History YMMV / GoodTimes

* ValuesResonance: One episode has J.J. being accused of a crime, only for the police to admit that the actual crook is a short, rotund, light skinned black boy who looks nothing like him apart from the exact same wardrobe. With the all the complaints about police racial profiling nowadays, this plot sadly feels all the more relevant.

** Season 3's "J.J.'s Fiancee" leaves the fate of, well, J.J.'s fianncee, Diana (who is revealed to be a heroin addict, unknown to J.J.), to the imagination of the viewer when she fails to answer his calling for her during the closing scene. [[note]](J.J. had given Diana Thelma's purse by mistake, and it (of course) did not contain the drugs or other things needed to get her quick high. She realizes the mistake and, coming down from her high, panics and becomes sick, going into the bathroom of their hotel. While he has James, Florida and Diana's parents on the phone, he calls for her, but she fails to answer; when he investigates, what he sees makes him literally look like he has seen a ghost ... did she climb out the bathroom window so she could find a quick high, or did she die in any number of possible ways (pass out from the drugs, committed suicide)?[[/note]]

* ValuesResonance: One episode has J.J. being accused of a crime, only for the police to admit that the actual crook is a short white man who looks nothing like him apart from the exact same wardrobe. With the all the complaints about police racial profiling nowadays, this plot sadly feels all the more relevant.

* TearJerker: James' death in the Season 4 premiere is probably one of the more jarring ones for a 70s sitcom.

* {{Anvilicious}}: S.O.P. for Lear {{Sit Com}}s, pre-''ThreesCompany''.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Poverty, wellness, and mental health were the biggest issues addressed. The episode wherein James is diagnosed with hypertension was especially important, as mental health problems were almost never spoken of in black communities at the time.
** Hypertension is high blood pressure. It's not a ''mental'' health problem.

* UglyCute: J.J.'s appearance. The opinion varies from episode to episode, while he's attractive enough (KavorkaMan) to pick up women, most characters, namely Michael, Thelma and even Florida comments otherwise, it's PlayedForLaughs when addressed and doesn't seem to bother him.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: When a friend of JJ's takes pills in a suicide attempt, JJ walks him around the living room, all the while talking to him in an effort to keep him awake until the ambulance arrives. JJ talks about random things, going from humor, to childhood memories, to plans for the future before finally screaming at him, "There's a whole world out there to live for, man, and ''nothing worth dying for! Robert, don't die, man! A lot of people care! *I* care!'' It's topped off by the guy thanking JJ as the medics take him away. It's a great moment for perpetual goofball JJ to show some genuine depth and emotion and considering that at one point he mentions how much he misses his father, it's almost a {{Tearjerker}} as well.

* UglyCute: J.J.'s appearance. The opinion varies from episode to episode, while he's attractive enough to pick up women, most characters, namely Michael, Thelma and even Florida comments otherwise, it's PlayedForLaughs when addressed and doesn't seem to bother him.

* EarWorm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFKHg5CP7pk The theme song]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo6caNX1e84 I ''defy'' you to deny it]].

* EarWorm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFKHg5CP7pk The theme song]]. I ''defy'' you to deny it.

* EarWorm: The theme song. I ''defy'' you to deny it.

* TearJerker: James' death in the first episode of season 3 is probably one of the more jarring ones for a 70s sitcom.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: When a friend of JJ's takes pills in a suicide attempt, JJ walks him around the living room, all the while talking to him in an effort to keep him awake until the ambulance arrives. JJ talks about random things, going from humor, to childhood memories, to plans for the future before finally screaming at him, "There's a whole world out there to live for, man, and ''nothing worth dying for! Robert, don't die, man! A lot of people care! *I* care!'' It's topped off by the guy thanking JJ as the medics take him away.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped

** JJ also disliked Alderman Davis after James' death. In a memorable episode, J.J. completely destroyed Davis in front of a podium of political peers. It backfired though, because this made, more people voted for him.