TV Series World

The Cosby Show was for the late '80s what Dallas was for the early eighties. Dallas was the number one show during most of the early eighties; but then situation comedies bumped all prime-time soaps down. The Cosby Show proved to be fierce in the competition, becoming the number one show from 1985-1990. In fact, in 8 years it never dropped below the top 20.

Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable was an OBGYNE (obstetrician/gynecologist), and his wife Clair was a successful attorney. They had five children: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy. Sondra was rarely seen during the first season because she was away at Princeton. She became a regular character in the second season, and was usually seen with her on-again off-again beau, Elvin. They eventually married and had twins; but not before stunning their families by announcing the fact that Elvin was dropping out of medical school to open a camping store, and Sondra was dropping out of law school to help her husband in his endeavor.

Denise was the "unique" child, the black sheep of the family. She had her own way of doing things, right down to the style of clothing she wore. After graduating high school, she left for Hillman College in 1986 (a year later, this would become the setting for the spin-off A Different World), but returned two years later with news that she was dropping out. She eventually decided to become a photographer's assistant, and left for Africa for a year. When she returned, she had yet another bombshell: she had become a wife and mother while over in Africa. She married a navy man, Martin; who had a child, Olivia, from a previous marriage. During the final season, Denise travelled with Martin as he was stationed in Asia. Olivia stayed behind with Cliff and Clair.

Theo, Vanessa and Rudy were probably the most popular of the five kids, due to the fact that they were seen more often than Sondra and Denise. Most of the stories revolved around the three youngest children.

Stories dealt mainly with dating and school life, as well as Cliff's never-ending fear that his children would never leave home. In the final episode, Theo graduated from college.

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