Some of you know that I have embarked on a new challenge of sorts: life without cable. I can't say that this challenge was something that I entered voluntarily. Comcast and I have a love/hate relationship. (and I'm not the only one, there's an "I Hate Comcast" Facebook fan page)
I love the seemingly endless hours of entertainment it provides, but pretty much hate everything else about them.
Anyway, with all the free TV viewing time on my hands, I have resorted to watching some of my fave shows....over and over again.
Girlfriends was first.
Next up...The Cosby Show.
What I like so much about The Cosby Show is that the show continuously found humor in realistic family situations, in the minutiae of human behavior. While the show had it's fair share of critics, it addressed the long history of negative black portrayals in television. The Cosby Show portrayed a strong father figure; a strong nuclear family; professional parents; affluence and fiscal responsibility; a strong emphasis on education; multi-racial friends; and racial pride, all things that weren't prominent themes on The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, or Good Times.
What I like so much about The Cosby Show is that the show continuously found humor in realistic family situations, in the minutiae of human behavior. While the show had it's fair share of critics, it addressed the long history of negative black portrayals in television. The Cosby Show portrayed a strong father figure; a strong nuclear family; professional parents; affluence and fiscal responsibility; a strong emphasis on education; multi-racial friends; and racial pride, all things that weren't prominent themes on The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, or Good Times.
(jumping off my soapbox)
I thought I'd share some of my favorite Cosby Show episodes (in no particular order):
The Alphabet Game
In this episode, Vanessa plays a drinking game with friends, gets drunk, and gets caught. She wakes up with a terrible hangover but is still forced to go to school. She gets home and has to play the drinking game again with her parents and Rudy. In the end they fool Vanessa, making her think they were using real liquor but, in fact, it was iced tea.
I didn't drink in high school, but easily saw myself as Vanessa in this episode. It still cracks me up.
Theo wants a trendy shirt by Gordon Gartrelle, a famous fictional designer in the Cosby universe. After Cliff forces Theo to return the shirt he can't afford, Denise offers her amateur sewing skills to make an exact replica. She finishes the shirt right before Theo goes out with a group of friends and one of them is a girl that he is crushing on. Once we hear Theo yell, "DENISE!!!!" from the hallway, we know that Cosby pudding pop brand hilarity is about to ensue. The shirt turns out to look like it was sewn by a lopsided blind person with seven fingers.
This has to be one of the most memorable moments in Cosby Show history. To this day, Gordon Gartrelle remains in my fashion vernacular. Even though he isn't a real designer, I always throw the name around as if he is.
This has to be one of the most memorable moments in Cosby Show history. To this day, Gordon Gartrelle remains in my fashion vernacular. Even though he isn't a real designer, I always throw the name around as if he is.
The Real World Challenge
Not only has Theo been sponging money off his siblings, but he also has decided to forego college and enter the "real world" at the age of eighteen. To teach him the error of his ways, the Huxtables spend an entire day transforming their home into a microcosm of the "real world", with each family member assuming a variety of roles to show Theo that life in the "outside" won't be quite as simple and uncomplicated as he thinks it is.
Rudy as the hard-nosed bank loan officer, Mrs. Griswald steals the episode.
Challenge
I couldn't forget the tap dance challenge episode. Rudy is down in the dumps because she's been partnered with the best male dancer in school for an upcoming show. Cliff and Clair intensify her tap dancing lessons in an effort to boost her confidence for the big day. But it's Cliff who's most inspired. Overconfident to the max, he pulls on a pair of taps and faces off against Rudy's teacher, the legendary Sandman Sims. The tap dancing marathon leaves Cliff beaten and bowed.
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