Good Times VS. Child Abuse with Janet Jackson as Penny [HearnDiaries]

[Tell me how this episode of Good Times affected you!]

Janet Jackson won raves for her rendition of a young Mae West. She brought that performance with her to Good Times, when she was cast as abused child Penny in 1977.

Good Times is based on Eric Monte's childhood although one of the main characters' name is "Michael Evans", which was the real name of co-creator Mike Evans, who portrayed Lionel Jefferson on the Norman Lear-produced series All in the Family and The Jefferson's

The series stars Esther Rolle as Florida Evans and John Amos as her husband, James Evans, Sr. The characters originated on the sitcom Maude as Florida and Henry Evans, with Florida employed as Maude Findlay's housekeeper in Tuckahoe, New York and Henry employed as a firefighter. When producers decided to feature the Florida character in her own show, they applied retroactive changes to the characters' history. Henry's name became James, there was no mention of Maude, and the couple now lived in Chicago

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[aftershock71]

Isn't this Kim Fields (tooties) mom?

[HearnDiaries]

@aftershock71

yes Chip Fields is her mothers name

[theevilman1323]

i hate pennys momma

[keliata]

The writers/producers handled this episode and the issue of child abuse brilliantly, not to mention top notch acting by Janet Jackson

[cbaldwinjr]

Janet knows about abuse...Joe Jackson was her father.

[Odawg96]

THis episode STILL gets to me as match as it did when I was kid. They were WAY ahead of the curve on this one. And even though she doesn't get the credit for it, CHIP FIELDS played the HELL out of this role. For years, as I kid I only thought of her as "Penny's Mother." All these years later, this is STILL the first thing I think of when I hear her name.

[SkylarEntertainment]

I looked up this clip tonight after mentioning to a friend that oddly Janet Jackson was in my world long before Michael because I remember being really young and this abuse scene shocked and never left me. I have very few memories of life in early years so shocked that I was 6 at the time...that is how powerful Janet and this episode was.

[gwolb]

I watched this episode when I was 10 years old and it never left me. This show and Janet Jackson is the reason I became a social worker and child abuse investigator,

[TheHuneybunch]

you rotten lowsey kid 3:19 kmsl

[gigaguy101]

LOL

Did anyone else here the "NO YOU WON'T." @ 5:27?

I loved the audience interaction and excitement during old shows like these. :)

[TheBookWorm1718]

Does anybody else wonder what it would've been like if James had been alive in this episode? How HE would've handled Penny's mother?

[Dadsgirl240]

@SugaDimplez I'm sorry but once Penny left with her mother all JJ could do is make smart ass remarks.

[SugaDimplez]

@Dadsgirl240...I don't think this was meant to be humorous, although this IS a sitcom, this was in fact a learning episode. Give me a break!

[Dadsgirl240]

I find no humor in the jokes they've made about child abuse. This only disturbs me.