Before I begin this review, I must admit, I've never seen an episode of the original Good Times show. Having said that, if the original one was anything like this version it would've been canceled after one episode and wouldn't be remembered fondly at all. Even though I haven't seen an episode, I know this revival has nothing to do with the original at all. It was greatly remembered for being the first sitcom to have a black family about the struggles of life while living in the projects. While the premise may seem similar in this reboot, it completely misses the point.
The best way I can describe this show would be like The PJ's show from the 90s without any of the wit, charm, or the appeal of what made it good. While some people complained about the stereotypes in that show, the Good Times reboot goes overboard on every stereotype of the black community from the ghetto to drug dealing and so on.
This all applies to every character. Not one of them is good and they're all just stereotyped to the max. I hate everyone in this show and you will too once you see how terrible they are from the drug dealing baby to the dad just standing naked in front of his daughter and not caring about it.
Seth MacFarline was part of the revival and his involvement is clear in this show. It's like he was trying to do another version of The Cleveland Show, a show that was really bad and had stereotypes too. In fact, the baby and Ralo are almost similar in a way. Even the daughters feel similar from each show.
The "jokes", and I call them jokes very loosely, pretty much are on brand for his style of humor. Many of them either drag out or just flat out confusing and have no point or delivery.
The writing is just as bad. The show wants to try and aim for some satire, but it misses the mark with all the stereotypes. When you look at something like The Boondocks, you can tell what the writers wanted to aim for with the characters and mix a different look from an event while it can also make you laugh. Here, there's none of that. Even in moments where the show should take a moment and try to have some good meaning behind it they quickly toss it out for more stereotypes. Why?
The animation in general is cheap looking. Mouth movements look weird, characters moving look stilted, and it feels so stiff. The backgrounds and character designs feel uninspired and lack anything that's interesting.
The voice work is alright I guess, but I generally have to wonder how desperate these people were to sign for this. Did they need the paycheck that badly? Were they being blackmailed into this? I can't imagine any of them signing for this with a straight face and not having a gun pointed at them to sign a contract to this.
There's no reason for you to watch this. There are plenty of shows out there like The Jeffersons, All in the Family, and the original Good Times that do a far better job than this show. The PJs and Boondocks do a better satire than this show. It takes every stereotype of black people, cranks it up to 11, and parades it around like we're supposed to be entertained. Instead, it's dated, tiresome, annoying, and downright insulting towards a classic show that, while I never saw, made a major impact on TV. Honestly, with all the problems this show has, a question needs to be asked to the creators.
Did any of them bother to do even the slightest research on what made the original Good Times so beloved?
The best way I can describe this show would be like The PJ's show from the 90s without any of the wit, charm, or the appeal of what made it good. While some people complained about the stereotypes in that show, the Good Times reboot goes overboard on every stereotype of the black community from the ghetto to drug dealing and so on.
This all applies to every character. Not one of them is good and they're all just stereotyped to the max. I hate everyone in this show and you will too once you see how terrible they are from the drug dealing baby to the dad just standing naked in front of his daughter and not caring about it.
Seth MacFarline was part of the revival and his involvement is clear in this show. It's like he was trying to do another version of The Cleveland Show, a show that was really bad and had stereotypes too. In fact, the baby and Ralo are almost similar in a way. Even the daughters feel similar from each show.
The "jokes", and I call them jokes very loosely, pretty much are on brand for his style of humor. Many of them either drag out or just flat out confusing and have no point or delivery.
The writing is just as bad. The show wants to try and aim for some satire, but it misses the mark with all the stereotypes. When you look at something like The Boondocks, you can tell what the writers wanted to aim for with the characters and mix a different look from an event while it can also make you laugh. Here, there's none of that. Even in moments where the show should take a moment and try to have some good meaning behind it they quickly toss it out for more stereotypes. Why?
The animation in general is cheap looking. Mouth movements look weird, characters moving look stilted, and it feels so stiff. The backgrounds and character designs feel uninspired and lack anything that's interesting.
The voice work is alright I guess, but I generally have to wonder how desperate these people were to sign for this. Did they need the paycheck that badly? Were they being blackmailed into this? I can't imagine any of them signing for this with a straight face and not having a gun pointed at them to sign a contract to this.
There's no reason for you to watch this. There are plenty of shows out there like The Jeffersons, All in the Family, and the original Good Times that do a far better job than this show. The PJs and Boondocks do a better satire than this show. It takes every stereotype of black people, cranks it up to 11, and parades it around like we're supposed to be entertained. Instead, it's dated, tiresome, annoying, and downright insulting towards a classic show that, while I never saw, made a major impact on TV. Honestly, with all the problems this show has, a question needs to be asked to the creators.
Did any of them bother to do even the slightest research on what made the original Good Times so beloved?