NEW Season 4 (DVD)

Of course I already own seasons 1 and 2 and it has been fun re-watching my favorite show growing up. My son has also fallen in love with the show. He especially loves Rudy while I like the older kids because I was a young teen when this show started. For later seasons, we rely on the old VHS recordings my dad has kept over the years, but they may not last much longer. I'm glad that more seasons of this great show are being released. Like an earlier viewer stated, this show is so much better than current T.V. and I'm thrilled that my son can grow up watching them too. He is growing up watching the shows my husband and I enjoyed as kids. Okay, so he's out of touch with current pop culture, but is that such a bad thing when he can see a great role model like Bill Cosby? I highly recommend this show.

In retrospect, this is one of the more interesting seasons. When the show begins, we notice one person missing from the original cast, Lisa Bonet. (She only appears in picture form during the title sequence.) Where has she gone? Off to the west coast set of A Different World for the popular spin-off's first season. Dear Lisa would only appear as a guest star on two new episodes, "Shakespere" and "Home for the Weekend." (That doesn't include the fantastic slection of previous footage illuded to in the 2-part "Looking Back" collage.)

Instead of seeing Lisa, we witness the introduction of Geoffrey Owens to the regular cast, portraying Elvin Tibbadeaux, who is now married to the oldest Huxtable child, Sondra. They've decided not to pursue their previous career interests and devote themselves to running their own wilderness supply store. This venture presents a recurring topic throughout this season, as well as the first season of A Different World.

Meanwhile, the Huxtable ship keeps sailing with Theo completing his turbulent high school career, Vanessa's boyfriend list expanding, Rudy wanting to wear the wrong clothes and Cliff losing his memory. Among the celebrity guest stars are Christopher Plummer, Adam Sandler (as a recurring character) and Wallice Shaun (also recurring). [Of course, we also have Adam saying, "When Roxanne finds out there's no helicoptor, she is gonna - " what's the word " - plotz!"

Season four's box set is identical to season three's, with the same unfortunate disappointments. Each disc is place in its separate slim case, and yet again no bonus material. But of course the main reason to buy this set is for the episodes and it is nice to have season four out on DVD. You can definitely tell the Huxtable kids are growing up, so the episode plots started to change gradually. There were a few big changes to the show in season four. Elvin and Sondra are married, but unfortunately Lisa Bonet (Denise) is not in season four because she was working on another show called "A Different World" which follows her experiences at Hillman College. But other than that, this season is fantastic and it was a great excitement when I first received it. I really enjoyed the episode "Once Upon a Time", it was a unique episode to the series because it pretty much takes place in Rudy's fantasy. But there are many great episodes from season four since there are no episode descriptions available for season four, I'll list them below.

Call of the Wild - Airdate: 9/24/1987 - The newlywed Sondra and Elvin return from their honeymoon with shocking news for Cliff and Clair; they want to abandon their dreams of being a lawyer and doctor and open a wilderness store.

Theogate - Airdate: 10/1/1987 - Theo and Cockroach come home unusually late from a track meet.

It Ain't Easy Being Green - Airdate: 10/8/1987 - Rudy wants to wear summer clothes in fall to a party but Clair won't let her.

Cliff's Mistake - Airdate: 10/15/1987 - While setting up the house as a haunted house for Halloween, Cliff discovers he's lost a power drill that his neighbor loaned to him.

Shakespeare - Airdate: 10/22/1987 - Theo must read Julius Caesar for school, but complains that it is boring.

That's Not What I Said - Airdate: 10/29/1987 - Cliff and Clair have an argument after Theo gets detained by police for riding in a car with an unlicensed driver.

Autumn Gifts - Airdate: 11/5/1987 - Rudy goes to an older widowed lady's house each afternoon to have tea and play cards, but notices that she refuses to take her daily medication for diabetes. She tells Cliff, who devises a plan to try to convince her that she needs to take her medication.

Looking Back (Part One) - Airdate: 11/12/1987 - Sondra and Elvin have their first marital fight, and Elvin comes to the Huxtable house for comfort and support. Clair shares about the difficulties in their house as flashbacks are shown.

Looking Back (Part Two) - Airdate: 11/12/1987 - Flashbacks are shown while history is shared with Elvin.

Where's Rudy - Airdate: 11/19/1987 - Theo and Vanessa lose track of Rudy in a mall while Clair enters a squash exhibition.

Dance Mania - Airdate: 12/3/1987 - Theo and Cockroach have tickets to appear on television on the dance show "Dance Mania", but are told that only one of them can enter the studio during the filming because of fire laws. Theo miscalculates by offering to let Cockroach go in (thinking he'll refuse) and gets angry when Cockroach takes him up on the offer.

The Locker Room - Airdate: 12/10/1987 - Theo and his classmates brag about their dates with girls in the locker room, but Theo's mood changes when one of the guys goes out with Vanessa and brags about it the next day.

The Show Must Go On - Airdate: 12/17/1987 - Vaudeville is shown to Rudy and her friends, who are unimpressed.

Bookworm - Airdate: 1/7/1988 - Clair drags Cliff to her book club meeting, but he's the lone male there. Much to Clair's surprise, Cliff knows quite a bit about the book in question! Meanwhile, the kids attempt a sleepover at Sondra and Elvin's run-down studio apartment, but are overwhelmed by the noise and lack of utilities.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - Airdate: 1/14/1988 - Rudy has to play the violin in music class at school, but gets jealous because she thinks her classmates' instruments are more fun.

The Visit - Airdate: 1/21/1988 - Theo visits a friend in the hospital who has cancer.

The Drum Major - Airdate: 2/4/1988 - Vanessa tries out for the drum major at school.

Waterworks - Airdate: 2/11/1988 - Clair tries to stop Cliff from fixing a leaky pipe by hiring a team of professionals.

Once Upon a Time - Airdate: 2/18/1988 - Rudy writes a fairy tale, and the colorful story is acted out in her fantasy.

Petanque - Airdate: 2/25/1988 - Cliff and a friend play Petanque.

Trust Me - Airdate: 3/3/1988 - A friend of Clair's is having marital problems.

Home for the Weekend - Airdate: 3/17/1988 - Denise comes home from college, but seems to have more time for her friends than for her family.

The Prom - Airdate: 3/24/1988 - Theo and his friends go to great lengths to impress their dates for the senior prom but fail disastrously.

Gone Fishin' - Airdate: 4/29/1988 - When the Huxtable men go fishing, Theo catches the dead body of a gangster that the police have been chasing, and soon attracts attention from the news media. This success goes to his head, while Rudy and Kenny find a nest of baby birds, but the mother bird is missing. The two stories eventually cross in a surprising-and rather humiliating-lesson for Theo.

Season four's DVD release is similar to season three's and has the same disappointments but it's still highly recommended.