anim8rfsk@cox.net wrote:
> Kenny McCormack <gazelle@shell.xmission.com> wrote:

>> There is actually a quote by JW himself, saying words to the effect of "I
>> was never an actor; I'm just a comic who fell into a TV role". Basically,
>> his TV appearance on Good Times was just him doing his (not particularly
>> great) comedy act.
>
>Well credit to him for admitting it.
>
>I always liked the interview with Roger Moore, where he said he thought he
>was rather wooden on screen, but he wasn't about to turn down James Bond
>money!
>
>> Two other comments:
>>
>> 1) I've seen him on Match Game; your comments are pretty much on target.
>
>There's a contestant who said she was going to give some of her winnings to
>support a program Reagan was behind, and Walker spent the whole rest of the
>time scowling at her and giving answers so stupid. He must've been trying
>to blow her chances. You'd really expect the producers to straighten him
>out at a commercial break.

Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that! I think we were watching at the same time.

>> And, yes, seeing him hawking Medicare crap on TV is pretty awful.
>> And, yes, Medicare Advantage *is* crap - from all that I've heard
>> about it.
>
>I love how he doesn't identify himself, just says hey, it's me, like we'�re
>supposed to remember who he is and be impressed and call the number. Maybe
>somebody licensed his name and he can't use it without permission?

If only! It's more likely he thinks he's more famous than he really is.

>> 2) Actually, it is amazing how badly a lot of the 70s sitcoms have aged.
>> Good Times is hardly alone in this regard. For example, two
>> shows that I loved in the 70s - 3s Company and One Day At A Time -
>> are just unwatchable nowadays. I can't believe I liked them back
>> then.
>
>I never liked either of them. Valerie Bertinelli made one day at a time
>sort of watchable. I always found the mother annoying, especially once they
>introduced the ex-husband and he turned out to be a swell guy. They
>should've had the nerve to make him a creep.

I always hated both shows. The mother on ODaaT was a total bitch.

--
Let's go Brandon!

In article <j7YiN.19013$5Hnd.9372@fx03.iad>, pwallace@moviepig.com wrote:
>On 12/27/2023 12:33 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>> moviePig <pwallace@moviepig.com> wrote:
>>> On 12/26/2023 10:15 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>>>> Kenny McCormack <gazelle@shell.xmission.com> wrote:
>>>>> anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:

>>>>>> I wondered why nobody else ever recognized that he was completely talent
>>>>>> free. And continued to be so on THE LOVE BOAT, and MATCH GAME, and to this
>>>>>> day in ads to try to get you to call about Medicare insurance. On match
>>>>>> game he also proved himself to be thoroughly unlikable in person as well.
>>>>>
>>>>> There is actually a quote by JW himself, saying words to the effect of "I
>>>>> was never an actor; I'm just a comic who fell into a TV role". Basically,
>>>>> his TV appearance on Good Times was just him doing his (not particularly
>>>>> great) comedy act.
>>>>>
>>>>> I've seen him on Match Game; your comments are pretty much on target.
>>>>> And, yes, seeing him hawking Medicare crap on TV is pretty awful.
>>>>> And, yes, Medicare Advantage *is* crap - from all that I've heard
>>>>> about it.
>>>>
>>>> I love how he doesn't identify himself, just says hey, it's me, like we're
>>>> supposed to remember who he is and be impressed and call the number. Maybe
>>>> somebody licensed his name and he can't use it without permission?
>>>
>>> You could be right about Jimmie Walkers's best known name being "JJ",
>>> which in turn could be a licensed character from the show, so they went
>>> with "Hey, it's me!"
>>
>> I prefer that to him, thinking that he's such a big star. He needs no
>> introduction. I don't remember if he ever said dynamite in the commercials
>> or not. I think this is his second year of doing them. I wonder if he said
>> JJ the first year and they didn't let him the second…
>>
>> https://youtu.be/S6eAWX9qUEM?si=GHjgWHYKSZCEgHWD
>>
>> OK in 2021 he introduced himself as Jimmy "JJ" Walker and has a sign
>> reading GOOD TIMES behind him and says dynamite.
>>
>> https://youtu.be/vyNr5cyZUAg?si=sUb1eNPC7Qf99DqH
>>
>> In 2022, he just introduces himself as "me"� but he says dynamite at the
>> end.
>>
>> https://youtu.be/EfkjrrX0AxQ?si=-9lj6FhaTeJcBlKc
>>
>> In 2023, he refers to himself on the third person as "JJ"� and says
>> dynamite.
>>
>> Oh well, a lovely, budding conspiracy theory, crushed by the weight of
>> reality.
>
>I dunno, as that could also describe an attrition of paid licenses...

It sounds more like an assumption of some form of persistance of memory on part of
the viewer.

--
Let's go Brandon!

anim8rfsk@cox.net wrote:
> Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>> A Friend wrote:

>>> I absolutely hated Good Times, and for all the right reasons. The
>>> series was supposed to be about a strong family making its way forward,
>>> even in Cabrini Green. Then the dad left, and the show became a farce
>>> headed by a nearly talentless young actor who was armed not with a gift
>>> for comedy or acting but with one of those unfunny stock phrases that
>>> became all too common in the TV of the era.
>>
>> As I mentioned elsewhere, the Norman Lear retrospective had a comment
>> that Lear hated the catch phrase, but he was told by the show runner
>> that it would help make the show popular with audiences. Every time he
>> delivered it, he got enthusiastic applause by the studio audience (as
>> enhanced by the laff track). I guess they knew that the tv audience that
>> wasn't looking for actual comedy responded to it as well.
>>
>> Esther Rolle could act and she could be funny but when she had anything
>> to do, she was the matriarchal archetype, rarely playing a character.
>>
>> John Amos was ok but they didn't do mc
>
>And if anybody deserved MC, it was John Amos.

Hammer time!

[Kerman's incorrect formatting fixed.]

--
Let's go Brandon!

(Monkeyed with subj line because the modernist/internationalist
deletion of the grammatically mandatory "'s" drives me up the wall]

(Unable to quote because of charset issue)

One of the fat paperback movie guides (Scheuer or Maltin?)
called DESPERATE "an uncredited adaptation of TO HAVE AND
TO HAVE NOT".
For my part I appreciated a moment where the male lead
was dialing "555..." on a telephone AND WAS ACTUALLY
DIALING INFORMATION!!

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 15:32:22 -0500, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

>In article <umd4h0$36vpf$1@dont-email.me>, davidc@wa-wd.com wrote:
>> On Thu, 14 Dec 2023 04:30:46 -0500, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
>>> Travoltron@fakeemail.com wrote:
>
>>>I think the TV family that suffered the most was the Evans on GOOD TIMES.
>>
>>Karma for incessantly fat-shaming and dissing the building manager who was
>>never anything but nice to them.
>
>I do not remember James "Bookman" Brown being particuarly nice to the family.

He was always friendly and cheerful, never insulting, and treated them
with respect. He even appeared in a talent show they did for whatever
reason and asked for nothing from them for doing it. In return, they were
all rude to him - even Florida - for no reason that was ever expressed
except that he was overweight. I can't stand the Evanses. And Wilona and
Penny were even worse.

David Carson
--
Dead or Alive Data Base
http://www.doadb.com

In article <umi1qc$1lva$9@dont-email.me>, Ubiquitous
<weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

> In article <251220232258162923%nope@noway.com>, nope@noway.com wrote:
> > David Carson <davidc@wa-wd.com> wrote:
> >> On Thu, 14 Dec 2023 04:30:46 -0500, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
>
> >>> I think the TV family that suffered the most was the Evans on GOOD
> >>> TIMES.
> >>
> >> Karma for incessantly fat-shaming and dissing the building manager
> >> who was never anything but nice to them.
> >
> >I absolutely hated Good Times, and for all the right reasons. The
> >series was supposed to be about a strong family making its way forward,
> >even in Cabrini Green. Then the dad left, and the show became a farce
> >headed by a nearly talentless young actor who was armed not with a gift
> >for comedy or acting but with one of those unfunny stock phrases that
> >became all too common in the TV of the era.
>
> If memory serves, Jimmy Walker wasn't very popular on the set. The actor
> who played the father quit and the actress who played the mother constantly
> complained about being secoind-fiddle to his buffoonery.

"Buffoonery" is a good word for it. It surely wasn't comedy.

Esther Rolle was a very good hard-working actress who probably loved
the idea of being in a series. She was wasted in this one.

In article <281220230042062656%nope@noway.com>, nope@noway.com wrote:
> Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
>> nope@noway.com wrote:

>>> I absolutely hated Good Times, and for all the right reasons. The
>>> series was supposed to be about a strong family making its way forward,
>>> even in Cabrini Green. Then the dad left, and the show became a farce
>>> headed by a nearly talentless young actor who was armed not with a gift
>>> for comedy or acting but with one of those unfunny stock phrases that
>>> became all too common in the TV of the era.
>>
>> If memory serves, Jimmy Walker wasn't very popular on the set. The actor
>> who played the father quit and the actress who played the mother
>> constantly complained about being secoind-fiddle to his buffoonery.
>
>"Buffoonery" is a good word for it. It surely wasn't comedy.

I think Esther Rolle or John Amos used that word to describe it.

--
Let's go Brandon!