The Bill Cosby Show

The Bill Cosby Show

1969
The Bill Cosby Show
The Bill Cosby Show

The Bill Cosby Show

6.1 | en | Comedy

The Bill Cosby Show is an American situation comedy that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971, under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Bill Cosby's first solo foray in television, after his co-starring role with Robert Culp in I Spy. The series also marked the first time an African American starred in his or her own eponymous comedy series.

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Seasons & Episodes

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EP26  The Saturday Game
Mar. 21,1971
The Saturday Game

A young Jewish boy joins Chet's little league baseball team. Saturday is the day of the big game, and the boy is forced to decide between playing in the game, or sitting out due to his religious beliefs, Saturday being the Jewish sabbath.

EP25  The Long Road Back
Mar. 14,1971
The Long Road Back

John Marley guest stars in this episode as a wealthy, eccentric man who wants to relive his childhood. He seeks Chet's help to have his wish come true.

EP24  The Green-Eyed Monster
Mar. 07,1971
The Green-Eyed Monster

A male student from the high school seeks Chet's advice regarding love and jealousy. As it turns out, Chet could use a lesson or two himself and does not seem to practice what he preaches.

EP23  Power of the Trees
Feb. 28,1971
Power of the Trees

Elsa Lanchester guest stars as an eccentric woman who recruits Chet to help save a tree from being cut down at a construction site.

EP22  The Barber Shop
Feb. 21,1971
The Barber Shop

Chet visits the local barber shop for a haircut. While there, he gets involved in a dispute with the barber and another patron over baseball. The three of them end up going to a high rise hotel, where the barber claims he can catch a baseball dropped from a window of the hotel's top floor. Antonio Fargas guest stars as J.J. the barber, Arthur French is hilarious as Cartons. Funniest episode of the series, very well done.

EP21  A Dirty Business
Feb. 14,1971
A Dirty Business

Chet is at odds with a student at the high school who wants to be a spy. Because the student is a fast runner, Chet wants him to join up with the school's track team. But the student wants no part of it, preferring to remain out of the spotlight.

EP20  Tobacco Road
Feb. 07,1971
Tobacco Road

Chet aids a fellow teacher from the high school who's trying to quit smoking. Herb Edelman guest stars as Mr. Maher, the teacher who's trying to kick the habit.

EP19  The Generation Gap
Jan. 31,1971
The Generation Gap

Chet's mother is going out of town, so Chet's father comes to stay with him while she is away. As they spend time together, they discover that things have changed and they don't have as much in common anymore.

EP18  The Sesame Street Rumble
Jan. 24,1971
The Sesame Street Rumble

Chet has a large TV antenna installed so he can watch the big Rams/Packers football game. Many teachers from the high school come over to see the game, but Chet's TV set goes out. Chet goes next door to try and borrow the neighbors TV set, but the boy at home refuses to let Chet borrow it, insisting that he wants to watch Sesame Street.

EP17  Miraculous Martin
Jan. 17,1971
Miraculous Martin

Dick Van Dyke guest stars in this episode as Miraculous Martin, an out of work magician who's trying to stay sober and planning to get married.

EP16  Viva Ortega
Jan. 10,1971
Viva Ortega

Chet tutors a Mexican immigrant who is studying to become a United States citizen.

EP15  Each According to Appetite
Jan. 03,1971
Each According to Appetite

Students at the high school organize a lockout of the teachers cafeteria, requesting that they have input over what foods go on the student menu. Chet helps the students and cafeteria manager reach a compromise. But when the same students have a grievance with Chet's gym class, Chet is not as willing to cooperate.

EP14  Teacher of the Year
Dec. 27,1970
Teacher of the Year

Upon winning the award for Teacher of the Year, Chet has a difficult time convincing the other teachers to attend the banquet where he will receive the award.

EP13  The Poet
Dec. 20,1970
The Poet

A male student at the high school enjoys writing poetry, but doesn't want his friends to find out, fearing ridicule. Chet (who has also written some poetry) tells the student he shouldn't be concerned with what other people think, to go ahead and do what he enjoys doing. Chet then gets in a bind when he is mistaken as the author of a poem he copied in his youth, and the poem is scheduled to be published in the school newspaper.

EP12  Swann's Way
Dec. 13,1970
Swann's Way

Don Knotts guest stars in this episode as a shifty repossessor who's trying to repossess Chet's television set.

EP11  The Deluge (2)
Nov. 22,1970
The Deluge (2)

Conclusion of a two part episode. Chet helps an expectant mother deliver her baby at home during a driving rainstorm.

EP10  The Deluge (1)
Nov. 15,1970
The Deluge (1)

A driving rainstorm is pounding the Los Angeles area. Chet's next door neighbor is due to have her baby and is unable to get to the hospital, streets are flooded. Chet helps out as the woman prepares to have her baby at home. Part one of a two part episode.

EP9  March of the Antelopes
Nov. 08,1970
March of the Antelopes

Chet is in charge of a group of youngsters and is supposed to take them on an overnight camping trip. They set out to their destination, but mishaps occur, and they end up staying over at Chet's apartment.

EP8  The Artist
Nov. 01,1970
The Artist

Chet helps out a talented youngster who wants to become an artist. Chet disputes however, when the youngster chooses Chet as subject matter for his painting which will be on display at the art fair.

EP7  The Runaways
Oct. 25,1970
The Runaways

Chet is sent out to track down and find a runaway boy. He succeeds, and they spend the day together. After sharing a few adventures, Chet helps the boy decide he should go back home.

EP6  The Lincoln Letter
Oct. 18,1970
The Lincoln Letter

Chet inherits a valuable letter which originally came from Abraham Lincoln. Only catch, the letter is misplaced and needs to be found.

EP5  The Old Man of 4-C
Oct. 11,1970
The Old Man of 4-C

Will Geer guest stars in this episode as a lonesome elderly man looking for companionship. He befriends Chet, and becomes too demanding of Chet's time, but they end up compromising and spend some quality time together.

EP4  There Must Be a Party
Oct. 04,1970
There Must Be a Party

A female student at the high school is convinced she is destined to be an actress and is certain she will win an acting contest she has entered. Chet then tells her about the time he missed his own surprise birthday party to try and teach her a lesson about anticipation and being overconfident.

EP3  Is There a Doctor in the Hospital?
Sep. 27,1970
Is There a Doctor in the Hospital?

Chet injures his back during his gym class, and needs to be taken to the hospital. Upon arrival, he has difficulty trying to obtain medical service, until a young patient staying at the hospital assists Chet and helps him find a doctor.

EP2  Open House
Sep. 20,1970
Open House

One of Chet's fellow teachers from the high school is a part time real estate agent. Chet spends a weekend helping him out, trying to sell a house. Chet sells the house, but the couple who put the house up for sale change their mind.

EP1  Anytime You're Ready, C.K.
Sep. 13,1970
Anytime You're Ready, C.K.

The Holmes High School football team is on a losing streak, so the team asks Chet if they can have game films to help determine what they're doing wrong. Chet borrows a movie camera from a friend, and films the teams practice sessions. Funny silent films result from Chet's experiments with trying out the camera. A side plot has Chet trying to help out a student and former player of the football team who can no longer play due to injury.

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6.1 | en | Comedy | More Info
Released: 1969-09-14 | Released Producted By: Bill Cosby , Jemmin' Inc Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

The Bill Cosby Show is an American situation comedy that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971, under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Bill Cosby's first solo foray in television, after his co-starring role with Robert Culp in I Spy. The series also marked the first time an African American starred in his or her own eponymous comedy series.

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Cast

Bill Cosby

Director

Bill Cosby

Producted By

Bill Cosby , Jemmin' Inc

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Reviews

steve-575 As a child, I remember watching this show when the reruns aired on CBN (Now the ABC Family Channel) and really enjoying it. So when I saw the First Season DVD on eBay for a low price, I could not resist buying it.The show centered around Chet Kincaid who was a gym teacher, football and basketball coach, and valuable member of the community. His willingness to help other people always seemed to get him into unenviable situations as well as hurting his love life. For instance, there was one episode where he agreed to do his sick nephew's paper route for one day and he ended up spending all morning trying to get the papers to the right houses. Much of the plot was clean, light-hearted fare. There were no episodes that focused on serious topics like racism. The good thing about the show was that it did not follow the same formula as most other sitcoms at the time. There was no laugh track which was almost unheard of at the time. The episodes focused more on character and situational development instead of laugh-out-loud comedy. Much of the dialog by Bill Cosby seemed like it was ad libbed which gave the show kind of a natural quality. It was also one of the first series to have an African American in a leading role and Cosby served as a great role model.
noetical1 This two-season sitcom is a masterpiece of mid-century television production. That this fine show even made it to prime-time television is amazing enough. This is high quality TV: shot to film, great scoring/soundtrack, interesting scripts, even pretty decent cinematography.And, no laugh-track.Character-driven plot lines that revolve around bachelor/teacher Chett Kincaid's adventures: simply stated (by Bill Cosby in the bonus Interview), Chett is a guy that things happen to...Chet tries to get from point A to point B...but, in-between, all sorts of other things occur in his day-to-day activities.Quincy Jones does the music...fabulous tunes! This series is arguably Bill Cosby's greatest achievement.Definitely my favorite Cosby Show of all time.
rsanders-6 Some people write about this show "failing" because it was only on for a couple of years. My cloudy recollection is that it was doing OK, between 15-20 in the Nielsens, when Cosby went into one of his funks and quit doing the show. Can anyone verify this? Regardless, it was very, very funny. Character-driven, not gag-every-10-seconds-oriented like so many lame-brained sit-coms. The story lines were often imaginative: e.g. Chet Kincaid spending the whole show trying to replace a needle valve for blowing up basketballs; dealing with a potty-mouthed student and his parents; trying to borrow a vehicle for a big date (ends up driving a garbage truck). It often taught good lessons, but with subtlety compared to his '80s show.The last time I saw it on the air was on Pat Robertson's old Family Channel over a dozen years ago. !?!?! Why have these re-runs completely disappeared?
dagnasty76 Especially I really loved the episode where he tries to became math professor and he goes to the drugstore to buy the candies, just because he had to solve a problem about the price and weight of candies. "How many candies do you want?" "No, you have to tell me how many!"Jolting hilarious!