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The show is still notable for being one of the earliest successful TV series to center on well-to-do African-Americans, without making an issue of (though not ignoring) their race. In fact they considered the key part of the premise being that Cliff and Clair were college educated and practiced prestigious trades, where most other sitcoms (white ''or'' black cast) were blue-collar in nature.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Adult Child]]: Cliff.
* [[Aesop Amnesia]]: Several of the kids never seem to remember just how bad the repercussions are when it comes to lying to Clair.
** Cliff seems to never learn that lesson either
* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parent]]: Cliff seems to ''intentionally'' be this most of the time when the children bring their dates or some other company to the house.▼
* [[An Aesop]]▼
** Subverted in a Season 4 episode where Theo and Vanessa expect Cliff to make a speech or do something to end the crisis of the episode but Cliff refuses because he's tired.▼
** And again in a Season 7 episode after Vanessa covers up being in a minor car accident with Cliff's car; the sit-down turns into a good-natured discussion about how much the parents do for the children and how the kids put up with some of the inane things the parents do, and Vanessa even avoids big trouble and the Aesop.▼
* [[And That's Terrible]]: Cliff's sarcastic reaction to Clair's complaints about what the city is doing in the Season 2 episode ''The Dentist.'' And it's not that he doesn't care, he just wants to sleep.▼
* [[All Just a Dream]]: Two during the 1989 season.
** One of which was a [[Fake Crossover]] with [[The Muppets|The Jim Henson Hour]].
** The other being one where all of the men get pregnant.
** Subverted in the first episode in
** Another involving a night full of dreams for Rudy in which Olivia gets preferential treatment [[Up to Eleven]] (e.g. when covering the walls with crayon, Cliff and Clair gush about her artistic ability), complete with a Supremes-esque [[Greek Chorus]].
▲* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parent]]: Cliff seems to ''intentionally'' be this most of the time when the children bring their dates or some other company to the house.
▲* [[An Aesop]]
▲** Subverted in a Season 4 episode where Theo and Vanessa expect Cliff to make a speech or do something to end the crisis of the episode but Cliff refuses because he's tired.
▲** And again in a Season 7 episode after Vanessa covers up being in a minor car accident with Cliff's car; the sit-down turns into a good-natured discussion about how much the parents do for the children and how the kids put up with some of the inane things the parents do, and Vanessa even avoids big trouble and the Aesop.
▲* [[And That's Terrible]]: Cliff's sarcastic reaction to Clair's complaints about what the city is doing in the Season 2 episode
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: When Theo's friend Denny gives his girlfriend a stolen watch that he recovered from the street, he has to tell the truth about the story at the police station after she's arrested. It doesn't go well.
{{quote|'''Denny''': "She called me a 'Miserable, conniving cretin.' Then she turned to the desk sergeant and said, 'Have him arrested for impersonating a man!'"}}
* [[Batman Gambit]]: The most appropriate trope for how the family sets Theo up for his "real world" experience in
* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: Explains in part how Sondra showed up.▼
* [[Beautiful All Along]]
▲* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: Explains in part how Sondra showed up.
* [[Berserk Button]]: Never under any circumstances let Clair catch you in a web of lies: being an attorney she's also an expert at unraveling them and trying to further cover them up only makes things worse.
** Phylicia Rashad stated that Clair only truly got angry at one of the children when she feels they've squandered their potential. Sondra's not going to law school to open a wilderness store and Denise's getting married to a navy man who already has one kid are the crowning examples.
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* [[Big Applesauce]]
* [[Big Brother Instinct]]: Having four sisters, Theo exhibits this fairly often, even though two of them are older than he is.
* [[Big Eater]]: Theo, especially after he enters college.
* [[Big No]]: Vanessa, after she learns she has a pimple that she can't easily cover up with a headband.
{{quote|'''Cliff''': "What is she trying to do, outrun it?"}}
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* [[Black and Nerdy]]: Elvin.
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: Done by Olivia and Clair after Clair demonstrates a majorette's baton twirling routine and Olivia says, "Look, Mrs. Huxtable, those people over there love you!" Clair turns to the audience and says, "They do!"
* [[Brick Joke]]: One in
** A lesser example in
* [[Broken Aesop]]: This exchange from a Season 1 episode:
{{quote|'''Cliff''': "Well, I'm pretty sure you've learned your lesson."
'''Theo''': "Oh, I've learned it, Dad! Whatever it is, I've learned it!"
* [[Brother Chuck]]: Theo's best friend Walter "Cockroach" Bradley appeared frequently during the first half of the series, was very close to the family, and even started to get some individual development ("An Early Spring"), then abruptly stopped appearing without explanation. The episode after his final appearance is even focused on Theo and Cockroach's gang of friends' locker room antics, which Cockroach would normally have been present for. Word still has it that his actor, Carl Anthony Payne II, refused to cut his hair as per Bill Cosby's wishes (the kids all changed hairstyles regularly throughout the series) and was eventually fired or left the show as a result. Sad stuff. And the haircut in question, that was apparently worth leaving the cast of what was currently the most beloved show on television? [http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/423621/Cosby_Shakespeare_1.png Snip.]
** Rudy's friend and neighbor [[The Silent Bob|Peter]] also went poof after the first episode of
** Anyone remember Vanessa's best friend, Janet, from the first few seasons? She appears once or twice per season for most of the series. Her final appearance is in
* [[But Not Too Black]]: Pretty much averted in the case of only casting lighter skin African-American actors. Clair, Elvin, Denise, and Sondra have lighter skin while Cliff, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy are darker.
** Subverted entirely with Pam and her friends. They are the most stereotypically black characters in the show.
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* [[Celebrity Cameo]]: In the episode ''Cliff's Nightmare'', [[The Muppets]] show up inside of Cliff's dream.
* [[Character Development]]: By the end of the series it's very easy to see just how much Sondra, Elvin and Theo have matured.
** The series almost [[Book Ends]] this: The first episode features the memorable scene of Cliff reprimanding Theo for bad grades and that he will never go to college at the rate he's going. The [[Series Finale]] features his graduation from college with plans of becoming a teacher himself
** Denise also gets a serious upgrade over the course of
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: The joy buzzer in the
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Denise seems to have become this after her return to the show.
** In
** Robert becomes one over the course of his appearances on the show from
** Vanessa begins to show signs of being one through her roundabout ways of revealing she has cold feet about her engagement in the final season. Just what is an "Emotional map?"
** The Tibideauxs' neighbor Bob.
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* [[Continuity Nod]]: For example, in one seventh-season episode, Vanessa refers to her father's scaring a boyfriend off with an object lesson involving apples; and in another, Rudy mentions Theo's object lesson with Monopoly money from the pilot.
** Averted at the same time since Vanessa continued to see him even after that object lesson but broke up with him after catching him with another girl.
** Several other subtle ones exist over the course of the show. One example is Cliff mentioning a chair he broke in Elvin and Sondra's apartment in season 4 when he visits it again in
** There's one in
** In
* [[Cool Big Sis]]: Sondra.
* [[The Couch]]
* [[Cousin Oliver]]: Olivia.
** Later, Cousin Pam.
* [[Dancing Theme]]: Except for
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Cliff and Sondra are the primary examples.
** Dr. Foster as well, especially in his first episode.
* [[Deliberately Cute Child]]: Rudy, later Olivia.
** Lampshaded in a parody of the show in an episode of ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]''.
* [[DIY Disaster]]: Cliff has never successfully repaired anything in the house on the first try. His attempt at the dishwasher in
** Subverted in that he does finally fix the doorbell at the very end of the final episode... after it gave Clair and Kenny some nasty shocks earlier.
** Clair believes that she has managed to fix the toaster while following the instructions from one of Cliff's books. [[It Got Worse]].
* [[Dom Com]]
* [[Double Standard]]
** One example that averts this is Vanessa. After sneaking out at night to be with her boyfriend, coming home an hour late, and lying about the whole thing while also dragging Rudy into it, Clair grounds her for ''at least'' a month. That's the harshest declared punishment dished out to any of the children on the show (Cliff's "appliance probation" was longer, but didn't last).
* [[Drop-In Character]]: Several, the most notably being Cockroach, Peter (early seasons) and eventually Kenny.
* [[Early Installment Weirdness]]: While the basic formula of the show remained the same through the whole series, it took Clair a good number of episodes in
** It's also interesting to watch the pilot and seeing half the house look different as it does compared with the rest of the series.
* [[Education Mama]]: And (especially...) Education Papa.
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* [[The Eponymous Show]]: Bill Cosby in ''The Cosby Show'': Created by Ed. Weinberger & Michael Leeson and William Cosby, Jr., Ed.D.; Theme by Stu Gardner & Bill Cosby; Executive Consultant: William H. Cosby, Jr.; A Carsey-Werner production in association with Bill Cosby.
* [[Friends Rent Control]]: Averted. Cliff is a doctor, Clair is a lawyer, and can easily afford their large beautiful home, although it still seems like a stretch that they can afford college tuition for all of their children. On the flip side, yet in the same vein, recent college graduates Sondra and Elvin live in a crappy apartment and can only afford a new one with help from their parents and don't move into a house until Elvin begins his medical residency.
* [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]]: In
* [[Generation Xerox]]: Cliff and Clair Huxtable, doctor and lawyer by trade. Elvin and Sondra Tibideaux, doctor and lawyer in training.
* [[Genre Savvy]]: Played for laughs when Vanessa begins noticing similarities between current affairs and old movies she's been watching- even though there's no real connection.
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* [[Kangaroo Court]]: Clair sets one up to get Theo to confess to telling half-truths over a recent incident.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: Subverted every single time one of the kids tries to hide something from the parents as they always get caught.
** Vanessa is the best example because Karma catches up with her and her friends numerous times when they try to go to a concert by ''The Wretched
*** To elaborate: {{spoiler|Their car gets stolen, a con artist steals their tickets, a pickpocket steals their remaining money to leave them stranded in Baltimore, and '''then''' she has to face Clair.}} Facing Clair is probably the best example of [[It Got Worse]] in the show's history, as the normally mild-mannered Clair loses her gourd.
* [[Kent Brockman News]]: A reporter named Harriet Waters shows up to interview Theo after a fishing trip in which he accidentally hooks the corpse of a murdered mobster. Even more applicable is the newspaper that severely inflated the events of the story earlier in the episode.
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* [[Newscaster Cameo]]: Explains setup of first 1989 dream incident where the men end up pregnant. Unlike most examples, a real newscaster provides the voiceover (in this case, John Palmer of NBC News). Also, a couple of times Ahmad Rashad is heard doing sportscasts (also a [[Shout-Out]] as Ahmad was Phylicia Rashad's husband at the time).
* [[Noodle Incident]]: Played straight in Clair constantly reminding Cliff of his escapades as a teenager, most especially with Eunice Chantille.
** In one early episode, Theo apparently has one in order to blackmail Denise.
{{quote|'''Theo''': "Are you afraid?"
'''Denise''': "No."
'''Theo''': "Good!"
* [[Oh Crap]]: Theo's face just screams this when he sees just how badly the people at his "colloquy" have destroyed the house. His quote is, appropriately enough, "I'm dead."
** Theo is the master of this trope over the course of the whole show. Other examples include his reactions to his friends seeing him in the shirt Denise made, seeing his math teacher change her appearance to what she looks like in class, walking in on two girls who like him while half-dressed, realizing he'd just been scammed, and many others in episodes where he's a major part of the plot and said plot involves him getting into some kind of trouble.
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* [[Playing Gertrude]]: Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair, is only ten years older than Sabrina LaBeauf, who played her daughter Sondra.
** The actors who played Cliff's father and mother are eleven and ten years older than Bill Cosby, respectively.
* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: The reason behind all of the conflict in the Season 7 episode
* [[Preemptive "Shut Up"]]: Done by both Cliff and Clair when they get angry enough.
▲* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: The reason behind all of the conflict in the Season 7 episode ''The Last Barbeque''.
* [[Put on a Bus]]: Denise, twice. The first came as a fallout due to her appearance in ''[[Angel Heart]]'', and clashing with Bill Cosby. In order to get her out of his hair, she got moved to spinoff ''[[A Different World]]''. Ironically, she quickly dropped out of that show as well.
* [[Real
* [[Rebellious Princess]]: While not a princess, Vanessa becomes the most rebellious of the children. So much so that it feels like she starts getting cold feet about her engagement ''after'' her family starts to approve of it.
* [[Replaced the Theme Tune]]: A variant, in that the later themes sampled the older ones.
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** Later seasons have Cliff's tendencies to tell stories that don't go anywhere.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The name of Vanessa's fiance in Season 8 is Dabnis, which is "Sinbad" backwards. Quite possibly named after the comedian of the same name and one of Bill Cosby's good friends. Sinbad himself was a guest star as a car salesman in an earlier season.
** Another example of this involves Cliff's old Navy pal, Scott Kelly in the Season 3 episode, "Bald and Beautiful
** In Season 7, Cliff can be see wearing a button that says "SD Jr." in memory of Sammy Davis Jr. who guest starred in one Season 5 episode and had recently died at the time.
** In the episode where Theo wants a Gordon Gartrell shirt, here's Cliff (paraphrasing): "A teenage boy does not need a $90 shirt unless he's [[Michael Jackson|on stage with his four brothers.]]"
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* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: The show managed the very rare feat of being on the very pinnacle of the idealistic side without being barf-inducing or [[Narm]]-ish.
* [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad]]: He's never named, but Denise's friend in the ''Jitterbug Break'' episode shows off some [[Crazy Awesome]] dance moves.
* [[Standardized Sitcom Housing]]: Front door on the right, back door on left, Check. Oddly enough, the set also has a window upstage with a view of the sky, despite every single exterior shot being of [https://web.archive.org/web/20101206095424/http://gonyc.about.com/library/gallery/bl_onlocation01.htm a building cheek-by jowl with the one next door].▼
* [[Stay in the Kitchen]]: Sondra's boyfriend Elvin has this attitude in his first few appearances. Though he's usually treated as a [[Butt Monkey]] because of it, especially by Clair.
** Kenny's never-seen brother also seems to dispense "wisdom" of this sort.
* [["Stop Having Fun!" Guys]]: In-universe examples being Cliff and Dr. Harmond, in an episode of Season 7 centered around a pinochle tournament.
* [[Take That]]: In the latter part of its run, the show battled with ''[[The Simpsons]]'' for the Thursday night 8:00 pm time slot. In one episode, Olivia approaches Cliff wearing a Bart Simpson mask, and he tells her to take it off. At the time, ''The Simpsons'' was still considered a crass children's show.▼
* [[Troll]]: Cliff can be one when he wants, especially when it comes to teasing Clair. Notable examples are ribbing her on her 46th birthday and continually spoiling the plot of a novel that he's read and she hasn't.▼
▲* [[Standardized Sitcom Housing]]: Front door on the right, back door on left, Check. Oddly enough, the set also has a window upstage with a view of the sky, despite every single exterior shot being of [http://gonyc.about.com/library/gallery/bl_onlocation01.htm a building cheek-by jowl with the one next door].
* [[Stupidest Thing I've Ever Heard]]: Played literally in the very first episode when Theo makes excuses for his poor grades and Cliff blasts him for it.
** Clair often invokes this trope when dealing with a child who attempts to lie to avoid punishment.
▲* [[Take That]]: In the latter part of its run, the show battled with ''[[The Simpsons]]'' for the Thursday night 8:00 pm time slot. In one episode, Olivia approaches Cliff wearing a Bart Simpson mask, and he tells her to take it off. At the time, ''The Simpsons'' was still considered a crass children's show.
* [[Title Drop]]: Only for a different show when Clair talks to Denise about how college is "[[A Different World]]
* [[Tranquil Fury]]: The only time you ever saw Cliff fly off the handle was in one of the early 1st season episodes with Theo. Other than that, he pretty much remained calm on the outside whenever one of his kids did something insane. But he often reacted in this manner.
▲* [[Troll]]: Cliff can be one when he wants, especially when it comes to teasing Clair. Notable examples are ribbing her on her 46th birthday and continually spoiling the plot of a novel that he's read and she hasn't.
* [[Unto Us a Son and Daughter Are Born]]: Sondra and Elvin's children (Nelson and Winnie
* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Cliff and Sanford "Tailwind" Turner love to talk smack to each other, but they respect each
* [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!]]: Sondra towards Elvin in Season 2. Especially when she gets mad at him for never getting mad himself!
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Given to Sondra by ''the audience(!)'' when they boo her after she attempts to make Elvin angry by saying she doesn't care enough for him to work through their current problems. It's the only time the audience boos a scene in the whole series, and well-deserved.
* [[You Look Familiar]]: Joseph C. Phillips played a potential boyfriend for Sondra in a Season 2 episode, then returns as Denise's husband beginning in Season 6.
** David Langston Smyrl played three different roles before settling into his third and final role as Mr. Lucas the handyman. It should be noted that all three of his characters were attracted to Clair.
** Vanessa Williams first appeared as the [[Large Ham]] Jade in
----
* [[Adults Are Useless]]
* [[Growing Up Sucks]]
{{reflist}}
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{{TV Guide's 50 Greatest}}
{{Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time}}
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