I caught a few Sanford and Son episodes during TV Land's 1202 Hour Marathon. I've got to say all of those prime 1972-75 episodes were still hilarious. Of course the show's run was interrupted by Redd Foxx not appearing in the final six episodes of the 74-75 season. Foxx did reappear in the fourth season yet 3 more Foxx-less ep's appeared throughout the season. In short, Foxx's absence ruined the show's momentum and then some. Since the whole world's waiting, here's a review of some of the later shows...The Hawaii Connection- (1976) If there was anyone proof this show was done, here's the talking point. This was originally a hour episode that opened the sixth and final season of the long-running sitcom. Long short short, a gang wanted to stash jewels in what not in a dummy's luggage. Guess who they picked? Fred G. Sanford. The G stands for going off the air!
Yep, I Watch To Much TV: The supporting cast in this episode also included Sheldon Leonard, Greg Morris, Barbara Rhodes, James Gregory, the iconic Don Ho and David Huddleson.
Part 2: This is brutal stuff. By this point the chemistry between Foxx and Demond Wilson was barely there. Wilson in particular looked like he was sleepwalking through these episodes...
Grade: C+
Redd Meets Fred (1976)Fred and Lamont were filing income taxes. At the same time, Fred wanted to compete in the Redd Foxx look-a-like contest. You know, Fred's an alright guy, but it was such a long shot. Fred Sanford simply doesn't look like Redd Foxx to me. This moving episode we saw Redd and Fred meet one another. It was electric. I think they felt it too because they could barely make eye contact. Fred won the contest (shocker) and I felt tremendous relief.
Dreadful: Really the show should have been cancelled on the spot after this was taped.
Grade: C-
An update from NBC's website...
2 comments:
My wife is very creeped out by Sanford & Son, while I enjoyed it very much. I can't tell you how many homeless people I have seen that remind me of Grady.
If I were Elizabeth looking down on Fred (and let's all be glad I'm not), I'd have my deniability feature on full throttle.
"I'm comin' to join ya, Elizabeth!"
"Ummm...you've got the wrong Elizabeth, you drunken fool."
LOL Steve. You know, I never did get tired of that "Elizabeth..." line, so well done, even through the crappy seasons...
Come to think of it, Grady did always look really, really grungy, especially in comparison to Fred's other friends--and Fred.
Oddly enough, I always found Sanford and Son realistic for some reason. It's probably the production values...
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