AllMovie

In the concluding half of Good Times' fifth-season opener, the Evanses' ten-year-old house guest Penny Gordon (Janet Jackson) lies about her relationship with her abusive mother. Concerned about Penny's "accidental" broken arm, neighbor Willona (Ja'net DuBois) takes the girl to the doctor, who refuses to believe that the child has been abused. Things get worse when both Penny and her mom (Chip Hurd) disappear. Part one of "The Evans Get Involved" originally aired as a 60-minute "special" episode, which has since been re-edited into two separate half-hours for syndication purposes.