Bill Cosby created this
Filmation series, based on his boyhood in Philadelphia (and, more directly, on his
Stand-Up Comedy routines of the 1960s). Cosby also appeared on camera as a
Narrator and performed some of the character voices, including Fat Albert himself. The show ran
Saturday mornings on
CBS from 1972 to 1984, followed by one additional season in first-run
syndication. In addition to a good income, Cosby also used this series to earn a Doctorate in Education, and become Dr. Cosby.
In every episode, Fat Albert and his inner-city gang became involved in some comic misadventure, either learning
a moral lesson or demonstrating a lesson for someone else. As on
The Archie Show, every
Fat Albert episode included at least one song. In later seasons, Fat Albert and his friends followed the exploits of their favorite TV superhero, the Brown Hornet.
At Christmas 2004,
20th Century Fox released a live action
Fat Albert Movie feature film.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids provides examples of:
- An Aesop
- Animated Series
- Author Avatar: Bill. Curiously, he was one of the most minor characters — you'd have never guessed he was based off of Cosby himself if not for the name.
- As well as the appearance, inflection and voice actor.
- Board Game: The show had one, with cardboard tokens of the characters stuck in giant plastic sneaker feet.
- Butt Monkey: Rudy
- Catch Phrase: "Hey hey hey!"
- Christmas Special: Which somehow managed to combine the Yet Another Christmas Carol and Away In A Manger plots.
- Everybody Do the Endless Loop
- Intergenerational Friendship: Mudfoot Brown, an elderly homeless man who often imparted sage advice to the gang.
- Limited Wardrobe
- Live-Action Adaptation
- Long Runners: A 12 season run on Saturday morning network TV and syndication, albeit not always with new episodes each season, a great run for an educational series.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: In the Brown Hornet segments.
- Present Day Past: Kind of. Since the characters are supposed to represent figures from Bill Cosby's childhood (including his own youthful self), the show ought to be set in the late 1940s or early '50s. It sure looks, sounds and feels like The Seventies, though.
- Scare 'Em Straight: One 1980s syndication episode dealt with a terrifying "Scared Straight"-style tour of a prison.
- Show Within a Show: The Brown Hornet (a parody of The Green Hornet) and Legal Eagle.
- Stock Footage
- Stout Strength: The title character
- Team Pet: The gang originally had a pet duck as seen in the Opening but he was dropped for some reason.
- Thematic Theme Tune: "Naa naa naa, gonna have a good tiiiime!"
- Token White: Margene, a friend and classmate of Fat Albert. In the 1980s version, there are many more chareacters.
- Trash Can Band
- The Unintelligible: Mushmouth is understandable, but just barely. Specifically, he speaks Ubbi Dubbi.
- Wham Episode: In one episode, Fat Albert befriends a Latino kid whose older brother is involved in a gang. The kid is later killed when he sees someone pull on gun on his brother and he pushes him out of the way, taking the bullet himself. The Scare 'Em Straight episode also qualifies.
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