believe it or not, this fall marks the 25th anniversary of the cosby show. episode 1 of bill cosby’s groundbreaking series about middle-class black family life debuted on nbc september 20, 1984. over the next 8 years, the cosby show was such an enormous hit, it’s been credited with reviving both a faltering network (nbc) and programming genre (the sitcom).
the cosby show ran for 8 seasons, from september 1984 through april 30, 1992. for a record consecutive five of those seasons, it was the #1 rated show on television. in fact, for its first seven seasons, the cosby show was among the top 5 most popular tv programs before dropping to #18 for it’s final season in 1992. the show also won an emmy for outstanding comedy series in 1985 and was nominated for 4 others, including lead & supporting actor & actress awards for its cast during its first 3 seasons.
the cosby show was must-see tv in the home i grew up. i was 11 years old when the show premiered in 1984. over the next 4 years, every thursday evening at 8, mom, dad, sister & i would gather around the television to watch together. inevitably, the next day at school, all talk would be about how funny & entertaining the latest episode was.
i introduced my daughters to the show just this past thanksgiving when we watched a marathon of early episodes on tvland. they were immediately hooked. we laughed together at the cuteness that was rudy huxtable at age 5; vanessa’s middle-school crush on pretty boy robert, theo’s bad report card & subsequent (ridiculed) plea for acceptance; denise’s wild child fashions & temperament; and finally, sandra’s….well, there wasn’t much they could relate to about oldest child sandra, lol. but the girls were very pleased to observe one of their favorite disney channel stars, raven-symone begin her career as precocious 4-year old olivia, denise’s stepdaughter. still, we all agree on the magnificence that was phylicia rashad’s emmy-nominated lady clair huxtable. she is inarguably the greatest tv mom ever and the epitome of upper middle class black elegance.
so much about watching the cosby show all these years later with my daughters helps me understand the circle of life. in the midst of the cosby show’s initial run, revelations about my sexuality and the unspoken physical & emotional abuse we’d suffered at the hands of my father shattered our own cosby family illusion. my sister & i left home for good just before the 5th season premiered in september 1988 to complete the last 2 years of high school in new york city with our grandmother. we still watched the cosby show every thursday together, although our own adolescent troubles were making it difficult to relate to the well put together huxtable family.
by the time the cosby show ended in 1992 with a two-part episode celebrating theo’s college graduation, more coarse viewing for black audiences through fox television’s in living color & martin had supplanted the upper middle class family values that the cosby show celebrated. in a ironic twist on the show’s perceived triumph over race & class, bill cosby himself appeared in an announcement at the beginning of the show’s final episode on april 30 1992. he was urging calm for the citizens of black los angeles in the face of the riots that had just erupted following the acquittal of the officers charged in the rodney king beating.
last week, i ordered the 25th anniversary box set that contains all 8 seasons of the cosby show from amazon and received it today. we’re working our way together now through all 201 episodes. it’s a real pleasure to introduce the girls to another black family’s on-screen representation of our shared values of family, love, humor, forgiveness, respect for each other, responsible, engaged parenting & outspoken, high-achieving children. if, like myself before, you’ve moved on from the cosby show, the 25th anniversary box set offers a perfect opportunity to rediscover its wisdom with your own children or grandchildren.
