What is it? Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: The Complete Series, 110 episodes on 15 discs from Shout! Factory
When? Now
How much? $119.99
Cosby as in Bill Cosby? The very same.
The Fat Albert character was first created by Cosby in one of his stand-up routines. The series itself began in 1972 as an educational cartoon that follows a group of inner-city kids as they learn a series of life lessons.
Fat Albert is the gang’s leader, a big boy with an unwavering sense of right and wrong. He’s the moral compass of the group.
The other kids include logical Bill (based on Cosby), pesky little Russell, Weird Harold, Dumb Donald, Bucky, Mushmouth and Rudy - the arrogant, obnoxious one who usually ends up having to learn the lesson of the week.
Just a few of the problems they face:
When Dumb Donald’s cousin Betty moves in, she has trouble fitting in with the boys.
During the election for class president, the two candidates (one white and one black) both try to use race to win. So Fat Albert and his white friend Margene decide to do something about it and put the focus back where it belongs - the issues.
Weird Harold develops an obsession for video games that puts the group’s forthcoming picnic in jeopardy.
They also learn the importance of art, help a friend who’s being abused by her mother and find a way to stop another friend who’s playing around with his father’s handgun.
They’re helped by the occasional song, performed by the boys on their makeshift junkyard instruments, and by episodes of their favorite show, Brown Hornet.
Live action segments with Cosby commenting on the story and emphasizing the lesson of the week are woven through each episode.
It sounds like an animated After School Special. It is in a way, and that was Cosby’s intention. At the time, he was working on his master’s degree in education and was studying how TV could be a tool to help teachers and parents.
Aimed primarily at elementary-school children, the series addresses all sorts of topics and problems those children were facing at the time and would face in the future: divorce, child abuse, water safety, guns, sex education, adoption, a parent’s alcoholism, teen motherhood, computer hacking, gangs. On the lighter side, they learn the importance of health and education and that cheating is wrong.
While elements of the show can definitely seem dated, all those topics are still very much relevant today. And the above is just a short list. The show ran for more than 100 episodes.
The topics have been simplified for the young audience. Not dumbed down, exactly, but usually resolved pretty quickly and easily. With a few notable exceptions (for instance, the episode about gang violence), the stories end happily.
All through it, no matter what the specific issue is, the underlying themes are of honesty, integrity, respect and personal responsibility. There are some adults today who probably would have benefited from a little time with Fat Albert.
It’s not that serious or stodgy. Yes, life lessons are taught, but they’re still humorous and there are wacky cartoonlike shenanigans. Of course, it’s aimed at young children so the entertainment value for adults isn’t all that high, though there are some smarter jokes tucked in here and there.
Are there extras? There’s a 40-minute making-of documentary with Cosby, writers, artists and the show’s educational consultant talking about the creation, production and purpose of the series.
New this week: The Jack Benny Program, The Lost Episodes; Mystery Science Theater 3000, XXVII; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Season 3.
Next week: Midsomer Murders, Seasons 1-5; Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Redemption” and Season 4 (Blu-ray); Touched By an Angel, Season 8.
Style, Pages 48 on 07/21/2013