Good Times (TV Series) The Gang: Part 1 (1974) User Reviews

Oscar De Gruy and Douglas Grant

[kevinolzak · 10/10 · 2 January 2017]

"JJ and the Gang" finds JJ an unwitting member of the Satan Knights in their ongoing street war against the Warlords. Gang members Sweet Pea (Douglas Grant, later seen in "The Lunch Money Rip-Off") and Neck Bone (Michael Roberts) personally invite the new recruit to tonight's 'dance.' As there are only 100 Knights to 500 Warlords it's a sure bet that someone's bound to get hurt and JJ appreciates the fact that his body hasn't got any holes in it! Successfully getting their parents out of the house for an evening at the movies, Thelma and Michael meet the fearsome Satan Knights leader Mad Dog (Oscar De Gruy), who fails to impress JJ's sister: "JJ, somethin' is here to see you!" An exchange over names offers one of Thelma's finest moments in the entire series: "when I was born my mama took one look at me and called me Thelma, just like your mama took one look at you and called you Mad Dog!" The sickly act doesn't convince the juvenile delinquents, accompanying JJ through the street to encounter James and Florida, who are stunned to learn that their eldest son is a gang member. Mad Dog allows his gun to speak its peace, and JJ makes a pronouncement: "somebody's been shot!"

Thelma gives her best line

[gregorycanfield · 10/10 · 11 August 2021]

As the episode opens, we discover that JJ has become part of a street gang. Two punks are trying to convince JJ to join them in their battle with a rival gang. Curiously, Florida walks in on the discussion, and she has the impression that these two punks are "friends" of JJ's. As the story goes on, JJ seeks help from Thelma and Michael. He explains how he had been running "from" instead of "with" the gang. When Thelma meets Mad Dog, this idiot questions how she got a name like "Thelma." She tells him that her mother took one look at her and called her Thelma. She also suggests that his mother took one look at him and called him Mad Dog. Per my heading, Thelma's best line, and she looked particularly cute when she said it. JJ foolishly agrees to run with the gang. All doesn't end well, leading us to Part 2.