# How can you not know the Cosby Show??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541 "2006-10-31T03:25:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/1 "2006-10-31T03:25:30Z")
So, after the blissful relaxation of fall break, I returned to the life of a 1L–which at this time of year means extra super-duper stress, with the first stirrings of the job search, exams to prepare for, and the second (and more significant) legal writing assignment. On that last one, we got the assignment and I, after a bit, actually got around to looking at it. I noticed immediately that there was something familiar about our “clients’” names. Claire and Heath Huxe. They had children, too: Theo and Vanessa. So it took me about two minutes to wiki it and confirm my suspicions–my LR&W prof was paying a subtle homage to the Cosby Show, which remains a fond memory of my youth. Now I happen to be what’d be considered a non-traditional student, 27 years old. So you may imagine my surprise and awe when I pointed the Cos allusion out to a few classmates, only to find that they had no point of reference; they were too young to’ve seen the show! Thank goodness I’m not -the- oldest one in the class, otherwise I’d be feeling quite the greybeard lately… ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/2 "2006-10-31T05:14:35Z")
A friend of mine still talks about the woman he met one time, back in the '80s, who claimed to have never heard of _Star Trek_. Yes, she was American, and yes, she had a TV. OK, never watched it, that I could understand. But never even heard of the title before? ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/3 "2006-10-31T05:27:02Z")
I am 24 and I love The Cosby Show! I watch it on reruns on my days off sometimes. Heck, HR Pufenstuf is before my time but I am familiar with it (magic flute, the fact that sid and marty croft ripped of McD’s to create the show, etc.) Some people just need to pay more attention to things. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/4 "2006-10-31T06:04:22Z")
You mean the one where he’s a high school gym coach? Oh, that Cosby show. I’m actually too old for it - I never watched it during its first run, and only saw it at all because my f-i-l watched it while he was over. He’s gone downhill since I Spy and the Noah bit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/5 "2006-10-31T06:32:42Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] You mean the one where he’s a high school gym coach? [/QUOTE] I remember that show–thought I was the only one. He played Chet Kincaid, right? As for the OP, I had a prof in first year law who liked to use “Bart” and “Lisa” in certain problems, “Fred” and “Barney” in others, and “Wilma” and “Pebbles” in still others. Made for an interesting discussion after the exam, I must say. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/6 "2006-10-31T06:40:34Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur Catta] Claire and Heath Huxe. They had children, too: Theo and Vanessa. So it took me about two minutes to wiki it and confirm my suspicions–my LR&W prof was paying a subtle homage to the Cosby Show, which remains a fond memory of my youth. [/QUOTE] It was Cliff, not Heath. My law prof was more of a traditionalist. Our fake clients were the Flintstones. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/7 "2006-10-31T06:58:35Z")
Nothing can make you feel as old as a 20 year old. A few years ago I had a coworker who was 23 and sitting next to me so we talked a lot. This was usually a mistake. Here’s an actual conversation with her (one of quite a few similar ones, actually). Her: What do you think of the name Lorne? Me: Makes me think of of Lorne Greene Her: Who’s Lorne Greene? Me: He used to be in those Alpo commercials. \ And you know - Battlestar Galactica? The captain? Her: What’s Battlestar Galactica? (this was before the new version). Me: You don’t know Battlestar Galactica? It was great. OK, He was also in Bonanza Her: What’s Bonanza? Me: Oh for God’s sake - Bonanza was before MY time but I know what it is. Her: You’re just old. And I was. I was all of 33. But those conversations marked my mental passage into middle age. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/8 "2006-10-31T07:04:47Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] It was Cliff, not Heath. [/QUOTE] Heathcliff, to be exact. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/9 "2006-10-31T07:19:55Z")
I’m 23 myself, and I’m surprised that law students (who I’d expect to be 22 at the youngest) wouldn’t have any clue about the Cosby Show. I remember the Cosby Show from its ORIGINAL run, and I’ve seen plenty of reruns in the years since then. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/10 "2006-10-31T07:37:16Z")
And besides, isn’t Claire the preeminent role model for all young law students? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/11 "2006-10-31T08:33:53Z")
Meh, I worked with a person who hadn’t heard of the Beatles. 17 year old white girl in the Chicago suburbs about 7 years ago. I’m not sure what would qualify as being more out of touch. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/12 "2006-10-31T11:56:08Z")
Actually, I could see this as true. They grew up in the 100 channel universe. Also, Cosby hasn’t been in heavy syndication for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/13 "2006-10-31T12:11:44Z")
[QUOTE=pbbth] Some people just need to pay more attention to things. [/QUOTE] You almost have it. Most people need to pay a lot more attention to everything. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/14 "2006-10-31T21:47:56Z")
And wasn’t their family name “Huxtable”? [sub]I’m old[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/15 "2006-10-31T22:00:14Z")
Yeah, but that’s not how I imagined it being spelled. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/16 "2006-10-31T22:00:29Z")
[QUOTE=pbbth] I am 24 and I love The Cosby Show! I watch it on reruns on my days off sometimes. Heck, HR Pufenstuf is before my time but I am familiar with it (magic flute, the fact that sid and marty croft ripped of McD’s to create the show, etc.) Some people just need to pay more attention to things. [/QUOTE] Indeed they do. For instance, to things like the fact that McDonalds is the one who ripped off Sid and Marty Krofft, not the other way around. [ > [@](#): > > In 1973, courts sided with Sid and Marty Krofft that McCheese bore too close a resemblance to H.R. Pufnstuf, and that many other McDonaldland residents were plagiarized as well. McDonald’s was forced to pay a settlement, and as a result, the character was eliminated from the advertising campaign. Since then, Mayor McCheese has largely been phased out of the McDonaldland canon, though he remains a popular 70s pop culture icon. ]([McDonaldland - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_McCheese)) ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/17 "2006-10-31T22:36:48Z")
I wish I had had cable back then so I wouldn’t know it- the ultimate pompously smug comedian, with an awful unrealistic sitcom. Five kids, and the worst thing they do is Theo maybe writes a book report from Cilff Notes instead of reading the book. No drug use, no teen pregnancies, no violence, and oh yeah, old jazz musiciains or Negro league ball players dropping in each night for a visit. What percent of the viewing audience could relate to this? Mom a lawyer, dad a doctor- oh yeah standard American family. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/18 "2006-10-31T22:43:04Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] As for the OP, I had a prof in first year law who liked to use “Bart” and “Lisa” in certain problems, “Fred” and “Barney” in others, and “Wilma” and “Pebbles” in still others. Made for an interesting discussion after the exam, I must say. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah, the funnest part of making up word problems for math tests is picking out the names: “If Fred and Barney, working together, can do a job in 5 hours…” (or “Daphne and Velma,” or “Bill and Ted,” or…) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/19 "2006-10-31T22:52:47Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] What percent of the viewing audience could relate to this? [/QUOTE] Judging by the ratings, a substantial portion of them. _The Cosby Show_ was a monster hit in its day. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541/20 "2006-10-31T23:02:50Z")
I watched one episode. Cisby said to his son I brought you into this world I can take you out. Not funny. It was cruel humor and I didnt watch it again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-the-cosby-show/378541.md?page=2)