Sanford and Son (TV Series) School Daze (1977) User Reviews

The final episode, all except Grady present

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 16 December 2016]

"School Daze" was the final episode as intended, Redd Foxx heading to ABC, Demond Wilson to CBS, and its successor SANFORD ARMS lasting only a month on NBC. Everyone worries about Fred, who's been spending nights locked in his room, not watching TV like he usually does, and seeing a strange woman to boot. Donna fears that he's having an affair, sneaking out smelling like a perfume factory. A frantic phone call to Doris Chandler (Sarah Jane Miller), who turns out to be a young pretty white woman has Aunt Esther wondering if he's gone senile (Rollo: "if you gotta go senile, that's the way to go!"). Both Fred and Bubba are revealed to be preparing to earn their high school diplomas, a fitting subject for the series finale, in which the ages mentioned indicate that Fred has aged 3 years (65 at the start) and Lamont 6 years (31 in the beginning) over six seasons! The conclusion features just Sanford and Son sharing the screen: "Pop, how would you feel about a man my age saying I love you to his father?" "oh well I never liked that sort of thing, see I believe that feelings between older people should be kept inside and not spurted out like mush or sugar..." "I love you Pop" "I love you son...or syrup, you know what I mean?" "yeah, I'll never say it" "me neither!" The entire gang is here except for Grady (last seen in "The Defiant One"), the final tally as follows - Fred Sanford 125 episodes, Lamont 132, Aunt Esther 48, Bubba 43, Rollo 32, Donna 22.

Return Of Redd Foxx To Sanford & Son

[wware1 · 22 July 2010]

The writers and producers knew Redd Foxx would not return because he had signed a contract to host a variety show on ABC the following fall. They had expected Demond Wilson to return, but they couldn't agree on a contract, so he didn't return. They came up with "Sanford Arms" at the last moment, which only lasted a month I believe. The show had Aunt Esther, Grady, and Bubba. The Redd Foxx variety show wasn't that successful either - I think it lasted half a season. If I remember there were problems with the censors. Demond Wilson's new show "Baby I'm Back" wasn't successful either. The last scene of "School Daze" was touching as Lamont and Fred express their love for each other in their unique way.

Apt last episode

[Greatornot · 9/10 · 2 August 2009]

I know this is like 3 decades removed . This episode sort of reminded me of the last episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. It was a very fitting last episode . I do not know if the writers knew it would be . Certainly they may have had an inkling that the show would not be picked up next season.Maybe even more than an inkling. Basically, this episode showed how all the family and friends of Fred cared about him. He was going out clandestinely , for a high school degree. There were the concerns and finally when it came to the tag. Fred and Lamont reveled in Fred getting his high school degree and actually stated their love for each other.It was a wonderful father=son moment. Similar to Raymond last episode , in the sense that there was not the usual vicious attacks that Fred and Aunt Esther have. Bickering was kept to a minimum. Just a wonderful last episode and really the last scene was a nice tag on the complete 6 seasons of the show.The one minor criticism , I have, is that you would not get the feel of the show from this one episode, as you can say about Raymond. Last episodes , many times do have a special dynamic that sets them apart from the rest of the shows. This was no exception.