Customer Reviews

Sanford and Son - The First Season

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) and his son, Lamont (Demond Wilson) own and operate Sanford and Son Salvage, where they collect and resell second hand items, antiques and junk. Their hilarious adventures and business dealings set the stage for some classic television comedy.

Sanford and Son ran for five seasons on NBC, earning four Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe for Redd Foxx and the distinction of being the highest rated show on the network for four years.

Since much of the first season was based on previously written material, the series had yet to create many of the great supporting characters we all remember, like Aunt Esther, Grady, Bubba, and Rollo. However, in "The Copper Caper," we meet Officers Smitty and Swanny for the first time. Below is a brief summary of all of the episodes you will get in this set.

1. "Crossed Swords"- When Lamont buys a valuable porcelain statue for $15.00, he auctions it off to make enough money to start his own business.

2. "Happy Birthday, Pop"- Lamont tries to make Fred's sixty-fifth birthday special, but it's not going to be easy to please his dad.

3. "Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride"- It's Lamont's wedding day and he's left at the altar by his bride, who has cold feet. The family gets together back at the house for a "reception," where the main topic of conversation is who gets to keep the gifts.

4. "The Copper Caper"- Another one of Lamont's moneymaking schemes backfires when he and Fred are duped into buying stolen copper.

5. "A Matter of Life and Breath"- Lamont's plan to get Fred to give up smoking crumbles when he joins him for a free test at the Breath Mobile and receives alarming results.

6. "We Were Robbed"- Fred accidentally knocks over Lamont's cabinet of valuable collectibles, so he comes up with a story that he was assaulted and robbed.

7. "A Pad for Lamont"- After Fred scares off yet another one of his son's dates, Lamont decides it's time for a place of his own. Unfortunately, his new bachelor pad is seeing less action than the now available home of "Ready Freddy."

8. "The Great Sanford Siege"- For weeks, Fred has been putting bills he can't pay back into the mailbox. Now he and Lamont are trapped in their house with no heat, no gas, no electricity and an advancing gang of angry bill collectors.

9. "Coffins for Sale"- Lamont sees dollar signs in reselling coffins, but superstitious Fred wants nothing to do with it, sleeping outside until the caskets are sold.

10. "The Barracuda"- Fred decides after 20 years of being a widower, it's time to get remarried. The news doesn't make Lamont happy and he makes his feelings known to both Fred and Donna.

11. "TV or Not TV"- Melvin convinces Fred to ask his son for a color TV set, but there's no money left after Lamont buys a brand new convertible.

12. "The Suitcase Case"- A discarded briefcase containing $70,000 could be the answer to Fred and Lamont's dreams, but it turns into a nightmare when the crook who lost the money shows up to reclaim it.

13. "Return of the Barracuda"- The marriage of Fred and Donna is back on after they've reconciled, but Lamont has a plan to make sure they won't go through with it.

14. "The Piano Movers"- A rich socialite hires Lamont and Fred to remove his ex-wife's grand piano from his high-rise apartment.

Complete first season of the hilarious sitcom about a 65 year old junk dealer, Fred Sanford(Redd Foxx), and his son/partner, Lamont (Demond Wilson) is a classic. The same people (Norman Lear, Bud Yorkin, etc.) who dominated 1970s television comedy by bringing us All in the Family (1971), Maude (1972), Good Times (1974), and The Jeffersons (1975) also did Sanford and Son (1972). Sanford & Son does not play much on TV anymore, so if you havent had the pleasure of seeing it, but are a fan of any of the previously listed shows I highly recommend it. Redd Foxx was a comedic genius and this show features his best work. This DVD set will feature the first 14 episodes (Jan - April 1972), here are the titles:

01) Crossed Swords
02) Happy Birthday, Pop
03) Here comes the bride, there goes the bride
04) The copper caper
05) A matter of life and breath
06) We were robbed
07) A pad for Lamont
08) The great Sanford Siege
09) Coffins for sale
10) The Barracuda
11) TV or not TV
12) The suitcase case
13) The return of the Barracuda
14) The piano movers

Also recommended:
All in the Family: Complete first season 3 dvd set (13 episodes)
The Jeffersons: Complete first season 2 dvd set (13 episodes)

I purchased the Sanford and Son DVD series a few months ago and I am pleased with my purchase. I already had about 120 episodes recorded on cheap video tapes and the quality on these does not come close to the DVD's. This set is better than the one's that...advertises under their "TV Greats" section because you get the entire first season, episodes 1-14 on 2 DVD's...The..."TV Greats" version gives you 4 episodes for the same...price and those 4 episodes could be from any one of the 5 seasons. This is a must for every Sanford and Son fan however if you are a fan of Esther, Rollo, Grady, Bubba, or any of the other more famous supporting characters then don't buy this DVD. I would try to rent it first because those supporting characters don't appear in Sanford and Son until season 2 and later. These DVD's are from the first season when Fred was Fred and Lamont was trying to find his niche....Have you seen what the going price is for one season of "Friends" or "The Sopranos?"...I cannot wait until the 2nd season is released. Does anyone know when that will be?

This is a sitcom about a father & son who are as different as could be, & yet care deeply for each other. The most basic format & probably the best one is the interaction of the characters. Today style & scenery can overshadow the scripts & actors. Not so here, the raw angst & bond between father & son has often been overlooked in this underappreciated show. Junkyard owner the devious, lazy Fred Sanford{Redd Foxx}, & his overworked, verbally haranged{you big dummy}, son Lamont{Demond Wilson], had little peace or prosperity.

Both are tragic figures running in place trying to scrape out a living in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Three episodes stand out in my memory. "Here Comes The Bride, There Goes The bride," Lamont's fiancee leaves him at the alter & her family wants to take back their gifts. Fred & Lamont eventually leave on the honeymoon vacation together. In "A Pad For Lamont," Fred constantly interrupts Lamont's dates, he moves out to pursue the single life in privacy only to find out that the grass is no greener away from his father. The viewer feels Lamonts frustration leaping off the screen. In "The Barracuda," fred's proposal of marriage to the widow Donna harris prompts a ton of loud objections from bewildered Lamont. In the ensuing machinations hilarity rules, as Lamont got his way by ruining the upcoming nuptuals. After the season of fred's torments the viewer will surely be rooting for Lamont. This was not their funniest season, but a fine start nonetheless.

Sanford and son contains all 14 episodes on 2 dvds.Disc one contains crossed swords, happy birthday pop, here comes the bride
there goes the bride, the copper caper, a matter of life and breath, we were robbed and a pad for Lamont.Disc two contains
the great sanford seige, coffins for sale, the barracuda, tv or
not tv, the suitcase case, return of the barracuda, and the piano
movers.Once again just like with all in the family this looks
much better than I have seen it on tv and vhs.The sound is ok.
ON the theme song you have to cut it up if you want to here it
good but the volume goes up at the start of the show.Also these
are uncut with no commercials.I noticed that there was footage
in these episodes that had been cut out on tv.The packaging is much better for Sanford and son than for all in the family.
The packaging includes a slip case and the dvds are in a
foldable book similar to close encounters of the third kind.
The episode guide is in a seperate slit included in the book.
Some episodes were funnier than others my favorites are
A Matter of Life and Breath, We Were Robbed, The Great Sanford
Seige, Coffins For Sale, Tv or not Tv, and the Suitcase Case.All
of these are very funny.The only bad thing about season 1 is
Ester wasn't in it.She's in season 2.I will most deafinley by
season 2 when it comes out and I hope it's soon.If you are a
fan of this show get this dvd set you will enjoy it.

The other reviewers are right that this show really hit the ground running. Early episodes of most shows are a little off as the actors find their characters and develop chemistry (look at the first ten or so SEINFELDS). But here, Foxx and Wilson are so comfortable from the premiere on that it seems like they had already been doing the show for years.

This is a perfect little 14 episodes, and reveals Redd Foxx as a comic genius -- the timing, the gestures -- it's a marvel that someone who had until then just been doing stand-up slid so easily into doing 23-minute stories (although it would be nice to get some outtakes, which must have been hilarious). One of the shows spends a half hour with Fred and Lamont starting to move a piano -- that's it, and yet the episode is just as captivating as the others.

SANFORD AND SON's early phase is even historically interesting, for those inclined to think too hard about such things. It's only eight years after the Civil Rights Act, and the Watts riots were even more recent. This is the first representation in regular show format on television of a truly "black", oppositional orientation to mainstream America -- Foxx made sure Fred was black above all, a kind of reverse Archie Bunker. There are also interesting intra-black class issues popping up -- middle class black families look down on Fred as "just a junk man", etc. This sort of thing was a more live issue in 1972 than it would be later, when "black" started being seen as trumping class.

Anyway, on a more mundane level, one just hopes that Columbia keeps going on this show, because really this first half-season, delightful though it was, is still a kind of proto-SANFORD AND SON in many ways. One has not "presented" SANFORD AND SON meaningfully by only giving us this first batch.

There is no Aunt Esther yet, for those who wonder, and that does make for a quieter show. Nor do we yet get Fred's raggedy pals like Grady and Bubba; instead we get Slappy White's Melvin, but he doesn't make the impression that Whitman Mayo and Don Bexley would. This is also before Rollo or Julio.
It's basically just Fred and Lamont, but the fact that even this is so entertaining 30 years later makes this show a true gem. I popped the shows one after the other like candy for days.

There seems to be a tradition of dwelling on minor technical aspects of the transfer in cases like this. As such, those expecting absolutely pristine prints will be disappointed -- these look more or less like newly minted tapes for syndication looked: clean but with the occasional scratch here and there. There is no evidence of any major cleaning up. Nor are there any "extras" to speak of.

Outtakes would be nice, if many survive. But beyond this, as far as extras are concerned, who cares? Foxx is dead, and how interested are we, really, in hearing Demond Wilson talk about what it was like doing the show? And I really do not NEED episodes of SANFORD AND SON to look like GONE WITH THE WIND. This is just good candy -- sit back and smile.

Before I start in on what makes great television let me first say, TV is no longer great. Why? It takes too long. It takes to long for a series to "become" good and by the time it is, it is cancelled. Foxx and Wilson hit the ground running and even look simliar, like a father and son. The chemisrty they have together "iNsTaNtLy" took Seinfeld (as great as it was) at least 3 seasons to hit upon. There is something about classic tv that lends a simple familiarity that is genuine in nature. Heck, I was raised on TV I know what makes it tick, and Sanford and Son has that and more. Funny, I never even watched this show very much, I did like it but wasn't a huge fan. However seeing what TV has to offer these days MAKES you a fan of these great dvd classic tv shows. I originally went in search of the Jeffersons while buying this set, what I returned with was a father, a son, and yes, a very loud drycleaner that all reminded me you CAN go home again.

Sound **
Packaging ****

Chapter Skips -*
Comedy*****

I purchased this out of curiosity. Having grown up with the original British version 'Steptoe and Son' I wanted to see what the American remake version was like as some of the episodes scripts from the first season were carried over. I enjoyed the season and the American actors make it their own. Fred Sanford AKA Red Foxx steals the show and it's hard not to like him.

I was in the 7th grade when "Sanford and Son" debuted on TV, in early 1972. I've lived with the wit and antics of Fred Sanford, played by Redd Foxx, and his son Lamont - played by Demond Wilson - ever since. I keep coming back to these shows after periods of not watching them, so have collected the entire series over the past 3 years.

Redd Foxx was criticized as being narrow in his acting, range of roles, and crude in language and inuendo, but by the year 2005's standards his language is quite clean. And his acting is funny: Fred Sanford is vain, selfish, always out for an easy way to make a buck (honesty not always a pre-requisite), and always ready to tell off the people who rub him the wrong way. Fred Sanford has the traits all of us do, if we'd be honest and admit it. And the way Sanford talks to his son, his friends, his wife's family - is how we would like to deal with people in polite society, but don't, as it's not polite or politically correct.

Demond Wilson is excellent as Lamont Sanford, the frustrated 30s aged son who'd like to find himself and get out and do something different than working with his father. How they ever get anything done or make a profit is beyond me, but that's entertainment. And this IS entertaining. I hope today's young people in their teens and 20s, born after this series was made, will see these on TV or DVD, and enjoy the wit and humor of the Sanfords.

in case you guys didn't see the 15 other posts with the list of episodes, i'm going to repeat them here for your reading pleasure:

01) Crossed Swords
02) Happy Birthday, Pop
03) Here comes the bride, there goes the bride
04) The copper caper
05) A matter of life and breath
06) We were robbed
07) A pad for Lamont
08) The great Sanford Siege
09) Coffins for sale
10) The Barracuda
11) TV or not TV
12) The suitcase case
13) The return of the Barracuda
14) The piano movers