This show cracked me up. Fred was a guy who had the answer to everything. His living room was a thrift shop all by itself. He would bring up his Elizabeth shtick so much, that today it can be used as a protection to turn to when life gets overbearing.Aunt Esther was hilarious. She was a Bible thumper. She had a mustache. She was the conscience that Fred did not have. She was the master of Fred putdowns.Lionel was very nice. He had the voice of reason. Pops would never grasp modern concepts that Lionel was envisioning.In real life, Redd Foxx was what was known as a very filthy comedian. On this show, he used cleaned up humor to make his points.Ten out of ten.

Growing up in the 1980s and early 1990s, I had no intentions to think of any show before that era. It's not that I didn't like them, I just felt that the shows I grew up on were the best. A couple of years ago I grew weary of the state of television and decided to find something that would satisfy my taste buds. When I found Sanford & Son being aired on TV Land, I was surprised. I never knew beforehand that so many good sitcoms came out of the 1970s, and this is no exception.Originally based off of "Steptoe & Son", Sanford & Son revolves around a junk dealer and his son living in a neighborhood in Watts, Los Angeles. Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is a sarcastic and stubborn person who's plans usually backfire, causing trouble. His son Lamont Sanford (Demond Wilson) usually has to complete tasks and order his own father to complete jobs. It was very amusing to see the two argue against each other and have to become loyal in order for things to come back to normal.But there are a couple other interesting characters in the series worth mentioning. Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page), who is sister of Fred Sanford's late wife Elizabeth, is a Baptist who just can't seem to handle Fred too well. In most cases they spew insults to each other such as "Gorilla Face" and "Fish-Eyed Fool", and what makes this funny is that it never gets old. I always found myself laughing whenever Fred gave Aunt Esther a dirty joke. Grady Wilson (Whitman Mayo), who is Fred's closest friend, usually acts as his "sidekick" and is involved in get rich schemes. Unfortunately, Redd Foxx left the show for some episodes (due to a feud with the producers) and thus Grady had to fill in, in order to watch the junk yard business. Many characters appear in the show, and not one of them is really that boring to watch.I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the classic sitcoms, well before Cable TV and Reality TV started getting out of hand. I consider the 1970s to be the "Golden Age of Sitcoms," because that was when barriers were broken and actors displayed their best talents to make themselves stand out. All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Happy Days, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Three's Company, Different Strokes, Taxi, and numerous others. Sanford & Son puts most of the 1990s and 2000s sitcoms to shame. It was a stroke of genius, and Redd Foxx was a one of a kind individual. No one beforehand thought a stand up comic would be good in his own show. But he did it, in a big way. It's still a hit among old and young generations alike, and if Sanford & Son still lives on even after over 35 years, then you know that it's a classic. Like Archie Bunker, Fred Sanford is a unique person.So don't waste your time watching the Disney Channel or anything that comes out of Reality TV. Sanford & Son is a timeless sitcom that will keep you laughing. Highly recommended.9 out of 10.

Norman Lear's second sitcom Sanford and Son is definitely a 70s classic. Redd Foxx's portrayal of Fred Sanford is so funny, yet he was bigoted like Archie Bunker. He also had great chemistry with Demond Wilson, who played his son Lamont. Though Lamont was the smarter of the two, Fred kept calling him "Dummy" which I thought wasn't very nice. What made the show funny for me was Fred's frequent phony heart attacks when he would clutch his heart and bellow "OHH! THIS IS THE BIG ONE! YOU HEAR THAT ELIZABETH, I'M COMING TO JOIN YOU!!" Every time he did that, i would crack up laughing. The other phrase he constantly used was variations on "How would you like five across your lip?" What also made Sanford and Son stand out was the chemistry between Foxx and LaWanda Page, who played Aunt Esther. Both were long-time friends who grew up in St. Louis. I thought Page delivered her lines with gusto and really brought her character to life. My only dislike of the show were the episodes without Foxx, who sat out due to a contract dispute and were centered around Grady. Whitman Mayo was an outstanding supporting player, but I felt he couldn't carry the show as a lead actor and that was why his spin off Grady was short-lived. It was like watching an episode of The Honeymooners without Jackie Gleason. There were a lot of good episodes, but two of my favorites were the Gong Show episode and Steinberg and Son, a TV show that mirrored the Sanford's lives. Each season of Sanford and Son is on DVD so if you haven't seen them, do so. You won't worry about commercials.

Sanford and Son (1972) was a classic American television sitcom that was based upon the B.B.C. tele-comedy show Steptoe and Son. Whilst Steptoe and Son dealt with the "Rag and bone" business, Sanford and Son dealt with the "junk" business. A perfect vehicle for stand up comic and performer Redd Foxx. Many people felt that he couldn't make the transition from party records and blue humor to the restrained format of television. He proved them wrong. During the first couple of seasons some of the episodes (including the pilot) were Americanized versions of Steptoe and Son.The show became a huge hit for N.B.C. and the series lasted for six seasons.the "classic" episodes of this show were written by Paul Mooney and Gary Shandling. The best seasons happen to be the second and fifth, many classic episodes debuted during that time. Aunt Esther was Fred's nemesis, Rollo was Lamont's best friend and another thorn in Fred's side. Fred also has his buddies Bubba and Grady. Fred was involved with Donna to whom he was engaged to throughout the series. Redd Foxx always had problems with the producers of the show and he used his leverage as the star to get his stand-up comic friends on T.V. Performers such as Pat Morita, "Slappy" White, Scatman Crothers and the comic team of Leroy and Skillet all received spots or recurring roles on the show.Thanks to D.V.D. and syndication, Sanford and Son will live on forever and future generations will enjoy the humor of Redd Foxx and company. Sanford and Son spawned two spin-offs and a sequel series.A highly recommended show.