Sanford And Son [TV Show] (DVD)

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Over the course of the show's six seasons, it was inevitable that the these Odd Couple bachelors would hook up with female companions, and for two seasons near the show's end he dated and became engaged to a single mother named Janet (Marlene Clark). Fred, meanwhile, had the longest-running relationship in Donna (Lynn Hamilton), a nurse who had plenty of patience with the cantankerous Fred.

Though there were issues here, "Sanford and Son" was a more character-driven comedy than "All in the Family," and much of the comedy week after week came from Fred's and Lamont's foibles. In a way, they were Ricky and Lucy, or Felix and Oscar--an oil-and-water combination that somehow ended up on the same salad.

When Foxx left the show in 1977 due to prior commitments, Wilson wanted to be paid more than NBC was willing, though the unspoken subtext was that his character and storyline weren't enough to drive "Sanford and Son" without Sanford. So Wilson also left the show, and the proof that NBC was right all along was ironically delivered when the network decided to go with LaWanda Page as the main character in "The Sanford Arms" spin-off. That show was a bust, but Wilson got some vindication when Foxx tried to revive the show without him in 1980, and it was also a failure. Turns out, it took both "Sanford and Son" after all to make this show click with viewers.

All 136 episodes from the show´s six seasons are included in this compact, bargain-priced set ($59.95). As with previous "Complete Series" packages from Sony, this one features a single box with flap that has the episodes listed on it and houses a thin plastic spindle insert, upon which the discs are stacked--the way that DVD-Rs are stacked when you buy them in bulk. It´s really perfect for fans who HAVE to have their favorite TV shows in their home libraries, but maybe won´t be watching them frequently. Yes, there´s more risk of bobbling the discs when they´re stacked like this, but Sony is issuing their TV-on-DVD sets in uniform packaging that takes up a fraction of the shelf-space that the individual releases (just 1 ½ inches at the spine). Each single season lists at $29.95, and when you multiply that times six it´d cost you almost $180 list. No one pays list anymore, but still . . . .

Video:
Like the rest of the Lear comedies, "Sanford & Son" hasn't aged well. The picture is hazy, the colors washed out, and the frequent practice of photographing with a sharp-focus figure and soft-focus background doesn't translate well to widescreen televisions. If you stretch the 1.33:1 image to 4:3 "enhanced" mode, the picture gets even fuzzier. But it's the result of the master, not the transfer, and once you get used to the level of quality it's not a distraction.

Audio:
Though the soundtrack is listed as Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, it's not a dynamic sound. There's a flatness to it, and also some hiss in some of the seasons.

Extras:
No bonus features.

Bottom Line:
"Sanford and Son" had more slapstick than "All in the Family" and it never tackled issues with the same thoughtfulness, but it gave an equal-time irascible voice to the people Archie Bunker constantly berated, and that was cathartic. Foxx was a brilliant comedian, and he has as much fun with this character as any of his stand-up personas. At any other time, the show probably wouldn't have fared any better than its post-production offspring or "Grady," a failed spin-off that was attempted while "S&S" was still on the air. But for the Seventies, "Sanford & Son" was a perfect fit, and for all its shortcomings, the charismatic Foxx still makes it worth watching more than 30 years later.

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