The Cosby Show
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| The Cosby Show | |
|---|---|
 The cast of The Cosby Show in 1989. | |
| Created by | Bill Cosby Ed. Weinberger Michael J. Leeson |
| Starring | Bill Cosby Phylicia Rashad Sabrina Le Beauf (1985-1992) Lisa Bonet (1984-1987), (1989-1991) Malcolm-Jamal Warner Tempestt Bledsoe Keshia Knight Pulliam Geoffrey Owens (1985-1992) Joseph C. Phillips (1989-1991) Raven-Symoné (1989-1992) Erika Alexander (1990-1992) |
| Opening theme | "Kiss Me" - written by Stu Gardner & Bill Cosby performed by: Bobby McFerrin (Season 4) Oregon Symphony (Season 5) Craig Handy (Seasons 6-7) Lester Bowie (Season 8) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 201 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 minutes (per episode) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 20, 1984 – April 30, 1992 |
The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, first broadcast on September 20, 1984 and ran for eight seasons on the NBC television network, until April 30, 1992.
Overview
The show focused on the Huxtable family, an upper-middle class family living in Brooklyn, New York at 10 Stigwood Avenue.[1] Patriarch Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable, an obstetrician, and his attorney wife Clair Hanks Huxtable preside over a raucous, yet loving, household. The show involved the usual difficulties of children growing up such as son Theo's experiences of dealing with dyslexia which was based on Cosby's real-life child Ennis who was dyslexic.
Bill Cosby, who had an unusually great deal of creative control over the show, wanted the program to be educational as well as entertaining, reflecting Cosby's own background in education. He also insisted that the program be taped in New York City rather than Los Angeles, where most television programs were taped.[citation needed]
The series was originally videotaped at what was then NBC's studio facilities in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. Disputes between NBC and series director Jay Sandrich eventually forced the series' move to the Kaufman Astoria Studios in the New York City borough of Queens.
Cast
- Bill Cosby as Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable (name appears as Clifford Huxtable on the sign outside of his office door in early episodes)
- Phylicia Rashad as Clair Hanks-Huxtable
- Sabrina Le Beauf as Sondra Huxtable-Tibideaux (1985-1992, recurring previously)
- Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable-Kendall (1984-1987, 1989-1991)
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theodore "Theo" Huxtable
- Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable
- Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudith Lillian "Rudy" Huxtable
- Geoffrey Owens as Elvin Tibideaux (1987-1992, recurring previously)
- Joseph C. Phillips as Martin Kendall (1989-1991)
- Raven-Symoné as Olivia Kendall (1989-1992)
- Erika Alexander as Pam Tucker (1990-1992)
Episodes
Pilot
The Cosby Show Pilot uses the same title sequence as the rest of the first season, and is widely regarded as the 'first episode'. However, it is notable for a number of differences from the remainder of the series. The show had been originally pitched to ABC, which rejected it.
The Huxtable family was originally to be two boys and two girls. The youngest child, Rudy, was initially supposed to be a boy, but the character was rewritten for a girl (Keshia Knight Pulliam) when no suitable boys auditioned. In the pilot therefore, the Huxtables have only four children. During an early scene, an exasperated Clair asks Cliff, "Why did we have four children?" to which he responds "because we did not want five". Following the pilot, the Huxtables have five children, with the addition of their eldest daughter, Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf). Although she first appears midway through the first season, she is mentioned in episodes prior to this, as being the eldest daughter who is attending college. Sondra was created when Bill Cosby wanted the show to express the accomplishment of successfully raising a child (eg: a college graduate). Whitney Houston was considered for the role of Sondra Huxtable. Sabrina Le Beauf almost missed out on the role, because she is only 10 years younger (b. 1958) than Phylicia Rashad (b. 1948), who played her mother, Clair Huxtable, on the show.
Bill Cosby's character is called Clifford in the pilot (as also evidenced by his name plate on the exterior of the Huxtable home). His name was later switched to Heathcliff. Also, Theodore is referred to as "Teddy" by Clair and Vanessa, as opposed to "Theo." This also happens in another episode early in the first season.
While reference is made to Clair being a lawyer, she is in fact portrayed as a stereotypical housewife and matriarch in the pilot, spending much of it exasperated and in an apron. In subsequent episodes, the household duties and parental responsibilities are shared more evenly between her and Heathcliff.
The interior of the Cosby house features a different dining and living room from subsequent episodes. Throughout the remainder of the series, the dining room is reserved for more formal occasions.
During a scene where Cliff challenges Theo on his poor grades, he exclaims "damn right!" - making this the one of only two swear-words to be used in the series. A flashback of this scene appears in the series finale.
Opening credits
The show's theme music is called "Kiss Me," composed by Stu Gardner and Bill Cosby. Seven versions of this theme (one theme per season, with the exception of the sixth and seventh season where all was the same) were used during the run of the series, making it one of the few television series to use multiple versions of the same theme song in the course of a series.
The season seven opening credits were originally those that were ultimately used in season eight. Due to legal complications regarding the background mural, the season seven opening was changed to the previous season's opening. The original season seven opening, with modifications, was used in the eighth and final season.
Ratings
The Cosby Show is one of two television shows (All in the Family being the other) that has been number 1 in the Nielsen Ratings for 5 consecutive TV seasons.
The ratings for each season, at the end of the season, were:
| Season | Ratings Rank |
| 1984-1985 | #3 |
| 1985-1986 | #1 |
| 1986-1987 | #1 |
| 1987-1988 | #1 |
| 1988-1989 | #1 |
| 1989-1990 | #1 (tied with fellow Carsey-Werner show Roseanne) |
| 1990-1991 | #5 |
| 1991-1992 | #18 |
Awards and nominations
Awards won
- Outstanding Comedy Series (1985)
- Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series (1984) Michael J. Leeson and Ed. Weinberger
- Justin Bukartek Lifetime Achievement Award
- Best TV Series-Comedy (1985)
- Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy Bill Cosby (1985-86) 2 wins
Awards nominated
- Outstanding Comedy Series (1986-87) 2 nominations
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Phylicia Rashad (1985-86) 2 nominations
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Lisa Bonet (1986)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Keshia Knight Pulliam (1986)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Malcolm-Jamal Warner (1986)
- Best TV Series-Comedy (1986-87) 2 nominations
- Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy Bill Cosby (1987)
DVD releases
Seasons 1 and 2 have been released by Urbanworks until First Look Entertainment acquired Urbanworks in early 2006. Future seasons of The Cosby Show are planned to be released by First Look Entertainment along with A Different World in 2007. [1]
| DVD Name | Cover Art | Release Date | Ep # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | File:TheCosbyShow S1 Final.jpg | August 2, 2005 | 24 |
| Season 2 | File:TheCosbyShow S2.jpg | March 7 2006 | 25 |
| Season 3 | File:TheCosbyShow S3.jpg | June 5, 2007 | 25 |
| Season 4 | File:TheCosbyShow S4.jpg | June 5, 2007 | 24 |
| Season 5 | TBA | 25 | |
| Season 6 | TBA | 25 | |
| Season 7 | TBA | 26 | |
| Season 8 | TBA | 24 |
Magna Pacific [2] have released seasons 1,2, and 3 of The Cosby Show on dvd in Australia and New Zealand, with similar artwork to the American copies of season 1 and 2, although season 2 is red rather than blue. Each Australasian cover also features the tag-line: "In a house full of love, there is always room for more."
| DVD Name | Cover Art | Release Date | Ep # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | File:Cosby01.jpg | October 4, 2006 | 24 |
| Season 2 | File:Cosby02s2aust.jpg | February 7 2007 | 25 |
| Season 3 | File:Cosby03s3aust.jpg | April 4, 2007 | 26 |
| Season 4 | TBA | 22 | |
| Season 5 | TBA | 25 | |
| Season 6 | TBA | 25 | |
| Season 7 | TBA | 26 | |
| Season 8 | TBA | 24 |
Spin-off: A Different World
The Cosby Show 's producers created a spin-off series called A Different World for actress Lisa Bonet, who played Denise, the second of the Huxtables' four daughters. Initially the new program dealt with Denise's life at Hillman College, the fictional historically black college from which her father, mother, and paternal grandfather had graduated. Denise was written out of the series after its inaugural season due to Bonet's pregnancy, and the following season was revamped with the addition of director Debbie Allen and new characters. Denise later became a recurring character in The Cosby Show for Seasons 4-5 and a regular again in Seasons 6-7.
Bonet was initially fired from her role as Denise Huxtable after the 1986 season due to her appearance in the film Angel Heart. When she threatened legal action, the spin-off was made as compensation in 1987.
Criticisms
The show was extremely well-regarded, winning six Emmys, as well as three Golden Globes, five NAACP Image Awards, and a Peabody Award. Unlike other African-American-based television shows, it was highly popular with Caucasian viewers and around the world.
At the time of the show's original broadcast, it was criticized for not addressing black-white relations and contemporary issues such as poverty and the AIDS-HIV epidemic.[citation needed]. They also felt that portraying an African-American family as a normal family with normal, and largely wholesome, family issues was generally a positive contribution to racial issues. [citation needed]
The popularity of The Cosby Show was often seen as a symbol of hope and progress for African-Americans in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[citation needed] Ironically, as the final episode was airing on April 30, 1992, a series of race riots were raging throughout the city of Los Angeles, in the aftermath of the previous day's controversial verdict in the Rodney King trial.
In their 1992 book Enlightened Racism: The Cosby Show, Audiences & the Myth of the American Dream (ISBN 0813314194), authors Sut Jhally and Justin Lewis report on an audience study and argue that the Cosby Show "obscured the issues of class and race and reinforced the myth that African Americans have only themselves to blame if they don't succeed in society."[citation needed]
It should be noted, however, that the Cosby Show was one of the few shows on air that portrayed African Americans not only as the main characters, but in non-stereotypical roles.
International variations
In the Italian version of the show the family name is not Huxtable but Robinson. The whole show is named "I Robinson"
See also
References
- ^ Wilcox's Soaps & More TV Character Address and Trivia Book (2004), (obtained here.)
External links
- Nielsen Ratings winners
- 1984 television program debuts
- 1992 television program series endings
- Black sitcoms
- Global network shows
- NBC network shows
- Peabody Award winners
- Sitcoms
- Television shows set in New York
- Television series by Carsey-Werner Productions
- TBS network shows
- American comedy television series
- 1980s American television series
- 1990s American television series