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The Cosby Show : Season 4
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Air date: 24 Sep '87 - 24 episodesThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York. According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes". Originally, the show had been pitched to ABC, which rejected it. Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows based on people of African descent, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The Cosby Show was based on comedy routines in Cosby's standup act, which were based on his family life. Other sitcoms, such as Home Improvement and Everybody Loves Raymond, would later follow that pattern. The show spawned the spin-off A Different World, which ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993.
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List of Episodes (24)
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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1. Call of the Wild
24 Sep '87The newlywed Sondra and Elvin return from their honeymoon with shocking news for Cliff and Clair: they want to abandon their dreams of being a lawyer and doctor and open an outdoorsman's "wilderness store." Geoffrey Owens (Elvin) becoms a regular cast member.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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2. Theogate
01 Oct '87Theo and Cockroach come home unusually late from a track meet, and the Huxtables got a phone message earlier from the track coach. They both deny anything out of the ordinary happened, but attorney Clair knows better. A mock trial is held for Theo and Cockroach at the Huxtables' for Clair to get to the bottom of the situation. Carl Anthony Payne II as Cockroach. Bill Cosby and Keshia Knight Pulliam appear on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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3. It's Not Easy Being Green
08 Oct '87Rudy wants to wear summer clothes in winter to a party, while Cliff tries to get rid of an old water heater.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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4. Cliff's Mistake
15 Oct '87While setting up the house as a "haunted house" for Halloween, Cliff discover's he's lost a power drill that his neighbor loaned to him. First appearance of Wallace Shawn as Jeffrey Ingalls.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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5. Shakespeare
22 Oct '87Christopher Plummer and Roscoe Lee Browne appear. Theo must read Julius Caesar for school, but complains that it is boring. Russel and his friends read scenes from the play aloud, and Theo is enthralled. Later, the men read from a different work of literature-a story Rudy wrote!
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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6. That's Not What I Said
29 Oct '87Cliff and Clair have a marital argument after Theo gets detained by police for riding in a car with an unlicensed driver.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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7. Autumn Gifts
05 Nov '87Rudy goes to an older widowed lady's house each afternoon to have tea and play cards, but notices that she refuses to take her daily medication for diabetes. She tells Cliff, who devises a plan to try to convince her that she needs the meds to live. Eileen Heckart appearance. Keshia Knight Pulliam appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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8. Looking Back (1)
12 Nov '87Sondra and Elvin have their first marital fight, and Elvin comes to the Huxtable house for comfort and support. Clair shares about the difficulties in their house as flashbacks are shown.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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9. Looking Back (2)
12 Nov '87Flashbacks are shown while history is shared with Elvin.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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10. Where's Rudy?
19 Nov '87Theo and Vanessa lose track of Rudy in a mall while Clair enters a squash exhibition. Earle Hyman (Russell) appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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11. Dance Mania
03 Dec '87Theo and Cockroach have tickets to appear on television on the dance show "Dance Mania", but are told that only one of them can enter the studio during the filming because of fire laws. Theo miscalculates by offering to let Cockroach go in (thinking he'll refuse) and gets angry when Cockroach takes him up on the offer. First appearances of Troy Winbush as Denny, and Adam Sandler as Smitty. Final appearance of Carl Anthony Payne II as Cockroach. Bill Cosby appears on the episode of A Different
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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12. The Locker Room
10 Dec '87Theo and his classmates brag about their dates with girls in the locker room, but Theo's mood changes when one of the guys goes out with Vanessa and brags about it the next day. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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13. The Show Must Go On
17 Dec '87Vaudeville is shown to Rudy and her friends, who are unimpressed. Deon Richmond as Kenny.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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14. Bookworm
07 Jan '88Clair drags Cliff to her book club meeting, and he's the lone male there. Much to Clair's surprise, Cliff knows quite a bit about the book in question! Meanwhile, the kids attempt a sleepover at Sondra and Elvin's run-down studio apartment, but are overwhelmed by the noise and lack of utilities. Appearances by Angela Bassett and S. Epatha Merkerson.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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15. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
14 Jan '88Rudy has to play the violin in music class at school, but gets jealous because she thinks her classmates' instruments are more fun. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Naoka Nakagawa as Kim.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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16. The Visit
21 Jan '88Theo visits a friend in the hospital who has cancer. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. Special appearance by Armand Hammer.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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17. The Drum Major
04 Feb '88Vanessa tries out for the drum major at school. Theo playfully mocks her efforts, but learns from friends that Vanessa is the target of sexism and intervenes on her behalf. Meanwhile, Cliff cooks up a batch of extremely spicy chili as Russell tries to pay off a loan from an old friend. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Troy Winbush as Denny. Guest appearance by Dub Taylor.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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18. Waterworks
11 Feb '88Clair tries to stop Cliff from fixing a leaky pipe by hiring a team of professionals: friends of Sondra and Elvin from Princeton.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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19. Once Upon a Time
18 Feb '88Rudy writes a fairy tale, and the colorful story is acted out in her fantasy. Members of the family play the roles of a village full of happy people and a mean group that ruins their fun. At the end of the episode, Rudy declares that when she becomes "president of the world", she will put a stop to all mean people. Cliff and Clair proceed to watch news reports of weapons' testing and bombings, and urge her to "hurry, because we need you right now." Earle Hyman as Russell.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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20. Petanque
25 Feb '88Cliff and a friend play pétanque. First appearance of Sullivan Walker as Dr. James Harmon.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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21. Trust Me
03 Mar '88A friend of Clair's has marital problems; Cliff takes a "mini-vacation" in the house as Theo, Rudy, and Vanessa try to stump each other with riddles.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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22. Home for the Weekend
17 Mar '88Denise comes home from college, but seems to have more time for her friends than for the family.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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23. The Prom
24 Mar '88Theo, Denny and Smitty go to great lengths to impress their dates for the senior prom but fail disastrously; Cliff and Clair relive their own prom. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. First appearance of Michelle Thomas as Justine. Phylicia Rashād appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
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The Cosby Show (1984)
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24. Gone Fishin'
28 Apr '88When the Huxtable men go fishing, Theo catches a dead body, and soon attracts attention from the media. This success goes to his head, while Rudy and Kenny find a nest of baby birds, but the mother bird is missing. The two stories eventually cross in a surprising-and rather humiliating-lesson for Theo. Deon Richmond as Kenny.
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