"Do You Hear That Elizabeth? I'm Coming To Join Ya, Honey! It's The Big One!"
The Internet Movie DataBase describes a comedy series "about a middle aged man and his elderly father who run an unsuccessful...business (collecting and selling junk). ...The son wants to better himself but his father always seems to ruin things, sometimes accidentally and other times deliberately. The two live in poverty and the father has some disgusting habits which continue to embarrass the son."
The series was Steptoe and Son. The network was the BBC. The year was 1962.
Ten years later Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, high on the success of All In The Family (their successful British import of Till Death Us Do Part), brought another BBC Comedy to the US. They set the new version of the show in southern Los Angeles (in the infamous Watts section of town), hired Redd Foxx to star in it, and gave the show an urban inner city flavor that rang true for most viewers. The new series was called Sanford and Son. It debuted as a mid-season replacement in January 1972.
In fact, a lot of the actual scripts of Steptoe and Son were literally converted over to Sanford and Son episodes, especially early on in the show's run. The show was well received in the ratings, and by critics. The series was nominated for 4 Emmy Awards, and for 4 Golden Globe Awards. Of those nominations, Redd Foxx won a Golden Globe in 1973 for "Best TV Actor in a Musical or Comedy". But things weren't always smooth behind-the-scenes.
To quote the IMDB further: "The show broke down racial stereotypes, and was a huge success, making Foxx, and the show household names. Foxx fought a very public battle with the writers and producers of the show. Foxx claimed the show's writers and producers did not do enough to promote the black experience, and in general complained there were not enough black writers or producers in the entertainment industry. These highly publicized disputes led to the show faltering artistically, but not in the ratings."
The show ran until 1977. Redd Foxx went on to do a variety show. When that failed, he went back to the role of Fred the junkman, in the 1980 series Sanford. It reunited the entire old cast, except for the "and Son" part. Demond Wilson, who played son Lamont Sanford, was on his way to becoming a minister in the mid-80's (he continues with his religious vocation to this day, as far as I know). Redd's new series was short-lived, and was cancelled after just 26 episodes across two "seasons". Redd Foxx continued to entertain his fans, though, right up until his untimely death in 1991 during a rehearsal for his new TV series, The Royal Family. Ironically, it was "the big one"...a heart attack.
The DVDs: "The First Season"
Those of you who picked up Columbia's first TV-on-DVD releases in season sets, All In The Family: Season 1 and The Larry Sanders Show: Season 1, know that there were some complaints. The packaging didn't stay closed, there was no dedicated place for the insert to call home, there were questions about the video quality for various reasons (mostly based on the source material, but video compression was also a question mark), and we were left wondering why single-layer discs were employed for both these sets.
I will start by saying that Columbia has addressed all of these things. Feedback has been listened to, and improvements have been made. For starters, Sanford and Son - as well as The Jeffersons - were authored onto two dual-layer DVD-9 discs, instead of being spread across three single-layer DVD-5's as the previous sets were.
Since the series was a mid-season replacement in its rookie year, there are only fourteen shows this set. Seven, 26-minute episodes are put onto each DVD in this two-disc package:
Disc 1 (182 Minutes)
#01 Crossed Swords
#02 Happy Birthday, Pop
#03 Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride
#04 The Copper Caper
#05 A Matter of Life and Breath
#06 We Were Robbed
#07 A Pad for Lamont
Disc 2 (182 Minutes)
#08 The Great Sanford Siege
#09 Coffins for Sale
#10 The Barracuda
#11 TV Or Not TV
#12 The Suitcase Case
#13 Return of the Barracuda
#14 The Piano Movers
There are two definite complaints here, which are carry-overs from the previous two season releases. Grievances that were not addressed. First, there is still no "Play All" feature, which allows you to view every episode on the disc in a single marathon. C'mon Columbia; you put these into your Dragontales DVD's. Can't you make home video as easy to use for the grown-ups as you do for the kiddies?
Second, there are still no chapter stops within the episodes themselves. Not only can you not skip directly to a favorite scene within an episode, it is impossible to just skip past the opening theme song that you've just gotten to hear six times straight, and just get to the fun. Sure, the fast forward button can be your friend here...but then you have to watch carefully and resume normal play at the right moment, or else back up so you don't miss anything. We're ignoring one of DVD's strength's here. Use it!
The Packaging:
Columbia kept the tri-fold digipak case for this set. However, since there are only two discs this time out, the first panel is now a pocket for storing the chapter list insert. The insert is a fold-over 4-page "booklet", with the numbered episode titles, a synopsis of the episode, and brief credits for that show. It fits snuggly in its pocket, which proudly reminds you that Fred Sanford was named by TV Guide as one of TV's greatest characters ever.
Another great improvement with this packaging is the simple introduction of a slipcover. It's a simple cardboard box, open at one of the spines, with semicircles cut out to allow easy removal of the digipak. This succinctly solves the problem of the package opening up on the shelf, as
If there is one complaint left about the packaging, it is this: The panels that hold the discs themselves are clear plastic. Behind the first disc's panel is a black security tag, stuck there onto a background that is meant to look like white-colored peeling plaster. A stark reminded of the shoplifting that goes on in the stores we all shop at. However, when a customer gets his set home, they no longer want to see those ugly tags, and would like to peel them off. Trapped behind the panel that way, there's no good method of removing the tag without permanently damaging the box! Could we make a compromise here, Columbia?
Video
If you read my review of All in the Family you know that I was pleased to know that the video was almost as good as it could possibly have been, depending upon the source materials. Almost.
Sanford and Son is a NOTICABLE improvement. Colors are vibrant and sharp, and color balance has been correctly represented throughout the entire set of episodes. There were no haloing effects this time around, either. And, I saw no artifacts that I can attribute to compression. In fact, there should be none, as there is more storage room on two dual-layer discs than there are on three single-layer discs. More room; better picture. MUCH better picture than All in the Family.
There is still softness about this series, due to the analog videotape source of the show. That simply cannot be helped. It is a characteristic of the source material. And there are also still dropouts that occur throughout the presentation, some of them strikingly noticeable. That too is characteristic of the source material. Columbia couldn't make this any better, and frankly Sanford and Son hasn't looked any better than this since it first debuted.
Audio
From the moment you here the opening strains of Quincy Jones' memorable theme song, you realize that the sound arrangement on this disc is equal to or better than anything you heard on broadcast TV 30 years ago. All comes through as clear as a bell, even if it's an old bell.
Let me explain that remark: Although merely presented on these DVDs in Mono, with no real dynamic sound range, you must understand that this soundtrack is the way it was broadcast originally. Wisely, Columbia does not attempt to go back and enhance these soundtracks for modern systems. Such an embellishment might be worthwhile for, say, a space opera. But for classic 70's comedy like this, it's better to have it portrayed as it really was.
Having said that, it would be hard to improve on the sound and music presentation in this set. Possible, but unlikely. Therefore, I rate it a near-perfect 9 out of 10 score. There's just not much to complain about!
There are no extras with this set. Just the episodes, as fun as they ever were. No bells and/or whistles.
Summary
Columbia has done a very good job with this release. Complete, unedited episodes, presented in the best video and audio quality possible, all for a reasonable street price.
Perhaps you have never seen Sanford and Son. Well, you've probably lived under a rock for a long time, or else you were just born yesterday, or else have simply never been interested before. But that's okay; it's not too late to join the fun. This is a good show, with many truths that are still true today. But most of all, it's just plain funny. I urge you to check into it. You'll crack up a time or two, or three.
If you are a fan of the series, deciding to buy this set will be a no-brainer. Go pick it up right now, before I give you one right across the lips!
