Season 1
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom created by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin and based on the British sitcom Steptoe and Son, which follows the misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son in the Watts neighbourhood of southern Los Angeles, California.
The series originally aired in the USA on NBC from 14 January, 1972 to 25 March, 1977. There are 135 half-hour episodes in six seasons.
The series originally aired in South Africa in the 1980s on TV2 (now SABC2) as uSanford nonyana, simulcast in English on Radio 2000. It later aired on DStv's M-Net Series channel and TopTV's Fox Retro channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Sanford and Son premiered on Fox Retro on Monday 2 January 2012, at 19h15. New episodes broadcast daily, on weekdays. There are 14 episodes in the first season.
Synopsis
Sanford and Son stars stand-up comedian Redd Foxx as 65-year old junk collector, Fred Sanford. Fred runs his junk collection business from his home located in Los Angeles.
His home is run-down but comfortable enough for him and his son, Lamont, with whom he lives and who is a partner in the business.
Lamont is dissatisfied with the business and often threatens to leave, but Fred becomes adept at faking heart attacks and yelling "I'm coming, Elizabeth." (Elizabeth was Fred's wife who preceded him in death).
Other members of the cast and recurring characters include Aunt Esther Anderson, Elizabeth's "ugly" Bible-toting sister who is married to wino Woody Anderson.
Donna Harris is Fred's steady girlfriend who works as a nurse. Grady Wilson, Melvin and Bubba Bexley are good friends of Fred's while Rollo Lawson, Ah Chew and Julio Fuentes are friends of Lamont's.
Officer Smith "Smitty", Officer Hopkins "Hoppy" and Officer Swanhauser "Swanny" are police officers who were seen occasionally.
At the end of the 3rd season and the beginning of the 4th season, nine episodes were filmed without Redd Foxx who underwent contract negotiations that led to a hiatus.
It was explained that Fred was in St. Louis visiting family and Grady Wilson moved in temporarily to watch over Lamont.
Seasons
Note: broadcast dates for the original run of the show on the SABC are not available.
Season 1 (14 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 31 May 2008 | Finale: 30 Aug 2008 | Saturdays, 18h30
Channel: Fox Retro | Premiere: 2 Jan 2012 | Finale: 19 Jan 2012 | Weekdays, 19h15
Season 2 (24 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 6 Sep 2008 | Finale: 14 Feb 2009 | Saturdays, 18h30
Channel: Fox Retro | Premiere: 20 Jan 2012 | Finale: 22 Feb 2012 | Weekdays, 19h15
Season 3 (24 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 21 Feb 2009 | Finale: 1 Aug 2009 | Saturdays, 17h30
Channel: Fox Retro | Premiere: 23 Feb 2012 | Finale: 27 Mar 2012 | Weekdays, 19h15
Season 4 (25 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 8 Aug 2009 | Finale: 23 Jan 2010 | Saturdays, 17h30
Channel: Fox Retro | Premiere: 27 Mar 2012 | Finale: 30 Apr 2012 | Weekdays, 19h15
Season 5 (24 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 30 Jan 2010 | Finale: 10 Jul 2010 | Saturdays, 17h30
Channel: Fox Retro | Premiere: 1 May 2012 | Finale: 1 Jun 2012 | Weekdays, 19h15
Season 6 (25 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 17 Jul 2010 | Finale: 1 Jan 2011 | Saturdays, 18h00
Channel: Fox Retro | Premiere: 4 Jun 2012 | Finale: 6 Jul 2012 | Weekdays, 19h15