The Jeffersons
A sitcom about a black couple "movin' on up" from a modest Queens neighborhood to deluxe apartment in Manhattan's ritzy East Side. The show was spun-off from "All in the Family" in 1975 and for the next 11 seasons, The Jeffersons lived among a kaleidoscope of characters, including their sassy maid Florence, a bizarre British neighbor named Bentley, and the Willises -- TV's first married couple in which one character was black and one was white. Like All in the Family, The Jeffersons had a bigoted, opinionated loud-mouth at its center: George Jefferson, who was constantly putting his foot in his mouth. The show tackled many serious issues, although comedy was the key element of its success.
It is Harry Bentley's birthday, and the Jeffersons have invited him and the Willises over for a dinner party. But the occasion turns sour when Tom shows up wearing the same tuxedo as George, causing George to become jealous. Meanwhile, Helen is trying to hide the fact that she was mugged a few days earlier, and if Tom knows about this he will surely move his family out of New York City.
George and Louise decide to take a cruise for their first-ever vacation, but then have to figure out how to tell Mother Jefferson that she's not invited.
A young woman shows up at the Jeffersons', claiming that she is Louise's long-lost daughter. Louise and George deny her claims, but Mother Jefferson brings up the disturbing news that Louise dated a man years ago while George was in Korea--and that man is the young woman's father.
Harry Bentley's new girlfriend Daphne appears to be insinuating her way into his life, much to his chagrin. Meanwhile, George plots to bribe the building inspector.
Upset that George, Louise, and Lionel aren't paying attention to her while she's visiting their apartment, Mother Jeffersons fakes a fall to command their attention.
George and Louise's anniversary bicycle ride leads to a minor collision and a legal summons for George. But Louise insists on telling the truth rather than corroborating George's ethically shaky account of the incident.
Mother Jefferson is upset over an encounter with an elevator masher, who turns out to be Tom Willis' elderly Uncle Bertram, a retired firefighter in town to visit his relatives.
George feels that his fortunes are taking a turn for the worse when his business is making less profit and his banker won't return his calls.
George is all excited about being invited to speak in front of some youths about his success at what he believes is a college--until he discovers that he's supposed to speak in the Harlem neighborhood where they used to live, to a gang Lionel used to run with as a teen. Later, his fears are justified when the gang loots his delivery van. Charles, a social worker, and Lionel, who is able to retrieve the van from his former friend Ronnie, the gang leader, finally persuade George to speak to the youths.
Jenny's stubborn grandfathers won't set foot in the Willis apartment because of Tom and Helen's mixed marriage, so Jenny and Louise try to orchestrate a meeting on neutral ground - in the Jefferson apartment. But how will George react?
George's Navy pal, Wendell Brown, pays him a visit. However, Wendell is more interested in getting fresh with Louise than in reminiscing old times with George.
When the manager of one of George's stores quits, longtime employee Emily campaigns to replace him. But George shows his male chauvinism by refusing to consider her because she is a female.
During a severe snowstorm, Lionel accidentally dents George's company van, but he won't tell him because he took it without his father's permission. But George later thinks that he himself dented the van in a hit-and-run he thinks he caused.
Mother Jefferson expects George to take her to their monthly lunch date, to the dismay of Louise because she wants George to accompany her to a family friend's funeral on the same day.
When George finds out that Lionel turned down a well-paying engineering job, he hits the roof. The resulting late-night argument expands to Tom and Helen Willis' apartment upstairs.
Lionel comes home in a fury and informs his parents that his English professor is forcing him to rewrite a term paper and make it flawless - or else he will get a failing grade and therefore cannot graduate. George, wanting to see his son be the first Jefferson to graduate college, pays a freelance writer to write that term paper instead and expects Lionel to just turn that one in. While the Willises and Louise thinks that is a bad idea, Lionel likes it, and this results in an argument between the two families and soon a break-up.
Three days have passed after the Jeffersons and the Willises have broken up, and George is the only one who's happy about the situation. He meets a foxy lady at his cleaning store and decides to invite her to meet Lionel--a clear attempt to make sure Lionel and Jenny will separate for good. Unfortunately, despite Bentley's warning, George doesn't realize that the woman is a "working girl."
Florence shows out-of-character actions one day, including cleaning the Jeffersons' entire apartment without griping and giving Louise a prized possession of hers. As a result, Louise suspects that Florence is contemplating suicide.
Mother Jefferson visits George, Louise, and Lionel on her birthday, expecting them to throw her a surprise party. After they realize that they've forgotten about her big day, they scramble to put together the celebration for which Mother Jefferson is anxiously waiting.
To George's disgruntlement, Louise is offered to write a cookbook.
George and Louise accept an invitation to dinner with Harry Bentley and his sister, but at the last minute George realizes that he got invited to a party hosted by Mr. Whittendale, and he would rather blow off the engagement with Bentley and attend Whittendale's gathering.
Lionel becomes drunk on his graduation day, fearing that he will not live up to being as successful as his father.
George accepts Judge Markel's invitation to join the all-white Windsor Tennis Club for networking purposes, then finds out he was only invited to be the club's "token minority" and appease the local media.
George and Louise plan to renew their wedding vows. But then George enrages Louise by failing to treat her as an equal partner in their marriage.
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Paul Benedict | Harry Bentley |
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Sherman Hemsley | George Jefferson |
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Berlinda Tolbert | Jenny Willis |
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Franklin Cover | Tom Willis |
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Isabel Sanford | Louise Jefferson |
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Roxie Roker | Helen Willis |
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Zara Cully | Mother Jefferson |
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Damon Evans | Lionel Jefferson |
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Ned Wertimer | Ralph Hart |
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Marla Gibbs | Florence Johnston |
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Victor Kilian | Uncle Bertram |
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Rene Auberjonois | Inspector Keller |
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Robert Guillaume | Charles Thompson |
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Louis Gossett Jr. | Wendell Brown |
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Melinda Dillon | Daphne |
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Richard Libertini | Neighbor |
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Leon Ames | Grandpa Willis |
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Marion Ramsey | Tracy Davis |
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J.A. Preston | Rev. Greenwood |
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Lillian Randolph | Emma |
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Danny Wells | Charlie |
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Davis Roberts | Carl |
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Robert Lussier | Howard Brooks |
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Maidie Norman | Rachel |
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Keene Curtis | Judge John Markell |
| Director | Jack Shea |
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| Writer | Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West, Norman Lear, Lloyd Turner, Gordon Mitchell, Jay Moriarty, Mike Milligan, Don Boyle, Calvin Kelly, James Ritz, John Ashby, George Burditt, Sandy Krinski, Ann Gibbs | |
| Producer | Norman Lear, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, George Sunga, Bernard West | |
| Packaging | Custom Case |
|---|---|
| Nr Discs | 3 |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures |
| Layers | Single side, Single layer |
| Regions | Region 1 |
| Purchased | At Amazon.com |
|---|---|
| Condition | Excellent |
| Index | 1172 |
| Added Date | Jul 28, 2012 09:30:11 |
| Modified Date | Nov 26, 2016 05:16:47 |