Cosby

No, this show is not as good as The Cosby Show and its quality has been varying in the past few years. However, four years away from weekly TV screens did not diminish Bill Cosby's ability to make us laugh, or his chemistry with Phylicia Rashad. Both are in fine form. Doug E. Doug is funny in this often, as well, but by far the most invaluable member of the cast was the late, great Madeline Kahn, who has apparently been overlooked for her work here as she was overlooked so many times in her life. Her effortless, hilarious form of ditzy comedy really helped the show a lot, especially in the first season. It was great to see the cast pay tribute to her in a recent episode, which featured many hilarious clips showcasing her. Without her, who knows how the show will end up?

CBS finally stumbled into a younger market several years ago, inspite of itself...before that, prior to '01, CBS bought and played place-holders, especially, played out staples from other networks.

Cosby was one of the best of these. Freely lifted, barely re-tooled, and name-changed from the NBC run, this show was a genial, even less wavemaking showcase than the 80s Cosby run (which made no waves in reality beyond Brady Bunch-style safety).

Stage-bound, and essentially a verbal play between 2.5 avg sets, this was Cos' and whoever, coming in several times a week for coffee, and a filmed reading. It had it's nice comforts...currently, very comfortable and genial about 4am in synd if you channel it up by chance, and need encouragement to sleep.

Bad = Televised airspace placeholder....Good = Cosby, and light-hearted lullaby and drone. Venerable late-night/very early morning fare when you're trying to sleep.

Cosby made a decent comeback after such failures like The Cosby Mysteries (hey, it worked for Angela Lansbury, Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith!) and You Bet Your Life (an adaptation to the classic Groucho Marx game show. Cosby had some funny moments, but overall Cosby is weak with keeping up improvisation for a sustained amount of time)

Madelyn Khan was great on the show, but you could see during her final weeks on the show that she looked ill.

Someone else was supposed to play Cosby's wife in the series, but something didn't work out, so Phylicia Rashad was called on to replace her.

Cosby thankfully didn't go the route of adding younger children to the cast to keep the show going. That was the start of the downfall of the original Cosby Show.

The Cosby Show was long gone and people missed it. They missed welcoming Bill Cosby into their homes every week and laughing at his stories and 'unique' form of parenting. Then in 1996, CBS brought us this gem. Not as good as his old show, but Bill Cosby's new show proves just as funny and just as clever. Like his old show, the cast has a lot chemistry. Not as good as The Cosby Show but a great stand in. Hope it has a long and successful life.

I loved this show, and I happen to believe it was BETTER than its' predecessor. Several elements have lead me to this conclusion. The show's dialogue leads you to believe that the show is scripted, but improvised as well. Take a look at some of the conversations between Hilton & Griffin. Especially my favorite on the airline freebies & "Tiny Wine". I also loved the asides Cosby's "Hilton" took to the audience on set & at home. It helped you get your bearings into the upcoming scene. These blend into a believeable atmosphere. The Late Madeline Kahn was great as Pauline in her rambling, eccentric role. I'm just grateful this show is back on in syndication in Houston on UPN 20 for 1 Hour, and on TBS at 11:30E/10:30C