Former standup comedian Bill Cosby, who broke racial barriers as the co-star of the popular ‘60s series I Spy, returned to episodic TV in 1984 with this family-oriented show, an immediate success that closed out its first year by taking third-place in the national ratings. Specifically calculated to give audiences a heretofore unseen take on African-American families, The Cosby Show made its leading man a respected gynecologist and its leading lady a successful attorney. Comfortably upper-middle-class, situated in a roomy Flatbush brownstone, Cliff and Clair Huxtable (Cosby and Phylicia Rashad) juggled their careers while attending to their five children: college student Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf), underachieving son Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), intelligent but eccentric Denise (Lisa Bonet), and irrepressible younger daughters Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) and Rudy (Keisha Knight Pulliam). The 24 first season episodes reflect Cosby's determination to eschew cookie-cutter sitcom situations: the humor derives from realistic situations and the gags (such as they are) arise out of the type of observational comedy that the comedian favored during his standup career (and Cosby's character doesn't hog the spotlight; the kids figure prominently in each half-hour story). Boasting good writing, with some laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue that's all the more effective for sounding natural (although later seasons didn't maintain the first year's quality level), The Cosby Show bows on DVD looking reasonably well, and features a bonus 90-minute documentary full of classic footage, deleted scenes, bloopers, and cast member retrospectives. Recommended. (E. Hulse)
The Cosby Show: Season 1
Ventura, 4 discs, 575 min., not rated, DVD: $49.99 Volume 20, Issue 5
The Cosby Show: Season 1
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