Airing from September 20, 1984 to May 9, 1985, The Cosby Show Season 1 was the beginning of one of the most groundbreaking sitcoms in television history. The first season of The Cosby Show starred Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable, Phylicia Ayers-Allen as Clair Huxtable, Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable, Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theodore "Theo" Huxtable, Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable, and Keshia Knight-Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable. Season 1 focused on doctor Cliff Huxtable and his attorney wife, Clair, raising their five (four in the first episode) children in Brooklyn. The children consisted of stylish, popular 16 year-old Denise, who seemingly had a different boyfriend every week and was very rebellious, 13 year-old (14 later in the season) lazy, only son Theo, nosy 10 year-old (11 later in the season) Vanessa, and the youngest, precocious, adorable little 5-year-old Rudy. In season one, the Huxtables dealt with a daughter dating an older man, a son struggling in school, a child crushed over the loss of a favorite pet and more. Later on the season in the episode "Bonjour Sondra," we were introduced to a fifth Huxtable child, 20 year-old oldest Sondra (played by Sabrina LeBeauf), who's off at Princeton. There were other characters this season, including Russell and Anna Huxtable (played by Earle Hyman and Clarice Taylor), Cliff's loving parents, and Peter (played by Peter Costa), Rudy's silent but lovable friend, known for running out of the house in times of trouble. The Huxtables went through many things, all while making the viewers laugh. On August 2, 2005, the Huxtables came to DVD for the first time with the Urban Works release of The Cosby Show Season 1, which included all 24 episodes of the first season and "The Cosby Show: A Look-Back," a 2002 special where the cast memebers of the series look. However, there was one problem, Urban Works released the first season with the episodes in their edited syndicated format instead of they way the were originally broadcast on NBC. Fans were understandably outraged, but fortunately, Urban Works corrected this with their 2006 release of The Cosby Show Season 2, which contained uncut episodes. Urban Works Entertainment was eventually taken over by First Look Studios, who took the distribution of The Cosby Show DVD releases and released the remaining six seasons in the span of a year, along with The Cosby Show 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition, a complete series with new special features, including a 2-part interview with Bill Cosby, a 1990 bloopers special, and a digital photo gallery including pictures from all eight seasons of the series. Plus with the complete series release, Season 1 was uncut. However the set soon went out of print due to manufacturing errors. In 2011, Millennium Entertainment re-released the The Cosby Show Season 1 uncut with the original look-back special and with the special features from the out-of-print complete series set and that is the set I'm doing my review on. The menus are great. You get the option of playing them all or choosing the episodes individually. When you choose them individually, you can choose the acts. You get the options of Opening, Act I, Act II or Closing. Not only does this set contain uncut episodes and the look-back special, but it contains New Interview with Bill Cosby, a digital photo gallery, and "Outtakes From The Cosby Show," a 1990 blooper special. The 2-part interview is something nice as it shows Bill Cosby talking about the show, how it happened, how he felt about it, his favorite and least favorite things about the show and more. The photo gallery is great. It shows nice pictures of the cast as the kids grow up throughout the series. The Look-Back Special is wonderful. It shows 2002 retrospectives with cast members, who include Bill Cosby (Cliff), Phylicia Rashad (Clair), Sabrina LeBeauf (Sondra), Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Theo), Tempestt Bledsoe (Vanessa), Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy), Raven Symone (Olivia), Geoffrey Owens (Elvin), Deon Richmond (Kenny/Bud), Peter Costa (Peter), and Earle Hyman and Clarice Taylor (Grandma and Grandpa Huxtable). Noticeably absent was Lisa Bonet, who played Denise. The 1990 blooper special is hosted by Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Bonet, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Raven-Symone and shows hilarious bloopers. Bill Cosby is hilarious. It's the set to buy, but you have to be careful when buying and you have to make that the copyright says 2011, because if it says 2005, you get the edited version and it only shows the Look-Back Special. The packaging is one of those Digipak cardboard foldout cases. There are quotes from Bill (Cliff) Cosby on the packaging. This set has 4 discs (but be careful with them, because they overlap), there's a character on each disc. Disc 1 contains episodes 1-8 and has Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable. Disc 2 contains episodes 9-16 and has Keshia Knight-Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable. Disc 3 contains episodes 17-24 and has Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable. Disc 4 contains the bonus material (including "A Look-Back" special) and has Phylicia Rashad as Clair Huxtable. Here is a list of the episodes on the set:
Disc 1
Pilot Presentation *
Goodbye, Mr. Fish
Bad Dreams * (episodes with * next to them are my favorites)
You're Not a Mother Night (aka) Knight to Night
Is That My Boy?
Breaking with Tradition
One More Time
A Shirt Story *
Disc 2
Play It Again, Vanessa *
How Ugly Is He? *
Bonjour Sondra
Father's Day *
Rudy's Sick
Independence Day *
Physician of the Year
Jitterbug Break *
Disc 3
Theo and the Joint *
Vanessa's New Class
Clair's Case
Back to the Track, Jack *
The Youngest Woman
The Slumber Party *
Mr. Quiet
Cliff's Birthday *
Disc 4
Bonus Material:
New Interview with Dr. Bill Cosby Part 1
New Interview with Dr. Bill Cosby Part 2
Digital Photo Gallery
Show Bloopers
The Cosby Show: A Look-Back
I recommend this DVD to anyone of literally all ages. Little girls and boys will relate to Rudy and Vanessa, and teens will relate to Theo and Denise. Adults will of course relate to Cliff and Clair.