1980 NOON on CBS: FAT ALBERT AND THE COSBY KIDS

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was a Filmation animated series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also did a huge chunk of the voices for the show (including Fat Albert himself). The show premiered in 1972 and *kind of* ran until 1985... See, up till 1983 they had been doing short-order seasons of the show - 6 to 8 new episodes per season - but then between 1984 and 1985 the cranked out some FIFTY NEW EPISODES of the cheaper, lower-quality "The Adventures of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids".

It should also be noted that this was the year that they replaced the "Junkyard Rock Band" segments of the show with Fat Albert and the gang rushing to their clubhouse to watch the latest episode of "The Brown Hornet" (Also voiced by Cosby).

What do you think? Have any good memories or thoughts to share about Fat Albert and the gang? Come at me with comments and fun, and if you're not careful you might just learn something before we're done. So let's get ready, okay? Hey, hey, HEY!

Comments

[aurora77]

Dood. You know it's aired on every Saturday morning here, don't you? Channel 7.2, from 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM: Fat Albert, Ghostbusters (not The Real Ghost Busters), Archies, Bravestarr, She-Ra, He-Man, and Mr. Magoo. A decent Saturday morning lineup, plus little extras at the end of each episode, in the form of terrible quality or offensive racist shorts, like the old Pinocchio or Dick Tracy or Wizard of Oz shorts. Archies is terrible and the commercials aren't all that great, and you don't get the PSAs, but it's still pretty good overall.

I pretty clearly remember the episode about shoplifting, but not much else in particular. I also remember the difference in the episodes with The Brown Hornet. I was young at the time, but I could tell they weren't quite as good and was a little disappointed when they showed those. I guess I was already becoming a cartoon connoisseur. XD

YYYEEEESSSSSSSSS

[volare.livejournal.com]

With the theme song kindly provided by none other than BOOTSY COLLINS.... Man, put this on and I'm staying PUT.

Between Fat Albert, the vinyl records of Cosby's stand-up routines (including the ones that led to the creation of the cartoon) that I played to death and still have, and his TV appearances on everything from The Electric Company to his own Cosby Show, the man was a gigantic part of my childhood and adolescence.

Was the animation itself groundbreaking art? No.
Was the content and structure? Absolutely.

"If you're not careful, you just might learn something" has been part of my vocabulary for nearly 40 years now.

I was rather inordinately content to be living around the corner from Cosby Ave when I had my dinky little offcampus apartment in Amherst MA, named for one of UMass's funniest alumni -- and not an honorary degree. He earned his doctorate in education there in the mid-70s; his dissertation included using Fat Albert as a teaching tool.

Na na na gonna have a good time....

[igglepoof.livejournal.com]

Definitely one of my faves growing up!

[bonnie-rocks.livejournal.com]

Na na na gonna have a good time!!! Hey, hey, HEY!

LOVE this show!

~*::Meow::*~

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

As a kid, I loved this show. As an adult, I find it unbearably dull and preachy. So, YMMV.

I also remember Richard Pryor's attempt to copy it, with puppets. Didn't go so well. :-`

-The Gneech

RELEVANT TO OUR INTERESTS

[volare.livejournal.com]

The COMPLETE series is due to be released on June 13 in a DVD set!!!!!!!!!!! You bet your sweet ass I'm after it...

[cooperwench.livejournal.com]

My SON now watches Fat Albert on netflix. Random guy in grocery had a Fat ALbert t-shirt and my son yelled out "MOM LOOK FAT ALBERT" and guy was so impressed my little one knew his favorite cartoon character. Adorable. Yeah, still a great cartoon!