Buy The Cosby Show

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. This is the pilot to the Cosby Show, and it rightfully sets the course for the entire series. The theme that was set here is that of Theo's challenge with education. I related most to this episode because of the entire monopoly "regular people" dialog. But as I l came to find out, I, too had a learning disability caused by a vision problem. His case is dislexia, and mine is hyperestropia. Both cause serious learning problems and can be treated, but they both usually do not get detected. After seeing this episode, who would have thought that he would graduate high school, get a B.S. in Psychology and be the only Huxtable kid to go on to graduate school.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. Theo comes home with the 95 dollar shirt and Cliff is upset. He quickly agrees to return the shirt when Denise offers to stitch him one just like it. Her parents warn her not to get involved in something she wont finish, which seems to make her more adamant. Denise soon realises that she cannot get the shirt ready in time, and on the night of Theo's big date he winds up wearing a misshapen piece of cloth. Theo, now livid at his sister, seeks Cliff's advice. Cliff explains that labels and designers dont make the person, using an example from Theo's childhood. Theo walks into the living room where his date is and she happens to think that his shirt is "the new look".
Hide description ▲

From the time I first saw the Cosby Show at age 11, until I got an after-school job, I lived watching this sitcom. Of all the episodes of the Cosby Show, my favorites showed the close bond that Cliff & Theo had as father & son. It reminds me of me and my dad. But this episode is very dear to me because it taught that you always need to reach for your dreams and goals. Do not let anything hold you back. Your happiness is too important for that. Believe in others, and most importantly, believe in yourself. There will always be obstacles in your ways, but if you want that goal, you have to get through those obstacles. As the speech in the end concludes, "This is my American family, and I hope that nothing gets in the way of their dreams."
Hide description ▲

When Clair finds a marijuana joint in Theo's history book she and Cliff confront. Theo explains that it is not his and both Cliff and Clair believe him, but Theo feels that they are going to look down on him from this point on. So they next day he goes to school to confront the person it actually belonged to.
Hide description ▲

Cliff warns Rudy not to play with his new juicer, but the machine's fancy gadgetry eventually proves to be too much of a temptation for Rudy and her friend, Peter. Cliff finds out and suspects that Rudy is responsible. After Clair prods Rudy's conscience, she admits the truth and is assigned to help Vanessa - punished for not keeping an eye on Rudy, as she had been told to - clean the resulting mess.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. The Cosby Show always made it a point that a family needs to look back on their past. This episode was about retrieving a part of the family's heritage. It also showed the value of some artists even after their passing, even if the artist was a minority in his day, such as the African-American artist Ellis Wilson who painted the portrait "The Funeral Procession" among others.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. Rudy's friend Peter is afraid to go to the dentist and comes to the Huxtable house to hide. When he is found and eventually goes to the dentist, (played by Danny Kaye) Rudy comes along to help convince Peter that the dentist is nothing to be afraid of.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. The Huxtables turn the house into the "real world" to teach Theo a lesson.
Hide description ▲

It's time to replace the family's aging station wagon, and Cliff is given the task of picking out the new car. He takes Theo along, presumably to teach him how to haggle with a car salesman and get a good deal. Their task is a tough one: They're dealing with a very experienced salesman who has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to get people into a car they don't necessarily intend to buy. Cliff is hep to each tactic, forcing the salesman to work to secure a deal. However, the whole plan is nearly undermined when a loud-mouthed customer recognizes Cliff in his everyday clothing (Cliff had dressed this way and hoped to avoid talking about his profession, as he sees that as irrelevant to making a deal on a car). However, Cliff remains focused and eventually, the salesman makes an acceptable offer. A new car isn't the only thing that Cliff has to buy. He might have to replace his encyclopedias after Rudy cuts pictures of animals from them. Rudy, it seems, is doing a report for school and takes Vanessa's advice on illustrating the report. However, she doesn't know where to find suitable pictures until she starts reading the encyclopedias.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. The family decides to use Sondra and Elvin's engagement as the perfect opportunity to play a practical joke on Cliff, who insists he can not be "had".
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. Cliff and Claire are so sick and bed-ridden that Theo takes over looking after the house, but instead of leading, he bosses Vanessa and Rudy to the point that they turn against him.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. Cockroach tells Theo of a job opportunity to appear in a music video, but there is a catch: they have to shave their heads.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. Cliff takes Rudy and her friends to a fancy restaurant, Clair gets a visit from her sister and some friends; Theo teaches Vanessa to play tennis better.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. The Huxtables visit Denise at Hillman, the college she is going to. The episode sets up the storyline for the spin-off "A different world"
Hide description ▲

Theo and Cockroach come home late after a cross country meet and raid the kitchen. Clair finds this odd, since the coach had traditionally taken the team out to eat afterwards. Theo covers himself by saying they simply didn't eat at the restaurant. The next day, the principal of Theo's school calls requesting a conference. Clair determines that she needs to find out what's going on ... by putting Theo on trial. Theo offers a variety of explanations, but eventually he is forced to admit the truth. While the team was at the fast food restaurant, he and Cockroach had made fun of an overweight, unattractive female employee, and she ran off distraught. The coach immediately ordered the team out of the restaurant, and afterward, dismissed Theo and Cockroach from the team. Clair tells Theo she expects him to be honest and forthcoming with the truth, and that it is difficult to keep lying to cover himself for misdeeds. Theo is remorseful and announces he plans to apologize to the woman he made fun of.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. After Theo and his friend from school Cockroach are assigned to read one of Shakespeare's plays for school by their teacher; they instead rent a movie based on the play due to their laziness. When this is discovered; Cliff, Clair, Grandpa Huxtable, their teacher Jonathan Lawrence, and another Shakespearean expert Dr. Barnabus Foster gather the boys in the living room to absorb them to the world of Shakespeare by quoting line-by-line one of Shakespeare's plays; eventually giving them a better grade. on their project.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. Cliff is convinced that Clair's entry in the squash growing competition can't lose, but it's Theo and Vanessa who lose - Rudy!
Hide description ▲

As a present, Clair gives Theo tickets for him and Cockroach to appear on the TV show "Dance Mania." However, when the boys get to the studio, they are told there is only one spot available (due to strict fire codes). Theo, in a joking kind of way, tells Cockroach to go in and enjoy the show ... which is exactly what Cockroach does. Cockroach has a great time, and even gets to dance for a little while with the show's star dancer. Theo is very upset and eventually takes out his frustrations at home, especially when Vanessa and Rudy try to get him to watch the episode where he was supposed to have been on. Eventually, Clair steps in and helps Theo realize that the outcome of the "no, you go in" game had no guaranteed outcome. She then tells him to be happy for Cockroach. Theo realizes his mother is right and, after rejoining the family to apologize, watches the show.
Hide description ▲

Everyone has plans for the weekend: Cliff and Clair traveling to the Poconos, Vanessa staying with friends and Rudy staying with Russell and Anna. That leaves Theo home all alone. Well, not exactly: His buddies, Howard and Denny stop by. They learn that Theo is home alone and convince him to invite a few girls over. The gathering is supposed to be small, but soon spirals way out of control when the girls invite a few friends, then they invite a few friends ... and so on until the house is packed. When Theo sees people making out on his parents' bed, he puts his foot down and kicks everyone out. A huge mess is left behind, and Theo, Howard and Denny begin to clean up. Everything seems to be repaired, but when Cliff places a briefcase on the coffee table, it falls apart. Theo is left with no alternative but to tell the truth. Cliff is upset at first and wants to take him to an army recruiter ... but (apparently satisfied that Theo is remorseful) he relents and allows him to do community service at the Mission.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. The Huxtables celebrate Clair's 46th birthday in their own, unique way. Placido Domingo guest stars.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. When Vanessa and Rudy's constant fighting starts to take its toll on the house, Cliff moves them to the basement.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. Denise returns from Africa with a husband and a stepdaughter
Hide description ▲

When Cliff tells Theo of some of the hi jinx he did when he was younger. Theo decides to try it himself. But he ends up damaging his apartment, which leads to the landlord throwing him out. So Cliff tries to some things with the man so Theo can move out of the house where he has been staying.
Hide description ▲

This synopsis is too short and may not include the required detailed description of the entire plot. We normally require that synopses be at least 10 lines long. If you have seen this title, please help us by improving and expanding this synopsis. In this episode, Theo (Malcom Jamal-Warner) is feeling the blues when he finds out that his woman might be going to graduate school in another city. He then meets his hero, blues singer Riley Jackson (B.B. King), who helps to give him some perspective.
Hide description ▲

The episode begins with a rare look at the Huxtables' basement, where Rudy is helping Cliff do Theo's laundry. Cliff is confused at first when he sees a pair of purple underwear in the laundry and teases Rudy about mixing colors with whites. But Clair figures out that Cliff wasn't just seeing things: He had seen a pair of women's lingerie in the laundry basket. They decide to ask Theo if he knows anything, and he explains that he had moved in with his girlfriend, Justine. He tells Cliff and Clair that Justine had lost her roommate, the rent is cheaper and that the extra money they had given him had gone into a savings account. Clair is upset at Theo's revelation and that he kept this a secret, then tells him that he cannot live with Justine (the reason being that it will interfere with his education). Later, Theo and Justine meet at the malt shop, where Justine warns Theo that she had told her parents about their living arrangements, they too are very much against it and that her father is very angry with Theo. After considering their future, Theo and Justine decide to move into separate apartments. Theo thinks the matter is resolved and goes home to apologize, but Clair tells him that this latest escapade goes much deeper than that. In essence, she says it is a case of "Theo screws up, gets lectured, promises to do better, then screws up again." Cliff and Clair decide to teach him a hard lesson and throw Theo out. Later, Clair is remorseful and wants to take Theo back ... until they get a phone call from Justine's parents. Seems Theo has moved in with her folks (so as they can keep an eye on Theo and regain their trust) while Justine remains on her own. In the subplot, Denise announces she wants to become a special education teacher. At first, Clair is skeptical (since Denise had announced a variety of dreams before but never followed through) and tries to get her to realize that someone will have to look after Olivia. Cliff, however, is enthusiastic ... if only to get Denise out on her own once and for all.
Hide description ▲

Vanessa and her friends want to attend a rock concert featuring their favorite band, The Wretched. Knowing they would never be allowed to go alone to the venue - which is in Baltimore, more than 100 miles away - Vanessa tells her parents that they simply plan to have a slumber party at Susan's house after the concert. With their limited knowledge, Cliff and Clair give Vanessa the OK to go. However, a series of developments conspire against Vanessa. First, one of the girls takes her brother's car without permission, only for it to be stolen during a stop in Wilmington, Del. Later, Cliff and Clair watch a TV news report of a major industrial fire and evacuation, but Susan's grandmother is interviewed saying that nobody was home when the fire broke out. At the concert, the girls give their tickets to a man claiming to be associated with the band, promising they will get to meet him; however, the man is a thief. The girls, left without any money, no concert tickets or a car, fear they will be stranded but luckily are able to get home (thanks to a chance encounter with one of the girls' brothers). Cliff and Clair collect their daughter and bring her home; Cliff is calm, but Clair is clearly outraged and yells at her daughter. Vanessa says she's sorry, but Clair - knowing that Vanessa is probably sorry only that she got caught in a deceitful scheme - wraps up her tirade by saying she may never trust her again. Vanessa just wants her punishment now, but Clair orders her to bed; Vanessa finally gives in when it becomes clear she will not win the argument. Also: Olivia becomes a master joketeller ... and then Cliff and Clair find out why. Seems Olivia is calling a 1-900 joke hotline. Cliff encourages Olivia to rely on her own talents, but Olivia's jokes fall flat.
Hide description ▲

As Cliff plans for a family barbecue, Theo hires a stripper to perform at Martin's post-bachelor party. Denise and Sondra learn about the planned entertainment and immediately confront Theo, contending that stripteases are sexist and degrading. Martin and Elvin are drawn into the discussion, and things quickly boil over into a loud argument when the men's attitudes reveal apparent condoning and endorsement of female nudity as entertainment: Denise doesn't believe Martin when he says he objected to the idea, while Elvin's remarks reveal that Sondra's attempts to "reform" her husband's sexist views weren't effective. Things only get worse when Clair reveals she shares her daughters' views and scolds Theo for hiring a stripper, and Cliff is more worried about his barbecue, and the men begin to fight back with an argument that women seem to think that male stripping is just fine. The fight rolls over to the barbecue, and things temporarily cool off when Cliff's parents arrive and share the story of Russell's bachelor party (from the 1930s); however, when Anna is alone with Russell, the two bicker about "that story" about the stripper, and things get hairy once again. Just then, everyone realizes that Cliff worked hard to make the family barbecue a success and that they need to resolve the argument once and for all ... which they do when the women (reluctantly) agree to let Martin and the guys have their night of fun, and Russell admits that he was always thinking of Anna on his last night out.
Hide description ▲

Rudy and her girlfriends are eager not only to be older, but to see the hot rapper "J.T. Freeze" perform. To do so, they lie to their parents to sneak into an underage club called the "Exchange Club" (whose minimum age of 16 is still too old for them). However, Lance reveals how junior high schoolers sneak into the Exchange when asked by Mr. and Mrs. Huxtable about the club, leading Lance, Charmaine and Pam having to sneak in to supervise. When a ticket draw leads Pam to winning a dance with J.T. Freeze, everyone's cover is blown. Ultimately, the Huxtables "understand" how Rudy and her friends wish to spend time with older people, punishing them by forced volunteering at a retirement home once the fun is over.
Hide description ▲

Theo attends a corporate mixer for The Tartan Company, a leading soup manufacturer who boasts that they're "not just soup anymore." His views on how the company should present its image impress the bosses so much that he is offered a job interview in San Francisco.
Hide description ▲

As tax day approaches, Cliff tries to get deductions for extended family members, but Claire rebuffs him. Meanwhile, Kenny organizes a surprise birthday party for his girlfriend Deirdre because he's ashamed that he only bought her socks as a gift.
Hide description ▲

Theo graduates from college, and Cliff thinks back to an earlier time at the ceremony; the series end with Cliff and Claire dancing away off the studio. |
Hide description ▲