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The Best Episodes of Sanford Season 1

Every episode of Sanford Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Sanford Season 1!

Redd Foxx isn’t done scheming and wise-cracking in the spin-off to one of America's most beloved sitcoms.
Genre:Comedy
Network:NBC

Season 1 Ratings Summary

"The Meeting (1)" is the best rated episode of "Sanford" season 1. It scored 6.8/10 based on 33 votes. Directed by Jim Drake and written by N/A, it aired on 3/15/1980. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Meeting (2)".

  • The Meeting (1)
    6.8/1033 votes

    #1 - The Meeting (1)

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 3/15/1980

    In this pilot to the sequel series of Sanford and Son, Fred meets a man named Cal. Cal worked with Lamont in Alaska. Before you know it,Fred and Cal partner up in the junk business together. Also, Fred meets a very nice customer who happens to be a widow. Her name is Evelyn Lewis. She buys something and when Fred personally delivers it to her apartment, he finds out that she is rich. There he meets the ""Ugly"" loud-mouth maid, her snobbish brother Winston, and her out of control liberal daughter Cissy. At the end of this episode, we find that Fred and Evelyn begin to fall in love.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • The Meeting (2)
    6.9/1028 votes

    #2 - The Meeting (2)

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 3/15/1980

    Fred gets the idea that Evelyn has marriage intentions towards Fred. When he asks to make sure, she says that the idea never crossed her mind. When he gets offended by her saying that, he asks her to marry him. Thinking that she will say ""no"" she says ""yes"". After the shock of that, Fred tries to go on with the engagement thinking that it might be best for him and her. Evelyn then throws an engagement party, but Fred has 2nd thoughts when he accidentally overhears Evelyn's rich friends making fun of him and his junk-man reputation.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • The Meeting (3)
    6.5/1025 votes

    #3 - The Meeting (3)

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/22/1980

    After panicking at the engagement party, Fred pretends that he is sick. Evelyn gets wise to him and is very angry. The truth is that he just doesn't want to get married right now. When he tells her that she gets even more angry. The anger settles down though after he explains to her that things are moving too fast for him. With knowing that, Evelyn decides to wait until Fred is ready to marry.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • The Still of the Night
    7.0/1021 votes

    #4 - The Still of the Night

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 3/29/1980

    Cal makes his own whiskey and Fred thinks that business can be made on it. When Fred takes it to Evelyn's, all of her friends like it including Winston. Winston offers to pay for the $25,000 liquor license fee if the two become business partners. Fred talks Cal into selling the secret recipe when a company drops by to offer Fred serious money for the formula. Unfortunately Fred keeps thinking he can negotiate more money off of them, so he keeps adding figures. When one of Evelyn's friends comes up bald on account of the liquor, the whole deal is terminated.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • Dinner at George's
    6.9/1021 votes

    #5 - Dinner at George's

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 4/5/1980

    Winston tells Fred that Evelyn's favorite restaraunt is a fancy one, so Fred decides to take her to that place. Thinking that Fred cannot handle the bill, Evelyn sneaks off to ""powder her nose"" so that she can pay the difference over the $34 Fred brought with him. Fred catches on and then offended, he leaves her at the restaraunt. He goes home to get money and comes across some silver dollars. He then gives them to Evelyn to pay her back for the bill and when she cashes them, it turns out that those silver dollars were old, rare, and worth $1,500. She gives him the money and out of that, he gives her the $100 she paid for dinner.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: Mel Tolkin

  • Younger Than Springtime Am I
    6.5/1018 votes

    #6 - Younger Than Springtime Am I

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 4/8/1980

    One of Fred's customers, a shady salesman for a drug called methusadol, sells Fred a bottle of pills that he says will make him look younger and youthful again. Fred then takes these pill for $100 a bottle and he psychologically thinks that he is getting younger and that the pills are a breakthrough. When he takes it to Evelyn, she calls for a investigation on them and she tells him the bad news.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: Michael G. Moye

  • Retrospective (1)
    4.7/1019 votes

    #7 - Retrospective (1)

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 4/15/1980

    Evelyn gives Fred and Cal some things that she doesn't want anymore before she goes out with her maid. The cops all of a sudden arrest the two thinking that they are stealing from the posh building. After the arrest, Fred calls Evelyn's place and Winston answers the phone. After Fred talks and explains the conditions to Winston, Winston laughs and hangs up on him. As the two are in jail, they reminisce about past episodes from this season.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • Retrospective (2)
    4.6/1017 votes

    #8 - Retrospective (2)

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 4/15/1980

    Fred and Cal continue to reminisce. Evelyn finally gets a note that Winston left her about the situation and she comes to bail Fred out of jail. A cop then tells the two that they are free to go and that the goods that were in Fred's truck were stolen by a real theif. Mad at the cops for making thier mistake and costing them the goods, Fred gets angry and the cops lock him up again.....at least until he cools off.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • Perfect Husband
    5.8/1018 votes

    #9 - Perfect Husband

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 4/26/1980

    Evelyn is depressed because she is haunted by the memories of her late husband John. Fred then talks her into talking about him and bringing her memories of him back to life. Fred all of a sudden starts to get a little jealous because she starts talking about him too much. Fred then ends up going home and looking over wedding photos of him and Elizabeth, and after talking to Cal, he goes to Evelyn and says that she needs to let go of him.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • The Ring
    7.0/1018 votes

    #10 - The Ring

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 5/10/1980

    After 3 months of going with Evelyn, Fred decides to get her a ring. After the jewlry store is robbed, the ring that Fred wants to buy her accidentally falls in his hat. After getting home, Fred realizes that the ring is stuck to his hair. When Fred calls the officers over to tell them about the ring, the officers tell Fred that the store doesn't care about the stolen jewlry since they can collect on the insurance money. However with the ball in Fred's court completely, he decides what the best thing is to do.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: Judi Ann Mason

  • Cissy and the Nephew
    6.5/1020 votes

    #11 - Cissy and the Nephew

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 5/17/1980

    Everyone is ending up at Sanford's. Cliff, Aunt Esther's son movies in with Fred while he is going to college. Cissy, Evelyn's daughter stays the night because she and her mom had a fight. When Cal tries to sleep on the couch, his fat body breaks the couch and sleeping areas are severely limited. I mean so limited that Fred and Cal end up having to share a bed. Eventually nobody gets any sleep.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • Cal's Diet (1)
    7.1/1018 votes

    #12 - Cal's Diet (1)

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 5/24/1980

    Upset about always being single, Cal decides to move back to Texas. He asks Fred for the $2000 he invested in the junk business at the beginning. Fred then suggests that Cal go on a diet and that he might look attractive after losing some pounds. Well Cal starts the diet, but it starts to get too hard for him.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • Cal's Diet (2)
    7.1/1020 votes

    #13 - Cal's Diet (2)

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 5/24/1980

    Fred, Rollo, and Cliff take Cal to a singles bar where he meets a meter maid. Cal and the lady date, but the woman ends up not really liking Cal because he is so fat. She tells Fred that that is the reason why she won't go out with him anymore. After that, Fred sticks up for Cal and when he breaks the news to him about the girl, it's back to the refrigerator for him.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A

  • The Benefit
    7.3/1028 votes

    #14 - The Benefit

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 5/31/1980

    Evelyn is trying to book a celebrity for her Children's Welfare charity and she remembers that Sammy Davis volunteered a year ago. On that information, Fred disguises himself as the Cello (Bass violin) player. After trying to hold Sammy to his year-old promise to perform, he mysteriously doesn't show up at the benefit. The guests start to get restless and Fred ends up dressing like Sammy Davis and pretending to be him to keep them happy. The real Sammy Davis then walks in on Fred's act, explains that his car broke down and that is why he was late, and the two sing ""Chicago, that tottlin' town"" together.

    Director: Jim Drake

    Writer: N/A