04x18 - A Friend in Need

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Good Times". Aired: February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979.*
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A spin-off of Maude, which itself is a spin-off of All in the Family, making Good Times the first television spin-off from another spin-off; revolving around a poor family making the best of things in the Chicago housing projects.
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04x18 - A Friend in Need

Post by bunniefuu »

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Anytime You meet a payment ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Anytime You feel free ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Anytime you're
Out from under ♪

♪ Not getting hassled
Not getting hustled ♪

♪ Keeping your
head Above water ♪

♪ Making a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Easy credit Rip-offs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Scratching And surviving ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Hanging in A chow line ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em ♪

♪ Good Times ♪♪

Well, my room is
all straightened up,

and we're ready for the party.

Hey, you're supposed to
be cleaning up out here.

Cleaning up.

Michael, you call this clean?

Now, Ma's only
been gone one day,

and you turned a
17th-floor apartment

into a pig pen with a view.

Well, Thelma, to tell
you the truth, I like it.

It's got that lived-in look.

Look, if you don't
clean up this mess,

you're going to have
that stomped-on look.

Thelma, don't get overheated.

Your face'll melt.

Michael, look.

Now, we all agreed
to share the work

while Ma is out
on Jessie's, right?

Now, I did my part.

Oh, yeah? What have you done?

Who do you think cooked
dinner around here?

I don't know,

but I'm sure the
health department

would give plenty to know that.

Michael, don't
get smart with me.

Now, get up and clean
this place like you promised.

Hold on, I cleaned
this room up yesterday.

All right, well, look at it.

It needs cleaning today.

Spread the news.
There's a party tonight.

All the chicks can boogie
down with Kid Dy-no-mite.

Well, you better
put that stuff away,

because if Willona

finds out about the party,

we're not going to have one.

Yeah, you're right.

And I got a big surprise.

What one thing could guarantee

making this party a
huge and utter success?

You're not coming!

I will be there, but so
will Robert Simpson.

Hey, Superstar Simpson.

Out of sight, man.

He was my hero,

the best basketball player
our high school ever had.

All City, All State.

All the chicks that
he could handle.

You know, he took me out once.

Mm. Nobody's perfect.

Yeah, but then he got
a scholarship to college.

What's he doing back?

I don't know. You know
how these big superstars are.

You know, they come
in and out of town.

Anyway, I saw him in the street,

I asked him to come,
and he said he will.

I tell you, everybody will be
knocked out when they see him.

You know, J.J.,

you're taking this
thing really good.

You hated him in high school,

because he was
your main competition,

and he always won.

Yeah.

He got all the fine foxes,

and you got all the leftovers.

Hey, Michael.

Ain't nothing
wrong with leftovers

if you know how to reheat them.

How about the time

when you both ran for
senior prom chairman?

He won that one, too.

Yeah, but it was
a close election.

Real close. 120 to 1.

Hey, Thelma. That was my fault.

I forgot, when you
go to a ghetto school,

you got to win the black vote.

Okay, but if you two do
not clean up this place,

there's not going to be a party.

Remember, Ma put me
in charge around here.

Oh, no, she didn't.

Ma said, specifically,
before she left,

"J.J., you are in charge,
because you are the oldest,

the smartest,
and the prettiest."

Ma never said that.

How do you know?

Because she doesn't drink.

She must be doing
something weird.

She had you.

Oh!

That's right.

I'm the one in charge!

You ain't in charge!

Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Cool it.

As I was saying, Willona is
still the most beautiful woman

in the project.

Save it, J.J.

If I need any of that,
I'll buy a bag full of it

and spread it over
top of the lawn.

Now, listen,

your mother told me to keep
my eye on you this weekend.

You promised me
individually and collectively

there would be no arguing.

No fighting. Yeah.

We're sorry, Willona. All right.

Yeah, Willona, from now
on, we're going to be so good,

we going to look like the
Brady Bunch with tans.

Well, don't strain yourself.

I hope we get
through this weekend

without having to call
the SWAT team out here.

I was going to go to
the Blue Frog tonight,

but I better stay and
keep my eye on you three.

Oh, no, Willona,
you can't do that.

Why not?

Well, because, um, well, um...

Thelma's going to
tell you why. Tell her.

Oh, oh, yeah, yeah.

Well, you know, we
won't to be here, Willona.

We're going to the movies.

Oh, good. That'll
keep you out of trouble.

What are you going to go see?

We're going to see the
gay version of King Kong,

called Queen Kong.

He's just jiving, Willona.

You know, we're going to see

that double feature
at the Colony.

Oh. Yeah, you know, Willona,

deep down in your heart
that you can trust us.

Have a nice time at the
movie. I'll see you all later.

Okay. All right, Willona. Bye.

Well, we pulled that one off.

The party is on.

Yeah, all right!
Let's boogie down.

[STEVIE WONDER'S
"SIR DUKE" PLAYING]

All right.

That Stevie's too bad, ain't he?

He's just too bad.

Hey, great party, huh, J.J.?

Yeah, Thelma,
this is out of sight.

It's even going to get better

when Robert "Superstar"
Simpson gets here.

Hey, yeah. You know,
this is the first time

the three of us gave
a party together.

Hey, Thelma, you
know, that's great.

I don't mind partying
with your friends,

but when Michael's
friends come in here,

the party turns from Soul
Train to Sesame Street.

Oh, yeah?

Well, I'm going to have to start

checking out Sesame
Street some more.

Here I am, J.J.,

ready to spend the
whole evening together.

Well, well, well.

And so we will.

And so we will, my
little African Violet.

First I want you
to meet my sister.

Thelma, this is Marcia.

Marcia, this is Thelma.

How you doing? Hi,
Thelma. How you doing?

Hang on to this, gal.

I want you to meet my
brother over here, Michael.

As you can tell,
we are brothers.

Same lip technique.

Uh, Michael, there
ain't nobody here

from the Guinness
Book of Records.

Y'all can break this up.

Hey, J.J., man, don't be
stepping in on my action.

I can't help it if you
ain't getting any.

Come on.

I have created a monster.

[KNOCKING AT DOOR]

Well, look here,
my little buttercup.

I will talk to you later
on in the evening.

I'm just going to
pick up the door.

Me and you going to be
totally... Aha-ha! Superstar!

Hey, J.J. How you doing?

All right, man. Oh, wow, man.

I didn't know that many
people was going to be here.

Look, I wanted to talk to you.

Come on in, man.

Hey, everybody. Look who's here.

You don't have to do all that.

Robert "Superstar" Simpson.

[GUESTS MURMUR GREETINGS]

So glad you could make it.

How you doing?

All right. Let's boogie down.

Hit me with that music.

[FUNKY MUSIC PLAYING]

There goes the
feet, out of control.

J.J.: There goes the hands.

Nothing can stop me now.

Get in here. Get in here.

Get in here. Willona.

Short movie, huh?

Oh, what, all this? There's a
good explanation for all this.

I want to hear it.

Well, see, what
happened, Willona,

is that these 15
people bust in here,

and forced us to
party with them.

The truth, J.J.

All right, Willona, the truth.

All these people
are Thelma's friends

and they held me here hostage.

The truth?

The truth is, well, Willona,
we were afraid to tell you,

because we thought you'd say no.

Oh, honey, I don't
care if you have a party,

but if you do, you got
to have a chaperone.

Willona, we don't hardly
need no chaperone.

Oh, no?

Michael don't need a chaperone.

He needs a score card.

Oh... Excuse me. Excuse me.

Excuse me, isn't it time to
come up for some fresh air?

Willona. What are
you doing here?

Never mind what I'm doing here.

You stop doing
what you doing here.

Hey.

What's going on over here, man?

Robert, what's happening?

I mean a superstar's
supposed to be mingling.

J.J., knock off the
superstar jive, okay?

Hey, what's wrong, man?

I mean, doggone
it, I know you, man.

It ain't that same old...

[IMITATES ENGINE REVVING]

Is there something wrong?

Yeah, man. Everything is wrong.

Hey, what could be wrong

for the old basketball hero?

J.J.

I am not a basketball
hero anymore.

Last week, man, I...

I got cut from the
team, all right?

Cut from the team?

You?

But you the greatest, man.

Yeah, in high school,

and so was everyone
else who plays college ball,

but someone's
gotta wash out, right?

And I was spending so much time

trying to stay on the team

until I was flunking
out anyway, so...

Hey, man,

I'm sorry to hear
that. That's awful.

But look here, man,
basketball ain't everything.

Hey, man, for me it is.

"Superstar," remember?

J.J., that's all I've
ever dreamed of being.

I mean, haven't you ever
wanted anything that bad?

Yeah, but she
moved to Cleveland.

Basketball is my
whole life, man.

Without it, I am nothing.

Yeah, Yvonne, this is him.

"Superstar" Simpson.

Hi, I'm Michael, J.J.'s brother.

Man, I'm your number one fan.

I've seen every game you played.

I even kept a scrapbook on you.

Michael, not now.
I'm not finished, J.J.

Remember that game you
played against Hyde Park,

and you scored 42 points?

Man, you are too hot.

Michael, why don't
you and Yvonne

go over here and wait
for Ma to come home?

But she won't be home
for another two days.

I know that. Go ahead.

I'm sorry about that, Robert.

It's all right.

Want me to buy you
a cup of Kool-Aid?

Look, J.J.,

I don't want to put a
damper on the party,

so let's keep this
between us, okay?

Solid, brother.

Hey, Robert, have a good game.

We're all rooting for you.

Yeah.

Time for a little air.

Oh, my dear.

Hey, oh. I'm sorry, ma'am.

That's all right, honey.

You better be careful.

A person your age

could get hurt on
the dance floor.

A person my age?

Turn that music up, honey.

[CHEERING]

You got to be careful, honey.

A person your age

could get hurt on
the dance floor.

Have you told Ellen yet?

No.

Have you told your folks?

I can't.

My father's a grade
school coach, you know,

and he always wanted
me to be a big star.

Hey, Ellen, Levi.

How you all doing?

What's happening?

I'm glad you could come.

Ellen, what are you
doing here with Levi?

Robert's here.

I've been going
with Levi for a month.

No, no. Robert is here now.

Well, look,

he was going to have
to find out sometime,

so I guess it's just going
to have to be tonight.

Look, Robert.

There's Ellen over there.

Now, I know you said
you couldn't face her,

but now's as good a time as any

to tell her you got cut
from the team. Head over.

I'm sure she'll understand, man,

and you'll feel a
whole lot better.

Yeah, maybe you're right.

Go ahead. I know I am.

Ellen, baby. How are you?

Hey, look, I got to talk to you.

Hi, Robert.

Listen, you remember
Levi Walker, don't you?

Oh.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, how you doing?

Hey, Robert, I'm sorry.

Robert.

Hey, Robert. How you doing?

Having good fun?

Oh, no. You're not
getting away this time, J.J.

You just love
squeezing these bones,

don't you, Mama?

Who wouldn't?

I mean, it's like dancing
with a double order of ribs.

Glad you came.

Whoo-wee.

Hey, Thelma, I forgot something.

Your chapeau.

Yeah, thanks, Rhonda.

Good night, cool dude.

Yourself.

Ooh, girl, am I tired.

What's going on in this closet?

Uh, nothing, Willona.

See for yourself.

Willona, they can't
be getting too romantic

both smelling like moth balls.

Well, isn't it time
for the little moth

to fly away from the flame?

Well, I guess it is time
for me to be leaving.

Good night, Yvonne.
Good night, Michael.

Your coat.

Willona, I just want
to kiss her good night.

What do you think you was doing
for the past three hours, honey?

Practicing.

Well, the practice is over.

Good night, darling.

Good night.

Night. Good night.

Whoo, child.

Wasn't that a great
party, Michael?

Yes. Oh, yeah, it was great.

I got enough strength to go to
the Blue Frog and have my own...

[STOMPS FEET] Partini.

Hey, Willona, if you're lucky,

you can chaperone
our next party.

Call me.

If I'm crazy, I'll do it.

And look, clean this
house up... Later.

MICHAEL: All right, Willona.

She's right.

Just look at this place. Oh.

Mm. Yeah, Thelma, you
got a lot of work ahead of you.

Hey, J.J., man,
this door's locked.

I can't get it open.

What are you talking about?

You must be crazy.

Let me check
this thing out, here.

What's going on, here?

All right.

[GRUNTING]

Hey, man. This thing is stuck.

That's weird.

Yeah, must be locked.

Hey, is somebody in there?

MAN: Go away.

Come on, who is that?

MAN: Who cares?

I care. It's the only
bathroom we got.

Hey, Robert, is that you?

ROBERT: Yeah, it's me.

Oh, Robert. Come on, now.

What are you doing in there?

I'm waiting to die.

I just took a whole
bottle of pills.

Robert.

Waiting to die.

Now, the only kind of pills

we have in there are Vitamin C.

The worst thing that can happen

is that he comes out
looking like an orange.

Wait a minute, you all.

I think he may have
brought his own pills.

J.J., what are
you talking about?

Well, Robert was
really down tonight.

He just flunked out of school,

and got cut from
the basketball team.

Oh, no.

And on top of all that,
his girlfriend quit him.

He's trying to k*ll himself.

Ma!

No, Robert, now, look.

Don't do this.

There's a million
reasons to live.

Name one.

Lola Falana.

Go away.

Oh, no. What are
we going to do now?

I got an idea.

Well, I guess I'm
just going to have to

knock the door down.

And how are you
going to do that?

Brute strength, young lady.

Brute strength.

Robert, come on out, now.

Back off, young lady.

You never know which way

these splinters is going to fly.

Here we go.

[IMITATES A MARTIAL ARTIST]

Jeez.

I got this.

Hey, Robert.

If you come out, we could
talk about it, you know.

Robert.

Robert.

Oh, no. You think
he's still alive in there?

Hey, I got it.

Hey, get out of here.

MICHAEL: Robert, man.

J.J.: Come on, man.
What you doing?

J.J.: Hey.

Hey, man. You look okay to me.

Okay, now, we still got time.

Hold on, I'll get the
home medical advisor.

Why don't you
just leave me alone.

I wasn't hurting you.

Hey, well, we're not
going to sit around here

and let you hurt yourself.

Hey, it says here,

in case of an overdose of pills,

you have to try to make
the patient throw up.

How are we going to do that?

No problem.

Thelma, cook something.

J.J., you're wasting your time.

This man took a whole
bottle of sleeping pills.

All right, come on, Robert, man.

Now, lay down, brother.

Hey, wait, J.J. No, no, hold on.

It says here you got to keep
the patient awake at all times.

Ooh, get up, Robert.

And call the rescue ambulance

at the fire department.

Oh, yeah. Quick.

We should have done
that in the first place.

Well, Michael,

what do you think
of your big hero now?

Hey, Robert, man,
don't worry about it.

You're still number
one on my list.

Don't jive me, Michael.

I don't have it anymore, baby,

and nobody likes a loser.

Hey, Robert,
man, that's not true.

J.J. has millions of friends.

I'm just trying to cheer him up.

Okay, we'll be
there in a minute.

Okay, now, the rescue
squad's on the way.

They said to do the same
as the book, to keep him up.

Okay, I got to wait outside
so they won't miss the place.

All right, Michael,
you go with Thelma.

I'll keep him up.

Don't let him fall asleep, man.

I shouldn't have come here.

I should have just
driven off a bridge.

Don't say that, Robert.

Wouldn't have worked
anyway, though.

With my luck,

I'd have gotten mugged
on the way to the car.

For a guy that's dying,

you really got a
negative attitude.

J.J. I got to lay
down. I feel so groggy.

No, bro.

I think you better
keep on moving, here,

and we better go
for a little walk, man.

I mean, how could
anybody want to k*ll himself?

You know, when I
wake up in the morning,

I don't know whether it's going
to be a good day or a bad day

till I look in the mirror.

Then I know one thing for sure.

There is a god.

J.J., you don't know how
bad things can really get.

Hey, man, how
bad could things be?

So you're not a
basketball hero anymore.

You know, when I
was in high school,

I wanted to be a football star,

but the coach told me,

"Unless you're going
out for the goal post,

we don't need you."

Hey, man, get some of this
coffee down in you. Come on.

J.J, I got to sit
down. I'm tired.

Come on, man.

Don't... No, man. Get up, man.

Come on. Come on, man.

Just keep walking.

Where's that rescue
squad at, man?

Hey, Robert, you want to see

some of my latest
paintings, man?

Hey, come on, you can look

a little more enthused
than that, brother.

I know it ain't
Picasso, but look here.

Yeah.

This is three of my high
school English teachers.

I call it "Blood,
Sweat & Tears."

You know, I owe this
whole thing to Michael.

That's right, Michael, man.

When he was four years old,

it was him who gave me the
idea to move on to watercolors,

because he ate up
all my finger-paints.

Come on, man. Wake up, man.

Don't fall asleep, man.

Come on. We got
to keep moving, man.

Come on, now.

Let's go, here, man.

You know, Robert, when
you get right down to it,

painting is really
the only thing

that I can do well...

That you get paid for.

Hey, Robert, you
better sit down, brother.

You getting heavy here.

Hey, man.

Hey, come on there, Robert.

Wake up, man. Wake up.

Let's get it together.

Come on, now. Come on.

Hey, Robert. You know...

You know, when you
talk about painting, man...

Come on, Robert. Wake up, man.

When you talk about
painting, man, like,

that's really the only thing
that I can do well, man,

but if I don't make it
in the art world, man,

I am not going to give up, man.

I am not going to give up, man.

I'm going to keep on going

and I'm going to pick myself
up and just dust myself off

and try something else, man.

That's all it is.

J.J.

J.J., I'm scared.

Man. Hey, Robert,
don't talk, man.

Don't talk.

Just try to stay loose, man.
Let me do all the talking here.

Maybe you ought to give a sh*t
to go back to school again, man.

That's what you ought to do.

You know, a lot of people
flunk out of school, man.

If you can remember, I wasn't

the most brilliant student
in the world, myself, brother.

Matter of fact, one semester

my mother promised
to pay me five dollars

if I could raise my
grades up to an F.

Hey, come... Come on, Robert.

I used to get those weird
grades in school too, man.

Like, one semester, I
got two Ms and a K minus.

Try to explain that
to your folks, man.

Come on, now, Robert.

Man, let's get
it together, here.

You know how I
spent my senior year?

As a junior.

I guess I joke
around a lot, don't I?

Well, Robert, I had to,

because that made
me the class clown

instead of the class fool, man,

but now all that's changed, man.

Now I'm in art school, man,
getting straight As, man.

It's just finding your
niche in life, Robert.

That's all it is, man.

Just finding your
niche, brother.

No doubt about it.

You know what
you got to do, man.

You got to find
yourself a good woman.

That's it, Robert.

Got to find yourself
a good woman, man.

You know, Robert,
matter of fact,

a good woman,
that's what I need.

Robert, you know where we
can find a good woman, man?

Come on, Robert. Wake up, man.

I remember my first date, man.

Laura Lee Henderson.

You remember her,
don't you, brother?

She wasn't the brightest girl
in the world, man, but, man,

if she didn't have
a nose on her face,

she wouldn't have
nothing between her ears.

Come on, Robert, man.

That's funny, man.
Laugh it up, man.

That's your problem, man.

You don't laugh
anymore, brother.

You got to laugh, man, laugh.

Boogie, boogie, boogie, boo.

Come on, man.

Get it together.

Hey, man, why'd you take
those pills here anyway, man?

It's almost like you wanted
us to catch you, man.

Gee whiz.

Come on, Robert.

Don't die, man. Get on up here.

Wow. Now, where was I at?

Chicks.

Yeah. Where I'm always at.

You know, Robert, I can
remember my first date.

That's right, man.

My first date.

I feel like Edgar Bergen here.

I remember it, man.

I can remember my first date.

My first kiss.

My first hug, brother.

Matter of fact,

I can remember
the first time, well...

Well, let me put
it to you this way.

I can remember the
night the legend was born.

Robert.

Robert, man. I got to
admit something to you.

I lied, brother.

That's right. I lied, man.

Laura Lee Henderson...

Get up here, man.
Come on, brother.

Let's get up.

[GROANS]

Laura Lee Henderson
wasn't my first date, man.

She was the first
chick I asked to go out.

I asked her to go out.

She said no, man.

Five times.

Which goes to
prove to you, brother,

the best of us get
turned down, man.

The best of us.

That's right.

All it takes, man,
is a little confidence.

You know?

I learned that from
my father, man.

That's right.

My father.

You know, I really
miss him, man.

That's right, I do, man.

I really miss him.

Yeah. You know, you
can't talk to your father

about your problems now, man,

but I just wish, man,

that for five minutes I
could talk to my father.

Hey, Robert.

Come on, man. Wake up.

Look here, man.

There's a whole damn world
out there to live for, man,

and not a damn
thing to die for, man.

Robert, don't die, man.

A lot of people care, man.

I care. Come on, man.

He's in here.

Thank God.

He looks bad, all right.

Okay, I'll get his legs.

Hey, wait a minute!

Wait a minute!

Get him on the table.

Get him on the table.

These are the pills he took.

Thank you.

Hey, man, can you save him?

Yeah, we can get
these out of him easy,

but the rest is up to him.

Hey.

Hey, thanks, man.

All of you.

Hey, man, we'll be around.

RESCUE WORKER:
Okay, make sure...

Got the door?

All right.

Let's get him out. All right.

You're all right.

Hey, J.J.

Man, did you see that?

He smiled.

Yeah.

I taught him that.

♪ Mmm... ♪

♪ Just looking
Out of the window ♪

♪ Watching the asphalt grow ♪

♪ Thinking how It all
looks hand-me-down ♪

♪ Good Times ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Keeping your
head Above water ♪

♪ Making a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

♪ Easy credit rip-offs ♪

♪ Good Times ♪

ANNOUNCER: Good Times is
videotaped in front of a studio audience.

♪ Good Times ♪♪
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