The Cosby Show - Series 1 - Complete [1984]

See Larger Image	List Price: £27.99 Our Price: £13.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Starring: Bill Cosby, Iman, Alicia Keys, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Phylicia Rashad Directed By: Jay Sandrich Average Customer Rating:


Audience Rating: Parental Guidance Binding: DVD EAN: 5050582541281 Format: PAL Label: Universal Pictures UK Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Number Of Items: 4 Publisher: Universal Pictures UK Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2008-05-19 Running Time: 552 Studio: Universal Pictures UK Theatrical Release Date: 1984
Related Items The Cosby Show - Series 2 - Complete [1985] The Cosby Show - Series 3 - Complete [1986] Diff'rent Strokes - Complete Season 1 [1978] THE COSBY SHOW - Complete Series 4 (3 disc DVD Box set) The Cosby Show: Season 2 [1985]
Editorial Reviews: Looking back at Series 1 of The Cosby Show, it's easy to forget that momentous history was being made. Not only did this immensely popular sitcom hold the #1 spot among all network TV shows for five consecutive seasons (a record that still stands), but it promoted an evolutionary progression that influenced the entire TV industry from that point forward. African Americans had enjoyed sitcom success in the past (on Julia, The Jeffersons, and Good Times), but the idealised family of Cliff and Clair Huxtable (Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad) represented a new and quietly revolutionary perspective; married for 21 years with five children (one in college, a detail unmentioned in the pilot episode), the Huxtables were happy and successful (he's a doctor, she's a lawyer), and issues of race were almost entirely irrelevant to the show's universal appeal. More to the point, The Cosby Show was eminently respectable family entertainment, perhaps too squeaky-clean for some tastes, but immediately popular at a time when Eddie Murphy (in Beverly Hills Cop) was honing a more profane image that Cosby disapproved of. The show was also perfectly cast for mass appeal, from the irresistible precociousness of Keshia Knight Pulliam (as the youngest and most charming Huxtable daughter, Rudy) to the stylish adolescence of Lisa Bonet (years before her controversial role in Angel Heart) as 16-year-old Denise; Malcolm-Jamal Warner as outspoken teenager Theo; Tempestt Bledsoe as sensible younger daughter Vanessa; and Sabrina LaBeauf as college student and eventual mother of twins, Sondra. Combined with the effortless chemistry of Cosby and Rashad (credited in Season 1 as Phylicia Ayers Allen), the entire cast forged an easygoing, loosely-rehearsed dynamic that was genuinely familial. --Jeff Shannon
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: A heart warming and groundbreaking show Comment: The Cosby show is a very good American family comedy. It was made in the early 1980's and feautured the great comedian and actor Bill Cosby. The show follows the everyday trials and tribulations of DR Cliff Huxtable (played by Cosby) and his family. Which include his wife Claire whose a lawyer and his five kids, Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and little Rudy. The kids cover all age groups and the show tackles many different issues the kids go through like dating, death of a pet, playing sports for school and many others. Even though it tackles some tricky subjects the show is always funny and shows how funny kids can be. Bill Cosby is also fantastic as Cliff and the way he works and talks to the kids is hillarious. The show was a huge success in America and was groundbreaking for the time as it was the first programme on tv to show a professional black middle class family. It showed people and the tv industry that black people didn't need to be shown as poor and working class to make a good programme. The show wasn't as big in Britain but those who did see it loved it. The only reason I haven't given it 5 stars is I know that the series gets even better during the next 7 seasons and hopefully they will bring the rest out on region 2 quickly. The first season contains 24 episodes and each episode is around 25 minutes, there are no extras which is a shame but the set still represents good value for money. The Cosby Show is a fine piece of 80s American comedy and deserves to be watched by everyone. More Reviews