Pilot (The Cosby Show)

1st episode of the 1st season of The Cosby Show

"Pilot"

The Cosby Show episode

This father/son economic lesson-themed episode won the Comedy Writing Emmy Award. Cliff Huxtable, M.D. (Bill Cosby) and son Theo (Malcolm Jamal Warner) use Monopoly money for the lesson.

Episode no.| Season 1
Episode 1
Directed by| Jay Sandrich
Written by| Ed. Weinberger
Michael J. Leeson
Production code| 0101
Original air date| September 20, 1984 (1984-09-20)[1]
Running time| 23:40
Guest appearances

* Keith Reddin as Mr. McManis
* Todd Hollowell as Denise's Date

Episode chronology
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"Goodbye Mr. Fish"

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List of episodes

"Pilot" (also known as "Pilot Presentation"[2] and "Theo's Economic Lesson") is the pilot episode and the first episode of the first season of the American sitcom The Cosby Show. "Pilot" originally aired in the United States on NBC on Thursday, September 20, 1984, at 8:00 PM ET. This episode debuted the week before the official start of the 1984–85 United States network television season. They only have 4 children in this episode: Denise, Theo, Vanessa & Rudy. Sondra, the first born, is introduced later in that season, episode 4; she however, is not in the featured/mentioned in the intro. The confrontation with Theo in this episode is seen again in a flashback in the series finale "And So We Commence". The episode was directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson. The episode was a critical and commercial success, achieving both high ratings and positive critical feedback.

## Plot

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Clair Huxtable, an attorney, and her children are having dinner at home. Clair is upset with her son, Theo, due to the poor grades on his recent report card. His younger sister, Vanessa, was trying to get Theo in trouble for throwing food at her. Clair’s husband, Dr. Cliff Huxtable, comes home from a long day at his job as a doctor of obstetrics and gynaecology just after the meal.

Cliff confronts Theo about his grades and asks how he plans to get into college with such grades. When Theo replies that he's not planning to go to college, Cliff replies "Damn right." Theo explains that he plans to get a job after high school graduation as a regular person. Cliff uses play money from a Monopoly game to show just how far a "regular person's" income would actually go in the adult world (especially in an expensive-to-live area like New York City, though Theo tries to get around this by living in New Jersey). Cliff gives him an amount of money representing a generous monthly salary for a "regular person". He then takes money out of Theo's hand in amounts representing various costs such as taxes, housing, food, clothes, transportation, and finally, a girlfriend, until there is nothing left.

Cliff also meets his daughter Denise's earring-wearing beau, who was recently in a Turkish prison. When Cliff tells her what time he expects her to arrive home and what attire she should wear, she scoffs at the notion that it's Friday and not a "school night." Cliff responds by asking her if she went to school that day and states it was a "school night."

Theo responds that Cliff should accept his son's weaknesses and love him unconditionally because they are father and son (a typical sentimental idiom in family sitcoms of that time, and one which generated the typical applause from the studio audience). Cliff, however—to the audience's surprise and amused approval—immediately and angrily calls this sentiment "the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life!” He completely rejects the notion, insisting that loving his son is all the more reason he expects him to do his best and try his hardest in school, and in life in general. He then says the often quoted line, "I brought you in this world, and I'll take you out."

At the end of the day, Clair and Cliff settle into bed. As he becomes amorous, she reminds him that was how they had "those troublesome kids". This puts Cliff off for a few seconds. Vanessa and Rudy, the youngest child, then knock on the bedroom door because Rudy was scared of "the Wolf Man" in their closet. Clair invites the kids to sleep in the bed with her and Cliff.

## Cast

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Main article: List of The Cosby Show characters

* Bill Cosby as Dr. Clifford "Cliff" Huxtable, OB-GYN (the only episode for which he was Clifford rather than Heathcliff)
* Phylicia Ayers-Allen as Clair Olivia Huxtable, Esq.
* Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theodore Aloysius "Theo" Huxtable
* Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudith Lillian "Rudy" Huxtable
* Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable
* Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable

## Production

[edit]

Nameplate outside of Cliff's office shown for six seconds[3] of the first episode of The Cosby Show

Taping of the pilot took place in May 1984, prior to being green-lighted as a full series for the NBC fall schedule.[4] Although this episode was written by Weinberger and Leeson, the headwriter for the series was Earl Pomerantz.[5] The episode, which was filmed in two live performances, was based on Cosby's real life conversation with his son Ennis about "regular people", but included elements of Cosby's stand-up comedy routine.[4] Rather than producing the show in Hollywood, the show was produced in New York City.[6] During the 1983–84 United States television season, no sitcoms had finished in the top 10 in the rankings and only one new sitcom (AfterMASH) was renewed.[6][7] As the networks battled to preempt each other's thunder for the 1984–85 United States television season, the Cosby Show became one of seven NBC shows (along with Punky Brewster, Miami Vice, Hunter, Highway to Heaven, Partners in Crime, Hot Pursuit) to debut prior to the September 24 date that marked the official beginning of the season.[8] In the show, Bill Cosby is an obstetrician with his office located below his family's residence in a brownstone home. Less than three months before the show debuted, its producers had not yet decided whether the brownstone would be set in Brooklyn or Manhattan.[9]

The set used for the pilot episode of The Cosby Show was notably different than the one used during the remainder of the series. In the first episode, the first floor has extra rooms that it does not have in the rest of the series.[10] In the pilot, Cliff and Clair Huxtable have only four children.[11] The fifth child, Sondra - who was the eldest child - was not introduced until the tenth episode of the first season, entitled "Bonjour, Sondra". Her being away at college is the reason given for her absence in the earlier part of the season. In this episode, the plaque outside Cliff's office lists his full first name as "Clifford."[3] In the rest of the episodes, however, his name is Heathcliff.

## Reception

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### Ratings

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Cosby was a three-time winner of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but Tom Selleck was the incumbent winner and Cosby had had three failed series since his success with I Spy. Cosby's sitcom was slotted against Selleck's Magnum, P.I., which had dominated the time slot for years.[12][7][4] The show placed first in the Nielsen Media Research ratings for the week with a 21.6 million person viewership. This placed it ahead of runner-up 60 Minutes, which had an audience of 20.7 million.[13][14][15] It was the most popular premier for NBC since the 1977 debut of What Really Happened to the Class of '65?.[16]

### Critical reviews

[edit]

John J. O'Connor of The New York Times wrote that "With only the premiere to go on, The Cosby Show is by far the classiest and most entertaining new situation comedy of the season."[5] After the pilot aired, David Bianculli wrote in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer that "This sitcom will lose to CBS's Magnum, P.I., but it's too funny, and Cosby is too good, for NBC to dump it."[17] In a separate article in the same edition, he spoke more glowingly describing it as "the best TV sitcom since Cheers, and a good bet to become an instant classic. Cosby is delightful, and his series is both funny and intelligent." He also described the family as "amazingly real".[18] According to Associated Press syndicated writer Jerry Buck, in the episode, "Cosby handles his son in a manner that is not only funny but intelligent."[12] Mike Boone of The Gazette described Cosby and Ayers-Allen as "credible parents" and Cosby's fatherly advice as a "delightful confrontation".[7] Boone also noted that "understanding the special world of children" has always been a part of Cosby's comedy, and that this was present in the comical scene where Cliff and Theo discuss serious matters using play money.[7] Star-Banner said "The dialogue is typically Cosby -- easy and funny -- and you can just see yourself getting to like these people very much."[19] According to Associated Press writer Fred Rothenberg, the response to the opening episode was glowing with the Los Angeles Times praising the show as "the best comedy of the fall season by a long, long, lonnnnnnng shot."; The New York Times saying "by far the classiest and most entertaining situation comedy."; and The Washington Post calling it "the best, funniest, most humane new show of the season."[6] He also noted that marketing executives were not surprised at the reaction to the show.[6]

### Awards

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Weinberger and Leeson won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for this episode at the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 22, 1985, where the series won three of its eight nominations.[20] Jay Sandrich won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series at the 37th Directors Guild of America Awards for this episode.[21]

## Notes

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1. ^ Kaplan, Peter W. (September 13, 1984). "A Preview Of Networks' Fall Lineup". The New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
2. ^ Weinberg, Scott. "Cosby Show - Season 1, The". DVDtalk. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
3. ^ a b "Pilot". The Cosby Show. Season 1. New York City. September 20, 1984. Event occurs at 0:49. NBC.
4. ^ a b c Mark Whitaker (September 16, 2014). Cosby: His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 293–. ISBN 978-1-4516-9799-5.
5. ^ a b O'Connor, John J. (September 20, 1984). "TV Review; Cosby In NBC Series On A New York Family". The New York Times. p. C30.
6. ^ a b c d Rothenberg, Fred (September 24, 1984). "'The Cosby Show' Off To A Good Start On NBC". Star-Banner. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
7. ^ a b c d Boone, Mike (September 26, 1984). "It's humor vs. The Hunk as Cosby, Selleck clash". The Gazette. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
8. ^ Bianculli, David (August 30, 1984). "Being First Is Often Fatal For New Series". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C10.
9. ^ Blau, Eleanor (June 24, 1984). "New York City-Television Star In The Ascendant". The New York Times. p. A25.
10. ^ "Pilot" (episode 1) through "Play It Again, Vanessa" (episode 8)". The Cosby Show. Season 1, DVD 1. New York City. September 20 – November 8, 1984. NBC.
11. ^ "Pilot". The Cosby Show. Season 1. New York City. September 20, 1984. Event occurs at 6:56. NBC. ""Cliff, Why do we have four children?" - Clair Huxtable "Because we did not want five." - Cliff Huxtable"
12. ^ a b Buck, Jerry (September 20, 1984). "Laughs Tonight Via Cosby". Times-Union. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
13. ^ "'Cosby Show' Is Tops But ABC Wins Week". The Palm Beach Post. September 27, 1984. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
14. ^ "Cosby triumphs in TV ratings". Tri City Herald. September 26, 1984. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
15. ^ "Week of September 26, 1984". Mr. Pop History. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
16. ^ Bianculli, David (September 26, 1984). "NBC Gains in a 'Sneak Week'". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E7.
17. ^ Bianculli, David (September 23, 1984). "Which Shows Should Go The Distance". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. I13.
18. ^ Bianculli, David (September 23, 1984). "Cop Shows Dominate TV Season". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. I1.
19. ^ "'The Cosby Show' Is A Classy New Sitcom". Star-Banner. September 20, 1984. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
20. ^ "Primetime Emmy Award Database". Emmys.com. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
21. ^ "37th Annual DGA Awards: Honoring Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 1984". Directors Guild of America. Retrieved March 11, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* "Pilot" at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

The Cosby Show

Characters|

* Cliff Huxtable
* Clair Huxtable
* Sondra Huxtable
* Denise Huxtable
* Theodore Huxtable
* Rudy Huxtable

Episodes|

* "Pilot"
* "Goodbye Mr. Fish"

Related|

* A Different World
* episodes
* characters
* Dwayne Cleofis Wayne
* Whitley Gilbert-Wayne

Awards for "Pilot"

* v
* t
* e

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series

1971–2000|

* John Rich for "All in the Family" (1971)
* Gene Reynolds for "Pilot" (M*A*S*H) (1972)
* Gene Reynolds for "Deal Me Out" (1973)
* Hy Averback for "Alcoholics Unanimous" (1974)
* Hy Averback for "Bombed" (1975)
* Alan Alda for "Dear Sigmund" (1976)
* Paul Bogart for "Edith's 50th Birthday" (1977)
* Paul Bogart for "California, Here We Are" (1978)
* Charles S. Dubin for "Period of Adjustment" (1979)
* Noam Pitlik for "Fog" (1980)
* Alan Alda for "The Life You Save" (1981)
* Alan Alda for "Where There's a Will, There's a War" (1982)
* James Burrows for "Showdown: Part II" (1983)
* Jay Sandrich for "Pilot" (The Cosby Show) (1984)
* Jay Sandrich for "Pilot" (The Golden Girls) (1985)
* Terry Hughes for "Isn't It Romantic?" (1986)
* Will Mackenzie for "A, My Name is Alex" (1987)
* Steve Miner for "Pilot" (The Wonder Years) (1988)
* Barnet Kellman for "Brown Like Me" (1989)
* James Burrows for "Woody Interruptus" (1990)
* Peter Bonerz for "Uh Oh: Part II" (1991)
* Tom Cherones for "The Contest" (1992)
* James Burrows for "The Good Son" (1993)
* David Lee for "The Matchmaker" (1994)
* Gordon Hunt for "The Alan Brady Show" (1995)
* Andy Ackerman for "The Rye" (1996)
* Andy Ackerman for "The Betrayal" (1997)
* Thomas Schlamme for "Pilot" (Sports Night) (1998)
* Thomas Schlamme for "Small Town" (1999)
* James Burrows for "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" (2000)

2001–present|

* Todd Holland for "Bowling" (2001)
* Bryan Gordon for "Special Section" (2002)
* Tim Van Patten for "Boy Interrupted" (2003)
* Tim Van Patten for "An American Girl in Paris: Part Deux" (2004)
* Marc Buckland for "Pilot" (My Name Is Earl) (2005)
* Richard Shepard for "Pilot" (Ugly Betty) (2006)
* Barry Sonnenfeld for "Pie-lette" (2007)
* Paul Feig for "Dinner Party" (2008)
* Jason Winer for "Pilot" (Modern Family) (2009)
* Michael Spiller for "Halloween" (2010)
* Robert B. Weide for "Palestinian Chicken" (2011)
* Lena Dunham for "Pilot" (Girls) (2012)
* Beth McCarthy-Miller for "Hogcock!" / "Last Lunch" (2013)
* Jill Soloway for "Best New Girl" (2014)
* Chris Addison for "Election Night" (2015)
* Becky Martin for "Inauguration" (2016)
* Beth McCarthy-Miller for "Chicklet" (2017)
* Bill Hader for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark" (2018)
* Bill Hader for "ronny/lily" (2019)
* Susanna Fogel for "In Case of Emergency" (2020)
* Lucia Aniello for "There Is No Line" (2021)
* Bill Hader for "710N" (2022)
* Christopher Storer for "Fishes" (2023)
* Lucia Aniello for "Bulletproof" (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

1950s|

* James Allardice & Jack Douglas & Hal Kanter & Harry Winkler for The George Gobel Show (1955)
* Arnold M. Auerbach & Barry Blitzer & Vincent Bogert & Nat Hiken & Coleman Jacoby & Harvey Orkin & Arnold Rosen & Terry Ryan & Tony Webster for The Phil Silvers Show (1956)
* No Award (1957)
* Billy Friedberg & Nat Hiken & Coleman Jacoby & Arnold Rosen & A.J. Russell & Terry Ryan & Phil Sharp & Tony Webster & Sydney Zelinka for The Phil Silvers Show (1958)
* George Balzer & Hal Goldman & Al Gordon & Sam Perrin for The Jack Benny Show (1959)

1960s|

* George Balzer & Hal Goldman & Al Gordon & Sam Perrin for The Jack Benny Show (1960)
* Dave O'Brien & Martin Ragaway & Sherwood Schwartz & Al Schwartz & Red Skelton for The Red Skelton Show (1961)
* Carl Reiner for The Dick Van Dyke Show (1962)
* Carl Reiner for The Dick Van Dyke Show (1963)
* No Award (1964)
* No Award (1965)
* Sam Denoff & Bill Persky for "Coast to Coast Big Mouth" (1966)
* Buck Henry & Leonard B. Stern for "Ship of Spies: Parts 1 and 2" (1967)
* Allan Burns & Chris Hayward for "The Coming Out Party" (1968)
* No Award (1969)

1970s|

* No Award (1970)
* James L. Brooks & Allan Burns for "Support Your Local Mother" (1971)
* Burt Styler for "Edith's Problem" (1972)
* Lee Kalcheim & Michael Ross & Bernie West for "The Bunkers and the Swingers" (1973)
* Treva Silverman for "The Lou and Edie Story" (1974)
* Stan Daniels & Ed. Weinberger for "Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?" (1975)
* David Lloyd for "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (1976)
* James L. Brooks & Allan Burns & Stan Daniels & Bob Ellison & David Lloyd & Ed. Weinberger for "The Last Show" (1977)
* Harve Brosten & Barry Harman & Bob Schiller & Bob Weiskopf for "Cousin Liz" (1978)
* No Award (1979)

1980s|

* R.J. Colleary for "The Photographer" (1980)
* Michael J. Leeson for "Tony's Sister and Jim" (1981)
* Ken Estin for "Elegant Iggy" (1982)
* Glen Charles and Les Charles for "Give Me a Ring Sometime" (1983)
* David Angell for "Old Flames" (1984)
* Ed. Weinberger & Michael J. Leeson for "Pilot" (The Cosby Show) (1985)
* Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan for "A Little Romance" (1986)
* Gary David Goldberg & Alan Uger for "A, My Name is Alex" (1987)
* Hugh Wilson for "The Bridge" (1988)
* Diane English for "Pilot" (Murphy Brown) (1989)

1990s|

* Bob Brush for "Good-bye" (1990)
* Gary Dontzig & Steven Peterman for "Jingle Hell, Jingle Hell, Jingle All the Way" (1991)
* Elaine Pope & Larry Charles for "The Fix-Up" (1992)
* Larry David for "The Contest" (1993)
* David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee for "The Good Son" (1994)
* Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano for "An Affair to Forget" (1995)
* Joe Keenan & Christopher Lloyd & Rob Greenberg & Jack Burditt & Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano & Linda Morris & Vic Rauseo for "Moon Dance" (1996)
* Ellen DeGeneres & Mark Driscoll & Dava Savel & Tracy Newman & Jonathan Stark for "The Puppy Episode" (1997)
* Peter Tolan & Garry Shandling for "Flip" (1998)
* Jay Kogen for "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" (1999)

2000s|

* Linwood Boomer for "Pilot" (Malcolm in the Middle) (2000)
* Alex Reid for "Bowling" (2001)
* Larry Wilmore for "Pilot" (The Bernie Mac Show) (2002)
* Tucker Cawley for "Baggage" (2003)
* Mitchell Hurwitz for "Pilot" (Arrested Development) (2004)
* Mitchell Hurwitz & Jim Vallely for "Righteous Brothers" (2005)
* Greg Garcia for "Pilot" (My Name Is Earl) (2006)
* Greg Daniels for "Gay Witch Hunt" (2007)
* Tina Fey for "Cooter" (2008)
* Matt Hubbard for "Reunion" (2009)

2010s|

* Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd for "Pilot" (Modern Family) (2010)
* Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman for "Caught in the Act" (2011)
* Louis C.K. for "Pregnant" (2012)
* Tina Fey & Tracey Wigfield for "Last Lunch" (2013)
* Louis C.K. for "So Did the Fat Lady" (2014)
* Simon Blackwell & Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche for "Election Night" (2015)
* Aziz Ansari & Alan Yang for "Parents" (2016)
* Aziz Ansari & Lena Waithe for "Thanksgiving" (2017)
* Amy Sherman-Palladino for "Pilot" (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) (2018)
* Phoebe Waller-Bridge for "Episode 1" (2019)

2020s|

* Dan Levy for "Happy Ending" (2020)
* Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky for "There Is No Line" (2021)
* Quinta Brunson for "Pilot" (Abbott Elementary) (2022)
* Christopher Storer for "System" (2023)
* Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky for "Bulletproof" (2024)

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