Customer Reviews

Sanford and Son - The Fifth Season

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Add another 25 episodes of the classic Sanford & Son to your collection with the Complete Season 5! If you own the 5 seasons of Sanford & Son available right now, then you have 111 of the 136 episodes of this essential show(leaving the 25 episodes that will wrap up the series in Season 6). There are some opinions that say Season 5 was when the show started to run out of steam. The reality is this season offers tons of laughs because of the talent of it's stars, especially Redd Foxx, who despite being unhappy with the show, continued to turn out hilarious performances as always as Fred G. Sanford (that's S-A-N-F-O-R-D period). The same can be said for Demond Wilson and the supporting cast. Season 5 saw the appearances of new characters like Lamont's fiancee Janet, Officer Hoppy's Mom, and Hutch, one of the residents of the new "Sanford Arms" boarding house. This season is also notable for several guest appearances such as Robert Guillaume (Benson), John Larroquette (Night Court), Della Reese, Merv Griffin, and George Foreman. Discs 1 & 2 each have 9 episodes and Disc 3 has 7. Here are the episode titles for Season 5 (Sept 75-Mar 76):

01. Earthquake II
02. Divorce, Sanford Style
03. Bank on this
04. The Sanford Arms
05. Steinberg & Son
06. Brother, can you spare an act?
07. Della, Della, Della
08. Donna pops the question
09. My fair Esther
10. Sanford and Rising Son
11. The Olympics
12. Ebenezer Sanford
13. The Oddfather
14. Can you Chop this?
15. Greatest Show in Watts
16. Fred Sanford has a baby
17. The TV Addict
18. Lamont in Love
19. The Escorts
20. Engagement man always rings twice
21. The Director
22. A Pain in the Neck
23. Sergeant Gork
24. The Over the Hill Gag
25. Camping Trip


Trivia:

*The episode where Lamont thinks Fred has 6 months to live, "The Over the Hill Gag", was actually produced and aired during the 4th season (Mar 75). For some reason it was not included on the 4th season set.

*The episode "The Sanford Arms" spawned a very short lived spin off series with the same name. The show mostly featured Aunt Esther and Bubba, but with no Fred and Lamont, it didn't make it. There were only 8 episodes, 4 of which actually aired. It ranks last in success among the 3 Sanford & Son spinoffs ("Grady" being second with 12 episodes)

*The most successful spin off from Sanford & Son, not surprisingly, featured Redd Foxx reclaiming his classic role. The sitcom, appropriately titled "Sanford" featured Fred alongside new sidekick Cal. There were also appearances by S&S regulars Esther, Grady, & Rollo. It lasted for two seasons (Mar 1980 to July 1981). Hopefully it will see a DVD release for all of us wanting more Redd Foxx after Sanford & Son is complete.


Excerpt from "My Fair Esther":

Lamont: She's gonna be competing with her own peers.
Fred: Her peers?
Lamont: Yes.
Fred: You mean Godzilla is in the contest?

I'm so glad this is on DVD!

Sanford and Son's 5th season shows one of the best sitcoms ever created running out of steam. While Redd Foxx was funny as ever, especially when he was insulting Aunt Esther, the writing really went downhill. Fred Sanford seemed to becoming the Ralph Kramden of the '70s, entering one big money making scheme after another (selling Whopper Choppers, having a circus in his junkyard, opening a Japanese restaurant in his house, etc). Grady, played by Whitman Mayo, made far less appearances due to his ill-fated spinoff of the same name. There were still several funny episodes in Season 5 with the best being "The Over The Hill Gag" and "Bank On This" from Disc 1 and "Sanford And Son Rising", "The Olympics", "The Oddfather", and "Can You Chop This" from Disc 2. As stated earlier, the writing was getting stale. In "Brother, Can You Spare An Act?", Fred and Lamont show their singing and tap dancing skills respectively. Which makes you ask the question, "Why are they working in a junkyard?" The "Steinberg And Son" episode, where Fred and Lamont attempt to sue over a show that copies their lives, was very unrealistic. Lamont's character was getting softer as he engaged to be married to his fiance Janet. Special guests such as Della Reese and George Foreman were making appearances and there were a few flashback episodes, clear signs that the writers were running out of ideas. If you're a big fan of the show, you'll still enjoy most of the episodes here as even the weaker ones have their moments. It just isn't consistently humorous like nearly every episode from Seasons 1-3 and most of Season 4.

By the time the fifth season of Sanford and Son came around,it was obvious that the show was on it's last leg.
Despites some funny episodes (Earthquake II,Steinberg and Son,My Fair Esther, Sanford and Rising Son, The TV Addict and The Director featuring George Foreman) we get a ton of stinkers (Sergeant Gork, The Oddfather, Can You Chop This?, Greatest Show in Watts and A Pain in the Neck).
Aside from the supporting cast becoming more prominant, the season also introduces Janet,Lamont's new fiancee,, Hutch and May Hopkins (Hoppy's Mother) , two resident of the new Sanford Arms.
Even with the new recurring charaters,it's obvious Sanford and Son was getting tired, and the fact that the two leads quitting the show after the next and final season makes this obvious.

If you are a true Sanford and & Son fan then you are not reading this to figure out "if" you are gonna buy this edition, because you are DEFINITELY gonna buy this 5th season no matter what! Personally, I own the entire collection now, but I could not find the 5th season anywhere. Thanks to Amazon, I am now complete LOL!!! There are 25 episodes totaling 625 minutes of non-stop laughs on the 3 DVD's. The DVD's are all shown in "full screen" view. One point that I must make is that this 5th season set is definitely the least funny of the entire collection. However, you will definitely get great laughs and you won't be sorry you purchased it either I am sure of that! Enjoy the ride, great laughs await you!

1. Earthquake II

2. Divorce,Sanford Style

3. Bank on this

4. The Sanford Arms

5. Steinburg and Son

6. Brother, can you spare a act?

7. Della,Della,Della

8. Donna Pop's the question

9. My Fair Esther

10. Sanford and Rising Son

11. The Olympics

12. Ebenezer Sanford

13. The Odd Father

14. Can you chop this?

15. Greatest show in Watts

16. Fred Sanford has a baby

17. The TV Addict

18. Lamont in Love

19. The Escorts

20. The Engagment man always rings twice

21. The director

22. A pain in the neck

23. Sergeant Gork

24. Camping Trip

you just cannot go wrong with a purchase like Sanford and Son 5th season. In fact all of the Sanford and Son's seasons are truly great classics. I now own all of the Sanford and Son's seasons and recommend it to anyone for some great comedy. The characters Fred , Lamont, Aunt Esther, Grady and Rollo will get you some bellyful of laughs each time you see the episodes. Each time you view it you always see something else to laugh at. I just would like to get a Season of the spinoff called Sandford now.

great viewing!

And the best thing was that Amazon delivered in real fast time because I sure couldn't wait!

Get the whole series ( 6 seasons ), the price is right, and when some worthless network programming is not worth watching tonight, load up Sanford and Son for some good laughs.

this is Probably my All time Favorite Show when push comes to shove. but yeah the show started losing it's flavor by season five. there was alot of issues going down&things started taking it's toll.but never the less I'm a Die-Hard of the show&always will be.

Nominated for six Golden Globes and seven Emmys, including Outstanding Series - Comedy, Sanford & Son became one of the first shows in television history to be almost entirely centered around African-American characters. Modeled after the British TV show Steptoe & Son, the series showcased the underappreciated talents of comic genius Redd Foxx (whose skin color and bad language prevented him from becoming a superstar decades earlier). The brainchild of All In The Family creator Norman Lear, Sanford & Son signaled the beginning of a decade of sitcom classics for the prolific 1970's TV writer - Maude (1972), Good Times (1974), and The Jeffersons (1975) being the others. Wrought with memorable one-liners and well-timed humor, Sanford & Son was a Top 10 Nielsen rated show every year in which it aired except for its final season (ranking a respectable #27)...

Sanford & Son, set in the Watts district of Los Angeles, follows the life of Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), a 65-year-old African-American junk dealer who shares his business with his 34-year-old son Lamont (Demond Wilson). With Fred's wife Elizabeth having passed away twenty years earlier, he often evokes Lamont's sympathy by clutching his heart and proclaiming, "Oh, I'm coming to join you Elizabeth!" But Fred always survives those near fatal heart attacks, continuing to disperse sarcastic putdowns (often directed at his sister-in-law Esther) and racist stereotypical remarks aimed against whites and Hispanics (especially Lamont's friend Julio). Using guilt to manipulate his ambitious son into staying and helping run the salvage shop instead of pursuing other endeavors, Fred Sanford spends most of his days lounging around the house (his junk store and home are one and the same) and hanging out with his friends - Grady, Melvin, and Bubba... Well-written and hilarious, Sanford & Son is comedian Redd Foxx at his absolute best...

The Sanford & Son (Season 5) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Earthquake II" in which Fred wakes up believing the house was robbed only to find out that a small earthquake hit in the middle of the night. When Grady tells him that a "big one" is coming soon, Fred gets fed up and vows to sell the house. He travels to Las Vegas to avoid the earthquake, where he runs into Merv Griffin... Other notable episodes from Season 5 include "Donna Pops the Question" in which Donna receives a marriage proposal from another man, but wants to know first if Fred will marry her, and "Can You Chop This?" in which Fred invests all of his and Lamont's money in a get rich quick scheme involving the sale of choppers...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Sanford & Son (Season 5) DVD:

Episode 88 (Earthquake II)
Episode 89 (Divorce, Sanford Style)
Episode 90 (Bank on This)
Episode 91 (The Sanford Arms)
Episode 92 (Steinberg and Son)
Episode 93 (Brother, Can You Spare an Act?)
Episode 94 (Della, Della, Della)
Episode 95 (Donna Pops the Question)
Episode 96 (My Fair Esther)
Episode 97 (Sanford and Rising Son)
Episode 98 (The Olympics)
Episode 99 (Ebenezer Sanford)
Episode 100 (The Oddfather)
Episode 101 (Can You Chop This?)
Episode 102 (Greatest Show in Watts)
Episode 103 (Fred Sanford Has a Baby)
Episode 104 (The TV Addict)
Episode 105 (Lamont in Love)
Episode 106 (The Escorts)
Episode 107 (The Engagement Man Always Rings Twice)
Episode 108 (The Director)
Episode 109 (A Pain in the Neck)
Episode 100 (Sergeant Gork)
Episode 111 (Camping Trip)

The DVD Report

Redd Foxx was a genuine human being, great comic, and Sanford and Son was the greatest comedy show ever. When he gained notoriety for this sitcom, he unselfishly brought in an array of his real-life friends and colleagues in showbiz, which gave them the opportunity to become household names themselves. He was a master showman, wonderful son to his mother, Mary, and never forgot where he came from.
Having the opportunity to perform in his stage act with the Norma Miller Jazz/Lindy Dancers, it was one of the best times of my life! (Norma Miller also played the part of Dolly Simpson, Grady's fiancé in an episode of Sanford). Foxx also had a short-lived variety show on NBC "The Redd Foxx Show" that wasn't given the credit it was due. It too was a great show with more unsung heros of comic genuis, novelty acts and unsurpassed showbiz veterans. (I'm hoping those episodes become available for DVD purchase someday). I'll never forget Redd Foxx, the spirit of which I will forever uphold.