Customer Reviews

The Cosby Show: The Complete Series (25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Get your laugh on with those combustible Huxtables in The Cosby Show: 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition!

For 8 hilarious seasons, viewers laughed with legendary comedian Bill Cosby's Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable and the talented cast that portrayed his TV family which at the time mirrored his real-life family as Cosby, too, married his college sweetheart and also had four daughters and one son.

Considered the most popular series of the 1980s, fans were dumbfounded that previous sets of The Cosby Show (from Urban Works Entertainment) were released with such poor treatment. Most notably, Season 1 which contained edited for syndication episodes instead of the original NBC broadcast versions.

Correcting the ills of the previous sets, this complete series release from First Look Home Entertainment features "every episode - original, uncut broadcast versions - from all 8 seasons" (plus special features old and new) on 26 discs all in an exclusive collectible set, and for a very reasonable price!


Previous Special Features include:

* "The Cosby Show: A Look Back" 90-minute special
* Bloopers
* Cliff's Parenting Tips
* Interview with Director Jay Sandrich
* Audio Commentary with Director Jay Sandrich


Exclusive Special Features include:

* All-new Bill Cosby Interview
* 25th Anniversary hardcover commemorative book
* Bill Cosby photo with Hirschfeld print
* A personal letter from Bill Cosby
* Digital Photo gallery
* Special blooper show



Well worth the wait and Highly Recommended!

The Cosby Show: 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition
BUYER BEWARE: Obviously a fantastic show, but the way in which this product is manufactured and packaged results in problems for the end user (consumer). Be advised that each DVD is not suspended in its own circular, plastic tray, as is typical of discs. Rather, the entire collection is stored in books made of thick, white cardstock that is coated with the various graphics (or printed onto) for marketing. Each page of the DVD storage books contains two horizontal slits where the bare discs are inserted halfway, thus leaving them 50% exposed to the eye when the book is opened. Particles from the graphics that are printed onto each page flake off of the edges of the slits during transit. These particles then stick to the backs of the bare discs and, as slippage occurs, it causes scratches on the backs of the discs, which is severe in some cases. All of this occurs while the contents remain sealed and unopened. I played the first disc of Season 2, and it was severely scratched. These scratches had caused the disc to become unplayable. AND IT IS BRAND NEW!!!

I just received my Cosby show Complete Box Set. The Box itself is heavy and looks like a book. I'm not sure how it stays closed after being opened. The 25th anniversary book which looks to contains the script of the first episode is nice. I was shocked and dismayed to see that the 4 disc containers that contained 2 seasons each was made out of cardboard. If I had known that I would not have purchased the complete series. I don't why Companies that produce complete dvd series sets can't seem to understand that cardboard and dvds don't go together. What's wrong with using dual sided platic slim cases or any other kind of plastic dvd casing or better yet the "steelbook" cases. It wasn't scratched up like the Mash complete collection was but there was black debris from the cardboard on about half the discs. It looks like it can be removed without damaging the discs but it is really irritating. Now I have to go out and buy some dvd cases or storage cases to hold these discs.

Please notice that I am not the first to report this... it seems pretty common. I ignored the reviews, hoping that my set would work fine. It did not. My DVD's are all in really bad shape, and non of them will play in any of our DVD players. They are not scratched, but more like smudged. It's under the clear coat, so it's a manufacturing issue for the DVD's that were used. I had to send it back, and it broke my heart! The Cosby Show was my favorite and I was really looking forward to my Codby Show Marathon this weekend! :(

I love the serial and hence was excited to order the entire series of Bill Cosby. But the quality of the Dvd's are not good at all. They excessively skip and stall. I tried using them on a number of players with the same result.

I love the Cosby Show and would have loved this product if it had worked properly. It is not packaged the way DVD's should be. The discs all slide in a cardboard sleeve and are most likely going to get scratched if they aren't already when you make your purchase. I am sending this product back for the 2nd time because of faulty discs. I am hoping the 3rd time around will be better.

I bought this DVD collection as a birthday present for my new son-in-law because it is his favorite show. Unfortunately when he took it home he discovered the DVDs stalled and skipped. I'm exchanging the set in hopes of getting one that doesn't have faulty DVDs.

The Cosby Show itself is absolutely wonderful; however, there must have been some glitches in the production of this series onto DVD because I've had two sets in a row that are faulty. Several discs in each set I've had skip, and I've tried the discs in 4 different machines.

THE SHOW:

Even though the show lives on in syndication (and I've seen every episode countless times as a result), it's still nice to finally have the episodes in their original, unedited format.

People like Bill Cosby and the late Fred Rogers shared a philosophy that television was a guest in the family home, and handled their shows with great care as a result - i.e., if you were going to watch their shows, then they felt that they owed it to you and your family to give you something worthwhile that you could enjoy together. As I revisited some classic episodes, I realized how special it was to have a show that pitched its humor in a way that seemed so down to earth, and earned its laughs without relying on catch-phrases or resorting to innuendo. The kids aren't perfect (they all manage to mess up spectacularly throughout the series), but the underlying theme of family and sincere (sometimes tough) love gave balance to the show and to me, keeps it timeless. I grew up with this show and enjoyed it immensely as a kid. Now that I'm a parent, I'm appreciating it on an entirely new level.

THE DVDs:

In terms of supplemental materials, you really can't ask for more than the wonderfully poignant "A Look Back" documentary, and new interviews with Bill Cosby and director Jay Sandrich, all of which work to give the viewer an appreciation for how revolutionary the show was at the time, as well as an understanding of why the show is so special today as it was then. There are also some funny outtakes and a few director commentaries thrown in for good measure.

As I said earlier, it's great to have these episodes bundled in one set, but I feel that for a 25th Anniversary definitive series collection, the production team missed a step or two.

With 8 seasons' worth of episodes to enjoy, it would have helped to give the viewer some guidance on how to find their favorite episode. The set includes a hardback book of the pilot script, which is something that I'd browsed through once, and have no need to ever look at again. It might have been a bit more interesting had it included handwritten notes to hint at how the production had been modified from the original script, but it's a straightforward copy. A better use of the book would have been as an episode guide with a quick summaries and guest star listings (similar to the Simpsons box sets). As it is, you're left with a list of episode titles and your memory to help you find the episode where the Huxtables do a lip-sync routine for their grandparents' anniversary, the one where Theo learns about life in "the real world", or the scene of Elvin doing a perfect impression of Cliff, not knowing that he's standing right behind him.

There's also an insert with a note from Bill Cosby and an Al Hirschfeld sketch. Nice (I guess), but I'm not sure why they couldn't have been included in the book. There was no need to make them separate, so they end up seeming like afterthoughts to try and make the set "special." A wasted opportunity.

Another thing that detracted from the set was the inconsistency of the DVD menu style and navigation schemes across the seasons. They seem to be ported over from the individual season releases, so the viewing experience is a bit fragmented as a result. Some menus are a bit more frustrating to navigate than others, and only the later seasons contain helpful on-screen synopses of the episodes.

The video and audio are decent enough for the purposes of the content. It doesn't seem to have been remastered, but that's fine. You're watching a classic 1980s to laugh and enjoy some nostalgia, not to give your subwoofer a workout!

The boxset's packaging itself is very handsome, but the folding cardboard season cases are easily scuffed and the discs themselves are left to sit precariously within the cutout slots. It all feels a bit fragile. I would have preferred sturdier slimline cases to pop the discs into, but at 26 DVDs (!), I'd imagine that the decision to use cardboard reflected a desire to help keep the cost down.

Had these minor issues been addressed differently, I'd have given this set a solid 5 stars on the strength of the show itself.

All in all, this is a highly enjoyable and worthwhile collection that is a pleasure for older viewers to revisit and contains hours of quality entertainment for a new generation to discover. Since the episodes are in perpetual syndication, I wouldn't consider this an essential purchase for casual fans (but you won't be disappointed if you pick it up anyway).

I'm a huge fan of Bill Cosby. I've been watching the re-runs on TV Land recently. The whole show is brilliant. Its kind of one of those significant titles that down the line is always going to be seen as being a HUGE show. When I saw there was a box set that had ALL the episodes from EVERY season, I had to buy it. It came out yesterday. I started watching it last night (there's a lot of watching going on here). There are some really cool bonus features with Bill and everyone else in the cast talking about what made the show so great. The opportunity to own every episode of The Cosby Show on one slick looking box set is to good to miss up. I would definitely buy this while you can. Its way too good and way to big of a collectable item to miss out on.