Customer Reviews

The Cosby Show: Season 8

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
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By 1991 The Cosby Show was not exactly the commercial powerhouse it had been in the mid to late 80's but remained the hottest game in town. As with many a last season this series ties up many loose ends. There are five main plot points the generally extend throughout the seasons,sort of as mini story arcs: Cousin Pam trying to apply to collage and coping with Charmaine going away to collage,Cliff trying to build a private room for Clair now that most of the kids are away,Theo preparing for his upcoming graduation,somewhat of a teenage "love traigle" between Rudy,Kenny and their respective loves interests and new collage student Vanessa's truly bizzare relationship with the older but self sufficiant Dabnis,whom Cliff takes a shining to because of his abilities as a tinker. There are some funny moments this season but for the most part the episodes concentrate on developing and closing the story arcs and thus the characters themselves. Another important part of this season is that this is the very first season of The Cosby Show where Lisa Bonet doesn't make even a single physical appearance in the show;Dennise is only refered to casually in select episodes and is only spoken to over the phone (we don't hear her voice) in the finale. That finale is the 44 minute "And So We Commence",involving Theo's collage graduation and Olivia departing to join Dennise and Martin in Singapore (as well as finding out she's becomming a big sister). So this is a pretty good season but the wacky humor and individually great episodes are sacrificed in favor to tieing up the loose ends for the shows enevitable conclusion. It was kind of a sad day when the Huxtables left the airwaves in 1992;I personally believe prime time family comedy just hasn't been the same since then.

The Cosby Show began its eighth and final season on September 19,1991. The opening and closing montages intended for the season 7 run are finally used this season. Again,the cast is moving in rhythm to hip-hop featuring a trumpet and a snare drum. The reason for the delay of this opening's use:a mural seen in the background was not an original created by a group of artists. Bill Cosby finally received permission from the artists to use the facsimile(the group,in fact threatened NBC with a lawsuit if this was done without permission). This montage contained appearances by Lisa Bonet and Joseph C. Phillips which were deleted due to Bonet's termination and Phillips' write-out as a regular after season 7. So we see Erika Alexander in face and name this season(due to the recycling of the season 6 opener last season,only she appeared in name). So the regular cast went from eleven members(in 1990-91) to nine(this season). Gordon Cartrelle served as executive producer this season,succeeding Steve Kline(in 1990-91). Cartrelle was even a fashion designer and mentioned in the season 1 episode A SHIRT STORY. Now for the highlights:in the premiere episode,Vanessa(Tempest Bledsoe) announces her engagement to her college Lincoln University custodian Dabnis Brickney(William Thomas,recurringly). Cliff(Bill Cosby) and Clair(Phylicia Rashad) were not very delighted by the news,probably due to the fact that Vanessa was only 18 years old. It was written that Bonet's and Phillips' characters,Denise Huxtable Kendall and her lieutenant husband Martin had moved to Africa since Martin had been assigned to a naval base there. Martin's daughter Olivia(Raven Symone) was not allowed to join him and her stepmother,so she remained in Brooklyn with Cliff,Clair,Rudy(Keshia Knight Pulliam) and Clair's cousin Pam Tucker(Alexander). Martin(recurringly) visited 10 Stigwood Drive to see Olivia and everyone else when he was in the vicinity. Martin was in town when African singer Miriam Makeba(as herself in a guest appearance) visited the Huxtable household. He happened to see her perform live in Africa! This legendary series ends with Theo's(Malcolm Jamal Warner) graduation from New York University. In this syndicated two-part episode which premiered April 30,1992,Theo had a bunch of tickets to give for the ceremony. The graduates receive their diplomas by section instead of individually like middle and high school. Cliff had flashbacks of what he went through with Theo in the series premiere episode,which we see(back then,Theo had no intention of attending college). Also,Denise,unseen,announces on the phone to the Huxtable household that she and Martin are expectant parents,which means a half-sibling for Olivia. After the ceremony,Theo attends a party at the home of a fellow graduate. Cliff finally had repaired the Huxtables' ill-functioning doorbell,with a different melody now. He and Clair share one last romantic moment and "break the fourth wall". That means Cosby and Rashad broke character after their dance and walked by the studio audience with long,loud applause. The Cosby Show set another all-new low,finishing at #18. Although the rating wasn't too bad,Cosby decided he had enough of the sitcom and personally pulled the plug. NBC aired TCS for the very last time on September 17,1992 and on the following Thursday,he hosted the short-lived return of the game show,YOU BET YOUR LIFE on NBC. TCS's sitcom A DIFFERENT WORLD ran for one more season(in 1992-93) and Cheers got the Nielsen axe as well. The A LOOK BACK special,which NBC premiered in May 2002,would have been appropriate for this set,but instead it came with the season 1 episodes. Cosby and Rashad became a TV couple again in 1996 for the four-season run of CBS's Cosby(this should be available on DVD). Rashad even continued working in the New York theatre,frequently. Also,post-TCS,Tempest Bledsoe had a short run of her own morning talk show,THE TEMPEST BLEDSOE SHOW. Malcolm Jamal Warner,continued acting,later starring on WB's MALCOLM & EDDIE,even guest-starring on various shows such as THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR,another NBC property. MJW,is also a musician,in the studio and on the stage. KKP attended Spellman College in Atlanta. In fact,TCS season 3 finale HILLMAN was filmed at Spellman,marking her first visit. Bonet,changed her stage name and spends time with her daughter Zoe,whose father is rocker Lenny Kravitz,from whom Bonet is divorced from. Sabrina LeBeauf focused on interior decorating and did guest-star on one episode of COSBY(as did KKP). Geoffrey Owens works primarily as a theater director. RS is now a big Disney star,the star of THAT'S SO RAVEN. She's a recording artist herself,releasing THIS IS MY TIME in 2004,for one. Long live the Huxtables! And Brooklyn!

This season was a pretty good season to me, even though I was disappointed that Pam went without a boyfriend and we stopped seeing her on the quirky episodes with Sly, but I got two new couples to look at. Rudy with Stanley (played by the late Merlin Santana) and Kenny with Deidre. Those four were amusing, specifically the ongoing beef between Kenny and Stanley, and my favorite episodes were "Particles in Motion" and "Some Gifts Aren't Deductible." The looks Stanley would give Kenny would crack me up more than the dialogue; Santana was dead-on with his acting.

I was also excited to see Special Ed on "WARNING: A Double-Lit Candle Can Cause a Meltdown" and really interested in Theo as a teacher. I enjoyed the group of kids Theo mentored as well as Cliff's "For Men Only" when talking about the "lost generation." Not too many shows talked about the stereotypes that brothas were getting at that age as deadbeat dads, the job issues, and talent.

Cons: I outgrew the look-how-cute-the-kids-are episodes quickly and fast-forwarded through those. After Rudy became a preteen, I just wanted to see the grown-ups, so I wasn't really interested in Olivia and the twins. Olivia was a recyled version of Rudy, so most of Olivia's episodes seemed like deja vu (ex. both of them wanted dogs [although Rudy got hers], both had best friends who were boys [runaway Peter and Bud for Rudy], both of them irritated the next oldest person, both did the grown-up woman singing performance), and I was content with leaving Rudy as the baby, plus I think I wanted Claire and Cliff to have the house to themselves too so the writers would have them doing new stuff. And somehow, Vanessa and Sandra were kinda boring as they got older.

This season was a little weird for me. I liked it, but I wasn't in love with the show the way I was in a few previous seasons. If not for Rudy's relationship with Stanley, I might've just went directly to "A Different World" when I was younger. However, I still loved "The Cosby Show," just not so much all of the episodes from this season.

The final season of the Cosby Show was a terrific season. The Cosby Show definitely went out with a bang and had a classy ending to a classy show. But it still wasn't as good as the previous seasons, and it showed in the ratings, it slipped down to eighteen and the writers and cast thought this was a good time to end the show. There were a few final changes, Theo is preparing to graduate, Lisa Bonet (Denise) has left the show for a final time, Vanessa is in love with a much older man named Dabnis Brickey, much to the dislike of Cliff and Clair, and Rudy is in love with a kid from the community center named Stanley. Meanwhile, through all these life changes Cliff is just trying to build a room for Clair. After finishing season eight I was entirely satisfied with the ending, it truly is one of the best finale's there can be. But this DVD is unfortunately disappointing, there could have been a lot of bonus material for the final season but Urban Works decided to keep it like the previous seasons, we only get the episodes, but that's reason enough to buy this set. Each episode has episode descriptions on the DVD episode menu but I'll still list them below just in case you're interested.

With This Ring? - Airdate: 9/19/1991 - 18 year old Vanessa reveals that she is engaged to a 29 year old head maintenance man of her University... and has been for six months.

There's No Place Like This Home - Airdate: 9/26/1991 - Cliff announces plans to add a new room to the house for Clair... and only Clair. Meanwhile Sondra and Elvin are on the verge of purchasing their first house.

Particles in Motion - Airdate: 10/3/1991 - During his first parent-counselor meeting, Theo and a single mother discover mutual attraction. And Rudy meets a boy named Stanley and the two are immediately smitten with each other, much to the chagrin of a jealous Kenny.

Pam Applies to College - Airdate: 10/10/1991 - Pam begins to realize that, because of her below average grades earlier in high school, she will not be able to attend the same college as her best friend Charmaine.

Warning: A Double-Lit Candle Can Cause a Meltdown - Airdate: 10/17/1991 - Anxious to see a famous rapper, Rudy and her friends lie to their parents in order to get into a club for 16 year olds and up.

It's Apparent to Everyone - Airdate: 10/24/1991 - Winnie and Nelson drive Cliff and Clair crazy around the house while Elvin and Sondra wait to move into their new house.

The Iceman Bricketh - Airdate: 10/31/1991 - Vanessa's grandparents demand to meet her fiancé Dabnis, who bonds with Cliff over a plumbing job.

Olivia's Field Trip - Airdate: 11/7/1991 - Cliff chaperones Olivia's field trip to the museum and meanwhile, Theo falls victim to a scammer while ordering T-shirts for the community center.

For Men Only - Airdate: 11/14/1991 - Cliff teaches a class "for men only" at the community center.

Olivia Comes Out of the Closet - Airdate: 11/21/1991 - Olivia tries to delay Martin's return to Asia.

Two Is a Crowd - Airdate: 12/5/1991 - Vanessa and Dabnis have relationship problems, as do Rudy and Stanley.

Clair's Place - Airdate: 12/19/1991 - As Christmas approaches, Clair gets a wonderful present: the completion of her special room.

Theo's Future - Airdate: 1/2/1992 - Theo is accepted to graduate school at NYU, but faces a tough decision when he is unexpectedly offered a chance to interview for a corporate job in San Francisco.

The Price Is Wrong - Airdate: 1/9/1992 - Pam, Lance, Charmaine, and a group of senior citizens protest a grocery chain that gives preferential treatment to customers in wealthier neighborhoods.

Bring Me the Lip Gloss of Deirdre Arpelle - Airdate: 1/16/1992 - Kenny pretends that he is dating another girl, in order to make Rudy jealous and force Stanley out of the picture.

Eat Drink and Be Wary - Airdate: 1/30/1992 - Rudy and her friends want to take the subway to a party but Cliff won't let them.

The Getaway - Airdate: 2/6/1992 - Sondra, Elvin, and the twins finally move into their own house in New Jersey.

Cliff Gets Jilted - Airdate: 2/6/1992 - Vanessa and Dabnis announce that they have broken their engagement... and Cliff is devastated.

Cliff and Theo Come Clean - Airdate: 2/13/1992 - Theo decides to turn down the corporate job in San Francisco and attend graduate school in New York. When he returns to the community center one of his students has found $600.

Clair's Reunion - Airdate: 2/20/1992 - Clair and her college friends plan a retirement party for one of their former professors from Hillman.

Rudy's Retreat - Airdate: 2/27/1992 - Cliff and Clair start noticing Rudy's attitude is changing, mean while, while preparing their wills, Sondra and Elvin try to determine who should be the twins' legal guardian if the couple should both die.

You Can't Stop the Music - Airdate: 3/26/1992 - Cliff and Clair go to a local radio station for a live salsa performance and Clair puts Kenny in charge of babysitting Olivia.

Some Gifts Aren't Deductible - Airdate: 4/23/1992 - Kenny turns to Rudy and Cliff for help after lying to his girlfriend about plans for her birthday party, also, Cliff and Clair work on their income tax return.

And So We Commence (Part One) - Airdate: 4/30/1992 - Theo prepares to graduate from New York University and Cliff continues to invite additional people to the ceremony, despite the fact that Theo only has a limited number of tickets.

And So We Commence (Part Two) - Airdate: 4/30/1992 - As Theo graduates from NYU, Cliff reminisces when Theo received bad grades and had no desire to attend to college.

After the Cosby Show ended, Bill Cosby didn't quit television, he had another show called "the Cosby Mysteries" and another sitcom "Cosby" as Hilton Lucas and Bill has also done several movies since, but for me he'll always be remembered as Heathcliff Huxtable, and to own the complete series on DVD is just fantastic, if you found this show to be special go out and buy the DVD's and have a good time.

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6GEEI The Cosby Show: Season 7]]This is just a fantastic show. Fun for the whole family without bad language and negativ humore. Fun for everybody! I love this show!!!

The first six seasons were very funny. This season missed the comedy and at times was disappointing. This season was more like a drama and not at all like the first six seasons.

I"M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT I'VE COLLECTED ALL 8 SEASONS ON DVD AND COSBY IS JUST WONDERFUL! OF COURSE COSBY SHOW HAD IT CONTROVERSY...ABOUT A AFRO-AMERICAN FAMILY...ONE LAWYER...ONE DOCTOR...FIVE CHILDREN, 4 WENT TO COLLEGE...ONE CHILD DROPPED OUT, BUT WENT BACK AND COBSY WAS VERY UNDERSTANDING AND HUMBLE ABOUT ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. TO MANY PEOPLE, THEY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A BIT STRANGE OR AKWARD TO SEE A FAMILY OF COLOR WITH SUCH DIGNIFIED MANNERS, VERY EDUCATED, LIVE IN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL HOME, PARENTAL-INVOLVEMENT IN ALL ACTIVITIES(INCLUDING EDUCATION)...AND MANY SAID...THAT IT WAS JUST SIMPLY UNCOMMON...THIS SHOW IS COMMON AND I'M SO VERY GLAD THAT THIS SHOW CHANGED THAT WAY OF THINKING...ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CAME TO RAISING A BLACK FAMILY...I LIKE IN THE COSBY SHOW IS A PRIME EXAMPLE...MY PARENTS ARE BOTH COLLEGE-EDUCATED, WENT TO THE TOP UNIVERSITIES...I GOT THE BEST EDUCATION AS WELL...SO...YES, THERE ARE SOME EDUCATED AFRO-AMERICAN FAMILIES...HEY...JUST LOOK AT OUR PRESIDENT...HA HA HA...DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT.

We own and recommend all 8 Seasons. Great, great entertainment. We watch these episodes with our grandchildren who actually learn about handling some of life's experiences. Clean and enjoyable. So honest to life's delimmas. Great fun watching a family grow through 8 seasons of life. We have watched them over and over again. It doesn't get much better than this.

Even though the Cosby Show is around 20 years old, it's still one of the best sit-coms ever. Bill Cosby is hilarious - a comic genius. His reactions to events are so spontaneous and creative. I haven't seen another comic quite like him. Best of all, the show's plots are both family-friendly and funny. Unlike modern sit-coms, the characters don't curse and talk about sex every other scene. Rather the episodes are centered around family dramas that are realistic but always resolved well. The cast includes everybody from Phylicia Rashad as the tough and very intelligent Mrs. Huxtable, to the young and adorable Rudy. This makes the show accessible to a wide range of audiences. I am glad these finally came out on DVD. I hope one day to share this treasure with my children.

Eight years and still going strong! If you want to know about family life and raising children throw away the books and get all the Cosby shows on DVD. You can't go wrong with them.