James is all excited because he's sure he's going to get a high paying job. However, at the interview, he learns that he's too old to join the company's union. Meanwhile, Florida and the kids get ahead of themselves and throw a celebration party for James unaware that he was rejected.

J.J.'s painting of a Black Jesus, becomes the family's good luck charm after a string of success hits each family member. However, Florida refuses to entertain the notion that the painting had anything to do with the recent string of ""good times"".

With an eviction notice over their heads, the Evans family scrambles to come up with $74 dollars needed for their rent. Despite Florida's opinion, James goes down to the pool hall to try to hustle some money, J.J. comes up with a scheme of his own and Florida and Willona go down to the welfare office.

An old friend of James, who is now a shady televangilist, stops by the Evans apartment and offers James a job that would pay $100 a day. James is set to take it, however, Florida is dead set against James accepting the job, believeing the job goes against his morals and values.

Michael comes home from school early one day with the announcement that he has been suspended. This, after telling his teacher that George Washington was a racist. James and Florida become determined to prove to Michael that he's wrong.

Florida finds what she believes to be a dirty story called, ""Sexual Behavior in the Ghetto"". Assuming it to be J.J.'s, Florida confronts him, but she's in for a surprise when Thelma claims it and has an even bigger surprise when she learns it belongs to Thelma's latest boyfriend.

J.J. is sure he's bound to make it big when he gets a patron in Leroy Jackson, who begins providing him with all the supplies he needs. However, when James discovers who the patron is, he forbids J.J. to be associated with him and J.J. responds by moving out. This leads to a confrontation at J.J.'s new apartment between James and Leroy.

Florida and James are worried that J.J. won't pass into the 12th grade but when he gets his report card he did indeed pass but the grades seem to be a far cry from what they should be. This leads James and Florida to do a little investigating on their part.

Michael submits a angry letter about the conditions in the Evans' apartment to a newspaper and gets an immediate response from a housing commission official who quickly finds himself stranded in the ghetto and experiences the conditions first hand.

Florida is running in a cleanest apartment competition and is sure she will win. However, her chances are dashed when Michael tries to help someone in need and brings home Ned the Wino.

Florida comes home from the supermarket with great news, she's been offered a role in a TV commercial. What's even better is the pay she will get, $5,000. However, once she reads the script and tests the product, Florida has second thoughts.

Florida and the kids become concerned about James's health after reading an article in a magazine about hypertension. When he learns about their concerns, he goes through the roof and refuses to go in for a check up.

A popular girl wants J.J. to paint her portrait and J.J. mistakenly assumes that they will become more serious when he makes plans to ask her to go steady. However, Florida and Thelma smell a rat.

Florida's strange behavior has the family and Willona wondering what's wrong with her. Michael thinks she's beginning menopause while Willona believes she's fed up with the boredom that comes with being a housewife.

J.J.'s 18th birthday has James and Florida in a fit when they find out they won't be able to give J.J. the art supplies he wanted because James' credit has been reduced to 0. After the birthday party, news hits the Evans family that J.J. has been arrested for robbing a liquor store.

J.J. is taken down to the police station for questioning in the liquor store robbery. The family gathers there and tries to think up ways to raise enough money for J.J.'s bail and ultimately consider taking money from a loan shark.

Michael has the chance to be bused to a better school in a white neighborhood but he is determined to get out of it. Florida and James first hear about the opportunity when his principal arrives to question them about their responses on a busing questionnaire that Michael responded to and forged his parents names.

Michael must write an essay on the person whom he most admires. He first picks Florida for her strength and effort in keeping the family together. However, Florida points out that James may be the best person. However, James' recent actions in applying for a new job leave little to be admired.

Thelma's been seeing the same man for two months and hasn't introduced him to the family yet. However, when she comes home with an engagement ring, Florida and James demand that they meet him and they are in for a surprise when they finally do.

Michael, one of the brightest boys in his class, comes home with the news that he scored the lowest out of his whole class on an I.Q. test.

An encyclopedia salesman is the last person James wants to see when he comes home from work. However, he softens when he learns the man is blind. This leads James to sign a contract and reads the fine print only after the man leaves.

J.J. secretly has become a member of the Satan's Knights, a gang who are in the midst of a gang war with the Warlords. Two members and the leader of the Satan's Knights arrive at the Evan's home to escort a scared J.J. to a meeting place where the two gangs are to tangle. However, on the way there they run into James and Florida and a scuffle ensues leaving J.J. shot.

J.J. is recovering after being shot by Mad Dog, which only turned out to be a flesh wound. Meanwhile, a vengeful James presses charges against Mad Dog but a worried Florida is afraid James's anger will take over before the law does.

A wedding has Florida realizing that Willona is the only friend of hers left that isn't married. So this leads Florida to try her hand at matchmaking, and matches her with a friend of James'.

James finds a bag of robbery loot adding up to $27,000. After some coaxing from Florida, James decides to turn it in. However, what Florida doesn't know is that there was $29,000 in the bag and James kept the other $2000.

Cousin Naomi is visiting the Evans' for the Christmas season. However, her visit is not a happy one for Thelma, who discovers that Naomi is hiding a serious drinking problem.

James is sure he's going to get a sales position at a department store but when he brings Florida along on the interview he is in for a big surprise, the supervisor would rather hire Florida rather then him.

Florida is going to night school hoping to achieve a High School Equivalency diploma, but her working in the daytime and going to school at night puts a strain on her relationship with James.

A woman aks J.J. to paint a nude portrait of her as a birthday gift for her husband. However, Florida has a hard time understanding why a woman would pose in the nude and why she has to pose in the Evans' apartment.

Realizing his mechanical skills, Florida suggests that James open a fix-it shop but when they go to the bank, they're turned down for a loan. This leads James to set up shop right in the apartment, despite a clause in the lease.

J.J. is enchanted with his new girlfriend, Clarissa, and is all set to take her to a ritzy debutante ball. However, Clarissa has come to the Evans' apartment with some bad news, her parents won't let her go with J.J., citing that they think she's too good for him.

An elderly resident of the projects appears to be living on pet food after Michael takes out her garbage. The Evans family's attempt to do something for her is complicated when she brings a meat loaf to dinner and the kids suspect it is made from dog food.

A childhood friend of James' arrives for a visit and quickly his gambling problem becomes an Evans family problem when two hoods show up looking for him to pay off a $5000 debt.

The Evans family's joy at finally getting to meet J.J.'s girl Henrietta is shrouded by J.J.'s declaration that his immediate future could include Henrietta and matrimony.

The Evans' family is hit with a double dose of unemployment blues after both James and J.J. lose their jobs. Wanting to support his family, J.J. decides to join the U.S. army.

Thelma has a chance at winning a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school in Michigan. However, even before she knows she won, a snobby girl from a fraternity comes around wanting Thelma to join and quickly discovers they just want her because she's black.

A bully has been stealing Michael's lunches which prompts James to give him some tips on how to handle the situation. However, Michael surprises everyone with his own tactic, he invites the bully home for the weekend.

After taking some courses at a trade school, James has a chance of getting a good paying job. However, when he is finally offered one, there is one catch, it's in Alaska.

James brings a gun home to protect his family.

Florida has had a pain in her side for the last two weeks but doesn't want to see a doctor out of fear of the cost. However, when James learns of her dilemma he decides to pay any cost for Florida's treatment, even after he learns she has to have a gallbladder operation.

Thelma has great news, she's engaged. However, her opinion of great news differs greatly with her parents who hit the roof after learning this.

Florida plans on borrowing money from her cousin to help pay some unexpected bills. James's pride stands in the way causing him to storm out to a bar, leaving Florida to learn about the shocking news about her seemingly wealthy cousin by herself.

A friend of James' gives him permission to use his cabin to celebrate his and Florida's 20th wedding anniversary. However, the trick is trying to get Florida to stop worrying about the kids.

Florida and the kids throw a baby shower for a friend, Loretta. However, the joyous occasion is dampened when Loretta announces her plans of giving the baby up for adoption.

When James is out of town, Florida and her brother Wilbert are left to deal with a troubled Michael. His cutting classes, getting into fights at school and low grades are all warning signs that lead Florida to make an appointment to see Michael's teacher.

A feud erupts in the Evans' household when James and J.J. take the side of Alderman Fred Davis during his attempt at a re-election while Florida, Thelma and Willona take the side of his young opponent.

When J.J. brings home Walter, a man from his art class, he hits it off with Willona. Despite the fact that he's deaf, him and Willona begin a relationship one that Willona thinks is headed for the alter.

Florida and James become outraged when the kids get a touch of food poisoning after eating meat from the local supermarket. She organizes a group of concerned citizens and they boycott the market. The protest gets effective results, but not before Florida experiences her first trip to jail.

J.J. is commissioned by a bank to paint a mural and in return will receive $250 needed for Thelma's college education whom recently won a scholarship and found herself $200 short. However, the bank is reluctant to pay after seeing the finished product.

Thelma brings home a friend of hers and instantly J.J. is smitten. However, when she rejects him he quickly loses all of his confidence and slips into a depression.

A bank robbery in Atlanta has the FBI showing up at the Evans' apartment to question Florida since her nephew, Cleatus is the prime suspect. Things get tense, when Cleatus arrives at the apartment with a briefcase full of money and wanting a place to stay.

Thelma researches her family tree for a school project and discovers James's father is very much alive and living in the Chicago area. However, when James learns that Thelma has invited him as a surprise for his birthday, he refuses to see him.

An elderly man that Michael befriended stops by the Evans' apartment just prior to the New Years celebration and knowing that he only has a little time left, decides that this would be the best place to pass on, surrounded by a loving family and friends.

J.J. and his girlfriend, Diana, are getting serious and the topic of marriage comes up, something which both J.J. and Diana both want. However, both of their parents are totally against the notion. Meanwhile, Diana is secretly hiding a drug problem.

On the night of her senior prom, Diana decides to run off to Indiana and elope with J.J. Meanwhile, back in Chicago, switched purses leads the Evans family to discover Diana's drug problem and her supplier.

J.J. has been commissioned by a number's runner, Sweet Daddy Williams, to paint the portrait of his girlfriend, Savannah. In return, J.J. will get his own art display.

The family is being investigated by the FBI because they are suspected to be security risks due to Michael doing research about and communicating with a Communist country for a term paper.

When the children are left at home for the weekend, J.J. receives bad news that he has given VD to an ex-girlfriend. This leads an embarrassed J.J. to debate on whether or not to visit a free clinic for treatment.

After a morning of being take granted for by her children and her husband, Florida decides to take her boss up on a lunch invitation. This eventually leads to a confrontation with a jealous James.

Thelma's fiancee's idea of romance is taking her to a basketball game but that is the least of her worries after he gets a big break in California leaving her with two options, stay with her family in Chicago or move to California with her fiancee.

The Evans family decides to hold a rent party to help out a neighbor in the building whose electricity has just been turned off. However, the party may come to a quick halt when the heartless building superintendent catches wind of it.