Does anybody actually prefer COSBY to THE COSBY SHOW?

In this case--The Cosby Show

OH yes, in DEED!

The Cosby "Show" broke ground by overcoming the disengenuous, winning "Rockford" update (Magnum, PI) with uptown "realisticism."
i enjoyed this BC series in the scope of enlightened "all in the family" genre.

yet COSBY jumped on the new age bandwagon
(taping thru ad libs, including the cream of those crops on air)
--and squeezing the ad lib gems that did NOT fit with the storyline into the closing credits!)

Bill Cosby CONTINUED to be vested in the american experience --
if his detractors do not appreciate his growth, then this is a sign of THEIR stagnation -- NOT Mr Cosby's !!!

I'm glad y'all feel that way!
After reading some of the posts in this forum, it sounded as if some people preferred Cosby to The Cosby Show; which, if indeed true, is beyond comprehension :).
Cosby is an alright show; but, to be honest, it's not very well-written and the majority of jokes aren't all that funny.
The Cosby Show is also a "smart" sitcom; that's why it's so succesful.

I Love Cosby best.......... Even though The Cosby Show is good. I just enjoy seeing Doug E Doug and Cosby together. They crack me up. :lol:

I prefer Mr. Cosby's Kids Say The Darnest Things. Both The Cosby Show and Cosby don't float my boat that well and at times they can be EXTREMELY boring.

By the way, I prefer My Favorite Martian over "Kids Says . . " and I really don't care for that show.

Yes, Cosby & Doug are great together. But as a whole, TCS is so much better. The writing is superb, all of the characters were great, and the show deals with a bunch of issues in such an awesome manner.

Plus, Cliff and Claire have to be the coolest parents in history! Seriously ... who wouldn't want to live in their house? :)

TCS broke new ground!
BC challenged american sensibilities with an ATYPICAL, "smart" afro-american (the 'pc' term aint been invented, yet) SITCOM.

While TCS transcended cultural boundaries, BC also addressed racial issues without being condescending, judgmental, or "preachy."

The Cosby Show is not ONLY a classic, but is consistently heartwarming, and often hilariously entertaining!

But... "better" ??? (plz notice that in my first response, i intentionally sidestepped the issue of comparative quality.)

You can't compare Maude to The Golden Girls; they are different GENRES (perhaps, GENERATIONS) of sitcoms.

Cosby was a more laidback offering. BC was older. (and.... i guess perHAPS i appreciate it more because i saw TCS when i was younger and it knocked me out -- at first; but the later episodes became more introspective).

"Cosby" may have been the result of the continuing evolution of TCS if it had continued to air uninterrupted. IF IT HAD, it would have evolved, matured -- the humour may have become more appreciable by a demographic that did not need the jokes SPELLED OUT for them ;)

TCS was STRUCTURED; the jokes were planned, executed, and delivered; COSBY was MORE inclusive of the ad lib humor that resulted JUST from crackin each other up as PEOPLE (rather than simply as ACTORS).

PLUS it was Madeline's last venue -- in addition to being Doug E's best showcase.

TCS was "better." OK (if thats what you need)
but you'll appreciate COSBY more when trying to convince your parents that its "okay" for your opposite sex friend to be your roommate in college -- OR when your son/daughter p!sses you off by trying to pull the same doggone trick :lol:

Well said :)

Funny you should mention Madeline's last project. While she is a great actress and all, her character on Cosby is -- now, don't think I'm insulting HER, because I'm not --m annoying. None of her jokes are funny, and I can never sense any chemistry between her character and the others.

To me, comparing Cosby to TCS is like comparing Family Ties to The Munsters. Which one is heartfelt, down-to-Earth, serious, honest, funny, and has great writing; all at the same time?

For me, a show like that deserves the highest recognition.

I can definitely accept your point about Madeline; her talents were under-used, and she wasn't given the interaction to "play off" that the others were. (perhaps she simply wasn't up to it..)

Another point of light that novaed without much fanfare ;.(

I don't think she was up to it. The way she speaks her dialogue -- it's just doesn't work. She just comes off as too much of a "goody-goody," if you know what I mean.

AHHH.... i think maybe i see what got on your nerves re: her character; i believe Pauline was based on a character developed for Madeline in a Mel Brooks movie(s) -- which was a shrill-voiced, lemon-sucking, judgmental ANTAGONIST (bad guy).

and (btw) i'm just wondering-- whether she may have contrived that shrill-voiced "goody goody" persona even before it was typified in the mel brooks offerings.

but her character on Cosby (while similar!) was intended to be more SYMPATHETIC ---- meaning that we were sposta laugh AT her -- but (nonetheless) LIKE her.... cuz we might could know a beloved aunt, or grandmother, or even a neighbor that gets on our nerves -- BUT !!! who (NONETHELESS)
deserves our regard, esteem, and RESPECT --

(provided WE are adequately insightful!
enough to recognize the VALUE of such a "curmudgeon.")

-- the larger lesson is: we can not only find humor in, but also appreciate -- and GLEAN VALUE (learn!!) from the people, in our environment, who annoy us!!

I like both The Cosby Show and Cosby.

no way, TCS all the way.

THE Cosby show was my first favorite show when i was growig up so i say the cosby show

I prefer The Cosby Show. I love the Huxtable Family with Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy.