Rating: - "One across your lip..."
Cantankerous, and somewhat crude, but with a good heart (no pun intended), Redd Foxx is Fred Sanford, an LA junk dealer, in business with his son Lamont, played by Demond Wilson. Sanford and Son, produced by Norman Lear, was the first of his comedies centered on characters of African-American decent, and like "All In the Family", was based on an English sitcom.

Any new program goes through a growth process, as the characters are developed, and the show establishes an identity. Opening with Quincy Jones's classic theme, this program plays to the basic father and son relationship, with dashes of race based humor. Foxx, a night club comedian, tones his act down for TV, and as Fred Sanford, creates a minor TV icon. Among his trademarks, referring to Lamont as "dummy", threatening to deliver one "across the lip", and feigning cardiac arrest. Thoughtful and reasonable, Lamont, is the calming influence, trying to keep Fred from going too far. If Fred's "charm" doesn't win you over, you won't be watching this program for very long.

The quality of the episodes varies, but those that feature the Sanfords actually engaged in the junk business, generally hold your interest. In "The Piano Movers", the guys are involved in trying to remove a piano from an eccentric gentlemen's apartment. "The Copper Caper", finds the junkmen involved with a shady character dealing in stolen copper piping. In "Coffins for Sale", Lamont brings home, and stores in the house, a couple of coffins he picked up at a bargain price.

When it comes to love and romance, these gents have their ups and downs. Classy actress Lynn Hamilton, guests twice as Donna Harris, Fred's love interest. Nicknamed "the barracuda", she endures much abuse at the hands of both Sanfords, with no justification. As for Lamont, living with his father does tend to cramp his style with the ladies, and he tries to stretch out a bit in "A Pad for Lamont", but it's "Ready Freddie" who seems to benefit most from the situation. In episode three, "Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride", Lamont is on the verge of marriage, when his prospective bride backs out at the altar, and we get to meet more of the lovable Sanford clan. You may wonder how the censors let Fred use a phrase with the "N" word.

The transfer of videotape to DVD is not bad, but does show signs of age, and sometimes the image looks flat. As the DVD has no extra features at all, one could hardly say that the studio went out their way to honor the series. Also, for some reason, there are no chapter stops in the episodes. This makes for some rather inconvenient viewing, if you want to skip forward or back in an episode. If you're a big fan of the series, or want to see how it all started, by all means get this set. If not, then you can watch the reruns on cable.

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