I can understand from a marketing standpoint why you would use it in the title, but at that point, it just felt extremely lazy (especially post-The Cosby Show) and confusing. I mean, they could've easily called it One Foot in the Grave (or something similar to that) like its British counterpart. Granted, Bob Newhart also did that to with his later shows such as Newhart and Bob (I wouldn't have held it against Bill Cosby to call a subsequent show of his "Bill", since he too was running out of options) even if he wasn't playing somebody with either the names "Bob" or "Newhart". But having Phylicia Rashad play his wife again (and yes I am aware that, Telma Hopkins was originally cast as his wife) just further added to the feeling that this was just The Cosby Show-lite (or "Cliff and Claire Huxtable: The Empty Nest Years").

I agree. If I were ever to mention this show to anyone outside of this site I'm sure they would think I was talking about The Cosby Show.

It actually did kinda feel like The Cosby Show: The Golden Years. I still enjoyed it though. I thought Cosby and Doug E Doug played off each other well.

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/comedian-sitcoms-character-name-same-shared.htm

The trend, which dates back to early TV, was a way to bank on the celebrity and cut through the noise.

The Phil Silvers Show, was originally titled. You'll Never Get Rich, I wonder why they changed it. ��

When CBS announced that a new sitcom starring Bill Cosby was gonna debut in the 90's Bill Cosby's fans were proud to see that Bill Cosby still had his sitcom moves shortly after The Cosby Show ended in 1992 and trying his hand at game show hosting with the 90's remake of the game show classic You Bet Your Life and so when CBS started promoting the new Bill Cosby sitcom people thought that it would hit a home run. And when Cosby as it was named aired it's first episode Cosby would grow to be a monster hit. The main reason why the sitcom was named Cosby in the first place was if CBS had named the show The Cosby Show too it would've caused confusion to Bill Cosby fans so the name Cosby was chosen instead. Though I think Lucas And Ruth would've been a better title Cosby fits it the best. It's a shame due to Bill Cosby's personal troubles that Cosby reruns will never be seen on TV again because Bill Cosby showed his talents as the character Lucas and gave him a funny side while the character Ruth was wonderful and smart and that showed a new side to Phylicia Rashad that we never noticed before and just like her character Clair on The Cosby Show she was really loving to Bill's character as well
Bestie

I heard the working title of the show was "The Despicable Rapist", but it was shot down at the last minute.

I can understand from a marketing standpoint why you would use it in the title, but at that point, it just felt extremely lazy (especially post-The Cosby Show) and confusing. I mean, they could've easily called it One Foot in the Grave (or something similar to that) like its British counterpart. .

I think that "brand recognition" no doubt played a part. But I also have to suspect that the namesake central character's well known ego was a factor, as well.