The Cosby Show (DVD) Review

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 a normal 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 ou t of the home's basement (which has its own street entrance), 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 and the often stupid things they do, 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 DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere i n 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

Below is a list of episodes included on The Cosby Show (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (The Pilot) Air Date: 09-20-1984
Episode 2 (Mr. Fish) Air Date: 09-27-1984
Episode 3 (Bad Dreams) Air Date: 10-04-1984
Episode 4 (Is That My Boy?) Air Date: 10-11-1984
Episode 5 (A Shirt Story) Air Date: 10-18-1984
Episode 6 (Breaking With Tradition) Air Date: 10-25-1984
Episode 7 (One More Time) Air Date: 11-01-1984
Episode 8 (Play It Again, Vanessa) Air Date: 11-08-1984
Episode 9 (How Ugly Is He?) Air Date: 11-15-1984
Episode 10 (Bon Jour Sondra) Air Date: 11-22-1984
Episode 11 (You're Not a Mother Night) Air Date: 12-06-1984
Episode 12 (Rudy's Sick) Air Date: 12-13-1984
Episode 13 (Father's Day) Air Date: 12-20-1984
Episode 14 (Independence Day) Air Date: 01-10-1985
Episode 15 (Physician of the Year) Air Date: 01-17-1985
Episode 16 (Jitterbug Break) Air Date: 01-31-1985
Episode 17 (Theo and the Joint) Air Date: 02-07-1985
Episode 18 (Vanessa's New Class) Air Date: 02-14-1985
Episode 19 (Clair's Case) Air Date: 02-21-1985
Episode 20 (Back to the Track, Jack) Air Date: 02-28-1985
Episode 21 (The Younger Woman) Air Date: 03-14-1985< br> Episode 22 (Slumber Party) Air Date: 03-28-1985
Episode 23 (Mr. Quiet) Air Date: 05-02-1985
Episode 24 (Cliff's Birthday) Air Date: 05-09-1985

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of The Cosby Show (DVD).

Author:: Britt Gillette
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