TV on DVD

Banty rooster George, kin on 33-DVD Jeffersons set

The Jeffersons, Complete Series
The Jeffersons, Complete Series

What is it? The Jeffersons, Complete Series, 253 episodes on 33 discs from Shout! Factory

How much? $229.99

When? Now

Who are the Jeffersons? The Jeffersons were first introduced on the classic All in the Family and creator Norman Lear decided they were worthy of a show of their own. So, they left their home in Queens for a "dee-luxe apartment in the sky-y-y." Consider that earworm an early Christmas present. You're welcome.

George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) is many things: short, shrewd, stubborn, irrational, racist, rude, prone to temper tantrums and yet, somehow, funny and even charming. In very simple terms, he's a black Archie Bunker. Thanks to his business sense and his chain of dry cleaning establishments, he's wealthy enough to move with his wife Louise and grown son Lionel (Damon Evans and Mike Evans) into a luxury Manhattan apartment. He has arrived and he is thrilled.

Louise (Isabel Sanford), or "Weezy," is far more tolerant and personable than George. But unlike Edith Bunker, she's no dimwitted pushover. She rarely hesitates to deflate his ego or shoot back when George fires away.

Their move to the East Side brings new neighbors: cheerful, British Harry Bentley (Paul Benedict) and the Willis clan. Tom (Franklin Cover) is white. Helen (Roxie Roker) is black. George not only doesn't approve, he delights in insulting them and their daughter, Jenny (Berlinda Tolbert), with whom Lionel begins a long-running relationship. George really doesn't approve of that.

George also insists on hiring a maid and the Jeffersons end up with Florence (Marla Gibbs) -- a sassy, opinionated smart-aleck who engages in a constant verbal war with George.

What's it like? It's considered a classic by many and while it's not as groundbreaking or seminal as its parent series, it's still entertaining. The fact that it lasted 11 seasons shows it was certainly doing something right.

It's less issue-heavy than All in the Family -- at least after the first couple of seasons. The focus is more on the people and personality conflicts. Still, race relations are a frequent source of comedy and storylines. For instance, a political campaign causes discord when Helen volunteers to support a white candidate and Tom and George side with his black opponent -- for all the wrong reasons.

The series drew some big-name guest stars including Billy Dee Williams, Gladys Knight and Louis Gossett Jr.

Viewers of today might find some of the topics and particularly some of the language surprising. George was not in any way, shape or form politically correct and while the racial slurs don't fly fast and furious, they do fly on occasion.

And it has one of the catchiest, most well-known theme songs in TV history. So catchy it may take actual surgical intervention to remove it from your head.

What about extras? There's a 17-minute featurette/interview with Lear and selected episodes of All in the Family, the Florence spinoff Checking In and E/R (not to be confused with ER) with an appearance by Hemsley as George.

New this week: The Americans, Season 2; Arrested Development, Season 4; Extant, Season 1; The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Season 4.

Next week: Continuum, Season 3; The Donna Reed Show, Season 2; Intruders, Season 1; My Favorite Martian, Season 2.

Style on 12/14/2014

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