Original subtitles

Where we're moving on up, moving on up, too deep down, moving on up, to a

deep...

on the Jeffersons, George found himself in a dry -cleaning war with one of his

competitors, Blue Sky Cleaners. Look, Winslow, I can out -promote you any day.

If that's the way you want it. That's right.

And you and your company are going to be sorry you ever met me. Believe me, most

people are.

Unfortunately for George, Louise became Blue Sky Cleaners' ultimate promotion.

Louise tried to hide the fact that she was the millionth customer of George's

biggest competitor.

It was only a matter of time till George found out. His reaction wasn't what

Louise expected.

What are you talking about, George?

I'm just saying that George Jefferson is going to retire.

And now, The Jeffersons continues.

No, Ben, it's square business.

I'm getting a home entertainment center.

Miss Jefferson don't give it to me.

Well, no, she don't know it yet.

But I'm working on it.

See, she won this contest.

And, oh, you saw a picture in the paper?

John, ain't that a blip?

She made Mr. Jefferson the laughingstock of the whole town.

I tell you, Betty, it's a tragic situation.

Completely unavoidable.

Yeah, sure wasn't her fault.

I tell you, I'm so choked up I can't talk no more.

Hi, Miss Jefferson.

You want some coffee?

Florence. Oh, Miss Jefferson, please don't fire me. Better not show that ad

nobody. Besides, how many people read the New York Times anyway?

I'm not going to fire you. Well, in that case, can I have the home entertainment

center?

No.

Well, let's not talk about that now.

You're upset because you ruined your husband.

I understand.

Please.

Florence, I have a terrible problem.

I just broke the news to George last night. You did?

Well, I didn't hear no yelling.

And his fingerprints ain't around your throat.

He didn't even get mad.

Uh -oh, then that means he's really mad.

No, he's destroyed.

George wants to retire.

Retire?

That's right.

As in, don't go to work no more?

Uh -huh.

As in, hang around the house all day?

I'm afraid so.

Oh, Miss Jefferson, please talk him out of it. Please, I'll do anything.

You want my clothes? You can have them.

I don't know what to say to him.

He's really serious about retiring.

Then that means...

He'll be around all the time.

I guess so.

He'll just be here day after day.

That's right.

After day.

After day.

After day.

Florence, have some coffee.

Every minute of the day.

Florence, will you get that, please?

After day.

After day.

After day, after day.

I

don't

know. Life seems so simple on the Flintstones.

Hello, Mr. Winslow.

Hey, how's our millionth customer?

Oh, that's a sore subject around here. Glad to hear it. May I come in? Well,

actually, please come in.

Ah, isn't that cute?

Well, well, Mrs. Jefferson, there you are. Our little gold mine. Has your

husband seen this yet?

Yes. Get out.

Hey, look who's awake. The old son of a gun. Yes.

He's a young son of a... George!

What do you want, Winslow?

You know, fate has played some little trick on you, Jefferson. I mean, you're

our biggest competitor, and your wife is our millionth customer.

Oh, this is great. This is sort of like Lee Iacocca getting caught driving a

Honda.

Anyway, I was having dinner with my boss last night.

And do you know what he said to me? Yeah. Be careful. Don't pull up your

chair.

He said, Winslow, you have humiliated George Jefferson.

I'm giving you a raise. Isn't that great?

Please bring us some coffee, please. I'll have mine with cream.

Oh, I'm sorry. We don't have any cream.

Would Clorox be okay?

Hey, a little sense of humor there. Love it a lot.

Listen, uh...

Blue Sky Cleaners would just love to run some TV ads featuring your wife ruining

you. Sound good?

Oh, yeah.

Jefferson Cleaners would like to run some ads featuring your lip nailed to a

butt.

Sound good?

Mr. Jefferson, do you think I like rubbing your face in all this? Do you

enjoy humiliating you?

Well, I don't. I'm only doing this so I can get a jacuzzi.

Look, you still want to buy me out?

Oh, sure.

Okay, draw up the papers.

No.

Yeah.

Are you serious?

I sure am.

Excuse me.

I'm going to get a jacuzzi.

I'll get right to work on it, Jefferson.

You know, I always knew you'd fold. I just didn't think it'd be this quick.

Our computer said it'd be at least a month until you cracked.

Me?

Crack.

It's obvious you don't know the meaning of the word Jefferson.

I beg your pardon?

Look, let's face it.

I pulled a fast one on you. You did?

That's right. You see, I want to retire.

You do?

Yeah. I mean, I've been king of the cleaners long enough.

Well, you deserve a rest, Jefferson.

You've earned it.

You see, I respect elderly people.

Now take my mother, for instance.

When she got too feeble to work, did I throw her out of the house? No way.

I let her live with me.

No matter how cold it gets up there in that attic, I still go up and do it.

You're a regular John boy there, Winslow.

It's my mom. I owe her, you know.

I'll see you, Jefferson.

Where's Mr.

Winslow? Probably running off to see his boss.

I told him I was telling my story.

Oh, George, why?

Why not?

Because, well, I just feel like this whole thing is my fault. Oh, come on. We

don't feel like that.

I mean, take the positive attitude.

Guilt is its own reward.

What does that mean?

I don't know.

I just know that your time is going to be great because then I'll be around all

the time.

Those liver spots?

No, those are just the holes where your hair used to be.

Mind if I watch?

Yes, I do.

Okay, then I'll just observe.

What?

Look, you're using the old outdated method of dusting back and forth. Why

you try the modern circular motion?

I can't even see my reflection.

Good, then you won't have nightmares.

I beg your pardon.

Oh, it's nothing. You're doing the best you can.

Tell me.

It's nothing.

Fingerprints.

What?

Don't you have any of that stuff that kills germs?

If I did you'd be gone by now.

Don't touch that pillow.

Don't forget to dust under the toast.

I'm just trying to help you out. I don't need no help. I don't need you telling

me what to do. I know how to do my work. What's going on? I'm about to make you

a rich widow. Now, calm down, Florence.

What did you do to her, George? Nothing.

All of a sudden, she got touchy.

Maybe you'd better go to your room and cool down.

I'll talk to him.

I'm not going to be able to take this day after day after day after day after

day.

George.

I've got to talk to you about something. Yeah, okay, Weez, but first, look, are

you going out to the help center today?

Maybe. Why?

Well, because I wanted to go with you. You know that guy that lost his dog, his

job, his wife, and his left leg?

Well, anyway, I just figured out the solution to his problem.

What, George?

A puppy.

Excuse me, George.

Dave.

We were just on our way down to Charlie for a drink. Care to join us? Drinking,

huh? That means somebody must have a problem. Well, tell it to me, I'll solve

for you.

Well, Jesus, we don't have any problems.

Well, actually, Jenny has a little problem.

Oh, what's wrong, Jenny? Oh, no, it's nothing.

I guess I just feel a little blue, that's all.

Blue? Good God, woman, ain't you got enough colors in your family?

Go ahead, Jenny, tell them.

Well... It's just that it seems that I don't have a life anymore.

Well, I mean, Lionel, he's been working in Japan twice as long as he said he

would be.

I'm beginning to feel a little restless.

There's something missing in my life.

Get a puppy.

Mr. Jefferson, don't get me wrong. I mean, I love Jessica, and I love being a

mother, but I'd just like to do something more.

Like what?

Well... Lately, I've been torn with the idea of getting into fashion design.

As a matter of fact, I designed the outfit I'm wearing now.

Oh, it's beautiful.

Oh, I got this.

Oh, that's classy, Jenny.

Thank you.

What's the problem, then?

I'm not getting very much support. My father thinks that I should wait until

Jessica gets older.

Ha! Your father thinks the guy that invented the triple -decker hamburger

get a Nobel Prize.

I never said that.

I said the guy who put the cheese on top deserves it.

Well, if you're going to quote me, be accurate.

Jenny, it's not that we don't support you. We just think that the timing's

wrong. Why do you keep butting in her business? Jenny, look, if you want to do

something, you do it yourself. Don't let anybody tell you what to do.

Now, look, this is what you do. If you think you've got time, get right out

there and do it.

Well, uh, Mr. Jefferson, I showed a buyer some of my sketches, but he didn't

seem too enthusiastic.

The hell with him. He ain't the only buyer in New York.

There's hundreds of them. Look, Jenny, you've got to have faith in yourself

because if you don't, then you go through life wondering what you could

done.

Yeah.

No, you're right, Mr. Jefferson.

You know, I am going to start showing my sketches around right now.

Thanks for the advice.

Good. No problem. No problem. Okay, Jack.

Anybody else got a problem?

Well, actually, I have a bit of a problem. Sorry, Willis. I can't correct

nature.

Oh, no. This is a problem. have at work. You see, I never get a chance to eat

before meetings, and sometimes during long conferences, my stomach growls, and

people think I'm clearing my throat to speak when, as a matter of fact, all I

want is a donut.

Please.

Maybe he can't help.

No, no. It's my problem. I'll deal with it.

You know, George, come to think of it, I have a problem.

Come all ears.

I know this short.

balding, obnoxious little man who keeps butting into other people's problems.

Bring him over here. I'll talk to him.

You'll just be talking to yourself, George.

Oh, you mean he won't listen either?

That does it. Come on, Tom, let's go.

Yes, my angel. Anyway, well, the solution to your problem is really

Look, you just get your secretary to buy the donuts before the meeting.

Hey!

Why are you always giving advice to everybody?

You're annoying everyone.

I ain't annoying nobody.

Sure.

Where are you going, Florence?

I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson. I can't take him following me around no more.

I have had it up to here with him.

You know something?

Florence has got the right idea.

Traveling.

That's what you do when you retire.

See, that way we can see the whole world.

As in getting out of the house?

Yeah!

George, it's 42 degrees, the sun is going down, and I just saw a wino

south for the winter.

Well, that means there's more fish for us.

How you doing, buddy? They biting?

No words between fishermen. It's the cold of the sea.

Cold of the sea?

This is the East River.

Sea, river, what's the difference? We're just all near the water.

Hook up?

That's fisherman talk for put your bait on your hook.

You sit down and be a man.

My whole body is numb.

That's excitement, hon. Here, take a run and make you feel better.

Oh, no, I'm not going to take a run.

Are you afraid of worms? George, stop it.

You can leave that to my wife.

Oh,

business.

I'm here. Yeah, we. It's like a dream come true, huh?

My dream come true was surviving the Louisiana dry cleaning tour.

Do you like the tour?

Well, let's see. How can I put this?

Hell no.

It was a great tour.

Oh, sure.

You, me, and the Chang family.

I'm going to thank you lucky stars that they were there because if that

alligator had have missed them.

You were next in line.

Well, it was horrible.

That alligator must have chased us for 30 minutes.

You know the old saying, eat Chinese, half -hour lady's still hungry.

It's just a little joke.

The alligator didn't really eat us.

He's got a lot of charisma, huh?

George, you made everybody on the tour hate you.

You were constantly giving advice.

The poor bus driver got so upset, he made the wrong turn, and we ended up in

that swamp.

That was good advice I gave Mr. Chang.

Oh, sure.

Hey, if you want a great picture of that alligator, get his attention.

Snore a rock at him.

Look, Wheezy, that was just my way of telling them welcome to America.

George, why don't you admit how much you miss working?

George?

Okay, I miss it.

So, why don't you go back?

Wheezy, I can't go back.

Winslow's coming over tonight with the final papers for me to sign.

But you don't have to sign.

Wheezy, I was beaten.

You didn't get beaten.

It was pure chance that I was the millionth customer of the Blue Sky

Hey, Blue Sky Cleaners, they do good work.

You talk too much.

George, you retired because...

For the first time in your life, someone made you doubt your own ability.

So?

So you've got to have faith in yourself.

Because if you don't, you just go through life wondering what you could

done.

Now who's giving bad advice?

That's not my advice. That was your advice to Jenny.

It does have a ring of brilliance to it.

George, the man I married was a real fighter, a real winner.

But what was more important, the man I married was a real dry cleaner.

That's right.

I'm a dry cleaner.

I actually gave up. Me, George Jefferson.

Come on, Weasley, I got business to attend to.

Okay, George.

You know something, Weasley? I was stupid to think that even blue sky

or anybody else could beat me. Because I got something special on my side.

What's that, George?

Me.

I can't refuse.

It's freezing.

Well, well, if it isn't Mr. and Mrs.

Field and Stream.

He'd let me in.

Well, did you bring the papers with you?

Yeah, right here.

Great. And if you'll just hurry and sign, I can get home in time to

the installation of my new jacuzzi.

Hey, light bulb.

You know, your husband sold out, but you could stay in business.

Why don't you divorce him, marry one of our other competitors?

It'll make it worth your while.

Think about it.

Here you go.

And here you go.

Hey, what are you doing?

I'm coming out of retirement.

Hey, you can't do that.

We just did.

Hey, you're making a big mistake here, Jefferson.

I've been easy on you up to now.

Oh, and are you threatening me, Winslow?

Let's just put it this way. I'm going to break you. Oh, really?

Ain't a man been born that could break me.

We'll see, Pops.

Pops.

Pops, he says.

George. Yeah, we... I'll hold you, Jack. Thank you.

I want you to know something, George.

You may have lost faith in yourself, but I never lost faith in you. Always.