Animation
Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you bring with you to survive?
Zoe’s never had to worry about something like that. The most she’s had to live through is a less-than-enjoyable, all-girls Catholic high school experience, being dumped on national television and ridiculed across social media platforms.
Now, 10 years later, she lives off the grid, out of her van, as a recluse and the thought of being stranded anywhere, totally alone, sounds more comforting than not. In fact, it’s the life she’s essentially chosen for herself.
But her isolated days come to an end when she sees geysers popping up all around her and receives a message on her phone telling her to seek higher ground.
In a panic, Zoe rushes to the highest point she can think of: her old high school. But when she runs into the building for shelter, she’s met by all of her former classmates–both friend and foe–who are celebrating their 10th-year reunion. And although she tries to warn them about what’s happening in the outside world, all they want to do is drink the night away. And they do.
Until they step outside and realize that the whole of the earth has been flooded.
Now, Zoe, and all these now-grown women who grew up either hating or loving one another, are forced to come to terms with the fact that the lives they knew have ended. The only thing they have left is one another. And the only way they will survive is by working through their harried high school pasts and redefine what friendship really means.
Amazon Prime Video’s Class of ‘07 is a strange joining of an apocalyptic flood and a high school reunion. And just like the show’s characters, it puts the viewers in hot water.
This TV-16 rated series really should be rated TV-MA. But we’ll come back to that. Let’s start with the plot.
As you know, most of the earth is flooded and a bunch of women now have to figure out how to survive. Think the Australian, female, adult version of Lord of the Flies.
Zoe is sort of the main character here, and she spends some of the series attempting to rekindle her relationship with her former best friend, Amelia. Amelia, who was supposed to be a brilliant high-achiever, is reeling from her life as a peanut farmer and struggling with depression from her difficult childhood. Then there’s Saskia, the former mean-girl-turned-philanthropist who turns to her former ways to lead these women, but she’s confronted and nearly crippled with the memories of abuse she suffered in high school from a predatory teacher.
Of course, a handful of other women bring both humor and life to this show, and each of them has their own issues they have to work through. Sometimes that includes their own personal past, but it always comes back to their high school experience.
For some, high school was a dream. For others, it was a nightmare. For most, it was both. And therein lies the complexity. See, for any girl who grew up going to high school, you’ll be able to recognize yourself in at least one of these characters. And you’ll certainly recognize all the drama, trauma and social dynamics that are a part of high school.
And while there is a surprising amount of relatability and heart here, there are also a lot of issues.
Since this is a survival tale, anarchy, rebellion, violence and mutiny are all present. There’s no on-screen sexual activity, but there is plenty of innuendo and even some scenes that could be triggering for anyone who has suffered abuse. And each of these women swear like they’re competing for the gold medal in profane speech.
You won’t find anything family friendly here, but you will find a comedic, dramatized series about a group of women attempting to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Zoe goes off the grid after being dumped on national television. But her reclusive lifestyle ends when the apocalypse begins and she’s forced to go to her old Catholic boarding school, at the top of a mountain, and stumbles upon her 10th-year high school reunion.
Zoe crudely accuses Amelia of having sex with a staff member when she was in high school. The women talk about a location at their school called “the fingering bench.”
Two women smoke cigarettes and marijuana. These same women offer Zoe an unidentified pill to get high, which Zoe gladly takes. Women drink and party all night while they listen to sexually explicit songs. A woman wears a cleavage-baring top.
A woman crosses herself at a Catholic high school. A woman named Teresa mourns as she tells her friend that her attempts at in vitro fertilization are failing.
God and Jesus’ names are misused once each. The f-word is heard over 20 times and the s-word is used more than 10 times. Other profanities include the c-word, “b–ch” and “a–.” Zoe is called a “whore” and speaks crudely about a man’s genitals.
A woman is crudely remembered as the high schooler who defecated on herself. A bird defecates in Zoe’s mouth and she’s ridiculed across social media platforms.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
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