Good Times (TV Series) The Dinner Party (1975) User Reviews

Shouldn't happen to a dog

[kevinolzak · 8/10 · 5 January 2017]

"The Dinner Party" finds the Evans family getting ahead financially, the children's part time jobs leaving them an extra $35 at month's end. Florida decides that Thelma can take singing lessons with neighbor Gertie Vinson (Frances Foster), only for Gertie to announce her unexpected retirement. Willona delivers the news that Gertie has been forced to give up teaching to avoid cuts in her social security check. Michael learns something even worse while taking out her garbage, that Gertie has been reduced to eating cans of dog food. The family invites Gertie to dinner with them but she has other ideas, bringing her famous meat loaf with her. Assuming that it's made from dog food everyone scrupulously avoids the meat loaf, JJ saying the grace: "the Lord is my German shepherd!"

A Topic That Isn't Really Funny

[ecspringer-84759 · 10/10 · 5 July 2021]

In this episode, we meet a neighbor by the name of Gertie, but sadly, we never see this lady again. This episode deals with the Evans finding out that dear Gertie is having financial problems, and it's discovered when Michael learns that Gertie has been tossing empty dog food cans away, but it's Florida who breaks the news to Michael that Gertie doesn't have a dog, also, Willona knows about Gertie's situation, but doesn't reveal it to the Evans family, until after Florida mentions it. This episode is still very relevant today in 2021, because it's worse today than it was in the 70s. I personally feel this episode wasn't exactly funny, it's a very serious problem. In the scenes where we first meet Gertie, there are some great laughs with her, and as usual, the Evans and Wilona give us the usual laughs, but this topic turns very serious when Florida and the family decide to invite Gertie for dinner, but Gertie isn't aware that Florida made chicken for dinner, so like any guest, she brings a dish, which happens to be her "special meatloaf", but everyone, including Wilona swears it's dog food, and the scene gets outlandish with laughter, however, I personally feel the laughs were wrong. I realize these types of topics are dealt with in sitcoms with humor, but I think it should have been taken seriously without the laughter of the audience, but the reactions of each character was played out well, I just think this should have been taken a bit more dramatically. It's a great episode that should be shown, because at the end, Gertie reveals that she is doing all that she can to survive, and she also lets the Evans family in on something, that she may have to eat dog food, but she would never ask the Evans family to do so, and Gertie also realizes at the end that she can fix her situation.