The Cosby Show (1984)
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
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Episode 1 - Call of the Wild
Release Date: 1987-09-24The newlywed Sondra and Elvin return from their honeymoon with shocking news for Cliff and Clair: they want to abandon their dreams of being a lawyer and doctor and open an outdoorsman's "wilderness store." Geoffrey Owens (Elvin) becoms a regular cast member.
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Episode 2 - Theogate
Release Date: 1987-10-01Theo and Cockroach come home unusually late from a track meet, and the Huxtables got a phone message earlier from the track coach. They both deny anything out of the ordinary happened, but attorney Clair knows better. A mock trial is held for Theo and Cockroach at the Huxtables' for Clair to get to the bottom of the situation.
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Episode 3 - It's Not Easy Being Green
Release Date: 1987-10-08Rudy wants to wear summer clothes in winter to a party, while Cliff tries to get rid of an old water heater.
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Episode 4 - Cliff's Mistake
Release Date: 1987-10-15While setting up the house as a "haunted house" for Halloween, Cliff discover's he's lost a power drill that his neighbor loaned to him. First appearance of Wallace Shawn as Jeffrey Ingalls.
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Episode 5 - Shakespeare
Release Date: 1987-10-22Christopher Plummer and Roscoe Lee Browne appear. Theo must read Julius Caesar for school, but complains that it is boring. Russel and his friends read scenes from the play aloud, and Theo is enthralled. Later, the men read from a different work of literature-a story Rudy wrote!
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Episode 6 - That's Not What I Said
Release Date: 1987-10-29Cliff and Clair have a marital argument after Theo gets detained by police for riding in a car with an unlicensed driver.
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Episode 7 - Autumn Gifts
Release Date: 1987-11-05Rudy goes to an older widowed lady's house each afternoon to have tea and play cards, but notices that she refuses to take her daily medication for diabetes. She tells Cliff, who devises a plan to try to convince her that she needs the meds to live. Eileen Heckart appearance. Keshia Knight Pulliam appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
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Episode 8 - Looking Back (1)
Release Date: 1987-11-12Sondra and Elvin have their first marital fight, and Elvin comes to the Huxtable house for comfort and support. Clair shares about the difficulties in their house as flashbacks are shown.
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Episode 9 - Looking Back (2)
Release Date: 1987-11-12Flashbacks are shown while history is shared with Elvin.
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Episode 10 - Where's Rudy?
Release Date: 1987-11-19Theo and Vanessa lose track of Rudy in a mall while Clair enters a squash exhibition. Earle Hyman (Russell) appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
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Episode 11 - Dance Mania
Release Date: 1987-12-03Theo and Cockroach have tickets to appear on television on the dance show "Dance Mania", but are told that only one of them can enter the studio during the filming because of fire laws. Theo miscalculates by offering to let Cockroach go in (thinking he'll refuse) and gets angry when Cockroach takes him up on the offer.
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Episode 12 - The Locker Room
Release Date: 1987-12-10Theo and his classmates brag about their dates with girls in the locker room, but Theo's mood changes when one of the guys goes out with Vanessa and brags about it the next day. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty.
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Episode 13 - The Show Must Go On
Release Date: 1987-12-17Vaudeville is shown to Rudy and her friends, who are unimpressed.
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Episode 14 - Bookworm
Release Date: 1988-01-07Clair drags Cliff to her book club meeting, and he's the lone male there. Much to Clair's surprise, Cliff knows quite a bit about the book in question! Meanwhile, the kids attempt a sleepover at Sondra and Elvin's run-down studio apartment, but are overwhelmed by the noise and lack of utilities. Appearances by Angela Bassett and S. Epatha Merkerson.
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Episode 15 - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Release Date: 1988-01-14Rudy has to play the violin in music class at school, but gets jealous because she thinks her classmates' instruments are more fun. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Naoka Nakagawa as Kim.
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Episode 16 - The Visit
Release Date: 1988-01-21Theo visits a friend in the hospital who has cancer. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. Special appearance by Armand Hammer.
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Episode 17 - The Drum Major
Release Date: 1988-02-04Vanessa tries out for the drum major at school. Theo playfully mocks her efforts, but learns from friends that Vanessa is the target of sexism and intervenes on her behalf. Meanwhile, Cliff cooks up a batch of extremely spicy chili as Russell tries to pay off a loan from an old friend. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Troy Winbush as Denny. Guest appearance by Dub Taylor.
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Episode 18 - Waterworks
Release Date: 1988-02-11Clair tries to stop Cliff from fixing a leaky pipe by hiring a team of professionals: friends of Sondra and Elvin from Princeton.
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Episode 19 - Once Upon a Time
Release Date: 1988-02-18Rudy writes a fairy tale, and the colorful story is acted out in her fantasy. Members of the family play the roles of a village full of happy people and a mean group that ruins their fun. At the end of the episode, Rudy declares that when she becomes "president of the world", she will put a stop to all mean people. Cliff and Clair proceed to watch news reports of weapons' testing and bombings, and urge her to "hurry, because we need you right now." Earle Hyman as Russell.
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Episode 20 - Petanque
Release Date: 1988-02-25Cliff and a friend play pétanque. First appearance of Sullivan Walker as Dr. James Harmon.
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Episode 21 - Trust Me
Release Date: 1988-03-03A friend of Clair's has marital problems; Cliff takes a "mini-vacation" in the house as Theo, Rudy, and Vanessa try to stump each other with riddles.
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Episode 22 - Home for the Weekend
Release Date: 1988-03-17Denise comes home from college, but seems to have more time for her friends than for the family.
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Episode 23 - The Prom
Release Date: 1988-03-24Theo, Denny and Smitty go to great lengths to impress their dates for the senior prom but fail disastrously; Cliff and Clair relive their own prom. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. First appearance of Michelle Thomas as Justine. Phylicia Rashād appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
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Episode 24 - Gone Fishin'
Release Date: 1988-04-28When the Huxtable men go fishing, Theo catches a dead body, and soon attracts attention from the media. This success goes to his head, while Rudy and Kenny find a nest of baby birds, but the mother bird is missing. The two stories eventually cross in a surprising-and rather humiliating-lesson for Theo. Deon Richmond as Kenny.