The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)First shown on PBS, "The Electric Company's Greatest Hits and Bits" is a fun look back at the 1970's TV Show. It consists of several clips from the show as well as interviews with cast members Skip Hinnant, Jim Boyd, Rita Moreno and Judy Graubart as well as contributors to the show Joan Rivers and Tom Lehrer. There is also an interview with Joan Ganz Cooney who helped create the show. The special features include deleted interviews with the cast members and an audio review with Tom Lehrer.
For the most part, "The Electric Company's Greatest Hits and Bits" is an enjoyable documentary. At the time it debuted in October 1971 it was a groundbreaking show with a fully integrated cast teaching children how to read using comedy and music. It's always fun to watch a show as an adult that you loved as a kid and catch some of the references you missed back then. Easy Reader was of course based on Easy Rider but it was interesting to hear Skip Hinnant say that he stole largely from "Get Smart" when doing Fargo North, Decoder; Jim Boyd saying J. Arthur Crank was based on Ralph Cramden; and Rita Moreno saying "Hey you guys" came from Abbott and Costello. There are plenty of clips from the show including animated ones such as "The Adventures of Letterman" and several based on Tom Lehrer's delightful songs including "Silent E" and "-ly". The live action skits include "I'm in love with a giant" and "The Super is eating his supper" which is fun to watch just to see the cast trying to keep a straight face as water pours down on them.
Since this is a documentary and not full episodes of "The Electric Company" adults will probably enjoy this DVD more than children. It does have quite a bit of praise for Morgan Freeman, currently the most famous of the then unknown actors, but it stops just short of going overboard on the praise. While it was nice to see Hinnant, Boyd, and Graubart, I hope other actors from the show such as Luis Avalos, Hattie Winston, and Lee Chamberlain show up in interviews on future DVDs. For some reason the show focuses solely on the adult members of the cast, with no mention at all of the Short Circus and the child actors, a bit surprising since Irene Cara was a member of the Short Circus for awhile.
"The Electric Company's Greatest Bits and Hits" is good nostalgic fun.


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When The Electric Company made its television debut in October1971, it was instantly clear that it would fulfill its mission of helpingstruggling and reluctant readers. With a cast that broke new ground in itsdiversity, clever writing, innovative direction and an original visual andmusical style, the show was so effective that by the end of its firstseason, nearly a quarter of all U.S. grade schools were using The ElectricCompany in the classroom. Generations of young people learned to read fromthe series, making it one of the most important and enduring shows intelevision history. The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits is aclip-filled celebration featuring many of the series' most popular segments(with Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman and the multi-talented Electric Companycast), and includes new interviews with cast members Jim Boyd, JudyGraubart, Skip Hinnant, Tom Lehrer, Rita Moreno and Joan Rivers, as well aswith series creator Joan Ganz Cooney.

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Fat Albert (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)I usually stay away from comedies because most of them insult my intelligence, with crude humor and language substituting for smart (and funny) writing.
As a child of the 70's, I grew up watching Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. I was hoping this movie wouldn't be a lame re-invention like Scooby-Doo (as an example).
Both my husband and I were pleasantly suprised! We laughed our butts off throughout the movie; it was hilarious to see "Fat Albert" and the gang doing a modern, hip-hop version of "Gonna Have a Good Time (Hey, Hey, Hey!)".
The plot is sweet, but it's not saccharine. There's enough clever humor and sight gags to please adults, as well as the kids (especially if you're familiar with the gang). One of my favorite parts is when Fat Albert and the guys pass a video shop. They see that they're coming out on "DIV-i-der" (the phonetic pronunciation of DVD. It's a lot funnier to see it...) Seeing what happens when cartoons from the 70's come to life in the modern world brings some very hilarious moments, to be sure!
Some interesting mysteries pop up, too: Does Dumb Donald have a face under that pink cap? Will Mush Mouth be relegated to mumbling through every conversation in "the real world"?
The most touching part of the DVD is the very end. I don't want to give it away, but I will say that I cried...and that is has to do with Bill Cosby and the real life people that Fat Albert and the gange were patterned after.
There's not a lot of features on this DVD, and I was hoping to hear stories from Cosby about the individuals he patterned the cartoon after. Still, the movie itself is definitely worth the price, and can be enjoyed by young and old alike.
Now, if I can just stop my husband and 6 year old from walking around the house saying "Hey, hey, hey!"...

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Hey, Hey, Hey?you?re ?gonna have a good time? watching Fat Albert (Kenan Thompson) and his pals in their first feature-length movie! The beloved animated characters from the ?70s make the leap to live action to help a troubled teenager (Kyla Pratt) as they experience the heartfelt emotions and hilarious absurdities of the real world. Comedy genius Bill Cosby (creator of the original ?Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids? TV show) co-stars in this crowd-pleasing family favorite that?s bursting with fresh hip-hop music and tons of laughs!

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The Cosby Show: Season 8 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)By 1991 The Cosby Show was not exactly the commercial powerhouse it had been in the mid to late 80's but remained the hottest game in town. As with many a last season this series ties up many loose ends. There are five main plot points the generally extend throughout the seasons,sort of as mini story arcs: Cousin Pam trying to apply to collage and coping with Charmaine going away to collage,Cliff trying to build a private room for Clair now that most of the kids are away,Theo preparing for his upcoming graduation,somewhat of a teenage "love traigle" between Rudy,Kenny and their respective loves interests and new collage student Vanessa's truly bizzare relationship with the older but self sufficiant Dabnis,whom Cliff takes a shining to because of his abilities as a tinker. There are some funny moments this season but for the most part the episodes concentrate on developing and closing the story arcs and thus the characters themselves. Another important part of this season is that this is the very first season of The Cosby Show where Lisa Bonet doesn't make even a single physical appearance in the show;Dennise is only refered to casually in select episodes and is only spoken to over the phone (we don't hear her voice) in the finale. That finale is the 44 minute "And So We Commence",involving Theo's collage graduation and Olivia departing to join Dennise and Martin in Singapore (as well as finding out she's becomming a big sister). So this is a pretty good season but the wacky humor and individually great episodes are sacrificed in favor to tieing up the loose ends for the shows enevitable conclusion. It was kind of a sad day when the Huxtables left the airwaves in 1992;I personally believe prime time family comedy just hasn't been the same since then.

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The Cosby Show appeared on NBC from 1984 to 1992, becoming one of the most popular programs in the history of television. The Cosby Show depicted a close-knit and prosperous African-American family (The Huxtables) that dwelled in New York City. Dr. Heathcliff (OB-GYN) and Clair (attorney) Huxtable were a happily married, dual-profession couple with aspirations of raising their 5 children in an uplifting, positive environment. The Cosby Show held TV's #1 slot for a record 5 consecutive years (1985 to 1990) and stayed in the Top 20 shows for all eight seasons it was on NBC.

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The Cosby Show: Season 7 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Cosby Show's seventh season premiered on September 20,1990 with the cast at its all-time largest. Erika Alexander joins as Clair Huxtable's(Phylicia Rashad) kid cousin Pamela Tucker who moves into the Huxtable household from a Brooklyn tenement. Pamela attends the same high school as the other Huxtable kids(except Rudy) did. Vanessa(Tempest Bledsoe),who went from the sophomore to the senior level during her high school years last season,leaves the Huxtable nest to attend Lincoln University. So 11-year-old Rudy(Keshia Knight Pulliam) is the only Huxtable kid left in the household(who hasn't yet left at all). Pamela occupied Vanessa's bedroom while Vanessa was away. Rudy and Olivia Kendall(Raven Symone) still share a bedroom and so do Olivia's father Martin(Joseph C. Phillips) and his wife,the former Denise Huxtable(Lisa Bonet). Theo(Malcolm Jamal Warner) is out of the Huxtable household again and back in his girlfriend Justine Phillips'(the late Michelle Thomas,recurringly). Martin half-humorously declined being given a bachelor party by Theo and Sondra's(Sabrina LeBeauf) husband Elvin Tibidaux(Geoffrey Owens). Denise,who thought Martin DID want it,was so angry with him. This results in mild arguments between the Tibidauxs and Cliff's(Bill Cosby) parents Russell(Earle Hyman,recurringly) and Anna(Clarice Taylor,recurringly). Clair believed Theo was the cause of the arguments. This happened at a backyard barbecue held at the Huxtable home(Cliff was grilling burgers and chickens). Rudy's friend Kenny(Deon Richmond,recurringly) attended the barbecue also. I believe the highest-rated episode this season was the one where the late great John Ritter and his not-yet-girlfriend/wife Amy Yasbeck guest-starred. Ritter was Ray Evans,a basketball coach with a pregnant wife(Yasbeck). In fact,Cosby and RS were the only cast members to appear in this episode(Cosby holds the record for appearing in every episode of the series). So Ray and his wife became parents and of course were congratulated by the doctor who delivered the baby,Cliff. There's also RETURN OF THE CLAIRETTES. They are Clair and an old girlfriend of hers who's married herself. The husband was played by none other then Phylicia's real-life(now-ex)husband,football great Ahmad Rashad. Silly Olivia once laundered her crayons in the Huxtables' washer(naturally,she took for granted that would be OK for the washable crayons). In the two-part season finale,Theo worked as a substitute teacher for special education students in spite of his dyslexia. You'll also see the Tibidauxs twins Winnie and Nelson again,now age 2. The other episodes are great. As for the opening montage,the one used for season 8 was filmed and intended to be used for this season. I'm sure we'll see the recycling of the season 6 opening and closing montages in this set,with a few changes in the credits,one of them being Alexander's inauguration. We will not hear Cosby quipping,"This is the best elevator music I ever heard",like we did in the season 6 opening. By the way,since one of the season 6 episodes premiered during the season 7 run on NBC,it will be included in this set(I don't know why it was delayed). This season finished at #5,a new low. Bonet was written out of the series for good after this season(she had been fired). Denise would only be mentioned from this point on. Also,Karen Malina White made a few recurring appearances during this season and the next/last. She would later become Mrs. Malcolm Jamal Warner,who himself was dating Thomas during this time.

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The Cosby Show appeared on NBC from 1984 to 1992, becoming one of the most popular programs in the history of television. The Cosby Show depicted a close-knit and prosperous African-American family (The Huxtables) that dwelled in New York City. Dr. Heathcliff (OB-GYN) and Clair (attorney) Huxtable were a happily married, dual-profession couple with aspirations of raising their 5 children in an uplifting, positive environment. The Cosby Show held TV's #1 slot for a record 5 consecutive years (1985 to 1990) and stayed in the Top 20 shows for all eight seasons it was on NBC.

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