The Cosby Show - Best TV Show of the '80s

I am a child of the 80s, so of course I naturally think the 80s was the best time ever for movies (Back To The Future), music (Michael Jackson and Thriller), video games (Pac-Man) and of course television (too many good shows to name). As 80s babies, we were bombarded by the media constantly and the plethora of television programming that was produced at that time helped to not only define the decade but it also defined our childhood.

In the 80s, we all wanted Arnold to ask Willis what he was talking about. We all remember watching Tony Danza, with his disapproving eyes, look at Alyssa Milano and say 'Samantha!' and waited for Balki and Cousin Larry to do the Dance of Joy. After sitting and analyzing television shows of the 80s, I would have to say that for me The Cosby Show is, hands down, the best show to come out of the 80s. During that time there were so many familial sitcoms and with The Cosby Show, the writing was seamlessly comedic, yet the show was still educational. Subconsciously, I think all of us, regardless of race, wanted to have parents like Mr. and Mrs. Huxtable - fun and loving parents who provided the perfect dose of tough love when necessary. Even TV Guide claims that the show 'was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre'.

Besides just being popular, socially speaking, The Cosby Show broke a lot of racial and stereotypical barriers. Bill Cosby, who created the show, has always been about putting African-Americans in a positive light by using the media. There were critics who didn't believe in the storyline saying that it was unrealistic for an African-American family to be portrayed so upstanding with the professions of Cliff and Claire Huxtable being a doctor and lawyer. With ABC passing and rejecting the series, NBC took the show on and have The Cosby Show to thank for some of their ratings success. This success also helped pave the way for future positive African-American programs and actors, like Will Smith in The Fresh-Prince of Bel-Air, another show about a successful African-American family.

With the five children of the Huxtable family having a wide age range from Sandra, the adult daughter with her own family, to Rudy, who was five years old when the series began, so many stories were able to be told from the different perspectives of each family member. This is probably one of the reasons why families watched television shows together more in the 80s than they do today. Now-a-days programming has become so niche with many shows targeting a different demographic and audience based on age. Families are more likely to separate and watch different shows in different rooms rather than watch television together. The Cosby Show brought families together - it brought mine together. It's the show that I'll always remember that not only made me think, but made me laugh. And as I think of my childhood and of the 80s, I'll always remember sitting together with my parents, brother and sister and watching The Cosby Show.