Plot
Created and produced by Bill Cosby, the long-running animated series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was based on Cosby's classic monologues about his boyhood in North Philadelphia. Corpulent pre-teener Fat Albert and his buddies first appeared in cartoon form in the 1969 in the half-hour NBC special Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert, produced by Cosby in association with Filmation studios. It was Filmation who was given the assignment of converting the property into a weekly, half-hour Saturday morning series, which made its first appearance September 9, 1972 on CBS. Described as "lovable and jovial" in the studio's publicity packet, Fat Albert was "the undisputed leader" of a gang of rambunctious black kids living in a seedy but respectable inner-city Philadelphia neighborhood. His buddies included Bill (based on guess who) pint-sized, sarcastic Russell (based on Cosby's real-life kid brother), blustery braggart Rudy, laid-back Bucky stringy Old Weird Harold, affable oaf Dumb Donald, and of course Mushmouth, whose bizarre speech patterns were the source of humor for many a youthful amateur impressionist. Basically a good bunch of kids, Fat Albert's gang did tend to get into trouble from time to time, but always emerged fortified with a valuable life lesson that would serve them well as they grew older. The kids were also remarkably inventive and resourceful, as witness the series' weekly musical numbers, performed on a variety of instruments constructed from discarded pipes, radiators, bed frames, funnels and the like. Bill Cosby himself appeared in the live-action wraparounds, inviting the viewers to have some fun--"and if you're not careful, you might learn something." Cosby also popped up during the action of each episode to underline the lesson that Fat Albert and company had learned or were about to learn. Though light-hearted in nature, the series was not afraid to tackle such issues as peer pressure, lying, betrayal, street crime, substance abuse, the death of a loved one, racial and/or religious intolerance, learning disabilities, and even obsessing about television and overindulging in junk food. Commendably, there were a few dilemmas left unresolved, with Cosby sagely observing that some problems take more than a half hour to solve. To uphold the quality, integrity and educational content of the scripts, the producers solicited the advice of ten prominent psychologists and philosophers from UCLA. In 1979, the series was briefly retitled The New Fat Albert Show. At that time, the kids began sharing air space with their favorite comic-book superhero The Brown Hornet, another carryover from Cosby's standup act. Though universally applauded by TV critics and the recipient of scores of industry awards, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids did not always get the high ratings it deserved. Too, the network was averse to bankrolling new episodes each season, reasoning that they'd accrue as much profit from reruns as from first-runs. As a result, although Fat Albert remained on CBS Saturday-AM schedule for eight seasons, only 60 episodes were produced. After its network cancellation on August 29, 1984, the series was packaged for daily, off-net syndication, with 50 new episodes added to the manifest. This arrangement permitted Bill Cosby and the other producers to tackle subject matter that had been deemed too "rough" by the CBS censors, including teen pregnancy, alcoholism, and child abduction. The most memorable of the new episodes was "Busted", inspired by the "Scared Straight" program whereby youthful lawbreakers were literally terrified into reformation by a loud and obscene group of hardened prison inmates. The 50 additional episode also introduced a new character, the Southern-accented "Legal Eagle", a farcical attorney. Unfortunately, ratings for the syndicated Fat Albert were disappointing, despite earning two Emmy nominations. The entire 110-episode Fat Albert package was picked up for rerun play by both NBC and the USA cable network in 1989, while the 50 made-for-syndication installments were briefly seen in 2000 on cable's Odyssey Channel, the precursor to the Hallmark Channel. And in 2004, a live-action theatrical feature version of the property was released, with Kenan Thompson of Kenan and Kel fame as Fat Albert. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviCredit
Bill Cosby - Show Creator, Dan Mills - Model EffectsEpisodes
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 01 (1972)The most famous of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids' first season episodes doesn't show up until four weeks into the show's run: "Creativity", in which Albert and his pals create their legendary "Junkyard Band." Backtracking a bit, the series opener is "Lying", in which the gang finds out that the friend Edward has been stringing them along with his tales of adventure. Other highlights include "The Runt", where Fat Albert proves to his new pal Pee Wee that size isn't all that matter; "Fish Out of Water", in which the gang is in for quite an eye-opener during their first trip to summer camp; "Playing Hookey", wherein a valuable lesson is learned from a pair of illiterate old hoboes who once thought that skippin' school was cool; "The Hospital", a reworking of Bill Cosby's classic "Tonsils" monologue; "The Hero", which shows that just because you look up to someone doesn't make him worth looking up to; and "The Prankster", an object lesson in the unanticipated consequences of practical jokes. The last of Season One's 14 half-hour offerings is "Stage Fright", which of course Albert and the Cosby Kids must learn to overcome before episode's end. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 02 (1973)
Season Two of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids increases the series' episode manifest to 20, with eight brand-new adventures. Opening the season is "The Bully", in which the title character (appropriately named Slappy) bravely waits until Fat Albert isn't around to terrorize the rest of the gang. Next up is "Smart Kid", the story of brainy but clumsy Thurmond, who works out a "talent exchange" with the brawny-but-not brainy Cosby Kids. Next is "Mister Big Time", a powerful episode in which Fat Albert must choose between friendship and honesty when he finds out one of his pals is dealing drugs. "The Newcomer" is the baby who is soon to be born into the family of the hapless Dumb Donald. Teacher Mrs. Breyfogle suggests that the gang accompany their fathers to work in "What Does Dad Do?". Albert and company are caught up in the dilemma of a girl whose parents are about divorce in "Mom or Pop". "How the West Was Lost" finds the kids getting over their stereotypical thinking about their new Native American pal Johnny. And in the season's last offering "Sign Off", Fat Albert doesn't approve of Cool Roy's uncool habit of "borrowing" street signs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 03 (1975)
After coasting along with a full season of nothing but reruns, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids returned to CBS' Saturday morning lineup in the fall of 1975 with six brand-new episodes. The festivities begin with "The Fuzz", in which Fat Albert and his pals fall in with a new kid who doesn't like cops. This is followed by one of the series' most potent episode, "An Ounce of Prevention", in which the kids come to the aid of a youngster who likes to drink--and we don't mean soda pop. Next up, Albert is afraid to tell his buddies that he's fallen in love in "Fat Albert Meets Dan Cupid". "Take Two, They're Small is the story of how a nice kid like Albert's cousin Justin can be coerced into the not-so-nice habit of shoplifting. In "The Animal Lover", the gang conducts a desperate search for the dog who bit their friend Dulcie. And in the season finale "Little Tough Guy", the plot revolves around a physical deformity and the right and wrong way to deal with it. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 04 (1976)
Eight new episodes are on the menu as Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids enters its fourth season. For starters, the gang learn the hard way that Fat Albert's warnings about tobacco aren't to be dismissed in "Smoke Gets in Your Hair." The insufferable Rudy falls for a girl who pays no attention to him--but not for the reason one would think--in Episode #2, "What Say?" Rudy is also the center of attention in "Readin', Ritin' and Rudy", in which old Mudfoot has a few choice words about why school is so important. The title character in "Suede Simpson" is what one might call hygienically challenged, so Fat Albert and Russell try to get him to literally clean up his act. The gang tries to get rich quick, only to find that they've been victimized, in "Little Business". And in three of the series' most memorable episodes, the gang tries to wean Monroe away from his TV addiction in "TV or Not TV" (a rather courageous choice of plotlines for a Saturday-morning cartoon show!); Fat Albert's friend Undine is unable to cope with the sudden death of her favorite uncle in "The Shuttered Window"; and in the season finale Junk Food", Slim soon becomes fatter than Fat Albert because of his irresponsible eating habits. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 05 (1979)
From 1977 to 1979, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids offered not one new episode, instead coasting on reruns of the existing episodes. But as it entered its fifth season in the fall of 1979, the series made up for lost time with eight new half-hour installments. And that's not all: The series had been retitled "The New Fat Albert Show", and a hitherto much-talked-about but unseen character, klutzy superhero The Brown Hornet, had been added to the cast. Next up, Albert has trouble keeping up with a talented terpsichorean in "The Dancer." Then there's Spare the Rod", in which the gang faces the appalling likelihood that the gang's beloved junkyard will be sold. The poignant "Sweet Sorrow" spotlights a troubled young girl named Roberta, who takes out her anger over her parents' divorce on poor Albert. A school election in which the "race card" is unfairly exploited is the focal point of "Poll Time." "The Mainstream" is the show that everyone has been waiting for: A "battle of the bands" between Albert's junkyard aggregation and a rival band. Then, Dumb Donald finds out that cheating is no solution for academic problems in "Free Ride." And education of a different sort--namely, the birds and the bees--sets the tone of the season finale, "Soft Core". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 06 (1980)
Although the series had been officially retitled The New Fat Albert Show, the nine new episodes offered up during the sixth season have since been incorporated in the syndicated Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids package. The first Season Six offering is "The Secret",in which Fat Albert and his friends try to help a girl get over the shock of learning that she was adopted. The message of the next episode, "The Gunslinger", is short and sweet: Don't play with guns. Likewise pithy is "Don't ignore illness", the moral of the episode "Pain Pain Go Away". What you see isn't always what you get, or so the gang learns, in "The Rainbow." "Easy Pickins'" warns against succumbing to the temptation to steal. Some irresponsible "tagging" gets Albert and his friends in dutch in "Good Old Days". And rounding out the season are brace of cautionary tales about gambling (Heads or Tails") and substance abuse ("Pot of Gold"). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 07 (1982)
The seventh and final network season of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (or to use its then-official title, The New Fat Albert Show serves up eight new episodes, bringing the total since the series' 1972 debut to sixty half-hours. The first episode of the season is "Se Habla Espanol", in which Fat Albert and his pals are in for a bit of culture shock when they met a kid from Mexico. "The Father" deals with the familiar problem of getting used to a stepdad. "Look before you leap" is the best way to sum up the moral of "Two by Two". "Double Cross" doles out another lesson in tolerance. The fine art of staying within the law despite all temptation not to do so is delineated in "Parking Dog". A teenage runaway gets herself and the gang in hot water in "Little Girl Found." And speaking of water, there's far too much of it in the next episode, "Water We Waiting For?" The final network episode is "Watch That First Step", a compelling tale of a youngster's method of coping with an alcoholic parent. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Season 08 (1984)
After winding up its 12-year CBS network run, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (aka The New Fat Albert Show was packaged for daily, off-network syndication. Added to the existing manifest of 60 episodes were 50 new half-hours, many of them dealing with hot-button issues that creator-producer Bill Cosby had been unable to deal with back in the network days. The most famous of these volatile new episodes is "Busted", in which Fat Albert and his friends are innocently involved in a carjacking--whereupon the police teach them a lesson by forcing them to spend a harrowing afternoon behind bars. Based on the then current "Scared Straight" program, this episode contains extremely strong language, and was originally telecast with a live disclaimer from Bill Cosby. Other highlights during the Emmy-nominated syndicated run of Fat Albert include "Watch Thy Neighborhood", in which the kids endeavor to keep their neighborhood safe and sound; "Sinister Stranger", a tense episode involving a kindapper; the self-explanatory "Teenage Mom" and "The Whisky Kids"; "Amiss with Amish", in which the gang doesn't quite know what to make of an Amish boy named Jacob; "Computer Caper", concerning the new dilemma of illegal computer hacking; and "The Runner", in which the kids have a too-close encounter with a young drug runner. On the lighter side, the syndicated version offers such ribtickling episodes as "Cosby's Classic", a half-hour excursion into skewered history; and "The Jinx", wherein our heroes learn not to be dominated by silly superstitions. Also good for a chuckle or two is the series' newest character, a southern-friend law expert known as the Legal Eagle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
