Sanford and Son…. is the second BBC comedy series to be transplanted from British to American television…. All in the Family was the first…. Sanford and Son will succeed, I hope, although its virtues are not as spectacular as those of its predecessor…. I have seen only the first two programs of Sanford and Son, but already it is clear that there is a common pattern in the transplant experiences of both series.

The key to that pattern is in the program's lead characters. The prototype of Archie Bunker was a thoroughly unsympathetic bigot in the original British series, Till Death Do Us Part, which was designed for a short run. Presumably the allegedly tough-minded British telly viewers could tolerate such a sour character briefly. But for softer-brained American audiences, who must live with their television saints and sinners indefinitely, our Archie had to be made into a...