Sanford and Son : The First Season

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.

Great product and shipping

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.

All I can say it's so good to be able to put this DVD in and laugh and laugh and laugh. this is the type of comedy I miss...... This crap on tv today is NOT funny to me. I have season 1 - 3. that will hold me for now. Like all tv shows, they get sort of "worn out" , that's why I love the first 2 or 3 seasons the best. Thank God for the memories. I was 15 years old when this came out. I just celebrated my 56th birthday and treated myself to this DVD! God is good!!!

SANFORD AND SON garnered seven Emmy and six Golden Globe nominations between 1972 and 1976, with one Globe win for Redd Foxx as Best Television Actor in a Comedy or Musical Series. And for good cause. This was the Norman Lear-dominated era of television, beyond boundaries broken by the Smothers Brothers while remaining within lingering standards and practices of the times. This was clever comedy, where much that could not be stated outright was conveyed with deft inventiveness. This was situation comedy with a socially conscious heart, where cultural diversity was introduced to a largely white-bread middle-American audience. Redd Foxx was a master of blue humor (perhaps the last), never swearing in a recording until the rise of Richard Pryor (who, along with Garry Shandling, wrote for SANFORD AND SON) and later Eddie Murphy (whose HARLEM NIGHTS included one of Foxx's few film performances). Whether by choice or industry restrictions, Foxx's talent borderlined genius and is sorely missing from today's more blatant, less artful offerings. With that stage set, SANFORD AND SON is alternately dated and refreshing. Of the content, the language, costuming, lighting, and stories reflect the times. Quincy Jones' memorable theme can grate after several episodes (one star off for no "play all" option) as can the static opening credits, with their worn appearance. The episodes themselves, however, are in splendid shape and display none of the opening's artifacts. SANFORD AND SON's first season is a straight adaptation of existing scripts from its British forefather, STEPTOE AND SON. It charts the territory and opens the way for innovations-to-come in the second season. This first year included guest spots by Dick Van Patten and Peter Bonerz, as well as the incomparable grace and beauty of Lynn Hamilton ("Donna Harris"). The SANFORD AND SON first season DVD collection is certainly a good value. Later seasons introduce recurring characters (most especially Don "Bubba" Bexley, who this reviewer was priviledged to know and can attest to his charm and prowess at gin rummy) and proved a temptation for a wealth of talent: John Amos, Roscoe Lee Browne, Ron Glass, Roger E. Mosley, Ja'net DuBois, Lena Horne, Matthew "Stymie" Beard, Antonio Fargas, Don Rickles, Scatman Crothers, Keene Curtis, Howard Hesseman, Merv Griffin, Eydie Gormé and Steve Lawrence, Robert Guillaume, John Larroquette, Della Reese, Nancy Kulp, George Foreman...and on and on (the final two seasons were a veritable who's-who of walk-ons).

A British friend of mine and I watched a few shows of this together after I got this from Amazon.Com. As you may know, this series was adapted from a British series called Steptoe and Son. The basic premise of a lot of the shows are the same. My friend recently showed me some of the original Steptoe and Son episodes on tape to prove that the series was adapted. Well, he proved that, and the original Steptoe and Son series seems well-worth watching, but it took some doing to adapt the series to an American South Central L.A. series. So, anyone that tells you that it's a rip off is absolutely right. BUT, it is SO American in the way it is presented here. The producers did an OUTSTANDING job of making this show American. The actors also must be applauded. I grew up watching this series as a kid and I've bought a lot of TV series on VHS and DVD. But, this one of the best buys out there. You will laugh and laugh--especially, but not only, if you are familiar with the show. I recommend this series to anyone and everyone. Also, if you get a chance, watch the original Steptoe and Son episodes! I wish there were a lot of extras and so forth, but that's not going to detract me from giving this DVD a lot of stars. Buy it! You'll love it!...

Nicely

I love Sanford and Son. What a great TV show. I was raised during the time it came out. I recommend it to anyone. It was for a Christmas present to my son. Thanks so much.