JEFFERSONS, THE: THE FIRST STORE (TV)
Summary
One in this series of comedy programs -- a spin-off of "All in the Family" -- about George Jefferson, an opinionated, successful black entrepreneur, his sensible wife Louise, their adult son Lionel, and their assorted neighbors in a high-rise apartment building on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
In this episode, Weezie looks through a box of old photographs and ponders the past, remembering the time before George acquired his dry-cleaning store. She flashes back to 1968, when she was working as a maid, and George came home and announced that he intended to open his own business, sure it will bring them great wealth; though Weezie was unsure. A banker, Mr. Drew, arrived to discuss George's request for a loan, and George attempted to remain polite as the man made condescending and racially insensitive comments. Lionel arrived home and mentioned that he encountered trouble with some "pigs" while at a demonstration. George tried to assure Mr. Drew that their son was not "anti-police," though he was disturbed when Mr. Drew criticized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Drew agreed to give him the loan and said he will soon return with the papers. George was jubilant, then having revealed to Weezie and Lionel that he had already sold their car to rent a store. They visited the rundown building and Lionel seemed pessimistic, saying that a black-owned business will surely fail and voicing his support of the black militant movement, though his parents argued in favor of non-violence. Just then, a brick smashed the store window, and they learned from a passerby that Dr. King had been killed and riots had begun. At home, the family struggled to process the loss and George declared that Weezie shall now work for him at the store, not for the Warrens. Lionel decided that he would take part in the rioting and looting, though Weezie objected strongly. Mr. Drew arrived again with the papers for the loan. He then told George that he would have to find another property in a "more respectable" neighborhood, and George angrily threw the "honky" from his home. He wonderied if Lionel's militant friends were right about aggressively overthrowing white supremacy. Weezie declared that Dr. King would not approve of their actions, and George told Lionel about his first experience with prejudice, deciding in the end that they will "overcome" after all. The family then sat together to listen to Dr. King's last, eerily prophetic "I've been to the Mountaintop" speech on the radio. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: April 6, 1980 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:57345
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1975-1985
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jay Moriarty … Executive Producer, Writer
- Mike Milligan … Executive Producer, Writer
- Ken Stump … Associate Producer
- Norman Lear … Developed by
- Don Nicholl … Created by
- Michael Ross … Created by
- Bernie West … Created by
- Bob Lally … Director
- Jeff Barry … Theme Music by
- Ja'net du Bois … Theme Music by
- Sherman Helmsley … Cast, George Jefferson
- Isabel Sanford … Cast, Louise "Weezie" Jefferson
- Roxie Roker … Cast, Helen Willis
- Franklin Cover … Cast, Tom Willis
- Marla Gibbs … Cast, Florence Johnston
- Berlinda Tolbert … Cast, Jenny Willis Jefferson
- Mike Evans … Cast, Lionel Jefferson
- Paul Benedict … Cast, Harry Bentley
- Roger Bowen … Cast, William Drew
- James King … Cast, Youth