Good Times (TV Series) J.J.'s Fiancée: Part 2 (1976) User Reviews

Wish it had a better ending-SPOILER ALERT!

[darleneharvie · 9/10 · 14 May 2022]

I know this is over 40 years old, but I just saw Part 1 & Part 2, and was hoping that Diana could have gotten a better ending. I don't remember seeing this episode when it was new in 1976. I think it's sad that we are left to assume that Diana ran off somewhere to get a drug fix, or maybe worse. It would have been nice to see J. J. find her in the bathroom, drive her back to Chicago, and with the support of her parents, maybe she could have received help in a drug rehab place. I didn't realize it was Debbie Allen of "Fame" and "A Different World". Good acting from everyone! James being so upset, stating that if we can put a man on the moon, why can't we tackle the drug problems? I wish the writers would have shown Diana, maybe 6 months later, and she went to rehab. A really good episode, which deserved a better ending, in my opinion.

What did you expect, The French Connection?

[kevinolzak · 10/10 · 11 January 2017]

"JJ's Fiancée" concludes with JJ and fiancée Diana Buchanan (Debbie Allen, making her television debut) impulsively running off to Indiana to get married, the helpful motel clerk (Philip Baker Hall) used to having teenagers cross the border for quickie weddings. Meanwhile, Edgar (Sonny Jim Gaines) and Lucille (Marie Moore), Diana's parents, discover that they have more to worry about than just a disobedient daughter, because a mix up results in her having Thelma's purse, leaving hers behind, containing evidence of Diana's dangerous heroin addiction. A phone number is summarily dialed, with the dealer arriving in the familiar person of a pint sized kid (Edward Crawford, previously seen in "Cousin Cleatus"), who quickly exasperates Edgar with a devastating putdown: "what did you expect Popeye, the French Connection?" It gets worse for Diana, who soon discovers JJ's mistake and has to decide what's more important, her fiancée or the dreaded needle. It would be difficult to imagine a better balance between comedy and tragedy, another sign of the show's continued staying power.