The Cosby Show

Sondra and Elvin shock Cliff and Clair when they return from their honeymoon camping trip with a surprising announcement. The newlyweds have decided to give up their respective career paths to open a camping store in Brooklyn!

Theo is on the hot seat when he comes home late from a cross-country meet and makes the Huxtable family miss the opening curtain of Vanessa’s school play. Cliff and Clair suspect that Theo is not telling the whole truth about his tardiness, so a Huxtable family court is convened, with Vanessa as the judge, Clair as the prosecutor, Cockroach as Theo’s defense attorney, Rudy, Kenny and Peter as the jury, and Cliff as the surprise witness.

Rudy plays her parents against each other to get her way and learns what can happen when you do not follow the rules. Meanwhile, Cliff tries to get the Sanitation Department to pick up his old water heater, and Vanessa’s friend, Robert, seeks some advice on girls from Cliff and Theo.

When a neighbor asks Cliff to return his prized power drill, Cliff promises to return it later that day. But Cliff then spends the day frantically searching the house, realizing he has no idea where he put the drill. Also, Theo and Vanessa help Rudy prepare a haunted house for her Halloween party.

Roscoe Lee Browne and Christopher Plummer guest-star as college professors who help Theo and Cockroach study Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Also, Denise visits for the weekend, and Cliff insists upon barbecuing, even though it is freezing outside.

When Theo runs into trouble and ends up at the police station, Cliff and Clair discover how easy it is to take out their anger and frustration on each other. Everyone in the family notices Cliff and Clair’s arguing, especially Theo, who hopes his parents will forget to punish him.

Cliff and his father, Russell, pay a visit to the Huxtables’ neighbor, Mrs. Hickson (Eileen Heckart). Also, Sondra and Elvin have an unusual promotional idea for their wilderness store.

When Elvin drops by the Huxtable home after another fight with Sondra, the whole family shares some of the classic moments in Huxtable history. The Huxtables take Elvin through some family highlights, including the funeral for Rudy’s goldfish, Theo’s pierced ear, the slumber party, and Grandma and Grandpa Huxtable’s 49th wedding anniversary.

When Elvin drops by the Huxtable home after another fight with Sondra, the whole family shares some of the classic moments in Huxtable history. The Huxtables take Elvin through some family highlights, including the funeral for Rudy’s goldfish, Theo’s pierced ear, the slumber party, and Grandma and Grandpa Huxtable’s 49th wedding anniversary.

The Huxtable family goes to the mall to cheer Clair’s entry in a winter squash contest. Cliff encourages Theo, Vanessa and Rudy to support their mother’s accomplishments, but they see a visit to the mall as a chance to pursue their own interests. And while they’re supposed to be looking after their younger sister, Theo and Vanessa become distracted and Rudy is soon lost in the mall.

When Clair gives Theo a pair of tickets to the taping of a television dance show, he invites Cockroach to go with him. But later he must make a difficult decision when only one of them can be admitted to the studio. Meanwhile, confronted with the realization that he is the only Huxtable who does not know "new math," Cliff agrees to take lessons from Vanessa.

Theo enjoys "locker room talk" with his buddies at school, but when one of them asks Vanessa on a date, Theo becomes concerned about his sister’s reputation. Meanwhile, Rudy (a.k.a. "The Great Rudini") stumps Cliff with a magic trick.

Cliff has his hands full when he takes Rudy and her friends to see a vaudeville show and none of the kids finds the performers very funny.

Clair is afraid Cliff will embarrass her at her book club meeting by pretending he read the book being discussed. Cliff insists he will finish the book on time, but Clair thinks he will try to fake his way through. Also, Sondra and Elvin entertain their first overnight guests – Vanessa, Rudy and Theo.

When she is assigned the violin instead of the cymbals, Rudy thinks her teacher, Miss Abbott (Melba Moore), hates her and decides not to cooperate, so Cliff and Clair are summoned to meet with Rudy’s teacher. Meanwhile, Kenny and Vanessa believe Theo is psychic.

Theo is uncomfortable visiting his friend Jake, who is hospitalized with cancer. Jake loves seeing his friends and all except Theo have visited him. The late philanthropist Armand Hammer appears in the role of Mr. Lindquist, Jake’s grandfather, who is active in raising money for cancer research. Back at the Huxtable home, Elvin tries to get along without Sondra, who has gone to Boston for the weekend to visit her college friends.

Vanessa prepares an impressive audition, hoping to become her school’s first female drum major. Cliff and Russell Huxtable share some laughs, and some of Cliff’s three-day chili, with Russell’s old friend Slim Claxton (Dub Taylor), a xylophonist who is in town to play at a jazz club with his trio.

When Theo discovers a leaking pipe in the family bathroom, he and Clair try to prevent Cliff from making the repairs himself. While Cliff searches the house for his sledge hammer to knock through the wall, Clair quickly hires some college friends of Sondra who have started a plumbing company.

Rudy writes a fairy tale but falls asleep while reading it to Cliff and Clair. While sleeping, Rudy’s fairy tale comes to life in her dreams – with her family and friends in starring roles.

The air is thick with competition as Cliff and his friend James Harmon go head to head in Petanque, a French outdoor bowling game. Clair and Nicole Harmon laugh over their husband’s competitiveness, but the men take the competition very seriously.

When Clair’s friend, Dyan, fears her marriage is in trouble, she goes to Clair for help. Meanwhile, Cliff takes a mini-vacation at home.

The Huxtable family rediscovers what it is like to have a daughter visiting from college when Denise comes home from Hillman. Lisa Bonet appears as Denise.

Theo Huxtable and his friends are determined to treat their dates to the best prom night money can buy. Meanwhile, at home, Vanessa and Rudy help Cliff give Clair the prom she never had.

When Theo accidentally catches a corpse while fishing with Cliff, the Huxtables discover how media attention can affect the family.