CORPORATE LINE: Nominated for 29 Emmys, and winner of six including Outstanding Comedy Series, The Cosby Show dominated prime-time TV from the mid to late eighties. The brainchild of popular comedian Bill Cosby, the series followed the life and times of an upper-middle class African-American family. One of the most successful sitcoms in network television history, The Cosby Show earned the #1 Nielsen rating for five consecutive years (1985-1990), and in its eight seasons it never dropped out of the Top 20. Coupled with the hit comedy series Cheers, the two shows made Thursday nights a weekly ratings sweep for NBC.
The Cosby Show is set in a New York brownstone where Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable (Bill Cosby) and his wife Clair (Phylicia Rashad) live with their five children – Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf), Denise (Lisa Bonet), Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe), and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam). Cliff is a popular obstetrician/gynecologist who runs his practice out of the home’s basement, while Clair is a successful attorney with a local law firm. In the first season, Sondra is not seen because she’s attending Princeton, but she and her boyfriend (and later husband) Elvin (Geoffrey Owens) become major characters in subsequent seasons. Most of the comic relief derives from Cliff and Clair’s struggles with their children, but in general, the family gets along very well. If The Simpsons are the quintessential dysfunctional TV family, then The Cosby Show is illustrative of the ideal real-life family. Bad language is non-existent in the series, and it showcases a plethora of African-American role models such as Stevie Wonder, Lena Horne, and Sammy Davis Jr. One of the best written sitcoms since I Love Lucy, The Cosby Show holds its own in the hallowed halls of the TV elite.
The Cosby Show (Season 1) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere in which Theo returns from school sporting a report card with 4 D’s. Believing he doesn’t need to go to college, Theo is given a memorable lesson (using Monopoly money) by Cliff – prompting him to vow to do his best from now on. This episode is especially interesting given the various aspects of the family and home that are different from the rest of the series. Since this was the pilot, the characters and their lives had yet to be firmly established. Other notable episodes from Season 1 include “Mr. Fish” in which the family participates in a formal toilet funeral for Rudy’s dead goldfish, and “Father’s Day” in which Cliff rebels against the oddball Father’s Day presents he’s received over the years, such as a giant polka- dot tie with twinkling lights.
THE SHOW: It’s not easy to be objective about The Cosby Show since I grew up watching it. Essentially it was a part of my life—at least every Thursday night for most of my teen years. Each character felt like a member of the family.
From the first episode of The Cosby Show you can tell it was bound to be a classic. The cast is perfect. There aren’t a lot of shows in the history of television where the cast is absolutely spot-on perfect, but The Cosby Show cast is great. Of course Bill Cosby is the foundation. He is the rock. But it’s the adorable Rudy who steals most of the scenes.
EPISODES:
Episode #101 “PREMIERE”
Cliff gives Theo an economics lesson with Monopoly money. It happens after Theo brings home a poor report card and claims he doesn’t need good grades to get a job.
Episode #102 “GOODBYE, MR. FISH”
When Rudy’s goldfish dies, Cliff plans a formal funeral in the family bathroom. The rest of the family disagrees about where the funeral should be held.
Episode #103 “BAD DREAMS”
Cliff forbids 10-year-old Vanessa to see a scary movie, though he allows her brother, Theo, to go. Vanessa sneaks out to see the movie anyway, but soon regrets it. She begins to have bad nightmares, and insists on sleeping with Cliff and Clair, but it’s soon clear that she is overstaying her welcome.
Episode #104 “IS THAT MY BOY?”
Cliff is thrilled that Theo will continue the Huxtable tradition of playing football, and can hardly control his joy when his son asks to see some of his old football moves. But Cliff’s delight turns to disappointment when he sees that Theo has no moves of his own, he’s terrible!
Episode #105 “KNIGHT TO NIGHT”
When Cliff Huxtable realizes that Clair is overworked at home and in the office, he decides to treat her to a night at the Biltmore Hotel, including a deluxe, first class, spare-no-expense room. The children are left at home with Denise watching over them.
Episode #106 “BREAKING WITH TRADITION”
Denise wants to attend Princeton like her older sister. Her grandfather wants her to attend Hillman, to keep up a long-standing family tradition. Cliff tries to explain to his father the prestige of attending a well regarded school like Princeton, until the elder Huxtable points out that Hillman produced a pretty well regarded doctor.
Episode #107 “ONE MORE TIME”
Clair baby-sits for a newborn baby and realizes she might want to have another child. The only problem is that Cliff doesn’t think it’s a good idea. In an effort to change Clair’s mind, he introduces her to Mrs. Burke, a patient of his who is expecting child number 13. But his plan backfires when Clair is awed by how good Mrs. Burke looks.
Episode #108 “A SHIRT STORY”
Theo’s plans to impress his date by wearing a very expensive designer shirt are ruined when Cliff forces him to return the extravagant purchase. But Denise comes to the rescue of her younger brother and offers to make him an exact copy for a third of the price.
Episode #109 “PLAY IT AGAIN, VANESSA”
With her music recital three days away, Vanessa cannot play a note on the clarinet. So Cliff arranges for her music teacher to give her private lessons. Jazz great Dizzy Gillespie guest stars as Vanessa’s music teacher who tries to give her a crash course in the clarinet.
Episode #110 “HOW UGLY IS HE?”
Dr. Cliff Huxtable and his wife, Clair, a lawyer, invite daughter Denise’s bright new boyfriend to dinner. But the outspoken fellow soon wears out his welcome when he criticizes the medical and legal professions.
Episode #111 “BONJOUR SONDRA”
Excited that the whole family will be together for Thanksgiving, Cliff anxiously waits for Sondra’ s arrival home from Princeton. But instead of celebrating, Sondra spends the holiday trying to persuade her parents to let her go to Paris for the summer.
Episode #112 “FATHER’S DAY”
Cliff gives the children a lecture on the importance of picking their father a suitable gift instead of the neon ties and yo-yos they usually buy him. The kids take his advice to heart and plan a special FATHER’S DAY for their dad six months early.
Episode #113 “RUDY’S SICK”
Rudy is sick, and Clair must go to an important interview, so Cliff stays home to watch her. Unfortunately, Cliff soon discovers that being a doctor hasn’t fully prepared him to take care of a sick child.
Episode #114 “INDEPENDENCE DAY”
While staying at a friend’s house for a weekend, Theo has his ear pierced to prove his independence. When the ear becomes infected, Theo is forced to show Cliff the earring and accept his punishment – a lecture from Grandpa.
Episode #115 “PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR”
Cliff is chosen to be honored with a very prestigious award: “Physician of the Year.” But on the night of the awards banquet, Cliff is delayed in the hospital delivery room. So a proud Theo accepts the award for his father. Sheldon Leonard guest stars as Cliff’s boss.
Episode #116 “JITTERBUG BREAK”
To warm up for his night out with Clair and their friends, Cliff shows off a few of his dance moves in the living room. Denise claims her father’s footwork is old-fashioned and boring, and that break-dancing is the superior art form. To show Denise and her friends what dancing is really about, Cliff invites his friends Ralph and Marie over to teach the teenagers how to jitterbug.
Episode #117 THEO AND THE JOINT”
Cliff and Clair are concerned when they find a marijuana cigarette in Theo’s schoolbook. Theo is upset that someone has planted the joint in his book, so he goes out of his way to find the culprit who set him up.
Episode #118 “VANESSA’S NEW CLASS”
Vanessa is confident that her science project will bring her the usual top honors she expects, until she discovers that the other students in her new advanced-placement class are much more competitive than she thought.
Episode #119 “CLAIR’S CASE”
After Sondra is ripped off by a conniving auto mechanic, an incensed Clair goes to court to right the wrong. While Clair is preparing her court case, Cliff plays family chef and cooks up some rather bizarre concoctions for dinner- leaving the kids hungering for Mom’s cooking.
Episode #120 “BACK TO THE TRACK, JACK”
Cliff is excited to join his former teammates from Hillman College in a grudge match against Norton University, until he discovers he is 25 years out of shape. Josh Culbreath, 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, guest stars as Sanford B. “Tailwind” Turner, the only man ever to beat Cliff “Combustible” Huxtable.
Episode #121 “THE YOUNGER WOMAN”
Clair is excited to learn that Cliff’s widower friend, Mike has a new woman in her life and invites the couple over for dinner. But Clair is shocked to discover that the beautiful Nikki is the same age as her oldest daughter.
Episode #122 “SLUMBER PARTY”
While Clair is away at a seminar, an imaginative and exhausted Cliff dreams up ways to entertain the children, including that old standby – the bucking- horse ride. But only Grandpa Huxtable is able to tame the troops. When Rudy complains she has no one to play with, Cliff allows her to have a friend or two sleep over. But the modest gathering soon turns into a rollicking SLUMBER PARTY for eight.
Episode #123 “MR. QUIET”
Theo finds a battered young boy at the playground of the Keystone Community Center and takes him to the Center’s director, Tony Castillo, played by guest star Tony Orlando. Cliff, Theo and Tony try to help the boy but get no response. Tony, however, senses there is something special about the child and remains patient and determined to win him over.
Episode #124 “CLIFF’S BIRTHDAY”
While Cliff snoops around trying to discover his special birthday surprise, a clever Clair has arranged for the Huxtable family to see legendary performer Lena Horne. Cliff is beside himself when Lena Home dedicates a song to him and invites the family to her dressing room after the show.
DVD FEATURES: A 90-minute documentary features the entire cast back for a reunion that originally aired on NBC in 2003. Why something wasn’t added specific to the first season makes no sense, especially when there are many more seasons to come. What will they do then?
FRANKLY: The episodes are always hilarious and often full of wisdom. Each episode strove to make us laugh but also walk away feeling as if we were better for it. The flaw is that each episode is edited. These aren’t the original formatted episodes that run nearly 24 minutes but the syndicated episodes that run 22 minutes. It’s hard not to feel ripped-off. Had the episodes been the original versions this set would have received a 10/10 for the shows. The features are lacking which drops it another point.
+ Charlie Craine
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.