New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

post #1 of 24
1/31/06 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 
Much better and funnier show than Cosby Show or Cosby. Really surprised to see this as I heard the rep for this show was asking for $100,000 up front money for it. While it's a great show, it won't do that kind of sales due to it's absence from general viewing for quite some time. Last run I recall it having was on CBN in the 80s. I especially love the episode with Don Knotts as a guy trying to repossess Chet's TV set. Classic episode.
Reply
post #2 of 24
1/31/06 at 11:37am
Yeah, I really liked "The Bill Cosby Show" sitcom, which originally aired from 1969 to 1971. Chet Kincaid was a high school gym teacher. Comedianne Joyce Bulifant was regularly seen as a fellow teacher and friend. The late Beah Richards, who played Alexander Scott's mom in a Philadelphia-based episode of I SPY a few years earlier also played Chet's mom.

It was a well done show -- low key, but as with Bill's previous series "I SPY", realistic! Quincy Jones composed a funky musical theme for the series, and the second season featured an improved version. It was also on CBN where I first saw The Bill Cosby Show in early 1980s reruns. A local Philadelphia station WCAU -- Channel 10 also aired it around that time too.

I probably wouldn't collect it though.
Reply
post #3 of 24
1/31/06 at 11:42am
Never thought that this little gem would ever see the light of day. Add to the list of classic episodes from this series "The Elevator Doesn't Stop Here", with guests Henry Fonda and Elsa Lanchester.
Reply
post #4 of 24
1/31/06 at 1:39pm
In case anyone's wondering what they're talking about, click this link.
Reply
post #5 of 24
1/31/06 at 1:44pm
I've never seen it, but I'm a big Cosby fan so I'll probably check it out.
Reply
post #6 of 24
1/31/06 at 7:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
I probably wouldn't collect it though.



Really Jeff? What a surprise! (Tongue planted firmly in cheek)
Reply
post #7 of 24
2/1/06 at 1:41am
I'm quite shocked. It makes me think that TCS must be selling pretty well or they wouldn't be dragging lesser-known show out of the closet. I'm glad because I've always wanted to see it. I'm hoping there will be some reruns popping up on NAN or TV Land first, though. I'd like to check it out beforehand.

And just for the record, anything that Beah Richards did was golden.
Reply
post #8 of 24
2/1/06 at 4:52am
Quote:
I probably wouldn't collect it though.

Well, Mike....that's only 2 sitcoms that I said I liked that I wouldn't collect.

However, I've collected every episode of at least two so far (Sledge Hammer and Fawlty Towers). The one I want more than any other is a true sitcom classic: Get Smart! If they ever get released on DVD, I'd buy them all in a heartbeat.
Reply
post #9 of 24
2/1/06 at 5:19am
Quote:
Well, Mike....that's only 2 sitcoms that I said I liked that I wouldn't collect.


I think Michael's point was not limited to just sitcoms in this instance.
Reply
post #10 of 24
2/1/06 at 10:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
However, I've collected every episode of at least two so far (Sledge Hammer and Fawlty Towers). The one I want more than any other is a true sitcom classic: Get Smart! If they ever get released on DVD, I'd buy them all in a heartbeat.

Not bad. But for someone who has almost 700 posts to have 2 series, well, I guess some people like to talk about the hobby more than actually participate in it. I buy more than 2 sets a week. If a show is of that little interest to me that I wouldn't spring for $20-$30 to own it then I wouldn't really feel a need to comment on it.
Reply
post #11 of 24
2/1/06 at 1:53pm
Does it really matter?
Reply
post #12 of 24
2/1/06 at 6:55pm
thanks david, i had no idea what this topic was about.
it's helpful if the first post about a show actualy talks about what show the thread is about.

i've always ;iked cosby. the early eps of the 80's show were good.

i'll probably rent this one at least.
Reply
post #13 of 24
8/26/06 at 5:36pm

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

I'm curious as to whether any of you purchased (or rented) this set and if so what you think of it.

I purchased it on a blind buy from DVD Empire because I had a $10 off coupon. It's been shipped, but hasn't gotten here yet. I was SOO anxious to see it that I rented the first disk from Netflix to see if I like it. My thought process being that if I DON'T like it, I could sell it when it arrived.

I have a plethora of TV-DVD's mostly 60's/70's sitcoms (Dick Van Dyke/Mary Tyler Moore/Bob Newhart/Gidget/Bewitched/Andy Griffith/Odd Couple/That Girl/Jeffersons, etc), so I expected to like it since I like the era, and LOVE the Cos. I have the 80's Cosby Show, S1 & S2 (and anxiously await the following seasons if the legal issues are resolved).

I now understand the reviews which say that it certainly is not standard sitcom fare. I was initially trying to watch it while doing something else, and found that this is a show where I have to actually sit and pay attention to follow what's going on.

I'm only 3 episodes in so far. I find that I "like" it okay, but am not really "loving" it so far. I'm going to sit through the initial 6 disk 1 episodes when not distracted to see if it grows on me. It's a new experience watching a "sitcom" without a laugh track. It is neat, however, to see a more subtle comedy that's not the standard, sterotypical sitcom fare.

What did others think?
Reply
post #14 of 24
8/28/06 at 7:02pm

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie
I was initially trying to watch it while doing something else, and found that this is a show where I have to actually sit and pay attention to follow what's going on.

Funny, I seem to think that actually paying attention is a required element of anything I take the time to watch.
Reply
post #15 of 24
8/29/06 at 2:31am

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffWld
Funny, I seem to think that actually paying attention is a required element of anything I take the time to watch.

My point, was that there are shows that I can watch concurrent with doing something else like processing paperwork, and still follow, despite minor lapses of focus. And then there are other shows, that I have to sit and watch while doing NOTHING else, or I will miss something germaine to following the continued story line. This is usually the case for me with dramas more so than sitcom. 24, comes to mind for me as a show I make it a point to sit and watch while doing nothing else.

Given my busy life, and limited amounted of time available to sit in a chair and focus on a TV screen to the exclusion of all else, sitcoms are usually what I put in, if I'm trying to multi-task.

Perhaps, that clarifies my earlier post. I was not suggesting that you can watch a show without paying attention, RATHER, than you can watch and follow some shows without giving them your UNDIVIDED attention.

That said, I found the last 3 episodes of the disk much more enjoyable than the first three. It's cute funny, more so than laugh out loud funny, but a humor I can appreciate none the less.
Reply
post #16 of 24
11/16/06 at 12:06am
Thread Starter 

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

My sources are telling me that this has not sold very well, maybe 2,000 units. I guess that doesn't bode well for the final season coming out.
Reply
post #17 of 24
11/16/06 at 3:43am

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Alden
My sources are telling me that this has not sold very well, maybe 2,000 units. I guess that doesn't bode well for the final season coming out.

As a HUGE fan, of the 80's Cosby Show, I thought it interesting to get to see a young Bill Cosby in action and found some of the episodes cute to watch, but not something I want to watch over and over. I've had it since August and while I've found the episodes I have watched enjoyable, I"ve not yet been motivated to finish the entire set yet.

Had I Netflixed it first, I would not have added it to my permanent collection. It just does not have a high enough "rewatchability factor" for me. I wouldn't purchase a second season if it were released.
Reply
post #18 of 24
11/16/06 at 5:26am

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Quincy Jones improved / expanded on his funky theme music for the 2nd season of this sitcom, so it would be a shame to not release it based on poor first season sales. Eventually I'll buy "The Bill Cosby Show", but I have several other series on my priorities list for now including the final 2 seasons of The X-Files and the 1 partial season of its The Lone Gunmen spinoff.
Reply
post #19 of 24
11/16/06 at 2:51pm

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Ollie, I usually do what you do with TV shows on DVD, but usually I can do it with shows that I know so well, that I don't have to pay full attention to them. Seinfeld, Cheers, The Simpsons, etc. - I can multitask while they are on because I know them too well. I don't know how I'd be able to do the same with a show I didn't know.

But you are correct, often sitcoms (especially goofy ones) are easier to follow while multi-tasking, as opposed to dramas.
Reply
post #20 of 24
11/16/06 at 4:24pm

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

I really hope that they would release season 2. I like this show and would love to have the entire series.

Charlie
Reply
post #21 of 24
11/16/06 at 4:56pm

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Season 1 has been on my "Buy when it becomes one of those $14.99 sets at Best Buy/Target in a year or two" list. I love the Cos but there are plenty of sets I want more.
Reply
post #22 of 24
11/16/06 at 11:04pm

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

It might have helped if they'd bothered to promote it. Hard for people to buy something that they don't even know exists. Some people don't even remember the original series much less know about the DVD release.
Reply
post #23 of 24
11/16/06 at 11:11pm
Thread Starter 

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Exactly how do you propose they do that?
Reply
post #24 of 24
11/17/06 at 12:08am

Re: The Funny Bill Cosby Show is Coming!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Alden
Exactly how do you propose they do that?
TV and radio advertising for starters. Magazine and newspaper ads have also proven effective for DVD sales. Another common method is during the preview reel in movie theatres (which worked for the Seinfeld discs).
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: TV on DVD and Blu-ray