JEFFERSONS: THE COMPLETE 3RD SEASON - DVD review

Here's a TV trivia question for you: What does "The Jeffersons" have in common with "M*A*S*H" and "Cheers"—other than the fact that they're sitcoms? Give up?

All three shows had 11-year runs. As I watched episodes from "The Jeffersons" third season, I found myself wondering how the show lasted as long as the Emmy Award-winners.

Norman Lear introduced the "All in the Family" spin-off in 1975, thinking that the feisty George Jefferson, with his distinctive rooster-strutting, arm-swinging walk, would appeal to audiences as a black version of the bigoted Archie Bunker. After going toe-to-toe with Archie as his neighbor in Queens, the Jeffersons went "movin' on up to a de-luxe apartment in the sky" when George's dry-cleaning business turned into a little empire of sorts. And Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) ran his household like a little emperor. Sort of—though his wife, "Weezie" (Isabel Sanford), held her own against George's tirades, and so, for that matter, did Florence (Marla Gibbs), the family's maid who started as a live-in the third season. But much of the humor was generated by the contrast between George and Weezie and their "Oreo" neighbors, black Helen Willis (Roxie Roker) and her white husband, Tom (Franklin Cover).

It's first year "The Jeffersons" finished #4 in the Nielsen's, but the show slipped to #21 its second season, then #24, then out of the Top-30 for a few years until the 1979-80 season when it cracked the Top-10 again. The highest the show finished was #3—the year it was the highest-rated sitcom.

So what happened to the show its second through fifth seasons?

Well, for one thing, the actor who played the Jefferson's son, Lionel, changed. Mike Evans, who'd made the move from "All in the Family" and had become a fan favorite, left "The Jeffersons" after the first season. Unknown Damon Evans replaced him for several years, and the character of Lionel was gradually phased out of the scripts, relegated to a mention here and there. Mike Evans returned in 1979, and the show shot back into the Top-10. Coincidence? I think not. His last year with the show, when he and his on-screen wife, Jenny, separated also was the best showing that "The Jeffersons" made. After he left, it was "moving on down" to #21 again.

That's the only thing that stands out, really. And yet, Damon Evans isn't that bad. The problem is that overall the show just plain isn't as well written or funny as "All in the Family," as proven by the fact that the show never fared well with Emmy voters while Bunker & Co. won statue after statue. This third season makes that painfully clear. Maybe Mike Evans somehow inspired the writers and those around him to come up with snappier scripts and performances, but you won't find the same level of energy in these episodes—not even from the Englishman next door, who's still finding his way. Here's the rundown on the episodes:

1) "Louise Suspects"—When George tries to hide the fact that he's opening up another store against Louise's wishes, for all appearances it looks as if he's having an affair. And, interestingly, everyone keeps telling Louise that "it's 1976. Are you going to throw away 25 years of marriage? Let him have his fling. He'll come back." O-kay.

2) "George and the President"—This show was often used for promo shots because it features George in a Thomas Jefferson outfit with powdered wig, the brainchild of an ad man George hired to help him wage war against a dry-cleaning rival. Plain silliness.

3) "Louise Gets Her Way"—The episode where Florence is hired as a live-in maid by Louise, then fired by George . . . until her nosiness pays off and she overhears two men trying to cheat her boss. One of the better episodes.

4) "The Lie Detector"—One of the "issues" episodes, this time with Lionel quitting his first job on the first day rather than submit to a polygraph test. A decent episode.

5) "George's Diploma"—George tries for his GED after he learns that his son lied to people at work about his father's level of education, telling them he graduated "cum laude" from Harvard.

6) "The Retirement Party"—In a slow-moving but otherwise solid episode, George decides to sell out to a corporation and doesn't care that he's also selling out his employees . . . until the chickens come home to roost.

7) "Lionel's Pad"—Mom and Dad worry about their son's bachelor pad, until they learn his roommate will be none other than his fiancée, Jenny.

8) "The Agreement"—George meddles into his son's affairs, so to speak, when he suggests that Lionel ask Jenny to sign a pre-nuptial agreement.

9) "Tom the Hero"—Tom saves George's life, but the aftermath of debt is almost more than the fiercely independent George can bear. A decent episode.

10) "Jenny's Discovery"—When Jenny thinks that Lionel has been in an accident, any doubts she had about their relationship suddenly vanish.

11) "Florence in Love"—Florence quits when the Jeffersons won't allow her to have a sleep-over boyfriend, and George relishes the situation just a bit too much for Weezie's comfort.

12) "The Christmas Wedding"—"Family Feud," Jeffersons style. The Willises and Jeffersons feud over wedding plans.

13) "Louise Forgets"—Louise takes a course to improve her memory and Florence takes a course in self-defense.

14) "George's Guilt"—It takes an entire episode to figure out why, but Florence and Weezie can't understand why George is acting like a street-kid all over again and organizing a reunion of the gang he used to hang with.

15) "Bentley's Problem"—Neighbor Harry Bentley takes George's advice, and it lands him in jail. One of the episodes that paved the way for a larger role for Bentley (Paul Benedict, who had been a "numbers" man on "Sesame Street" previously). A decent episode.

16) "Jefferson Airplane"—Louise bugs George to take up a hobby to help him de-stress, but he only increases HER stress when the hobby he chooses is flying. Another decent episode.

17) "A Case of Black and White"—To salvage a big deal, George finds himself having to practically grovel before the servants he mistreats on a regular basis—Ralph the doorman (Ned Wertimer) with his perennial hand held out waiting for a tip, and the acid-tongued Florence.

18) "Louise vs. Jenny"—Louise finds herself shocked to be acting like a typical mother-in-law over her darling Lionel.

19) "Louise's Friend"—George's temperature rises when he discovers that Louise's new friend from French class is a male.

20) "The Marriage Counselors"—When the Jeffersons try on the Willises self-help scheme for improving their marriage, it backfires in a big way.

21) "The Old Flame"—Weezie-hating and malevolent Mother Jefferson (Zara Cully) takes center stage when she invites one of George's ex-girlfriends to dinner and it turns out there's still a spark—much to the old lady's delight.

22) "Jenny's Opportunity"—A different kind of sparks fly when Jenny wants to go to England for three months without her husband, and Lionel puts his foot down.

23) "George the Philanthropist"—George's sudden altruism and generosity doesn't make sense, until Weezie learns he's campaigning to win a Black Businessman's Award.

24) "Louise's Physical"—Why do so many sitcoms end a season on a serious note? George forces Louise to have a birthday party to pick up her spirits.

There are roughly 600 minutes of "The Jeffersons" season three.

Video: For Seventies sitcoms, the quality is pretty good—less grainy than shows from this era typically can be, though the color is, as often the case, slightly washed out. The aspect ratio is 1.33:1.

Audio: The soundtrack is Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, with the center-speaker sound duplicated for left and right main speakers. The quality is decent—nothing extraordinary, nothing offensive.

Extras: There are no extras other than trailers.

Bottom Line: I used to watch "The Jeffersons" when it was on prime-time television, but TV on DVD is proving one thing for certain: not all shows hold up the same, and the ones that do had writing that was especially sharp and performances that were so strong that they bear re-watching. These episodes are no where near as funny or as interesting as I remember the show being—then again, it's part of that second through fifth year slump that "The Jeffersons" somehow survived. How, I can't imagine.