Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! Today, we’re continuing our coverage on the best episodes from one of the unashamedly funniest sitcoms of the decade, Sanford And Son (1972-1977, NBC). I’m thrilled to announce that every single episode of the series has been released on DVD.
Widower Fred G. Sanford and his adult son Lamont reside in their humble Watts abode, which also doubles as a junkyard. With the irascible Fred around, hijinks are always bound to ensue — much to the bemused chagrin of Lamont. Sanford And Son stars Redd Foxx as Fred G Sanford and DEMOND WILSON as Lamont Sanford.
The second season of Sanford And Son is infinitely better than the first, as the show deviates from its British roots and begins tapping into its own comedic heart. While the abbreviated first season managed to break into the top ten at a solid #6, this year finds the series as the #2 most watched show on television — second only to All In The Family. Although this season boasts many exquisitely superb episodes, we haven’t quite gotten into what I believe to be classic Sanford and Son (which, admittedly, is only a six month era). The series spends the entire year trying to cultivate a rich ensemble. Many friends and relatives pass through in the hopes of earning recurring status, but only Bubba, Rollo, and Julio stick. And while the memorable LaWanda Page appears twice in the second half of the season as Aunt Esther, we’ve yet to meet the legendary Grady. Nevertheless, the scripts and stories are divinely fresh, and Foxx and Wilson are great at mining the material for all potential comedy, thus ensuring a laugh-heavy year. Because of it’s high quality, this was a tough list to make. But, I have picked ten episodes that I think exemplify this season’s strongest installments. For new fans, this list will give you a place to start. For seasoned fans, there might be a few surprises.
Here are my picks for the ten best episodes of Season Two. (They are in AIRING ORDER.)
Contents
01) Episode 20: “The Card Sharps” (Aired: 10/27/72)
Despite Fred’s warnings, Lamont is suckered by a bunch of hustlers in a game of poker.
Written by Aaron Ruben | Based on a script by Ray Galton & Alan Simpson | Directed by Peter Baldwin
Although the season opens with several very solid excursions that make good use of the two characters, it isn’t until this, the sixth episode in, that hilarity abounds. Fred’s attempts to keep his dummy of a son from losing to the crooks in poker is a scream, as is his final victory over them. (Check out that wild get-up too — reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer is mistaken for a pimp!) Shockingly, this is one of the few episodes from Season Two that was adapted from the British series. It’s probably the funniest recycled script.
02) Episode 21: “Have Gun, Will Sell” (Aired: 11/03/72)
When a burglar leaves his gun at the house, Lamont and Rollo convince Fred to pawn it.
Written by Adell Stevenson | Directed by Rick Edelstein
Rollo is introduced in this funny episode that maintains a consistent level of excellence throughout the entirety of the story, climaxing in a wonderful scene at the pawn shop. The series is exhilaratingly fresh when its stories are grounded on the seedier side of things; burglars, guns, and pawn shops, while not foreign to the situation comedy genre, are all appropriate fixtures for this series, and its delightful to see this kind of comedic grittiness exploited by the writers. One of the highlights of the season.
03) Episode 22: “The Puerto Ricans Are Coming!” (Aired: 11/10/72)
Fred nearly has the big one when he learns that their new neighbor is a goat-toating Puerto Rican.
Written by Allan Katz & Don Reo | Directed by Peter Baldwin
One of the show’s best remembered story lines was Fred’s dislike of his Puerto Rican neighbor, played by Gregory Sierra, one of the decade’s “go to” ethnic actors of ’70s television. It is in episodes such as these that we are reminded of Sanford And Son‘s connection to All In The Family (1971-1979, CBS), as Fred’s intolerance for another race (in this case, the Puerto Ricans) is evocative of Archie’s distaste for his neighbors, the Jeffersons. This episode introduces Julio and his goat and brings in some big laughs. A favorite.
04) Episode 23: “The Shootout” (Aired: 11/17/72)
Fred fears he’s killed a neighbor when he accidentally fires an antique Revolutionary War rifle through the window.
Written by Allan Katz & Don Reo | Directed by Peter Baldwin
Another episode about guns within two weeks of each other? Well, yes, but this one is entirely different in tone, taking a much sillier approach (albeit, with potentially higher stakes). Fred quarrels with a neighbor, and then fears that he’s killed him after he accidentally fires a 200 year old Revolutionary War rifle that Lamont has brought home into said neighbor’s window. Although this is a very funny installment, it took repeated viewings before I appreciated the strong construction of the story as well.
