There's a thread going in the All in the Family board about how Bill Cosby hates that show. A lot of the AITF fans came to its defense saying it's much better than Cosby. I didn't want to bash that show on its board so I brought the debate here. While there are several shows I like better than The Cosby Show I think it's much better than All in the Family. In general I think Norman Lear is really overrated.

Bill Cosby's first sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show, is very good. But I'm not a fan of his 1980's sitcom. All In The Family is OK, at least up to season 7, I don't like seasons 8 and 9. Compared with The Cosby Show, I think All In The Family is better so that's where my vote goes.

No contest. All In The Family is a much better show.All In The Family is brilliant,and like I mentioned in that other thread, The Cosby Show was one of the most over-rated and over-hyped shows ever. The Cosby Show at it's best was just OK,but overall it was bland and boring.Simple too,nothing really clever about it. However,to each their own of course.

All in the Family is by far the better show. It's one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. The Cosby Show was a good show especially during the early years and I'm glad that it was as big as it was because it practically saved the sitcom back in the 80's. It led to many great sitcoms including Family Ties which I also think was a better show.

I'm a fan of both shows for different reasons so I won't say one is better than the other.

I like All in the Family because that's where the Jeffersons started and the Archie Bunker character making irritability fun to watch. I like the Cosby Show because of the family as a whole and it's fun episodes. I will say if I had to choose which show to watch at 1am I would choose the Cosby Show because at that time of night you just want to fall back and laugh and not watch anything too seriously.

AITF on the otherhand is a show I prefer to watch in primetime around 7pm to 9pm due to the possibility to more serious episodes

ALL IN THE FAMILY!! ALL THE WAY! All In The Family is much better. Much funnier and more well written. I like The Cosby Show when I was younger like in Third and Fourth grade up until around 9th Grade when I kind of grew out of it and discovered Three's Company and All In The family(Although I discovered ALITF few yeas earlier but I didn't exactly understand the Humor until I was a little older and when I got older and understood it more it became my favorite and my likeness for Cosby faded and disappeared when I started to discover other shows like TC and The Jeffersons and others). TCS was my favrotie show for quite a while but as I got older it just became to peachy, Sugary and annoying that it got on my nerves much like Full House did a lot earlier. I bought the Cosby show DVD's But I don't even watch them anymore or at all, I just don't laugh at TCS like I use too anymore or don't laugh at it as much. and is no longer a Favorite of mine. The Cosby show is just so unrealistic! NO FAMILY IS THAT PERFECT ! I am sorry but that is the truth. And that is one of he reasons why I like Roseanne and Roseanne has became a favotie of mind because in some way I can kind of relate it to it more and more then I ever had with TCS. Too me TCS You really can't compare them but All In the Family is Just Funny and Well written and is never boring! ALITF is one of the greatest show of all time and Archie Bunker I think is one of the best characters ever. All In the family was Just Funny and timeless and you never knew what Archie was going to say or do next. It was just a Great Show and So Realistic! It always had me in stitches and never failed to make me laugh!

I might make some TCS fans and maybe even Full House Fans Mad, But in my opinion TCS and Full House are in a league of it own: The Two goody Two shoes, Unrealistically Perfect Family, Peachy, Syrupy, Sugary and annoying! TCS is not as bad as full House but I couldn't stand full house after Fifth grade! And It's worse then TCS. I am sorry but No Family is that Perfect! It's was more of a fantasy world where it was dream that you wish your family could be that perfect but sadly no family can be that perfect, We all have our Family problems. The Cosby show and Full House are After-School Kiddies show's in my opinion, The shows that kids should watch to keep them away from the real word problems and Adult Humor, And keep All In The Family and Roseanne for Adults only. Cosby show and Full House should be shown on Disney because they are Disney types of shows. They are like an After school Public announcement program !. They get on my nerves now and Full house is just Pure Annoying as ever.

Bill Cosby does not like any Television Show that he is not in or produces. He hate just about every TV show that ever aired. Unless he is not in it he does not like it at all! But If he is in it then he does like it. He think his shows are prefect and is better then everybody else BUT NOT! I Can name 100 TV Shows that 100 TIMES BETTER then every single one of his shows.

In general I think Norman Lear is really overrated.

:clap :clap :clap

Totally! In fact, I like to think of Norman Lear as The Great Satan because of how he ruined television with a show the drive-by media called "groundbreaking" in All in the Family. Where's the House Un-American Activities Committee when you need it?

Oh, and did you know he's a liberal, too? He contributed to the recall efforts of some Republican Senators in Wisconsin last summer, for crying out loud!, after their role in that new commonsense budget that's doing wonders for the state! I'll bet he favors Governor Scott Walker's recall, too!

What he said...

No contest. All In The Family is a much better show.All In The Family is brilliant,and like I mentioned in that other thread, The Cosby Show was one of the most over-rated and over-hyped shows ever. The Cosby Show at it's best was just OK,but overall it was bland and boring.Simple too,nothing really clever about it. However,to each their own of course.
All in the Family is my fave US sitcom.

No Contest at all here. All In The Family hands down. One of the greatest shows, & certainly sitcoms EVER. I did not like The Cosby Show at all, however, I did like Bill Cosby on Fat Albert, & thought that show was groundbreaking for its time.

All In the Family is Killing The Cosby show!! LMFAO

My vote goes to All In The Family. It's well written and groundbreaking for its time as well as Laugh Out Loud funny, The Cosby Show was just cute. AITF could make you cry one moment and laugh the next.

I'm a fan of both shows for different reasons so I won't say one is better than the other.

I like All in the Family because that's where the Jeffersons started and the Archie Bunker character making irritability fun to watch. I like the Cosby Show because of the family as a whole and it's fun episodes. I will say if I had to choose which show to watch at 1am I would choose the Cosby Show because at that time of night you just want to fall back and laugh and not watch anything too seriously.

AITF on the otherhand is a show I prefer to watch in primetime around 7pm to 9pm due to the possibility to more serious episodes

My sentiments exactly, well put!

Like tvfactfan said I like the shows for different reasons The Cosby Show being more light hearted and All In The Family being more serious. I kinda feel the same way about the spinoffs The Jeffersons and A Different World, though its kinda reversed since I think The Jeffersons was a little softer then AITF and A Different world was a little more serious then The Cosby Show.

My sentiments exactly, well put!

Like tvfactfan said I like the shows for different reasons The Cosby Show being more light hearted and All In The Family being more serious. I kinda feel the same way about the spinoffs The Jeffersons and A Different World, though its kinda reversed since I think The Jeffersons was a little softer then AITF and A Different world was a little more serious then The Cosby Show.


And right now I'm about to fall back and watch the Cosby Show at 8pm. I prefer to watch AITF on DVD instead of cable

Cosby show all the way! I cant stand all in the family, i didnt see nothin funny about it.

I like each show to each of its own.

Both shows did have runs as the #1 show for no less than 4-5 seasons in the Nielens in their times. AitF was #1 from the Fall of 1971 until 1976, while Cosby was #1 from Fall 1985 until 1990.

But AitF wins the vote for most well-written show and more down to Earth show. And before AitF, you didn't hear too much dialogue w/ abrasive language such as g*ddamn it, n*gger, spic, spade, etc. uttered loudly on national TV or stories about rape and what not.

TCS hepled re-establish and revived the fading sitcom genre at the time of its debut but it had its moments and was more light-hearted than AitF was.

I prefered AitF b/c it centered on a hard-working blue collar family despite its racial dialogues, although one of its spinoff shows seemed more lighthearted than its parent show. But ADW, the spinoff of Cosby had more serious topics and tones than TCS did.

All In The Family is better, but I like both shows