There was the episode when Theo bought at expensive (hideous) designer shirt that he HAD to have to impress a girl, but when Cliff found out how much it cost, he made him take it back. Denise (Bonet’s character) promised to make him one just like it, but it was a horrible mess. I think, but I’m not sure, that at the end Cliff bought him the shirt anyway, after everyone had learned Their Lesson.
They had the traditional marijuana episode where the parents found a joint in Theo’s school book.
Of course the resolution was getting the real owner of the joint to come to his house and admit to Theo’s parents that the joint was his. :rolleyes:
That episode was hilarious. The designer’s name was Gordon La-something. Why I still remember this, I don’t know.
Gordon Gartrell. What I didn’t understand was why he wanted one so bad. It was hideous! But I guess he was blinded by the fog of the 80s.
Claire was my favorite too. The funniest moment I can remember was when Cliff and Claire sat the kids down and lectured them about coming to them whenever they had problems. The kids posed different make-believe scenarios to them, believing that their parents would only get mad. Cliff says something like “No, we won’t get mad. Dogs get mad. We’re your parents and we love you.” Then Denise, being the smart ass, “confesses” that she has stayed out all night with a boy, to the gasps of her siblings. Denise then asks Cliff and Claire if they’re angry and Claire says, her face frightfully calm: “Oh, I’m not angry. I’m MAD.”
And then there was that night when Vanessa sneaks out to see a band. Claire’s tirade was so real that even now, when I watch the reruns, I start screaming, “I’ll be good, Mama! I’ll be good!”
Vanessa was definitely the “bad” kid. She always had the funny lines (“Can we get a dog?”) and she was always doing stuff to impress her friends. Like getting drunk or dressing up like a sex-pot. She was boy crazy. She fought with Rudy AND Denise, and even got into a fight at school. She was pouty and moody and whiny and mouthy…just like a real kid. That’s why she was my favorite kid. (I also liked Denise, but only because her hair changed so much from episode to episode).
The Cosby show was the only family sitcom I watched growing up. People say the show was not believable, but it was actually more real to me than other shows.
Gordon Gartrell was the name of one of the writers or producers. So it was an inside joke to use that name as the designer’s name.
The only time I ever saw Rev. Al Sharpton say something sensible was when Bill Maher asked him if he thought the Cosby show should be taken to task for not showing what the “typical” black American family lives like. Al said, “No, I don’t think there’s too many white folks living like they do on Dallas, either!”
I always liked the “Vanessa gets drunk” episode. That whole bit with Denise trying to get her into the house and up the stairs was funny as hell.
Yeah, Bill Cisby could be pretty cruel. Now Bill Cosby…there was a funny man!