I’m posting this one for the historical value…because I really couldn’t get past the first few minutes. No, not because Cosby was involved as narrator, young Bill, and Fat Albert.
Before the two Fat Albert shows we got, Bill Cosby made a NBC special for primetime. Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert only aired twice. Cosby then approached them to make a series that would give life lessons among the comedy. They turned it down, so they and new animation studio Filmation took it to CBS, and Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids was born. The Brown Hornet segments would be added to the revamped The New Fat Albert Show, and years later the show returned in syndication as The Adventures Of Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids with new segment Legal Eagle, and I have trouble believing that those kids would watch a show about an eagle lawyer over a black superhero and his team fighting bad guys in outer space.
I also don’t believe the show would have been popular with this animation and direction. The character models of the five characters that made it to the series–young Bill, his brother Russell, Weird Harold, and Dumb Donald–kind of resemble their show counterparts, and I didn’t stay for the two characters that didn’t make it, Weasel and Nolan, or other show character Rudy. Of course, Cosby already had Albert’s voice down as the show was based on the standup routines he did back then, based on his days growing up in Philadelphia. He later turned to comedy about being a parent, which inspired The Cosby Show. Now he’s in trouble for…let’s just say mistreatment of women because I really don’t want to get into that stuff.
Like I said, this is posted for its historical legacy as recently found media. The show itself looked better and was an important part of many childhoods, but it was just too off for me. Maybe you’ll find it more interesting. Enjoy.
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