When James Died On "Good Times"
“Good Times” is remembered as a dumb sitcom with a dumb proto-Urkel breakout character with a popular catch phrase. But it started as a Norman Lear-developed “Maude” spinoff that was meant to be thoughtful and message driven before Jimmy Walker dominated it. In fact, that’s why the great John Amos wanted off the show, which led to the writers killing off his character, the patriarch of the Evans family. The send-off ended with a now iconic scene in which Florida Evans, after an episode’s worth of denial about her husband’s death, finally breaks down screaming “Damn, damn, damn!” The scene has been often parodied over the years, but in its own context, it still packs an emotional punch.