Shark Bytes

Loved the show!!

Wish there were more. I wasn't born until 1979. I watched it some growing up. And recently watched the re-runs on DVD. Even now over 30 years ago its still funny and relevant.

My favorite line was in one of the Episodes Lamont asked Fred how he would feel if someone discriminated against people from Africa.

Fred's response was, I don't care as long as they don't discriminate against people from St. Louis!!

Best line ever in S&S: when the mailman delivered a package to Fred, and stood there waiting for a tip. Fred told him he better get back to his appointed rounds and "if you're expecting a tip, you better get back to your disappointed rounds."

One of my favorite shows ever! Unlike alot of people here I thought the shows in which Grady replaced Fred were some of the best. I loved the entire series run, although the last couple of seasons were not as good as the previous ones and they seemed to be going through the motions a bit. The only episode I actively disliked was the one about Julio's nephew . In it they complained that the school wasn't able to teach him properly, because he didn't speak english and that the school should have provided Spanish speaking classes to help teach him. That always annoyed me to no end. If I went to another country where english was not the major language, then I would be expected to adapt to that country's main speaking language and not the other way around. Schools are not properly funded enough as it is and certainly could not afford to be teaching different types of classes in different languages just because some people refused to try to learn the native language. Man that episode really bugged me, but aside from that one I liked every other story from the show's 6 seasons. Now of they would only release Sanford on dvd as well.(it's not as good as Sanford and Son, but it was pretty good I thought)

Stick your face in some dough and make gorilla cookies. Maybe the funniest line ever uttered on TV.

After Season 3 aka Redd Foxx hold out plus when producers Orenstein and Turteltaub took over is when the show changed, plus the fact that Lamont became passive and soft-hearted.

Fred to Lamont: "Hey, dummy. Go on down to the Chikin'Shak and pick me up some Beak n' Comb pie and some sand dabs. Then stop by Leroy's Liquors and get that worthless muthafukkin Grady a bottle of Ripple. If you see a $1.25 ho standing by the payphone, bring her back too. Get yo'self some apple pies from McDonalds on the other side of the tracks. I left some change in the ashtray... a buncha pennies an' nickels."

This show was hilarious the first couple of seasons. I loved the episode with the coffin! Aunt Esther was the best! Also anytime Rollo came around trying to be smooth had me in tears! The later years sucked, especially the Hawaiian three part episode. I guess after all the contract disputes and stuff, they just ran out of good material. Even Lamont didn't have that spark anymore.

For me, the original S&S jumped when Grady replaced Fred in several of the episodes, which was a by-product of Redd Foxx being involved in a contract dispute. The one episode which featured Grady in its entirety might as well have been an altogether different series; and it wasn't even halfway funny. That show will be remembered most for the offensive oil painting which Grady hung up on the wall for everyone to see.

Sanford trivia: During production of the series in the 1970s, the cost of a gallon of gas in California was 54 cents. When you see the episode on DVD in which Fred and Lamont are driving around the streets of Los Angeles, use the pause and shuffle buttons on the DVD remote at the point where the truck passes a gas station with the price sign revealed. If I am wrong, I stand corrected.

I have to agree with many of the posters who stated that Sanford and Son jumped the shark after Fred returned from St. Louis (i.e., contract dispute). I had noticed in the credits that the producers and writers were changed, and that might have made all of the difference in the world, not to mention that Foxx and Wilson seemed to change the concept of their characters. Fred developed a really mean streak and insulted everybody and everything; his insults toward Aunt Esther were even more vicious than before. He also came up with crazy ideas to get rich that were hard to believe, quite silly, and not totally based in reality (the horse, the circus, building a tower from junk). Lamont seemed to lose whatever bite and sharpness he had when he went toe to toe with his father. He became too mellow and let his father get away with more things. And that applause, that phony baloney applause that greeted every star and regular of the show as soon as they entered the room. I could understand the applause if they said something funny, but all they did was to show up on stage. Worse of all, the show was not that funny anymore, and dumb, too, not must see TV for me.
Prior to Foxx's leaving the show for the first time, Sanford and Son was such a hilarious, laugh out loud show, with some classic episodes (the coffins, the courtroom, the dentist, etc.) and terrific acting and a real feeling that they were in the ghetto. After that, the show seemed to lose its soul and its way. Still, in its 1st to 3rd seasons, it was one of the best sitcoms of the 1970's.

at least the frequent guest stars kept it lively. but what was the episode where Fred created "Champipple"?

--judexdot1--

I'm a huge fan of the first season. There is a noticeable difference between the first season and the rest. It seems like they tried to make a formula from the Steptoe and Son based first season and follow it in the subsequent seasons, but it just didn't work. Somewhere along way they turned Fred into a grumpy old man, which is nothing like his character in the first season. If you ask me the shark was jumped after season 1, but somehow I still get hours of enjoyment and laughter out of the majority of their shows. Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson still are the best combination on the show. They overused the majority of the recurring characters ie Ester, Grady, Rollo...etc.

PS. What happened to Melvin?
And Cascade, I'm totally in agreement with you, the "Wooden Overcoat"/Coffin episode is my favorite; pure genius from start to finish.

I was just remembering how I liked the early episodes better than the later ones. One of my favorite episodes was when Lamont bought a coffin and had it in the living room. OMG! Talk about comedy! Fred was hilarious in this episode and so was his friend Melvin. Melvin walked in, said "Hello Fred", saw the coffin, and walked out IMMEDIATELY saying "Good-bye Fred." LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The show was terrible wat is so damn funny bout insulting others in the most offensive way possible mostly to aunt esther and hurting them and referring to youre son as a big dummy? Its terrible Fred Sanford was a rude grumpy annoying old man of hate also a biggot and racist and dident even treat his own son withh respect. One episode iv seen he was holding a gun while he threaten to shoot esther that was SATANIC. No wonder the son was always angry in the beginning and always screaming at fred i think he should have stayed angry and not get soft and esther should have slipped a clothes iron in her purse and wacked Fred in his dead head. If i had Fred s for a father he would find himself in shady pines. Fred G Sanford and the G stood for Grouch. wicked man

Never jumped, that's why it is so beloved. The comment is made often here that TV of yesteryear was so much better than today and I agree.

Too many sanitized shows with similar themes and an almost obsessive tendency to be dumbed down fill the airwaves today.

Sanford and Son wasn't rocket science, but it related to people in a way you'll never see again.

still to this day i love sanford & son.,fred still makes me cry luaghing,..sure it jumped when lamont started not acting,he just wasn't himself, as for those of you who did not like grady your nuts! he was hilarous! and did a great job standing in for red, and together they were soo funny, i also liked the julio episodes! oh and how can you forget leroy & skillet! man leroy was soo funny when he smiled! love the show! todays shows SUCK!> with the exception of seinfeld , king of queens & everybody loves raymond, SANFORD AND SON FOREVER!