Sanford 1980 Complete Series

Sanford was the 1980 revival of the 1970s sitcom Sanford & Son. In 1977, after six seasons of Sanford & Son, Redd Foxx decided to leave the NBC show to star in a variety show for ABC. His new show, The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, was cancelled after just four months. Perhaps regretting this decision, Foxx returned to NBC two years later in an effort to revive the character of Fred Sanford. NBC was also eager to revive its most successful show of the 1970s. Sanford premiered in March 1980 as a midseason replacement. Demond Wilson refused to reprise his role as Fred's son, Lamont. His absence was explained by having Lamont away working on the Alaskan Pipeline. Fred's new business partner in the junkyard was Cal, an obese White Southerner that worked with Lamont on the pipeline and Lamont sent him to help his father. Cal moves into Lamont's old room. Rollo Lawson (Nathaniel Taylor), a recurring character on the previous series, was now working for Fred as a delivery man. The show was highly promoted by NBC, and the premiere episode garnered solid ratings; however, the ratings dropped as the season progressed. Sanford was then put on hiatus to be retooled. The show returned in January 1981 again as a mid-season replacement. The show was moved from Saturdays to the Friday night death slot. Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) appeared in the two-part season premiere (along with another episode later in the season). It was explained that her husband Woodrow had died and she was moving in to prevent Fred from being a bad influence on Cliff. This season now focused more on the relationship between Fred and Cal. Evelyn was now reduced to a recurring character and instead of being Fred's fiancee, she is simply dating him. The characters of Rollo, Winston, Cissy, and Clara were dropped with no explanation. Grady (Whitman Mayo), another recurring character from the original series, appeared in two episodes as a special guest star. Officers Smitty and Hoppy also reappeared several times. The retooled Sanford fared poorly in the ratings and NBC pulled the series at the end of January. This is the Complete Series of all 26 episodes presented in HD Studio Quality on 5 discs. Comes with Case & Artwork.