|
The Movie: Not to be confused with the popular 80's sitcom, "The Bill Cosby Show" came after the actor's success in "I Spy" (Cosby was the first black actor to win an Emmy for his performance in "Spy".) This NBC sitcom ran from 1969-1971 and starred Cosby as high school P.E. teacher and basketball coach Chet Kincaid. The low-key series was highlighted by a charming performance from Cosby, whose character found himself in the midst of another situation that often requires his help to solve - for example, one episode has Chet trying to get a star basketball player to stop using foul language. Other episodes have Chet starring in a TV commercial, dealing with pressure from a parent to put his son on the team, teaching a student to drive and trying to challenge a charge that he broke a gumball machine. An interesting note is that Cosby (who discusses the series in an interview) fought with the network to keep the show free of a laugh track in an attempt to allow people to decide what they think is funny instead of having the laugh track do the thinking for them. His refusal to put in the laugh track is what may have been the reason for the show's cancellation, according to Cosby. Cosby was the main character in this series and really carries it superbly with a relaxed, confident performance. One of Cosby's priorities remains education and Kincaid remains a positive role model. However, despite being a show with lessons and about helping out, it's nice to see that the series doesn't stop to highlight the lesson and remains good-natured without being sappy. Overall, it's a fun series worth a revisit for fans of the actor/comedian. 1 The Fatal Phone Call 9/14/1969 2 Lullaby and Goodnight 9/21/1969 3 The Best Hook Shot in the World 9/28/1969 4 A Girl Named Punkin 10/5/1969 5 Rules is Rules 10/12/1969 6 Let X Equal a Lousy Weekend 10/26/1969 7 To Kincaid, with Love 11/2/1969 8 The Killer Instinct 11/9/1969 9 The Substitute 11/16/1969 10 Brotherly Love 11/23/1969 11 Going the Route 11/30/1969 12 A Word from Our Sponsor 12/7/1969 13 A Christmas Ballad 12/21/1969 14 Home Remedy 12/28/1969 15 Growing Growing Grown 1/4/1970 16 The Elevator Doesn't Stop Here Anymore 1/11/1970 17 Lover's Quarrel 1/18/1970 18 The Worst Crook That Ever Lived 1/25/1970 19 The Gumball Incident 2/1/1970 20 Goodbye Cruel World 2/8/1970 21 Driven to Distraction 2/15/1970 22 The Blind Date 3/1/1970 23 How You Play the Game 3/8/1970 24 The Return of Big, Bad, Bubba Bronson 3/22/1970 25 This Mouth is Rated X 3/29/1970 26 Really Cool 4/5/1970 The DVD VIDEO: Shout Factory presents "The Bill Cosby Show" in the show's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. While not without some concerns, I was surprised at how good this series looked for its age. Sharpness and detail are not consistent, but the show generally appeared well-defined and quite crisp. The occasional instance of specks and marks were spotted on the elements, but these were really fairly rare. The majority of the show looked clean, with no edge enhancement, artifacts or shimmering. Colors looked bright and nicely saturated, with no smearing or other problems. For a show from this era, these presentatons look surprisingly solid. SOUND: The mono soundtracks aren't quite to the level of the video quality, but still sound generally clear. EXTRAS: Bill Cosby provides a 20-minute interview, recently recorded for the DVD. The actor discusses the development of the series, fighting with execs over the laugh track, stories from the time period and his thoughts about what he wanted to accomplish with the series. Final Thoughts: While "The Cosby Show" remains Cosby's most popular effort, "The Bill Cosby Show" remains a fun, easygoing sitcom that is worth revisiting in this very nice set from Shout Factory. |