When Theo brings home a poor report card, but claims he doesn't need good grades to get a job. So Cliff gives him an economics lesson with Monopoly money.
Apparently Cosby's line, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard" was an ad-lib. He wasn't expecting the NYC studio audience to applaud after Theo's speech.
The audience reaction there is amazing. They applaud Theo's argument because it sounds nice...then sheepishly laugh when Cosby reminds them that it's utter horseshit.
I don't believe it was ad lib. The lines following it would have had to have been as lib too, then. I think the whole point was to fake the audience out.
It wasn’t as lib. They did a retrospective on The Cosby Show and they said it was written specially to get the applause like most sitcoms did at this time and then he would come in and just trash Theo’s points.
Well, Cliff's right, Theo's just saying that because he doesn't want to try hard and/or doesn't think he can handle it. You should still try hard and go to college, even if you end up getting a regular job. Besides having a college education looks good on any resume and job application because it shows the employer that you're someone who's always willing to learn.
Dr. Huxtable is not being negative, just brutally realistic. And very true, Omar Alor. It is very sad for all involved, especially since he was a man we all trusted, and respected and thought of as a childhood hero and role model, who has turned out to be a terrible person.
@@jpx8793 , I agree he was a terrible person in his private life.... but I'm able to seperate the Real person , from the entertainment side of the man and will not let it ruin my childhood of him. the comedy routine road shows/ records, his work on Electric company , Fat Albert show and his TV shows like I Spy, and the Cosby show all which I enjoy to this day.
"Figuure $200, I wanna Look Good!!!", "You haven't eaten yet?", and OF course, "You Plan to have a Girlfriend?", "For Sure" (last of the $$ snatched). Are killer lines. One of the best exchanges in TV History.
You can think whatever you want about Bill Cosby, but you can't deny his comedic touch and timing, especially in this scene. I personally would like to think that he expected the audience to applaud the heartfelt speech and then turned the audience on their ear
eckesg2 I agree with you. One of the reviews that I read said the same thing. Any other sitcom during that time would have ended that scene with them hugging and applause. Bill says "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life! No wonder you get 'D's in everything!"
He drugs the countries daughters and has sex with mouth, anus, and vagina. He has lived a fortanate and blessed life? Acting on t.v pales into comparison with acting in real life.
bill: THAT IS THE DUMBEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD, NO WONDER YOU GET D'S IN SCHOOL. now thats a real father..telling him how it is in the real world. thats why this is a great, inspiring, funny, and loving show ;D
Cosby's reaction to Theo's speech is THE BEST!!!!!!! Every parent should watch this in order to understand good parenting and how not to tolerate slacker behavior
Modern day sitcoms stop at the part where the audience claps at Theo "for being himself" which is why they suck. No sitcom wants to teach the basic tenets of character for fear of upsetting someone. It's all don't be offensive aesops which while generally good natured are not enough or in some cases broken aesops. Cliff Huctable calling his son stupid is offensive and yet is one of the most impressive moments in family sitcom history.
I would argue more shows back then actually would've stopped at point. Shows like Full House and Family Matters was anchored by that formula. I think some modern shows are more willing to be edgy by calling out BS like It's always Sunny in Philadelphia.
giving a verbal expression of an unexperienced thought out idea deemed as stupid in and of itself is Not offensive Its learning the truth of the matter from one who's been there done that seen that experienced that..
GOD I loved this show. This was and always will be the classiest, smartest show with life lessons and loads of morals for the whole family to watch. There is nothing like this today. It's all garbage. I miss this show so much. I grew up watching this as did most people no matter what color. :)
"The boy told me he wants to be "regular people" when in fact what he is is "lazy" people. And if the regular people find out he's using their name, they're gonna come and kick his butt!"
In spite of the sexual allegations, I have to admit the monetary lesson Cliff bestows upon Theo in this scene still has relevance, even to this day. Kids today can learn a lot about expenses from this!!! I know I've benefitted from the lessons Cliff gives in this scene!
@@omalor no towers for mobile devices to use data/wifi back then... or mobile devices. Definitely left out lights, utilities, health insurance, gas and cable TV (optional if he lives alone, a must if he's going to have a girlfriend).
That also goes to show how misunderstood and how misinformed people were in regard to dyslexia back in the day. Thankfully now there is a better understanding of it, as well as more resources to support people who have it.
This is classic...still holds up after 23 years. I remember first seeing this when I was about 9 or so, and now, 15 years later, I know exactly where Cliff is coming from with the Monopoly money. Except for the $1,200, it's dead-on lol. And I love Cliff's reaction to Theo's speech!
none of your damn business Well, this doesn’t happen for everyone, but guys can sometimes be rather stupid and spend hundreds of dollars on a girl that doesn’t show any affection back.
You give a very valid argument. However, Cosby was more trying to push Theo to work hard and develop good work ethics, things most of those people you named have. You could argue some of the rappers these days made it big with no schooling. But then compare that to how many rappers out there who are trying to make it. its a very small percentage. then compare to number of people who have a decent amount of school/education and their standard of living, i'm willing to be educated turns out better
Many times I've told my daughter this, that she BETTER try the hardest she can in high school and graduate on time. I'm not accepting any less from her. "I brought u into this world, I'll take u out!" One of my fav episodes.
"That's the DUMBEST thing I ever heard in my life! No wonder you get D's in everything!" That line is the best out of this episode (and there are several). What cracks me up the most is even the audience was moved by Theo's speech. Must've been the first take.
+Chris Cantway "have to look resentable for the ladys.....js" -chris cantaway. Resent to feel or show displeasure or indignation at (a person, act, remark, etc.) from a sense of injury or insult.
"Because you see, the government comes for the regular people first." HAHAHA! That quote has stuck with me for years and remains one of my favorite of all time!
Classic scene! One of the best scenes on how we should be parenting our children on budgeting and economics, listening to our children’s views and putting them in their place when needed👏👏👏
I like this one, but my all time favorite has to be when Cliff and Claire took all of Theo's stuff out of his room and made their house into "The Real World"
JakeG that sounds like more fun than when I was in school, my teachers never used a sitcom to illustrate a point .. technology was not like today, true...
you want to know something different? in the pilot, the huxtable home looks more like an apartment and claire looks more like a housewife looking at the way she dresses and how she handles her children. But in Goodbye Mr Fish, things changed for the better.
Yes, even before the show aired, they did a lot of changes. Rudy was supposed to be a Boy played by Jaleel White (Steve Urkel Family Matters), Denise was supposed to be played by Whitney Houston (RIP), Sondra was supposed to be played by Vanessa Williams but she couldn't do it because of the Penthouse Scandal. Cliff was supposed to be a Chauffeur.
@i .candy it's better because the second episode shows the huxtables home that reflects an upper middle class lifestyle that the huxtables are portrayed as. Second, this is personal but in the second episode Clairs work attire and her coming home from work actually represents her as a lawyer which is her occupation. That's why I liked the changes better in the second episode.
According to an interview with Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Theo) the line Bill Cosby said was ad-libbed on the spot in front of the live audience. Apparently they didn't expect the audience to applaud after Theo's speech so Cosby just kind of went with it, awesome!!
You're right. This show alone was extremely influential. Then you had a successful black family who were proud of their culture. This was such a classy show. There was alot of mentions about important black figures, musis such as jazz.
White parents too. Hmm, maybe just humans? That’s why this show was so successful. It didn’t try to be “a black show” and people liked that. It didn’t talk down to black people and it didn’t try to make white people feel guilty. Of course, in later years they ran out of material and it went to exactly that and people stopped watching. But it was really good in the beginning when they were just people.
My absolute all time favorite scene, possibly of any sitcom. My introduction to the Cosby Show just happened to be this scene. I remember the first time I saw it, I completely died laughing. To this day, I still love this scene.
Wow, atleast bus drivers, gas station workers, and people who don't go to college won't live 10 years in prison cliff. You forgot to teach Theo the part where he should never molest or abuse women to stay out of jail.
3:48 Listen to that audience. Those were not typical "That's funny" laughs. Those were "Did he really just say that?" laughs. They thought Cliff was going to hug Theo like in every other sitcom.
Theo was funny he was doing what many guys his age would be trying to do when you first leave home and go out into the world..save as much money as possible. each time Cliff mentioned something that would cost money he'd come back with a cheaper thing to do... the exchange between the two was well done.
I mean through the whole lesson, Theo comes with crude ideas to cut corners; live in NJ, ride a motorbike and live on bologna and cereal. I suppose he's considering living in one of those apartments that has a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.
no kidding; he doesn't even think he only needs to buy new clothes and shoes the first month. If he takes good care of them, he won't need to replace them for at least a year. And that's only if his "regular person" job doesn't come with a uniform
@kdl4594 Amen. The last of the great shows (The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Night Court, et. al.) all ended in the early 1990s and there hasn't been anything good since.
What's so heartbreaking is that because of what Bill Cosby did, his former castmates pay big time bad, Centric no longer shows the program, DVD sales went downhill and I don't think they get any residuals. Hopefully their trust funds were managed. I was stunned to find out that so many former Child Stars were robbed by their Managers. Jeremy Miller (Ben Seaver Growing Pains), Lisa Welchel (Blair TFOL), Alyssa Milano (Who's The Boss), Aaron Carter (RIP Former Pop Star).
Today in my Home Ec. class we watched this video because we were learning about money and budgets. I can say that I have definitely learned a lot :) Nothing like watching these 80's sitcoms!
Good grief, this clip ends just short of the BEST part of the scene. Who did this? Horrible! You must see the last line of this scene (somewhere else). He takes his son and hugs him and tells him to remember that he loves him, and then remarks "And maybe, just maybe, your mother loves you too!" This is the parenting that this show so wisely and skillfully demonstrated. Why would anybody edit out that line that ended this scene? Here we see the tough love, but the other love was left out.
There was always a life lesson on the Cosby Show. Things that society is missing these days. RU-vid, bring back the full episodes. Despite what you think and feel about the man, don't hide the usefulness and benefits of the messages from the world