10 Unforgettable Scenes From The Cosby Show

When the pilot of The Cosby Show premiered in 1984, many viewers tuned in to NBC to see what it had to offer. By the second season, the ratings were sky-high and critics provided rave reviews while they boasted about its promising future.

The weekly comedy television sitcom chronicled the upper middle class lives of the Huxtables--Cliff (Bill Cosby) and Clair (Phylicia Rashad) along with their children--Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe), Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam), Denise (Lisa Bonet), and Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf).

In a single-family Brownstone located at 10 Stigwood Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, Cliff, an obstetrician, and Clair, an attorney, are two professionals who balance both parenthood and their careers.

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The list below is dedicated to Cosby show scenes which are still being discussed to this day:

10. The 'Triple White Cakes' Scene

Summary: Clair is feeling a little blue on her birthday. Also, she's sick of being told she still looks good--for a 46-year-old. But her frustration reaches its peak when Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy perform a presentation entitled, "When Mom Was My Age" which chronicled her life as a child and then as a teenager.

Scene: To help cheer Clair up, as well as entertain her, Cliff stages a surprise in order to convince her to look on the bright side about having turned one year older. He emerges from their kitchen with not one, not two, but THREE identical birthday cakes (covered with white icing and topped with fresh strawberries) after having tried to entice her with the first two. Soon, he catches her with white icing on her mouth and then teases her by putting icing on his own mouth.

9. The 'Alphabet Game' Scene

Summary: Vanessa and her friend Kara are exhausted after their chemistry exam; so they head over to their friend Susan's house to hang out but end up bored. So Susan suggests they, along with several other girls, play a drinking game which consists of naming cities in alphabetical order. Anyone who mispronounces a city, or even blurts out the wrong city, has to drink a shot of bourbon.

Scene: To teach Vanessa a lesson, Clair and Cliff stage their own version of the alphabet game which is a prank. They even let Rudy in on it. Vanessa reluctantly takes a drink and to her surprise it turns out to be tea. Cliff, Clair, and Rudy finish the prank off with "Gotcha!"

8. The Ray Charles 'Night Time Is the Right Time' Performance Scene

Summary: Cliff, Vanessa, Rudy, Sondra, Theo, and Rudy plan to celebrate the 49th wedding anniversary of Cliff's parents, Anna and Russell. But it isn't just an ordinary celebration. They have one in mind which they don't want Anna and Russell to ever forget.

Scene: The family puts on a special musical performance to entertain Anna and Russell. But the one moment which stands out is Rudy's mimic of the crooning of Margie Hendrix.

7. The 'Fight Over the Sweater' Scene

Summary: Denise bluntly tells Vanessa that she can't borrow her sweater. So Vanessa debates on whether she should or shouldn't take it without Denise's knowledge. Until she finally decides she'll be sure to put it back in Denise's closet without her ever finding out.

Scene: After Vanessa returns from hanging out with her boyfriend, Robert, Denise asks her about the sweater. Vanessa finally comes clean and reveals she's wearing it. Denise then demands she take it off as she aggressively pokes her. But Vanessa uses that as a reason to refuse to take it off until Denise apologizes. The two get into a physical fight. Cliff attempts to break it up, but he ends up on the floor after he's thrown off of the bed.

6. The 'Contraction!' Scene

Summary: Sondra experiences labor pains while both her and her husband Elvin are visiting Clair and Cliff. From the start, Elvin is overcome with nervousness as he hyperventilates. He even times the labor pains with a stop watch. They all have to help Sondra get to the car in order to rush her to the hospital.

Scene: Elvin is a wreck, Cliff is being a nuisance, and Clair is fed up with them. While Sondra still has yet to give birth, although the time is getting closer, Elvin hyperventilates into a paper bag. As soon as he begins to feel at ease, Sondra shouts in reaction to the pain which spurs Elvin to shout, "Contraction!"

5. The 'Vanessa Went to Baltimore' Scene

Summary: Vanessa tells Clair and Cliff that she's going to her friend Susan's house for a slumber party. What she didn't tell them was that her true intention was to travel to Baltimore, along with Susan, Kara, and Janet to see their favorite rock band, The Wretched, perform in concert. But every thing goes wrong and the girls end up stranded. After Clair and Cliff find out where Vanessa really is, and about the situation, they pick her up and take her home.

Scene: Clair expresses anger toward Vanessa for having lied about the slumber party, and having left the state without her knowledge. As Vanessa is scolded, she pouts and whines while apologizing for lying. Clair is fed up and angrily demands that she go to bed.

4. The 'Two Apples' Scene

Summary: Vanessa tells Clair and Cliff that she's going to her friend Kara's house to help her with homework. However, she actually intends to be with her boyfriend, Jeremy, in his parents car at an overlook. Soon, she's pressured by Jeremy to break her curfew to continue to spend time with him.

Scene: The next day, Clair and Cliff invite Jeremy over to talk to him about his negative influence on Vanessa. Cliff is curious to know just how far Jeremy went with Vanessa while they were together. So he uses two apples as representations of them and is curious to know if they had engaged in sexual activity.

3. The 'Dance Mania' Scene

Summary: Theo allows his jealousy get the best of him when his friend Cockroach (Walter) scores an opportunity to appear on the show "Dance Mania". As he watches Cockroach dance on the television studio monitor, his disappointment is obvious. The next day, at school, he bitterly stands by and watches while Cockroach gets all of the attention from their peers.

Scene: On the evening which the taped episode of "Dance Mania" airs on television, Theo has an attitude and snaps at Rudy and Vanessa. As they, along with Clair and Cliff, watch the show on television, Theo gets so angry that he storms into the kitchen. Clair gives him an honest pep talk and tells him that he has no one to blame but himself. Mainly for having allowed Cockroach to get the advantage of an appearance on the show. He returns to the living room and slowly, as well as silently, apologizes for his behavior.

2. The 'Clair and Cliff Prom Dance' Scene

Summary: Theo, along with his two friends, Smitty and Denny, plans to go all out for their high school senior prom and requests special services such as a limo and a helicopter. But disaster strikes when his prom date, as well as the prom dates of Smitty and Denny, has a horrible experience during the helicopter ride.

Scene: Clair and Cliff dance to a romantic song together during their own in-house prom. Cliff gets carried away and begins dancing by himself while doing hilarious moves which only he could do.

1. The 'Series Finale Exit' Scene

Summary: Theo is graduating from college and he's limited to a certain amount of seats for his guests. Cliff presses him for more tickets, to no avail, but later he's able to score a few extras. While Denise is in Singapore with her husband Martin, she calls the family, not only to congratulate Theo, but also to reveal that she's pregnant.

Scene: Cliff insists that Clair ring the door bell which he has tried to fix for awhile. But she refuses because she thinks it's still defective. So he presses it himself. Instead of the actual sound of a bell, a romantic jazz song plays and Clair starts smiling. Soon, they both walk off of the studio set to a loud applause from the studio audience and then walk out of the exit door.