Fred is sure that his dreams will be good luck in picking numbers for a lottery and his hunch turns out to be true, despite the fact that Lamont forbids him to participate. Fred quickly finds himself $500 richer but also finds Aunt Ethel and Bubba needing quick cash.

After getting in an accident with the truck, Fred thinks that he might have whiplash and Fred's friend Bubba convinces him that he can make big money off of the situation. Lamont is against the whole idea but Fred insists on going through with a lawsuit, but first Fred must identify the person the hit him.

Fred's toothache becomes an exercise in patience for Lamont when Fred refuses to see a dentist and instead tries Bubba's home remedy and a hypnotist. Finally, Fred decides to throw in the towel and visits a dentist but insists on a white dentist.

Fred and Lamont have bills coming out of their ears and consider going on welfare, something Fred refuses to do. Fred comes up with a plan to throw a "big party" in the Sanford home and charge admission. That's when two hoods show wanting a part of the action. Meanwhile, Aunt Esther is trying to find a place to hold her weekly church group meetings.

Lamont goes totally African. He starts to wear African clothing, and yearns to learn more about the culture. At the same time, Fred thinks that the whole thing is ridiculous, that is until a woman from Nigeria visits and explains to Lamont how sacred listening to your father is in African culture and how you should respect him.

Lamont breaks the news to Fred that he plans to join the crew of a tramp steamer and sail around the world. A shocked Fred gets another shock, Lamont plans on putting him in a retirement home.

Fred comes home to find Lamont and his drama teacher Marilyn acting out a choking scene from the play "Othello." Fred then jumps to the logical conclusion that Lamont is trying to kill a white woman. Later, Fred becomes the victim of assumption when Marilyn invites Fred and Lamont to her place and her parents think Fred and Lamont are trying to rob the place.

Rollo and Lamont are managing a girl singing group from Philadelphia, The Three Degrees. They stay at the Sanford house while preparing for a talent show at the Safari Club. Fred is against the notion at first until he meets the three sexy girls. At the Safari Club, Lamont is surprised when Fred and his friends arrive and they start heckling the other acts.

Lamont and Rollo are out on the town one evening and decide to stop in at a new bar for a couple drinks. However, they soon realize they have stumbled into a gay bar. Unknown to them, Bubba just happened to see them go inside. Bubba promptly jumps to conclusions and then proceeds to tell Fred that Lamont is gay. Not believing Bubba's story, Fred decides to get to the bottom of the situation.

Lamont advises Fred to donate a collection of Blind Mellow Jelly records to a music library for a tax write-off. After doing so, Fred finds out from an appraiser that the records are valued at five hundred dollars. Fred, with dollar signs in his eyes, has Bubba act as though he were the son of Blind Mellow Jelly in an attempt to get them back.

For a birthday present, Lamont buys Fred a pool table. But things get out of hand when Fred invites his buddies over for some friendly games. They quickly overstay their welcome and eat and drink Fred and Lamont out of house and home. Lamont quickly regrets ever buying the pool table for Fred and tries to convince him that the house is not a pool hall.

Fred and his buddies are down over the death of a close friend and Aunt Esther's over-reacting does nothing to help. Thus, Fred decides to throw a cheer-up party and intends to have it in the Sanford home, complete with booze, music and friends of Fast Fanny, a topless waitress.

Lamont is disgusted when he receives a traffic ticket for failure to yield on a right turn. Lamont is sure he did the most prudent thing for the situation and lets Fred talk him into fighting the ticket in court. Lamont is prepared to fight for himself but once in the court room he finds himself being represented ... by Fred!

Fred returns from his extended trip to St. Louis and Lamont, Donna, Aunt Esther, Bubba, Rollo and Grady have planned a surprise party for his return. Fred no more than steps in the door and Aunt Esther and him are at each other's throats. However, the real problem comes when Fred does some eavesdropping on Lamont and Grady.

It's the 35th anniversary of Sanford & Son Salvage and Lamont has two gifts planned to give Fred. The first is a new window with the specially printed title of their business and the other is an expensive ring that everyone has chipped in to buy. However, when Fred runs across it, he becomes convinced that it was stolen from Frank Sinatra, after Frank's hotel room was ransacked by the Tip-Toe Bandit.

The cast appears on Wheel and Deal, hosted by Harry Monty.

Fred and Lamont are appalled when they see a sitcom, Steinberg and Son which amazing seems to be modeled on the life of Fred and Lamont. Fred and Lamont decide to check it out themselves and go to a taping of an episode and are shocked to see the similarites. In fact, the only thing different from the sitcom and Fred and Lamont's lives are the names of the characters and the fact that the cast is white. Lamont and Fred hire a lawyer and prepare a million dollar lawsuit againt the producers.

Donna receives a marriage proposal from another man and she decides to base her answer on whether or not Fred is ever going to ask her. Fred must make the choice now as to whether or not he is going to marry Donna. This leads Fred into turmoil and leads him to ask Elizabeth a heart felt question on whether or not she would object to him remarrying.

Lamont's friend, Ah Chew cooks dinner for the Sanfords one evening and a wary Fred is quite impressed at how good the food is. This leads Fred and Ah Chew to start a takeout business together with the headquarters in the Sanford home. Fred soon realizes that they should expand the business and turn the house into a Japanese restaurant.

Fred is a Scrooge-like miser during the Christmas season and his friends try to get him to join into the Christmas spirit, but he rejects the attempts. After being accused of a being a Scrooge, Fred falls asleep and dreams up "A Christmas Carol." Now it is up to the spirits to take on the challenge that his friends failed at.

A tenant at The Sanford Arms doesn't have enough money for the rent so he leaves Fred his pet elephant as collateral. Fred quickly finds a city official on his back for keeping an elephant in the neighborhood and he quickly comes up with an idea to make some money: put on a mini-circus. Bubba plays a clown, Esther a fire-eater, and Lamont a weight lifter.

Lamont leaves town with Rollo to go on a fishing trip but before he goes, he makes a bet with Fred. He is sure Fred won't make money during the week he is gone. Fred sets to prove him wrong by renting out Lamont's room. Fred finds himself in a bind when the pregnant girl he boarded goes into labor.

Lamont has been seeing Janet for quite awhile and Lamont thinks he's in love. But he doesn't know too much about her and hasn't wanted to push her into telling him. Thus, Fred decides to find out exactly what she's hiding and he goes undercover with Aunt Esther to dig up the dirt.

Fred is being honored with the Watts Businessman-of-the-Year Award and he's all hyped up about accepting it. However, an unexpected turn of events lands Fred with a serious back problem and takes up means to try to get rid of it, including, acupuncture, meditation and a corset.

While Fred is babysitting his soon-to-be grandson, Roger helps a customer and sells him some junk including three medals. After Fred learns of Roger's sale he envisions a story about just how he got those medals. Fred's story has him as a Patton like character fighting during World War II and battling espionage.

Three jewel thieves try and find a way to smuggle some expensive diamonds from Hawaii to L.A. That is where Fred and Lamont come in. Fred goes to Hawaii to attend a Junkmen of America convention. The crooks then plan to sneak the jewels on Fred so that he can take them to L.A. without knowing anything about it.

During a mishap at the airport Fred accidentally misplaces the suitcase with the diamonds and the crooks start chasing Lamont and him all over Hawaii, trying to get them back. Meanwhile, the cops close on in, but not before guns are drawn on Fred and Lamont as the crooks trap them on a boat.

Fred and Lamont have been busy planting a small garden in their yard when suddenly a professor stumbles in and suggests that they may be sitting on some oil. Later, Fred plants his scarecrow in the garden and actually strikes some oil. This leads to Fred and Lamont to ponder the fact that they may soon be millionaires.

Fred becomes smitten with a woman, Miss Wallace who comes to the Sanford residence looking for a place to stay at the Sanford Arms. Meanwhile, a thief has been spotted in the neighborhood and to get the reward money, Fred lets the cops set up a stakeout in his home. However, Fred is in for a shock since the thief has been in disguise as Miss Wallace.

Lamont's mother-in-law to be is coming to Watts for a visit and Fred is a little concerned about what she's going to think of a common junk man. This leads Fred to decide to create a legacy and tries to set a world's record and get his name in the Guinness Book of World Records. His goal is to be the person to stay awake the longest.

Fred becomes a victim of a con game when, two men convince him to begin a bogus special "Sanford & Son" sales promotion, in which the lucky winner wins $500. However, Fred has no intention of handing out that much bread but unknown to Fred, the con men have rigged the game so they end up being the lucky winners and Fred will have to pay them the money after all.

Fred has been chosen to represent the Watt's businessmen on a community relatives committee and his first official decision is to allow the public library to be open an hour longer. However, his next decision doesn't seem to be so easy to decide after a crooked businessman tries to bribe Fred with $1000 to vote for a building expansion.

Lamont threatens once again to leave the junk business on account that they aren't making much money. However, he also wants to quit and get a full-time job due to his impending nuptials. Fred then hatches a scheme by borrowing money from the bank and pretending that business is picking up big time, while secretly working as a waiter at a restaurant down town.

Lamont runs into Chuck Barris in a parking lot and he generously gives Lamont four tickets to a taping of The Gong Show, which happens to be Fred's favorite game show. Fred decides to try to be a contestant and sets up an act with his brother-in-law, Rodney and Lamont. However, at the last minute, Rodney hurts his back and can't be in the act.

Lamont and Esther decide to get the furniture re-upholstered as a surprise present for Fred. In order to get it done, they have to convince him the furniture was stolen. However, when Fred takes it upon himself to report it to the insurance company, he ends up with brand new furniture and Lamont is speechless.

Lamont and his fiancee, Janet are just one step away from the alter. However, a kink is put into their plans when after her wedding shower, her ex-husband John shows up. Meanwhile, Lamont has been having pre-wedding jitters and this just adds to them and Janet finds herself dealing with old feelings she thought had died long ago.

Trying to avoid paying property taxes, Fred registers to become a clergyman for the Divine Profit Church. He appoints Bubba as secretary and Woody as treasurer. However, when the Bishop stops by for a visit, Fred quickly realizes he's put his business in jeopardy thanks to some fine lines in the contact he signed.

Aunt Esther and Woody stop by for a visit and as usual, Fred insults Esther and she responds by promptly hitting Fred in the head with her purse. Apparently the blow to his head is so strong that it knocks him out and when he wakes up begins having memory lapses. This prompts him to make up his will and holds a will reading in the living room.

Fred wants a new stereo and tries to buy one on credit at a local electronics store. He soon discovers that they don't give credit to people over 60. This prompts him to take some action and befriends a rights group, The Gray Foxes and they begin picketing the store until they decide to change their policies.

In order to keep The Sanford Arms, Fred and Lamont must raise $4,000 in a week. They begin to scramble and Fred turns to gambling. First he puts together a card game and plays against a hustler and then he makes a little trip to the horse track and bets on the horses. Finally, a trip to a casino ends with unexpected results.

Fred is tired of everyone walking all over him especially since he proclaims that he built his junk empire to what it is today, thus making him a king of an empire. Bubba suggests that Fred pay money to an agency to have them trace his roots. A couple weeks later Fred is in for a shock, he is a descendant from Jewish African kings.

Lamont treats Fred to a dinner and a concert given by B.B. King. After the show, Fred wants to try to sell his songs to B.B., but fails, however, B.B. offers him a book about his life and why he sings the blues. This leads to an invitation for dinner at the Sanfords. While reading the book Fred panics when he reads the reason why B.B. sings the blues. He explains to Lamont that B.B. lost his girl in St. Louis to a guy who wanted to start a business in California. The girl's initials were EW (for Elizabeth Winfield).

Fred has been neglecting Donna and she decides to investigate and soon discovers Fred has been leading a secret life, not even telling Lamont what has been going on. Donna is convinced that he is seeing another woman but they soon discover Fred is really going to night school to earn his GED diploma, which he never got since he dropped out of high school to support his parents.