AtheisTV

I've got my TiVo set to record anything with "atheis*" in the title or description. As a result, it's recorded some interesting stuff.

This weekend it picked up an old episode of Good Times where Michael (played by Ralph Carter) loses a position on a school council because he has professed to being an atheist. Florida is appalled that her son could be an atheist but he refuses to back down from his stance. She then finds out that he has decided that he's an atheist because the man he works for, Carl Dixon (played by Moses Gunn), is an outspoken atheist. So Florida goes to the shop to tell Mr. Dixon that Michael will no longer be working for him because he has influenced he son in such a way. I really expected the atheist to get a good trouncing and perhaps even "see the error of his ways" by the end of the episode. However, I was pleasantly surprised. They portrayed him as a very thoughtful and considerate (if cynical) man. In the end, he and Florida and the rest of the family are on friendly terms and Michael is allowed to keep working for him. It also seems that Carl became a recurring character for the rest of the season, dating and even proposing to Florida.