Season 7

The Jeffersons: Season 7
The Jeffersons Season 7 DVD cover.
Program information
Episodes aired:
25
Dates aired:
November 2, 1980 - March 29, 1981
Network/Country:
CBS-TV / United States
Previous Season: Season 6
Next Season: Season 8

The Jeffersons: Season 7

A total of 20 episodes of The Jeffersons aired on CBS-TV during Season 7, from November 2, 1980 to the season's conclusion on March 29, 1981.

Season summary

Scheduling sand ratings

For its seventh season, The Jeffersons was ranked #6 in the Nielsen ratings as part of CBS's winning Sunday night lineup which lead off with #3-ranked 60 Minutes and continued with #13-ranked Archie Bunker's Place at 8pm, #11-ranked One Day at a Time at 830pm, #7-ranked Alice in the 9pm tentpole position and #17-ranked Trapper John, M.D. closing out the night at 10pm.

Story notes

Early in the season was the four-part "The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii" (parts two and three aired as an hour long special).

At the end of this abbreviated season of 20 episodes (including two hour-longs) that started in early November due to a Writer's Guild Strike, Florence was briefly spun off into the very short-lived spinoff series Checking In where she was the Head of Housekeeping for a hotel. Marla Gibbs wisely arranged to return to The Jeffersons should the spinoff series prove unsuccessful -- which it did.

The hourlong season-ending episode "Florence's New Job" set the stage for the Checking In spinoff that lasted for only four episodes in April of 1981 after The Jeffersons season ended. Why the spinoff was scheduled for Thursdays at 8pm instead of in the Jeffersons' Sunday night time slot shows how much belief the network had in the program -- which makes me wonder why they bothered with it in the first place. Granted, there wasn't much competition on Thursday nights -- a declined Mork & Mindy with the low-rated Bosom Buddies on ABC and Games People Play on NBC.

Series overview 

Seasons		Episodes	Originally aired
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1	13	January 18, 1975	April 12, 1975
	2	24	September 13, 1975	March 6, 1976
	3	24	September 25, 1976	April 11, 1977
	4	26	September 24, 1977	March 4, 1978
	5	24	September 20, 1978	April 18, 1979
	6	24	September 23, 1979	April 13, 1980
	7	20	November 2, 1980	March 29, 1981
	8	25	October 4, 1981	May 16, 1982
	9	27	September 26, 1982	May 1, 1983
	10	22	October 2, 1983	May 6, 1984
	11	24	October 14, 1984	July 2, 1985

Season 7 (1980-81)

• Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson
• Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson
• Mike Evans as Lionel Jefferson
• Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston
• Franklin Cover as Thomas "Tom" Willis
• Roxie Roker as Helen Willis
• Berlinda Tolbert as Jenny Willis Jefferson
• Paul Benedict as Harry Bentley
• Ned Wertimer as Ralph the Doorman

Image	No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
	136	1	"Marathon Men"	Bob Lally	Bob Bendetson & Howard Bendetson	November 2, 1980	7.1 / 701
It's the match of the century as perennial rivals George and Tom make plans to run each other into the ground in a 26-mile marathon. Louise and Helen doubt if they'll survive the strenuous training, much less the race.
	137	2	"The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii: Part One"	Bob Lally	Michael Moye	November 9, 1980	7.2 / 702
After George is told by his doctor that he is at high risk for a heart attack, he and Louise plan a trip to Hawaii. Florence accompanies them, and when they arrive they encounter Tom and Helen, who are staying at the same hotel and have decided to extend their vacation.
	138	3	"The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii: Part Two"	Bob Lally	Michael Moye, Mike Milligan & Jay Moriarty	November 16, 1980	7.3 / 703
The Willises presence in Hawaii threatens to destroy Georges plan for a dream vacation with Louise, but his high blood pressure begins to lower anyway, convincing him it might be healthy to stay in the islands permanently.
	139	4	"The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii: Part Three"	Bob Lally	Michael Moye, Mike Milligan & Jay Moriarty	November 16, 1980	7.4 / 704
Enthusiastic about his idea of remaining in Hawaii permanently, George tries to enlist Toms help to persuade Louise. Then, George and Tom get lost sailing.
	140	5	"The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii: Part Four"	Bob Lally	Michael Moye, Mike Milligan & Jay Moriarty	November 23, 1980	7.5 / 705
After their boat capsizes, George and Tom end up on an island where the friendly natives want to stop a greedy real estate developer. Of course, it turns out to be the developer with whom George wants to invest.
	141	6	"Put It On"	Bob Lally	Bob Bendetson & Howard Bendetson	November 30, 1980	7.6 / 706
It could be Full Monty time when Tom and George follow the women to an all-male strip show.
	142	7	"Florence's Cousin"	Bob Lally	Marshall Goldberg	December 7, 1980	7.7 / 707
Florence's cousin Ernie drops by for a "visit". He lies and tells Florence that he needs $1,000 for a record store. Ernie gets the money from George and runs off to Miami with it. Florence winds up working in a restaurant behind George's back to get the money back. When George finds out about it he fires Florence. But after seeing how mean the manager treats her George decides to hire her back.
	143	8	"All I Want for Christmas"	Bob Lally	Ron Leavitt & David W. Duclon	December 21, 1980	7.8 / 708
George gets carried away after playing Santa for the orphans at the Help Center and promises them they will get anything they want for Christmas.
	144	9	"Calendar Girl"	Bob Lally	Stephen Sustarsic and David Silverman	January 4, 1981	7.9 / 709
George and Louise secretly defy Lionel and Jenny to enter infant Jessica in a contest and manage to misplace the child in the process.
	145	10	"As Florence Turns"	Bob Lally	Peter Casey and David Lee	January 11, 1981	7.10 / 710
Florence's vivid imagination transforms the Jeffersons and their friends into characters in a soap opera, in which the evil dry cleaning magnate G.R. (George) torments his family and associates to their murderous limits.
	146	11	"God Bless Americans"	Bob Lally	Peter Casey and David Lee	January 18, 1981	7.11 / 711
George's upcoming appearance on a local television talk show is jeopardized when the super-patriotic host learns George is sponsoring a Cuban refugee.
	147	12	"Alley Oops"	Bob Lally	Jerry Perzigian and Don Siegel	January 25, 1981	7.12 / 712
George's star bowler gets sick before the semi-finals in a bowling tournament and it's up to Tom, who hasn't bowled in 30 years, to save the day.
	148	13	"And the Doorknobs Shined Like Diamonds"	Bob Lally	Michael Moye	February 1, 1981	7.13 / 713
When Louise finds out that the house she grew up in is being torn down, she decides to go back and visit it. She recalls memories from her childhood, including flashback scenes involving her sister Maxine and her mother.
	149	14	"Sorry, Wrong Meeting"	Bob Lally	Peter Casey and David Lee	February 15, 1981	7.14 / 714
Louise and Florence attend a CPR class. In the class they run into members of the Ku Klux Klan. After Tom is robbed he decides to arrange a tenants meeting. Unaware that it's a KKK meeting, Tom, George and Harry Bentley all attend and an ugly argument flares up. The leader of the group has a heart attack and George saves him by giving him CPR, but he is then ungrateful about it. However, the leader's son is appreciative of what George did and as a result quits the group.
	150	15	"My Hero"	Bob Lally	Teleplay by: David Lee, Jerry Perzigian, Don Siegel & Peter Casey Story by: Stephen Sustarsic, David Silverman	February 22, 1981	7.15 / 715
George basks in the limelight after heroically saving an elderly woman from a mugger and capturing the thug. When the man escapes custody and sets out to get even, George hires a bodyguard.
	151	16	"I Buy The Songs"	Bob Lally	Teleplay by: Jerry Perzigian, Don Siegel, Peter Casey & David Lee Story by: Lesa Kite, Cindy Begel	March 1, 1981	7.16 / 716
Not only does George fail in comparison to Tom in romantic gifts to his wife, he also forgets Valentine's Day. George makes it up to Louise in a song.
	152	17	"Small Fish, Big Pond"	Bob Lally	Michael Moye	March 8, 1981	7.17 / 717
George exaggerates his financial standing to gain membership in one of New York's most exclusive businessmans clubs and soon finds himself in over his head.
	153	18	"Not So Dearly Beloved"	Bob Lally	Teleplay by: Stephen Sustarsic and David Silverman Story by: Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs	March 15, 1981	7.18 / 718
George searches for the right words to express his feelings in a eulogy for an employee who died while George fired him.
	154	19	"Florence's New Job: Part One"	Bob Lally	Jay Moriarty and Mike Milligan	March 29, 1981	7.19 / 719
Florence is offered a job as an executive housekeeper at the fictional St. Frederick Hotel. This episode served as the transition to Marla Gibbs' short-lived spinoff series, Checking In.
	155	20	"Florence's New Job: Part Two"	Bob Lally	Jay Moriarty and Mike Milligan	March 29, 1981	7.20 / 7.20
Florence is thrilled with her new job and new office, but she soon starts to agree with the hotel's insufferable manager that she doesn't have what it takes to be an executive.