Was the show better without Denise Huxtable? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Joshua1991 · 10-01-2012, 07:16 PM

Do you think after Lisa Bonet left the show that it was a better show and was no longer "The Cosby Show" spin-off anymore?

AMackII · 12-13-2019, 08:00 PM

Seasons 2 thru 5: Yes
Season 6: Not So Much

ThatWriterChick1976 · 02-06-2021, 12:07 PM

I loved Denise Huxtable, but her season showed her vapid nature. After producers retooled the series, the show found its stride and introduced topics I doubt explore with Denise onboard. So, I'm thankful that she left.

TMC · 02-18-2021, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatWriterChick1976

I loved Denise Huxtable, but her season showed her vapid nature. After producers retooled the series, the show found its stride and introduced topics I doubt explore with Denise onboard. So, I'm thankful that she left.

I think that it has often been said that Lisa Bonet, with all due respect, probably wasn't the most charismatic or engaging person that you build a show around. So it couldn't be that surprising that characters with more personality and flavor like Whitley and Dwayne overshadowed her and ultimately became the lead characters come Season 2.

ThatWriterChick1976 · 02-18-2021, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

I think that it has often been said that Lisa Bonet, with all due respect, probably wasn't the most charismatic or engaging person that you build a show around. So it couldn't be that surprising that characters with more personality and flavor like Whitley and Dwayne overshadowed her and ultimately became the lead characters come Season 2.

I agree. I feel the same about Blackish tooling a series for the oldest daughter (Grownish). I didn't feel she possessed a strong character to justify a spin-off. But, what do I know? I would've preferred Junior, the oldest son, getting a spin-off, which is a missed opportunity.

TMC · 02-24-2021, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatWriterChick1976

I loved Denise Huxtable, but her season showed her vapid nature. After producers retooled the series, the show found its stride and introduced topics I doubt explore with Denise onboard. So, I'm thankful that she left.

It wasn't so much that ADW got better without the Denise Huxtable character so much as it got better when Debbie Allen took over as the showrunner. In the first season, Anne Beatts, who wrote for SNL and created Square Pegs was the showrunner. Dawnn Lewis herself, said that Beatts pretty much used ADW as an excuse to make "Square Pegs in college". They were doing silly, fluffy stuff. Whitley was essentially a variant of the Jami Gertz character on Square Pegs. Whitley's character had to inevitably be softened (instead of being a snobby antagonist that we only occassionally saw at the start of the series) once she got promoted to the co-lead along with Dwayne in light of Denise's departure come Season 2.

Yong Fang · 02-24-2021, 08:05 AM

Lisa Bonet seemed to have sabotaged her career with bad decisions, some which was probably unfair for her. She did a racy film while she was on Cosby which angered Bill Cosby. Plus she was pregnant by her then husband Lenny Kravitz. A Â“Different WorldÂ” was supposed to be her spinoff show as her as the star and for whatever reason fell through for her but did fine for a few seasons without her.

Cosby preferred light skinned black women on his shows. Her and the older actress who played Shondra looked absolutely nothing of what children of the parents would look like. I know this is a touchy subject in todayÂ’s climate, but this is true. Cosby preferred mixed race actresses. Now we see in hindsight what kind of person Cosby was. There is no evidence that Cosby ever put the moves on Lisa Bonet, but there was another mixed race girl on the show that he did to advance that actress career. Lisa and Cosby Â“butted headsÂ” and she lost since he was the star and she was the employee.

But Lisa made out fine. She married a wealthy rock star named Lenny Kravitz (who is also of mixed race) then for whatever reason weÂ’re divorced and she got a settlement and child support, the two ex spouses are probably friendly and she is free and wealthy and Cos is in prison where he needed to be. Karma is a bitch, but an equalizer.

RetroGuy2000 · 02-24-2021, 11:38 AM

I sure missed Denise. I liked her somewhat flaky character, and felt like it added a lot to both shows. I pretty much stopped watching A Different World when she left, and felt as though The Cosby Show's final season was weakened by Denise's absence.

ThatWriterChick1976 · 02-24-2021, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Her and the older actress who played Shondra looked absolutely nothing of what children of the parents would look like.

Not necessarily true. One, Sondra's not mixed-race, and two, I'm a light-skinned black woman not born from two light-skinned black people. Black people come in various shades and so are our family trees.

I can't speak on a preference, though.

TMC · 03-01-2021, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Lisa Bonet seemed to have sabotaged her career with bad decisions, some which was probably unfair for her. She did a racy film while she was on Cosby which angered Bill Cosby. Plus she was pregnant by her then husband Lenny Kravitz. A Â“Different WorldÂ” was supposed to be her spinoff show as her as the star and for whatever reason fell through for her but did fine for a few seasons without her.

Cosby preferred light skinned black women on his shows. Her and the older actress who played Shondra looked absolutely nothing of what children of the parents would look like. I know this is a touchy subject in todayÂ’s climate, but this is true. Cosby preferred mixed race actresses. Now we see in hindsight what kind of person Cosby was. There is no evidence that Cosby ever put the moves on Lisa Bonet, but there was another mixed race girl on the show that he did to advance that actress career. Lisa and Cosby Â“butted headsÂ” and she lost since he was the star and she was the employee.

But Lisa made out fine. She married a wealthy rock star named Lenny Kravitz (who is also of mixed race) then for whatever reason weÂ’re divorced and she got a settlement and child support, the two ex spouses are probably friendly and she is free and wealthy and Cos is in prison where he needed to be. Karma is a bitch, but an equalizer.

Lisa Bonet always seemed among the younger cast on The Cosby Show, the one who was expected to have the biggest post-show career. She was petite and pretty, exotic looking, was a cast member of a huge show, and married a rock star. I don't exactly know why she didn't have a bigger career.

Angel Heart was meant to be her ticket to feature film stardom but nothing happened. And A Different World seemed to quickly grow into itself without her. Ironically, she was spun-off in the first place because she was so popular with viewers.

Some of the reasons that I heard why for why Lisa didn't have a bigger career post-Cosby Show:

Lisa with all due respect, is truly a one-note actress. She couldn't play anything other than the free-spirited hippie (like her real life personality). For instance, in High Fidelity with John Cusack, she once again played the stoner hippie/rocker girl.
She didn't play the "Hollywood Game". In other words, she didn't kiss butt and did whatever she wanted and said whatever was on her mind. Back then, that was not acceptable, especially for a black female.
She started getting too weird (a la Prince and Lauryn Hill) for comfort with her "I'm so much deeper than everyone else" shtick. That was just a big turnoff to most people. I mean, Lisa's legal name is now "Lilakoi Moon".
She had her first child too early. Lisa may have been only 21 when she had Zoe. That really isn't a good time to have a kid if you're still trying to get acting roles.

Fallon97 · 06-03-2021, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I sure missed Denise. I liked her somewhat flaky character, and felt like it added a lot to both shows. I pretty much stopped watching A Different World when she left, and felt as though The Cosby Show's final season was weakened by Denise's absence.

I agree. My favorite season of A Different World was the first season with Denise. And I prefer Denise on The Cosby Show as well.

biffbronson · 06-03-2021, 04:22 PM

First of all I've always liked A Different World better than The Cosby Show. One thing though was that I saw TCS mostly in first-run primetime, but never really saw much ADW until some time later.

When I watched ADW in syndication, it was almost always the Whitley & Dwayne episodes, so that was the series to me. It wasn't until later yet that I saw a few of Bonet's eps. So I'll have to wait to see her entire ADW work before I have a strong opinion one way or the other.

RetroGuy2000 · 06-03-2021, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fallon97

I agree. My favorite season of A Different World was the first season with Denise. And I prefer Denise on The Cosby Show as well.

Yep! For me, some of the funniest episodes of The Cosby Show are the episodes where Denise is trying to find herself. The episode where Denise decides to become a teacher (but she's uneducated), the episode where Denise decides to get a place (but the house is a wreck), the episode where Denise decides to make Theo a knock-off shirt (but it's horrible), the episode where Denise decides to move to Africa (but her parents don't approve). Denise was flaky, but that was what made her funny.

Denise was funny, as well, on ADW, and I sure felt her absence.

icecream · 06-06-2021, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Whitley's character had to inevitably be softened (instead of being a snobby antagonist that we only occassionally saw at the start of the series) once she got promoted to the co-lead along with Dwayne in light of Denise's departure come Season 2.

It was not a co-lead situation. Jasmine Guy became the sole lead once season 2 started. Kadeem Hardison wasn't even billed 2nd until the final season, Dawnn Lewis was between them.

PracTz · 06-06-2021, 10:21 AM

At best Denise was a fun,quirky supporting character but she simply didn't have what it took to be the central character of a show so 'ADW' definitely was better without her.

Oh, well, at least Miss Bonet would eventually find love and even have later-in-life kids by Jason Momoa who's adored her ever since her time as Denise so I don't feel too bad about her 'career' never really taking off.

10-01-2012, 07:16 PM	#1
Joshua1991 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 25, 2012 Location: U.S. Posts: 18	Was the show better without Denise Huxtable? Do you think after Lisa Bonet left the show that it was a better show and was no longer "The Cosby Show" spin-off anymore?

02-24-2021, 11:38 AM	#8
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	I sure missed Denise. I liked her somewhat flaky character, and felt like it added a lot to both shows. I pretty much stopped watching A Different World when she left, and felt as though The Cosby Show's final season was weakened by Denise's absence.
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12-13-2019, 08:00 PM	#2
AMackII Member Forum Star Join Date: Oct 23, 2015 Location: St. Louis Posts: 17,198	Seasons 2 thru 5: Yes Season 6: Not So Much

02-06-2021, 12:07 PM	#3
ThatWriterChick1976 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 01, 2021 Location: United States Posts: 74	I loved Denise Huxtable, but her season showed her vapid nature. After producers retooled the series, the show found its stride and introduced topics I doubt explore with Denise onboard. So, I'm thankful that she left.

02-24-2021, 08:05 AM	#7
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,072	Lisa Bonet seemed to have sabotaged her career with bad decisions, some which was probably unfair for her. She did a racy film while she was on Cosby which angered Bill Cosby. Plus she was pregnant by her then husband Lenny Kravitz. A Â“Different WorldÂ” was supposed to be her spinoff show as her as the star and for whatever reason fell through for her but did fine for a few seasons without her. Cosby preferred light skinned black women on his shows. Her and the older actress who played Shondra looked absolutely nothing of what children of the parents would look like. I know this is a touchy subject in todayÂ’s climate, but this is true. Cosby preferred mixed race actresses. Now we see in hindsight what kind of person Cosby was. There is no evidence that Cosby ever put the moves on Lisa Bonet, but there was another mixed race girl on the show that he did to advance that actress career. Lisa and Cosby Â“butted headsÂ” and she lost since he was the star and she was the employee. But Lisa made out fine. She married a wealthy rock star named Lenny Kravitz (who is also of mixed race) then for whatever reason weÂ’re divorced and she got a settlement and child support, the two ex spouses are probably friendly and she is free and wealthy and Cos is in prison where he needed to be. Karma is a bitch, but an equalizer.

06-03-2021, 04:22 PM	#12
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,265	First of all I've always liked A Different World better than The Cosby Show. One thing though was that I saw TCS mostly in first-run primetime, but never really saw much ADW until some time later. When I watched ADW in syndication, it was almost always the Whitley & Dwayne episodes, so that was the series to me. It wasn't until later yet that I saw a few of Bonet's eps. So I'll have to wait to see her entire ADW work before I have a strong opinion one way or the other.

06-06-2021, 10:21 AM	#15
PracTz Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2002 Location: United States of America [Happily Living in the 20th Century] Posts: 2,711	At best Denise was a fun,quirky supporting character but she simply didn't have what it took to be the central character of a show so 'ADW' definitely was better without her. Oh, well, at least Miss Bonet would eventually find love and even have later-in-life kids by Jason Momoa who's adored her ever since her time as Denise so I don't feel too bad about her 'career' never really taking off.