right, Mr. Dixon.

Well, she cost me a good job.

You're right, Michael.

Willona, how can Mr. Dixon
and Michael be right?

Thelma, shut up.

I'm a peacemaker.

Ma, the way I see it,

you're trying to make me
choose between you and Carl.

Oh, that's not true, Michael.

Michael, look me in
the eye and tell me.

Do you believe in God?

Well, Ma...

Michael, you've lived in
this house for 15 years.

There's no way you
don't believe in God.

Michael.

I don't believe in God,

but you don't have to do
my thing to be my friend.

I'm going to love you
just as much anyway.

Is it okay if I lead the
assembly tomorrow?

You got it.

What about my job?

You got it.

Hey, hey, right on.

Sit down, Mr. Moneymaker.

Sit right on down there.

Well, that's all cleared up.

Thank God.

Oh, gotcha.

Huh?

You said, "Thank God."

Madame, when I say, "Thank God,"

that does not mean I
believe in a supreme being

any more than when
you say, "Holy mackerel,"

you're going to
kneel down to a fish.

Now look, Mr. Dixon.

Uh, Ma, please. No hassling
on an empty stomach.

Let's eat.

ALL: Yeah!

Mrs. Evans, before I go...

there's something I want to say.

We've had our differences,

but I admire a woman

who can stand up to
me the way you did.

Are you kidding?

Ma could stand up
to Howard Cosell.

Well, that being the case,

and seeing the group

that is gathered into this room,

and knowing how much
meat there is in the stew,

I would say...

won't you please stay to dinner?

Well, I... Oh, we
have plenty, and...

You talked me into it.

Come on.

I'm so hungry, I could
eat a horse myself.

Knowing the meat
at Borgan's Market,

your wish might come
true, Willona. Oh, stop it.

You got enough
room now? Thank you.

J.J., would you say
the grace? Okay.

Lord, for the food we
are about to receive,

we thank you.

By a vote of five to one.

♪ Mmm ♪

♪ Just looking
Out of the window ♪

♪ Watching the asphalt grow ♪

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

♪ Good Times, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Keeping your
head Above water ♪

♪ Making a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Easy credit rip-offs ♪

♪ Good times ♪

ANNOUNCER: Good Times is
videotaped in front of a studio audience.

♪ Good Times ♪♪