Bland,boring,not very funny.I cannot understand why The Cosby Show did so well in the ratings when it originally aired on television.The only reason could be is by the mid 1980s television "started" it's decline to the point where the shows made now are un-viewable.So possibly due to lack of competition the show did well.Who knows?If this show was introduced during the Golden Age of American television the 1950s-1970s,I think it would probably not have even made it on the air or would have been cancelled within 10 weeks.About the only positive things I can say about this show is they had a few interesting guest stars,and it was filmed in color.I personally know of no-one who watches it any more.So why do stations still put it on the air?I've never seen the show My Mother The Car,but it's got to be much better than Cosby.

Most of the shows during the '80s often have an unfair nostalgic bias. As they were considered so well done then, the memory cheats and realizes that they couldn't have been that well made. Sadly, this is an unfair conceit. Most of the shows that were well-liked do have an unmistakable charm to them. The Cosby Show, however, is not one of them.While this could be mistakenly attributed to the last seasons of the show where the wheels fell of the premise and it started relying on its laurels, the real truth is that the Cosby Show had no real bite to it. As TV, it seemed to work because it was on every week and in the same spot so you could set your watch by it. But if one catches a few reruns in which the show is aired twice or more, the holes start showing. The Cosby Show doesn't have humor as much as it's a kickback to the pseudo-moralistic 1950s bland television in which something happens, someone finds out, and a moral is shot out. While a common criticism of this show is that it does not accurate represent race, the real truth is that the show doesn't represent human beings in any way, shape, or form. There are no real issues handled in a realistic manner. There are no real characterization outside of archetypes that date back to "Leave It To Beaver." Theo could be interchanged with Wally Cleaver or Eddie Haskell at various points in the show's run. Bill Cosby's character could be Gomez Addams mixed with the ghost of Dick Van Dyke. The lack of true characterization is what dooms this show. If anything, the Cosby Show was able to be a classic because it was right on the precipice of the old sitcom mold and what was to come but not yet formed style of television making. It did what it did well, but what it did wasn't anything groundbreaking. The Cosby Show could have been about homosexual Martian plumbers who collected Spawn figures, and the archetypes would have been exactly the same from every sitcom that came before it. Race wasn't a factor outside of publicity. Anybody could have inhabited those roles and made a classic. They did: it was a mold used for various sitcoms since the rise of popular television.That said, the show just isn't interesting anymore. Now that Cosby's best-known show has faded into the ether for fifteen-plus years, its lack of characterization really plays against it. While most people alive and watching then could easily recognize the plot of the show, the fun is just no longer there. Outside of the new and the generally accepted opinion that the show was funny at parts, the show just has nothing to it. Most of the actors on it have faded into the ether along with the show or have done nothing of real consequence since then. They're not untalented, but the show gave them nothing to stand out with. With archetypes for characters, nobody stands out unless the plot directs them to.In short, the show that represented the best years NBC has ever had is now just a forgotten relic without any punch in a world full of more interesting programming. While it is a piece of the past, there's nothing to recommend it outside of nostalgia. While this is unfortunate, it was the same fate that befell most of the shows that it based off of. Considering the fate of that sitcom mold, perhaps the Cosby Show can claim some sort of victory. At least it used the mold when it was somewhat respectable, and not tarnished by has-beens with the last names of Belushi and Sheen.Not a good ending, but not as bad as it could have been. Too bad the DVDs haven't been given any respect.

You'd have to be crazy to think the Cosby Show wasn't the most dominant network show on television during the 80's. The Show focused on an upper class family living in Brooklyn. Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable creates an uncanny charm as a great father to his children but at the same time he himself is childish in behavior. Claire Huxtable portrayed by Phylicia Rashad is very assertive and has a dominant role despite the fact she is second to Bill Cosby. She gracefully commands a scene. Plus the kids of the Huxtables are all portrayed to perfection from Theo, Denise, Sondra, Rudy, etc......even the guests including Earle Hyman as Cliff's father are interesting and un-pretentious. My only beef with the show would be the last two years when the cast addition of Pam was introduced the Huxtable kids become to old. The show toward the end became a flutter of characters but still very good. Great 80's show and the finale was probably one of the best I've seen on television. Amazing.

I have always loved the music played during the show. I think the use of jazz and blues throughout the show has done a lot for those genres of music and opened up the viewing audience to other tastes of music they may not otherwise have been open to listen to. I think it is important for television to cross into other fields so that viewers are aware of styles besides pop and rap. As a result of the show, I have been on the prowl to locate some of this music or the artists that performed it. I am a growing fan of jazz and blues and would like to add to my collection. Does anyone happen to know where can I find the music played throughout the show? Not the theme music, but the actual jazz and blues played during each episode.