Remembering 'The Cosby Show' (1984-1992)

Like NBC didn't know some of that stuff when his show was no.1? hmmmmmmmmmmmm??

 

I will speak as a child of the 80's/90's. I really enjoyed the Cosby show. Looking back the early seasons are some of my favorite TV of all time. However, once The Simpsons came on 89/90, The Cosby show was in its 6th season, still good, but not the great show it once was. So when given the choice, I always watched The Simpsons. I also loved Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from the moment it premiered in 1990. It was the cool show to watch at the time. It lead me to get Will Smith's "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper".

 

Now you're into really dicey territory. It's like, who knew about it and why didn't he/she say anything and why not? There are countless examples of similar stuff.

Look no further than the UK's Jimmy Savile, one of the worst non-war mongering human beings ever. Savile was getting rewards from and befriending the Royal Family on a regular basis, while appearing as the lovable uncle of kids and the nation, all while he was partly running a child prostitution ring, assaulting and raping underage boys and girls for decades, and raping/assaulting dozens of patients (many underage) in hospitals.

Why didn't anybody say anything?

Harvey Weinstein? Why didn't anybody say anything?

The problem here is that people who don't have anything to lose don't know, and the ones who know have too much to lose. In Cosby's case, this was going on back to the sixties, I think, and Cosby was a smart, educated guy who probably knew ways to keep things under wraps. Add in his money, status, and power, and who's going to know/tell?

It's a little sad, but that's how society goes.

 

AMEN!

 

There apparently were rumors going around about what Cosby was doing, and some NBC execs probably knew about that. But I'm not sure what you are implying here. The fact nothing was done back then demonstrates that people were willing to look the other way if a rich/famous person committed terrible crimes. So I guess we could say that Cosby "was ruined" because he committed five dozen rapes AND because society has evolved to a point where it's not as easy for rich guys to get away with sexual assault.

 

And remember,these are only the brave ones who eventually came forward. For everyone talking,over a 55 year period, this is probably a tiny fraction of misdeeds. All the same MO-pill,either secretly dissolving in drink or swallowed in plain view,resulting in dire consequences by the drugged victim. At private Cosby homes,in dressing rooms,hotel rooms-these women wake up sick and confused with many knowing they were violated. Coward vs. victim,taking only 40+ years to come to justice.

 

I thought this was supposed to be about the show,not the man.

 

Bill Cosby is one creepy dude. I won't watch him.

 

You remove him from the equation and there is still an excellent show left behind that accomplished some major things. It was one of television's best ensembles led by the incomparable Phylicia Rashād. The show was jammed pack with influences from African American culture from the art on the walls, the wardrobe the cast wore to the countless musicians and artists who guested on the show over the years.

 

Valid points.

 

And that is the shame of it (from the artistic side). If it was one of the other characters that did these things I might be able to overlook it. But the show is named after Cosby, and he was the star.

 

That's true. In his interviews at the time, he said he felt it went on "a year too long" and that he ran out of things for the Huxtables to do.

 

Yeah liked The Cosby Show and the sixties I Spy show as well.

Hate it when famous people do nasty things.

 

I was the wrong age for The Cosby show - but I have a huge amount of respect for Cosby’s talent, just not his predilections. People are flawed, some more severely than others. Spector murdered someone - I’ll still listen to River Deep Mountain High.

 

I always liked Fat Albert (pre-syndication). Hated the Cosby Show from day one

 

For some reason, this scene was my favorite from that episode... Cosby's reaction at that "hiccup" or whatever that was that Big Maybelle does at the end of "Candy" is hilarious..

 

But if Spector was the recording artist, I'd be done.

 

No mention of Cockroach yet and many other great guest characters. This was a great scene with the snowball fight

 

Always enjoyed the episodes with Cliff trying to hide all the bad foods that Claire wouldn’t allow him to eat. This First episode of season 3 is a classic

 

Maybe you should stop posting about the man, then. Take your own advice and post something else for a change.

 

I remember that scene. So great. The love between the characters and just a nice warm sweet scene that you'd never see today. Phylicia's smile and laugh and Cosby's facial expressions are so good in this.

 

OK, this was awesome.

 

Cosby's a genius. And a terrible human being. The difference to other 'celebrity-villains' is the major conscious moral betrayal of his audience. My heart broke for all those women but it also did a bit for me. And that's something I cannot say about any other public figure.

 

The thing about Savile - and I guess about Crosby - is that people knew. The faux outrage of the British media when it 'came out' was ridiculous. For my sins, I'm a Guardian reader. You can't tell me that was commonly suspected by kids throughout the country wasn't suspected - or known - by the media too. All the kids at school used to joke about him (though some of that stuff went beyond even what he did). Everyone knew; no-one investigated properly.

 

Exactly my thoughts. I felt so disillusioned by him, it was like a sucker punch. He was an idol of mine