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ARTICLE
DVD Review: The Bill Cosby Show - Season One
by R.J. Carter Published: September 6, 2006
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: August 22, 2006 Distributor: Shout! Factory Cast: · Bill Cosby · Lee Weaver · Joyce Bulifant Related Sites: ·IMDb: The Bill Cosby Show
Grade: A
Before Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, before Jell-O Pudding -- but not before I Spy -- there was the understated comedy of The Bill Cosby Show, showcasing one of the greatest comedians ever to grace the face of the Earth. His humor has withstood time, transcended race, and maintained a universal appeal across a broad spectrum of fans.
In The Bill Cosby Show, Cosby plays Chet Kincaid, a physical education teacher at the Richard Allen Holmes High School, a school Cosby named after the projects in Philadelphia where he partly grew up. The show was also a launching point for Cosby to begin his lifelong crusade to promote education.
The series had an unusual visual look for a comedy. It didn't have the lighting or staging of your standard situation comedy, but had more the appearance of a dramatic movie. This is immediately apparent with the debut episode, "The Fatal Phone Call", which is filmed almost entirely outdoors. While jogging, Kincaid answers a ringing telephone in a phone booth, setting off a series of events that elevates from a simple domestic dispute to Kincaid's detention as a suspect in a robbery.
Also missing was a laugh track, something Cosby himself insisted on (revealed in the later-mentioned bonus interview). This was something that NBC insisted on, and was an uphill battle Cosby eventually won -- although he blames the cancellation of the series on the bad blood the fight engendered.
Guidance counsellor Paterson and Coach
Kincaid share one of their many talks.
L-R: Joyce Bulifant, Bill Cosby
Chet's goal, as Cosby states, is the same as any other man: he wants to leave his house, go somewhere, do what he needs to get done, then go back home. But along the way, all these detours and distractions crop up. In the school setting, he has to deal with student crushes, foul-mouthed athletes, and pint-sized shoplifters. Fortunately he has an aide and confidante in Mrs. Paterson (Joyce Bulifant) the school's guidance counselor.
But Kincaid's home life is no less hectic. He's a bachelor with his own way of doing things, a life that gets disrupted when his brother (played by Lee Weaver) crashes his place after having had enough of his wife. And as if getting his brother to reconcile wasn't hard enough, Chet has to play referee later on with his aunt and uncle.
As much as the show would be humorous, it would be touching as well. In the episode "The Worst Crook That Ever Lived", the final scene finds Chet discussing chess with a youngster who has been involved in petty theft. When Chet explains that learning chess could take weeks, the kid replies, "I've got time." So he begins to show him the moves of the different pieces. Before long, the kid agrees -- this is going to take a while to learn. To which Chet replies calmly: "That's okay. I've got time."
A blind date turns into a heavy romance.
L-R: Cicely Tyson, Bill Cosby
One of the things that really comes across in the series is how much the world has changed in what you could say or show on television -- ironic, considering how safe and clean Cosby's work has always been. In "The Best Hook Shot in the World", a little guy (played by Gregory Gordon) can make a hook shot from half-court. But Coach Kincaid instructs him not to do that -- because you don't see the professional ball players making moves like that. Oh, how the game has changed! Later on, in "The Blind Date", Cicely Tyson guest stars as Mildred Hermosa, a potential love interest for Chet. As they walk hand-in-hand up to the Children's Zoo, the sign says that all adults must be accompanied by children. So they walk over to the playground, offer a little girl a sucker and a balloon, and she goes in with them. (This puts me in mind of another Cosby effort, Fat Albert's Halloween Special, which involved little Harold going into a strange lady's house. This was actually the start of a friendship, but The Cos had to tag a PSA onto the show when I saw it, cautioning that the cartoon was made in a different time, and that you should never go into a stranger's house today.)
Featuring music by Quincy Jones and a lineup of guests that included Henry Fonda, Wally Cox, Tom Bosley, Vic Tayback and others, The Bill Cosby Show is a television classic that, until now, had gone completely unnoticed by me. I definitely owe the DVD revolution for unearthing this little gem, and strongly recommend it as a series with a positive message for families who care about what their children watch.
The only bonus feature on this set is found on the first disc and, in reality, is the best that fans could hope for: a new interview with The Cos, looking back at the making of The Bill Cosby Show. Even then, The Cos was big on education, and he gives up many of the inside secrets that molded the show. He also discusses the bond of friendship he formed with Lee Weaver, who came in to play the role of his brother in the series.
Previews on this disc include That Girl, The Dick Cavett Show: Comedy Legends, The Best of The Electric Company, and SCTV.
The Bill Cosby Show Season One Disc Guide
Disc 1
Disc 2
01. The Fatal Phone Call
02. Lulaby and Goodnight
03. The Best Hook Shot in the World
04. A Girl Named Punkin
05. Rules is Rules
06. Let X Equal a Lousy Weekend
Bonus: The Bill Cosby Interview (21:25)
07. To Kincaid, With Love
08. The Killer Instinct
09. The Substitute
10. Brotherly Love
11. Going the Route
12. A Word From Our Sponsor
13. A Christmas Ballad
Disc 3
Disc 4
14. Home Remedy
15. Growing Growing Grown
16. The Elevator Doesn't Stop Here Anymore
17. Lover's Quarrel
18. The Worst Crook That Ever Lived
19. The Gumball Incident
20. Goodbye Cruel World
21. Driven to Distraction
22. The Blind Date
23. How You Play the Game
24. The Return of Big, Bad, Bubba Bronson
25. This Mouth is Rated X
26. Really Cool
