View Full Version : Was The Cosby Show a very odd and almost disturbing show


TMC
09-27-2024, 07:33 PM
Even if you discount (https://www.quora.com/Has-The-Cosby-Show-aged-well-How-so/answer/Jon-Mixon-1) what we now know about Bill Cosby in real life (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby_sexual_assault_cases):

The Huxtables are very controlling parents - They essentially tell their children what to do even when that's not what the situation requires.

Cliff (Bill Cosby) had an inordinate interest in his daughter Denise's sex life - Cliff questions her-then husband to determine if she was a virgin when they married. What's even more disturbing, Cliff initiates the conversation, and seems to be very interested in the answer.

The parents are obviously very wealthy (an OB/GYN and a partner in a law firm) yet they demonstrate a level of frugality that borders upon being stingy - From the serious discussion about Theo's $60 Gordon Gartrell shirt, to buying Denise a used vehicle that was from the 1950s for $2000 and then bargaining on the price, the Huxtable parents are rather miserly considering their dual six figure incomes.

An OB/GYN who works out his home, but doesn't have a nurse or any staff - And whose neighbors in a crowded Brooklyn neighborhood have no issues with their neighbor running a business from his home. The series gives Cliff Huxtable a magical job, with no stress, and none of the myriad issues that a doctor in a major urban area would have.

The noticeable lack of racism - I don't care if you are a Black billionaire, much less a New York City baby doctor, racism is an issue in America. The show's decision not to deal with it directly is a cop out, especially since it was supposed to be a chronicle of Black life in a America. Even the series' spin-off A Different World dealt with racism more honestly than its parent program did.

king of comedy
10-17-2024, 07:53 AM
This is why A Different World was better. Even The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was way better.

LAXMIA2023
11-03-2024, 07:31 PM
I think viewed from the prism of its time, it wasn't odd or disturbing, at least to me.

Today, with all that's happened to Mr. C, we do view it differently. Is the show even played anymore?

Frank Gannucci
11-03-2024, 08:40 PM
I think viewed from the prism of its time, it wasn't odd or disturbing, at least to me.

Today, with all that's happened to Mr. C, we do view it differently. Is the show even played anymore?

Yes, it’s on the Grio TV (I believe) and on TVOne.

LAXMIA2023
11-03-2024, 09:23 PM
Yes, it’s on the Grio TV (I believe) and on TVOne.


At one point, I think the price to run a single episode from the syndication package was $1 million in the largest markets. It's probably peanuts today.