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The Best Episodes of Sanford and Son

Every episode of Sanford and Son ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Sanford and Son!

The Best Episodes of Sanford and Son

The misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.

Seasons6

  1. 9.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - The Light Housekeeper

    S2:E14

    After Fred gets a minor injury from a car accident, Lamont and Fred seek to find a maid to help out around the house. After looking, they get what the agency has at the bottom of the barrel. However, the erratic white woman does nothing but add to Fred's pain.

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    Director:Peter Baldwin
    Writer:N/A
  2. 8.7/10(235 votes)

    #2 - Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe

    S3:E14

    Grady has a a piece of juicy gossip and is just dying to tell everyone. It seems Grip, an old friend, dated Fred's late-wife, Elizabeth, prior to her getting married to Fred. Elizabeth and Grip had been intimate and Lamont is the result. Fred is convinced Grip is nothing but a "jive turkey" and Esther may have the answer to this paternity question.

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    Director:Jack Shea
    Writer:N/A
  3. 8.6/10(241 votes)

    #3 - Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle

    S3:E15

    Lamont is disgusted when he receives a traffic ticket for failure to yield on a right turn. Lamont is sure he did the most prudent thing for the situation and lets Fred talk him into fighting the ticket in court. Lamont is prepared to fight for himself but once in the court room he finds himself being represented ... by Fred!

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  4. 8.3/10(192 votes)

    #4 - The Blind Mellow Jelly Collection (a.k.a.) The Chameleon

    S3:E10

    Lamont advises Fred to donate a collection of Blind Mellow Jelly records to a music library for a tax write-off. After doing so, Fred finds out from an appraiser that the records are valued at five hundred dollars. Fred, with dollar signs in his eyes, has Bubba act as though he were the son of Blind Mellow Jelly in an attempt to get them back.

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    Director:Mark Warren
    Writer:N/A
  5. 8.2/10(179 votes)

    #5 - Lamont is That You?

    S3:E6

    Lamont and Rollo are out on the town one evening and decide to stop in at a new bar for a couple drinks. However, they soon realize they have stumbled into a gay bar. Unknown to them, Bubba just happened to see them go inside. Bubba promptly jumps to conclusions and then proceeds to tell Fred that Lamont is gay. Not believing Bubba's story, Fred decides to get to the bottom of the situation.

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    Director:Peter Baldwin
    Writer:N/A
  6. 8.2/10(186 votes)

    #6 - Superflyer

    S3:E8

    Fred gets news that an uncle has died and has left him $1500 in his will. The only thing is, in order to get the money, Fred has to fly to St. Louis to claim it. However, first he must overcome a fear of flying and Lamont is up in arms trying to help him.

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    Director:Peter Baldwin
    Writer:N/A
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  8. 8.2/10(155 votes)

    #7 - Wine, Women and Aunt Esther (a.k.a.) Leaving the Nest

    S3:E13

    Fred and his buddies are down over the death of a close friend and Aunt Esther's over-reacting does nothing to help. Thus, Fred decides to throw a cheer-up party and intends to have it in the Sanford home, complete with booze, music and friends of Fast Fanny, a topless waitress.

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    Director:Peter Baldwin
    Writer:N/A
  9. 8.1/10(260 votes)

    #8 - The Piano Movers

    S1:E14

    A wealthy man wants to get rid of a grand piano and Lamont gets a great deal on it. However, the big problem turns out to be moving it out of the man's apartment.

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    Director:Bruce Bilson
    Writer:N/A
  10. 8.1/10(7 votes)

    #9 - School Daze

    S6:E25

    Fred has been neglecting Donna and she decides to investigate and soon discovers Fred has been leading a secret life, not even telling Lamont what has been going on. Donna is convinced that he is seeing another woman but they soon discover Fred is really going to night school to earn his GED diploma, which he never got since he dropped out of high school to support his parents.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  11. 8.0/10(156 votes)

    #10 - The Members of the Wedding (a.k.a.) The Engagement

    S3:E9

    Fred and Donna enjoy an evening out on the town but then Donna breaks the news that she has had another man propose marriage to her. Not wanting to lose her, Fred decides to propose marriage himself and they plan a small wedding ceremony. However, Lamont is totally against the whole thing and has Aunt Esther and family confront Donna and question her intentions.

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    Director:Jack Shea
    Writer:N/A
  12. 8.0/10(150 votes)

    #11 - A House is Not a Poolroom

    S3:E11

    For a birthday present, Lamont buys Fred a pool table. But things get out of hand when Fred invites his buddies over for some friendly games. They quickly overstay their welcome and eat and drink Fred and Lamont out of house and home. Lamont quickly regrets ever buying the pool table for Fred and tries to convince him that the house is not a pool hall.

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    Director:Jack Shea
    Writer:N/A
  13. 7.9/10(265 votes)

    #12 - Happy Birthday, Pop

    S1:E2

    Lamont buys Fred a new hat for his birthday and then tries to take him out on the town to celebrate. However, a visit to a fancy bar, a movie theater to see Fiddler on the Roof and dinner at a Chinese restaurant are far from a celebration for Fred.

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    Director:Bud Yorkin
    Writer:N/A
  14. 7.9/10(264 votes)

    #13 - Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride

    S1:E3

    Engaged, Lamont is excited about his impending nuptials but on the wedding day he quickly finds himself the only one who is. The bride dumps him at the altar and he finds his relatives begging to get back their wedding gifts.

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    Director:Bud Yorkin
    Writer:N/A
  15. 7.9/10(224 votes)

    #14 - Coffins for Sale

    S1:E9

    Lamont purchases two coffins from an auction to try and get a profit if he sells them to a funeral parlor. In the process, Fred becomes paranoid by having the coffins in the house and refuses to sleep in the house with the coffins. Lamont doesn't think much of it, until he begins hearing strange noises at night.

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    Writer:N/A
  16. 7.9/10(143 votes)

    #15 - Fred's Treasure Garden

    S4:E11

    With Fred in St. Louis, Grady has been put in charge of taking care of his garden. Grady quickly notices a strange plant growing and assumes that it's wild parsley. However, Rollo is convinced it's marijuana and Lamont decides to turn it into the police. However, when Smitty and Hoppy arrive, the plants are gone but Grady has made dinner for everyone, a nice big salad for everyone.

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    Writer:N/A
  17. 7.9/10(147 votes)

    #16 - The Stand-Ins

    S4:E16

    Lamont comes home one evening and discovers Fred preparing a gourmet dinner and learns it's to celebrate the arrival of an old friend of Fred's, Bowlegs, a musician, who's visiting. Bowlegs' act is to be put on at a nightclub but when his partner strains his back, Fred and Lamont must fill in to fulfill the nightclub's requirements.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  18. 7.9/10(122 votes)

    #17 - Funny, You Don't Look It

    S6:E23

    Fred is tired of everyone walking all over him especially since he proclaims that he built his junk empire to what it is today, thus making him a king of an empire. Bubba suggests that Fred pay money to an agency to have them trace his roots. A couple weeks later Fred is in for a shock, he is a descendant from Jewish African kings.

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    Director:Russ Petranto
    Writer:N/A
  19. 7.8/10(311 votes)

    #18 - Crossed Swords

    S1:E1

    Lamont buys a porcelain figure for $15 from a silent movie star and after having it appraised, Lamont and Fred decide to take it to an auction to make even more money on it. Fred and Lamont attend the auction pretending to be buyers so that the price can be jacked up higher. However, things go awry to Lamont's dismay.

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    Director:Bud Yorkin
    Writer:N/A
  20. 7.8/10(192 votes)

    #19 - The Suitcase Case

    S1:E12

    While collecting junk, Lamont runs across an old suitcase and decides it could be worth something. However, once he gets it home, Fred makes a shocking discovery when he opens the case to discover that it is stuffed with money. Lamont wants to turn the money in and Fred wants to keep it and locks in a safe. Just then a gunman shows up wanting the money.

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    Director:Peter Baldwin
    Writer:N/A
  21. 7.8/10(148 votes)

    #20 - This Little TV Went to Market

    S3:E5

    Fred and Lamont's TV set is on it's last legs and Lamont considers buying a brand new one, however Fred buys a used color TV set for cheap. Things get out of hand when Fred's friend Grady stops by and recognizes Fred's new set as his set that was stolen. Fred quickly wants an out of the situation and sells it to his neighbor Julio for $50.

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    Director:Peter Baldwin
    Writer:N/A
  22. 7.8/10(154 votes)

    #21 - The Party Crasher

    S3:E18

    Lamont and Rollo are planning a double date and they have a plan to get Fred out of the house so they can have it all to themselves. However, Fred catches on and Lamont and Rollo must make do with the cramped quarters of Rollo's apartment, but they still have problems, the girls aren't happy with the entire arrangement, right down to the refreshments, that's when Fred steps in.

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    Director:Stan Lathan
    Writer:N/A
  23. 7.8/10(140 votes)

    #22 - The Surprise Party

    S4:E1

    Fred returns from his extended trip to St. Louis and Lamont, Donna, Aunt Esther, Bubba, Rollo and Grady have planned a surprise party for his return. Fred no more than steps in the door and Aunt Esther and him are at each other's throats. However, the real problem comes when Fred does some eavesdropping on Lamont and Grady.

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    Director:Norman Abbott
    Writer:N/A
  24. 7.7/10(219 votes)

    #23 - A Matter of Life and Breath

    S1:E5

    Lamont comes down hard on Fred to try to get him to quit smoking and has him go to the doctor for a chest x-ray. Later, the results are sent in the mail and Fred becomes convinced he has tuberculosis.

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    Director:George Tyne
    Writer:N/A
  25. 7.7/10(213 votes)

    #24 - We Were Robbed

    S1:E6

    While cleaning the house, Fred knocks over Lamont's glass figurine collection. Trying to cover up the fact that he broke them, Fred makes up a story about how the house was robbed and how he fought them off. In the process, he is labeled as a hero and Fred takes advantage of it.

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    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  26. 7.7/10(162 votes)

    #25 - Libra Rising All Over Lamont

    S3:E2

    Lamont visits an astrologist and discovers he's a double Libra, thus his goal in life is for peace and decides to get along with his father at all costs. Meanwhile, Fred eats a batch of 8 day-old greens and gets sick and becomes convinced he's dying. This leads to Grady spreading the word of Fred's supposedly impending death, which draws Aunt Esther and her friends out of the woodwork.

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    Director:Jack Shea
    Writer:N/A

Best Episodes Summary

"The Light Housekeeper" is the best rated episode of "Sanford and Son". It scored 9/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Peter Baldwin and written by N/A, it aired on 12/22/1972. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe".