I give Sanford and Son the slight edge because Fred was funny in every scene with different characters. No matter who the character was Fred would be funny in that scene. On the Flip side, George was only funny in the presence of Tom and Florence.

Definitely Sanford and Son. One of my favorite moments is when Esther pisses Fred off and I'm thinking he's going for the baseball bat, and he gets his shotgun. That was just the funniest thing, I couldn't stop laughing.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
Definitely Sanford and Son. One of my favorite moments is when Esther pisses Fred off and I'm thinking he's going for the baseball bat, and he gets his shotgun. That was just the funniest thing, I couldn't stop laughing.


Maybe George and Florence battles would have been better if Florence never moved in. They traded insults every episode and it became old. On the other hand, Esther made occassional appearances which is why the audience was excited when she made her entrance.

Though I love both shows, I'd have to say The Jeffersons, if only slightly. Sherman Hemsley is a great actor, and The Jeffersons is almost a copy of All in the Family, reversed.

Originally posted by cheers_rules
Though I love both shows, I'd have to say The Jeffersons, if only slightly. Sherman Hemsley is a great actor, and The Jeffersons is almost a copy of All in the Family, reversed.


I gave S&S the slight edge because Fred stayed the same from the start of the series to the end. On the other hand, George was boring in the 80's.

I like both Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons.

I always liked it when Fred and Aunt Esther got into it. The episode where Fred pulls Esther's wig off is one of the classic blunders in TV history. Hilarious.

The Jeffersons was where George and Florence got into it: In the episode,"Meet The Press",when the doorbell rings,George tells Florence to get the door,then Florence says you told me to stay in the kitchen. Then George yells,"Get The Door". Then Florence comes out and tells George just because you treat me the way you do doesn't mean you have to yell at me,you could have opened the door and closed it before I even came in here.

That's a very a tough question for me. I love both shows and I have seen plenty episodes of each series to tell that their my favorites. But if it comes down to choosing one over the other I would choose The Jeffersons because of the theme song, the interaction between the characters, and the quality and quantity of the overall series. IMO, Sanford and Son wasn't near as good toward the end.

The Jeffersons

I liked Sanford and Son better, I was never a big Jeffersons fan

I love both shows, but I like Sanford and Son better; even though S&S was filmed 30 years ago, the show is still hilarious...Long Live Redd Foxx...:)

Sanford and Son

This is very tough as I like both shows very much. I'll go with Sanford And Son barely.

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
I gave S&S the slight edge because Fred stayed the same from the start of the series to the end. On the other hand, George was boring in the 80's.

That is true, but Archie's character in All in the Family changed greatly throughout the late 70's and the 80's, but there were still many funny episodes. The same is true with The Jeffersons. Not all of them are great, but quantity wise, it just nudges S&S out, IMO.

Sanford and Son. It is difficult for me to laugh at a sitcom but it happens every time I see a S&S episode. I love Fred's variations of "how would you like one across your lip" and calling Lamont "dummy."

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
Maybe George and Florence battles would have been better if Florence never moved in. They traded insults every episode and it became old. On the other hand, Esther made occassional appearances which is why the audience was excited when she made her entrance. I thought Florence was a major highlight for the Jeffersons; she was hilarious with her antics with George...

I can't really say I like one better than the next. Each is entertaining in its own way. Each had shortcomings- the Jeffersons ran too long, on S&S Demond looked coked up towards the end. But both were entertaining series.

Sanford And Son:D

I guess Sanford and Son

Originally posted by Brian Damage
I guess Sanford and Son


I also forgot to add that Sanfordand Son hAd more HIP characters. Like Rollo, Big Money Grip, Fred, Julio. The only HIP character on the Jeffersons was George and the first lionel. And after Mike Evans left, it was only George. And then when George left it was nobody-LOL

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
I also forgot to add that Sanfordand Son hAd more HIP characters. Like Rollo, Big Money Grip, Fred, Julio. The only HIP character on the Jeffersons was George and the first lionel. And after Mike Evans left, it was only George. And then when George left it was nobody-LOL


George left! How in the heck did the show go on?

Originally posted by jpnoyes
George left! How in the heck did the show go on?


Yeah The Original George Jefferson was replaced in late 1979.

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
Yeah The Original George Jefferson was replaced in late 1979.


some of your posts sound very ignorant.... but this one was funny. :lol:

Originally posted by barwars88
some of your posts sound very ignorant.... but this one was funny. :lol:



It's not like i'm lying

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
It's not like i'm lying

i know.... its true.

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
Yeah The Original George Jefferson was replaced in late 1979.

Oh I get it. LOL. Maybe that's why I never cared for the Jeffersons. I don't believe I ever saw the early years of the show. I remember thinking man this George guy is a wuss, then I saw him on All in the Family and he was cool.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
Oh I get it. LOL. Maybe that's why I never cared for the Jeffersons. I don't believe I ever saw the early years of the show. I remember thinking man this George guy is a wuss, then I saw him on All in the Family and he was cool.

the show definately changed.
but I think it never jumped the shark.

Originally posted by barwars88
the show definately changed.
but I think it never jumped the shark.

I think it did jump. The last 3 years are not at all as good as the others. However, it never got unwatchable. To me the actors seemed to be enjoying themselves up to the end and it comes through in their acting. Also, I compare how this was made to how they do shows now. This was basically a two act staged show. Opening credits, Act 1 (which might be one continuous scene or 2 the most), then Act 2 was the same way. No subplots that I can ever remember. No continuing storyline soap opera stuff. They even had a great many episodes where some of the regulars are nowhere in sight and you don't really miss them being there. I got the feeling that I could be watching a theatrical production when I watched this.

Originally posted by jamesanthony
I think it did jump. The last 3 years are not at all as good as the others. However, it never got unwatchable. To me the actors seemed to be enjoying themselves up to the end and it comes through in their acting. Also, I compare how this was made to how they do shows now. This was basically a two act staged show. Opening credits, Act 1 (which might be one continuous scene or 2 the most), then Act 2 was the same way. No subplots that I can ever remember. No continuing storyline soap opera stuff. They even had a great many episodes where some of the regulars are nowhere in sight and you don't really miss them being there. I got the feeling that I could be watching a theatrical production when I watched this.

my definition of Jump The Shark is different than mosts.
The Jeffersons was never unwatchable -- therefore it never jumped the shark IMO.

I think anything that hangs on for 11 years is inevitablly going to decline. The fact that this was only canned basically because of a timeslot change says something about the show's popularity.

Judging by how popular the George and Weezie characters are in all those commercials, Fresh Prince etc and how well Marla Gibbs did in 227 this series could have ran up to 1987 or been revived after a lay off of a few years if the actors were game and wanted to do it.

Originally posted by jamesanthony
Judging by how popular the George and Weezie characters are in all those commercials, Fresh Prince etc and how well Marla Gibbs did in 227 this series could have ran up to 1987 or been revived after a lay off of a few years if the actors were game and wanted to do it.

I think The Jeffersons was one of the few shows that could have gone on forever and not have worn-out its welcome.

This has nothing to do with either Jeffersons or Sanford, but another show that viewers never seemed to get tired of that I thought of was the old Danny Thomas Show/Make Room for Daddy. For some reason, audiences ate this up and couldn't get enough of it. It ran from 1953-57 and had terrible ratings because ABC had fewer affiliate stations then, yet it won emmies and was well liked by critics etc.

In 1957 it moved to I Love Lucy's vacated timeslot and became the #2 show on Tv. It stayed in the top 10 until Thomas decided to quit in 1964. Three years later he did a variety show on NBC and the characters from the old show showed up in an ongoing skit. In 1970 ABC had Make Room for Granddaddy with the same characters again. I read that it had decent ratings at first and was only cancelled because ABC moved it to a tough timeslot.

Sanford and Son has certainly endured a long time too. Considering that after it ended in 1977 NBC was so desperate to keep some vestige of it on the air that they launched a Sanford and Son-less spinoff and three years later bribed Redd Foxx into coming back in Sanford. All told there was some version of Sanford and Son on in prime time for 9 out of 10 consecutive seasons.

Few shows run past that 11 year mark....


Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show -- 11 Seasons
The Jeffersons -- 11 Seasons
Happy Days -- 11 Seasons
MASH -- 11 Seasons
Cheers -- 11 Seasons
Frasier -- 11 Seasons


besides "The Simpsons".... what shows have gone beyond the 11 Season mark??

Originally posted by barwars88
Few shows run past that 11 year mark....


Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show -- 11 Seasons
The Jeffersons -- 11 Seasons
Happy Days -- 11 Seasons
MASH -- 11 Seasons
Cheers -- 11 Seasons
Frasier -- 11 Seasons


besides "The Simpsons".... what shows have gone beyond the 11 Season mark??

My Three Sons- 1960-72

Ozzie and Harriet 1952-66 (I have never seen an episode of this)

Jack Benny- 1950-65 (this aired bi-weekly at first because Benny was still doing radio and I think it wasn't strictly a sitcom at first, but it gradually became one. As such it is as far as I know the longest live action sitcom ever)

If you want to be very liberal you could string the many different versions of the Flintstones together and have a very long running show.

Married with Children also had 11 seasons- 1987-97

I will have to go with The Jefferson's. I fell in love with it the first time I ever saw it. I haven't been able to ever get into Sanford & Son. Maybe it is the trashy house or something... :-)

Originally posted by JoshB80
I will have to go with The Jefferson's. I fell in love with it the first time I ever saw it. I haven't been able to ever get into Sanford & Son. Maybe it is the trashy house or something... :-)


and the funny thing is the house stayed like that during the entire series.

Sandford & Son

I would have to say Sanford & Son(NBC 1/14/72-9/2/77)

Which is it??

Their both excellent shows but I'll give the edge to The Jeffersons.

The Jeffersons

Judging from what I own on dvd:

Jeffersons: 2 releases, I have 2

Sanford & Son: 5 releases, I have 0

I'd go with the Jeffersons, appealing characters, better variety of supporting characters for the leads to interact with.

The Jeffersons :rock:

The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons by a mile for me.

The Jeffersons

i thought i but this on here cents there's some vs thread!! i enjoy both shows!! my all time favorite is sanford & son!! the only time i didn't like sanford when they cut off sanford & put in grady!! but i also like the jeffersons!! i really enjoy them an lot!! I still think my favorite is sanford & son!!

they are both ok but Jeffersons is slightly better :)

Both of Them

Both

It's not even close. The Jeffersons by a MILE!

It's not even close. The Jeffersons by a MILE!

YES, the Jeffersons by a mile. The show had several great characters. The only reason I’d watch a Sanford and Son ep would be if Esther were on it. She was a hoot, but all the other characters- kind of meh.

Do you have a favorite character on the Jeffersons? Mine is Mother Jefferson, with several close seconds.

YES, the Jeffersons by a mile. The show had several great characters. The only reason I’d watch a Sanford and Son ep would be if Esther were on it. She was a hoot, but all the other characters- kind of meh.

Do you have a favorite character on the Jeffersons? Mine is Mother Jefferson, with several close seconds.

George is definitely my fave. He MADE the show like how John Ritter was the star of Three's Company. Mother Jefferson is also a favorite. She is probably the funniest older actor I've ever seen! Too bad she didn't live longer for more seasons of the show.

I also liked both Lionels, Helen and Tom Willis. You know which character is underrated and doesn't get any credit? LEROY! He was only in a few episodes but he was hilarious! Kind of like Felipe on Three's Company who was also only in 6 episodes or so but was a RIOT! :lol:

Sanford and son the humor in it was more entertaining

I watched reruns of Sanford and Son with my dad, so that gives it the edge over The Jeffersons. Fred and Lamont are one of the funniest comedy duos in TV history

George is definitely my fave. He MADE the show like how John Ritter was the star of Three's Company. Mother Jefferson is also a favorite. She is probably the funniest older actor I've ever seen! Too bad she didn't live longer for more seasons of the show.

I also liked both Lionels, Helen and Tom Willis. You know which character is underrated and doesn't get any credit? LEROY! He was only in a few episodes but he was hilarious! Kind of like Felipe on Three's Company who was also only in 6 episodes or so but was a RIOT! :lol:

Yeah, George was great. But I really loved Florence as well as Mother J, now that I think about it. And some other great characters on the show: incredibly quirky Mr. Bentley, tubby Tom and Ralph with his hand always out! (Leroy was OK but never really stood out to me as much as the others.)

Yeah, George was great. But I really loved Florence as well as Mother J, now that I think about it. And some other great characters on the show: incredibly quirky Mr. Bentley, tubby Tom and Ralph with his hand always out! (Leroy was OK but never really stood out to me as much as the others.)

When you think about it the Jeffersons cast is one of the best assembled casts in television HISTORY!

Every character was great in their own right and they can from different backgrounds and races! Even characters that just made a few appearances like Carmen the maid. Both Lionels were great too! :lol:

It's hard to decide which was better but I think I like the skinnier Lionel(Damon) a little better. Too bad he and Florence are the only major characters left alive! :eek: :(

I'm very fond of both shows, but I like Sanford & Son just a little better.

It's hard to decide which was better but I think I like the skinnier Lionel(Damon) a little better.

I didn't know that anyone liked that Lionel better.

I like Sanford and Son way more !!;)

I didn't know that anyone liked that Lionel better.

I said just a little. I think Damon Evans was more funny while Michael Evans, while also funny, seemed more serious.

When you think about it the Jeffersons cast is one of the best assembled casts in television HISTORY!

Every character was great in their own right and they can from different backgrounds and races! Even characters that just made a few appearances like Carmen the maid. Both Lionels were great too! :lol:

It's hard to decide which was better but I think I like the skinnier Lionel(Damon) a little better. Too bad he and Florence are the only major characters left alive! :eek: :(

I 100% agree - Many great supporting characters. And yes, very sad so many on the show have passed.

Regarding the Lionels, I liked Mike Evans far far more.. He was actually very funny, but in a low key way. My only disappointment with the show was his leaving; really wasn’t that impressed by Damon.

Both are my favorites.

I 100% agree - Many great supporting characters. And yes, very sad so many on the show have passed.

Regarding the Lionels, I liked Mike Evans far far more.. He was actually very funny, but in a low key way. My only disappointment with the show was his leaving; really wasn’t that impressed by Damon.

But don't you agree Damon had some very funny scenes? I don't remember the episode but George is trying to get rid of Lionel and prevent him from talking but Lionel (Damon) keeps saying "but Pop"! over and over and George forces him out!

You have to actually see it to appreciate how funny it is! When I saw it I almost rolled on the floor in laughter! :lol: :lol: :lol:

He had other funny scenes too like when he tried to escape Louise so Louise had to chase him around the apartment when he was drunk! :lol:

Thay are both good and its hard to pick but I picked Jeffersons :)

they r really funny shows !! i guess...the jeffersons because they had soo many diff types of storylines for many,many,many seasons.maybe show was on for ten or soo seasons ? s ford and son didnt have as many seasons and some episodes didnt have fred.a spinoff show..wasn't ..the sanford arms or some such name?

have a great week !!!

Sanford and Son

both lionels (character that was played by two diff actors) were great !