I have a couple seasons of this comical show on DVD.
Some of the characters are stereotypical, but no subject is taboo.
There are some similiarities between Magnum P.I. and Sanford & Son.
1. Fred Sanford drives a classic red pickup truck (Chevy or Ford?)
2. Roger Mosley guest starred in one episode.
3. Pat Morita ("One More Summer") co-starred in a few episodes
4. there was an episode where Fred and Lamont were in Hawai'i, trying to catch a jewel thief. The HAWAI'I 5-0 theme song played throughout.
5. the plot always revolves around Lamont trying to move out and his father trying to prevent this or treating him like a child.
Kind of a parallel to Magnum and Higgins' relationship. Higgy acts like a father-figure to Magnum. There has been more than moment where Magnum was supposed to leave the estate, and in the end Higgins found an excuse for him "to stay".
SANFORD AND SON
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SANFORD AND SON
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- lutherhgillis
- Fleet Admiral
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Yes, I would agree there were some similarities. I watched this show during its first run and enjoyed it. Today, I do not find it as funny. Nothing against the show however. It was one of the funniest shows around during its time and one of the best ever IMHO.
Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?
- Little Garwood
- Fleet Admiral
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And with Grady possibly being Robin Masters...the comparisons to MPI are obvious!
Speaking of Grady, I always knew I was in for a crappy episode when a show opened with Grady and his creepy beard in Fred's house and one of the first things he'd say was "Fred's in St. Louis but I'm Grady and I'll be here instead." Painful exposition, indeed.

Speaking of Grady, I always knew I was in for a crappy episode when a show opened with Grady and his creepy beard in Fred's house and one of the first things he'd say was "Fred's in St. Louis but I'm Grady and I'll be here instead." Painful exposition, indeed.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."
~Tom Selleck
~Tom Selleck
I LOVE Sanford & Son...when I was a kid and it was in primetime, it was a show I watched with my dad every week. My mom would even buy special potato chips (Ruffles) that we would eat while we watched. In my opinion the the two best episodes were "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe" & "Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle". The odd thing is that these episodes aired consecutively in January 1974.
Re: SANFORD AND SON
I watched the re-runs of this show in the late 70s / early 80s. I thought it was hilarious back then, but today I don't think it would be so much. I saw an episode a little while back. The acting on this particular episode was awful, and the script really stank. It was about Lamont being in a bank that got robbed and he knew one of the robbers.
Re: SANFORD AND SON
That is an especially bad episode. Many are much better.MHTR wrote:I watched the re-runs of this show in the late 70s / early 80s. I thought it was hilarious back then, but today I don't think it would be so much. I saw an episode a little while back. The acting on this particular episode was awful, and the script really stank. It was about Lamont being in a bank that got robbed and he knew one of the robbers.