The BEST episodes of The Jeffersons
Every episode of The Jeffersons ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Jeffersons!
A black couple, headed up by opinionated loud-mouth George Jefferson, moves from a modest Queens neighborhood to deluxe apartment in Manhattan's ritzy East Side.
#1 - Now You See It, Now You Don't (2)
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/28/1979
When the Killer Rabbit overhears Louise telling Harry what she saw through the telescope, he follows her to her apartment and waits until everyone leaves to confront her. The Killer Rabbit soon finds that killing Louise is not going to be an easy task with constant interruptions preventing him.
#2 - The Announcement
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/1979
Lionel and Jenny after wonderful news, Jenny is pregnant, but they only share the news with Tom and Helen, reason being Lionel doesn't want George making jokes about what color the baby will be. However, when Florence overhears the news she accidentally lets slip to Louise and she in turn tells George which leads to yet another argument.
#3 - Brother Tom
Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/27/1980
When two old friends of Helen's come for a visit, Tom feels like a "white" outsider in his own home. This prompts him to ask George to teach him how to act black.
#4 - The Jefferson Curve
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/17/1977
Marcus takes a lesson from George and throws a pretty girl the Jefferson curve, which is to bend the truth to get what you want and Marcus tells the girl that he's Lionel. This eventually leads George and Louise to belive that Lionel is having an affair.
#5 - Men of the Cloth
Season 8 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/7/1982
For Jessica's baptism, Louise wants Florence and her gospel singing group to perform and Jenny agrees with her. However, George wants someone else and sets out to get Andrae Crouch to preform at the baptism, going so far as to say he is a reverend.
#6 - A Case of Black and White
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/31/1977
George's latest business deal is with a black man married to a white woman, so when he invites them over for dinner, he also has Tom and Helen come over, to make it look like he doesn't have racial prejudices. However, when Tom and Helen discover his plot, they storm out before the guests have arrived. This leads to George having Florence and Ralph impersonate Tom and Helen.
#7 - The First Store
Season 6 - Episode 23 - Aired 4/6/1980
As Louise and George look through old photos, they recall George opening his first store in 1968. His opening coincides with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr and when news of his death circulates, chaos erupts in the Jeffersons' neighborhood.
#8 - The Christmas Wedding
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/22/1976
Christmas eve brings disharmony to the Jefferson household when George argues with Tom over the preparations for Lionel and Jenny's wedding which is to take place that evening.
#9 - Half a Brother
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/1978
George is being considered for a position on a bank's board of directors and when a banker comes over to interview him, Alan and the banker's daughter hit it off. This leads George to worry that because Alan is half black this will jeopardize his chances of getting the position.
#10 - Jenny's Grandparents
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/15/1975
Jenny is tired of the bickering between her two grandfathers who have been against each other ever since Tom and Helen wed. So this leads Jenny, Louise and Mother Jefferson to concoct a scheme to get the two together at the Jeffersons' apartment since neither of the grandfathers will step foot in the Willis' apartment.
#11 - Jenny's Thesis
Season 4 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/4/1978
Jenny needs a topic for a thesis that she's writing. However, her idea could lead her into danger when she decides her topic will be street gangs. This leads her to go to Harlem and meet Marcus', unknown to her Tom and George are following her.
#12 - The Other Woman
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/21/1979
A business trip of Tom's sparks an argument between him and Helen which gets even worse when she discovers that a beautiful blond is accompanying him.
#13 - A Case of Self-Defense
Season 8 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/21/1982
When Lionel and Jenny's apartment gets broken into, George begins to worry that his apartment could just as easily be broken into. His solution: buy a gun, something that Louise is totally against. However, George buys one on the sly and later proves to be a dangerous possession.
#14 - The Strays (2)
Season 8 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/28/1982
While recuperating, George contemplates a plan to get Louise's ring back from The Strays, despite her objections.
#15 - Change of a Dollar
Season 9 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/13/1983
On the night of a big banquet for Tom, George runs out at the last minute to do an errand at his store in Queens. Once there, we're taken back to 1968 and witness the grand opening of Jefferson Cleaners and we see how George earned his first dollar.
#16 - What Makes Sammy Run?
Season 10 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/1/1984
Louise discovers that Sammy Davis, Jr. is renting the apartment across the hall in order to get some peace and quiet from his fans. However, an ecstatic Louise has a hard time keeping his secret a secret.
#17 - Florence's Problem
Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/24/1976
Florence goes on a cleaning spree in the Jefferson's apartment as well as behaving extremely strange including, kissing Harry and giving away a swimming award to Louise. This leads Louise to believe Florence is contemplating suicide.
#18 - Death Smiles on a Dry Cleaner (1)
Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/21/1982
For George's birthday, Louise books herself, George and Florence on a murder mystery cruise ship for mystery novelists, thus George pretends to be a novelist. George is having fun trying to solve a murder mystery until an apparant "real" murder occurs.
#19 - Mr. Wonderful
Season 9 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/16/1983
George forgets to pick up opera tickets and this leads to Louise and Helen comparing him to the "thoughful" Tom. A miffed George spills the beans about Tom buying an insurance policy and has made a cousin the beneficiary, a cousin who is a racist and is against Tom and Helen's marriage.
#20 - Louise's Painting
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1978
Prompted by Helen, Louise begins taking an art class. However, when George discovers she's been sketching models who pose in the nude, he tries to get her to stop attending class.
#21 - George's Dream
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/1978
Workaholic George falls asleep in his office, one evening, and has a dream that takes him to the year 1996. In the dream, Louise is celebrating the 22nd anniversary of George's business, who isn't there celebrating, since he passed on a few years earlier.
#22 - Louise Forgets
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/5/1977
Louise is reading a book to try to help her to remember things, but the one thing George doesn't want her to forget, she does. She forgets to call his broker to invest some money, after he gets a stock tip. Meanwhile, Florence takes a Judo class.
#24 - Thammy the Thongwriter
Season 8 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/3/1982
George and Louise receive a post card from Harry, who's been transfered out of the country. Soon after, they meet the man who's moving into Harry's old apartment, a jingle writer whom George tries to get to write a jingle for his business. However, jingles are far from his mind, since he's having marital problems.
#25 - A Short Story
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/1979
George is ecstatic when he learns he's been named Small Businessman of the Year. However, Louise quickly learns that the basis of the award is purely physical. The award is to honor short businessmen.