List of ''The Cosby Show'' episodes

When Theo brings home a poor report card, he claims he does not need good grades to get a job. So Cliff gives him an economics lesson with Monopoly money. Much to Cliff's dismay, Denise goes on a date with Rafael, an older man who is a former merchant marine. Cliff and Clair's plans for a quiet night are ruined when Vanessa and Rudy can't sleep, with Rudy claiming the wolf man was growling in her closet.

When Rudy's goldfish dies, Cliff struggles over how to break the bad news to her. Cliff wants to hold a formal funeral in the bathroom, but the rest of the family has other ideas about the proper site for the "memorial".

Denise wants to attend Princeton like her older sister, Sondra. But Grandpa Russell wants her to attend Hillman, to uphold a family tradition. Cliff explains to his father the prestige of attending a highly regarded school like Princeton, until the elder Huxtable points out that Hillman produced a highly regarded doctor... Cliff.

When Clair baby sits for a newborn baby, she yearns to have another child of her own. Cliff, however, does not think it is such a good idea. In an effort to change Clair's mind, he introduces her to Mrs. Burke, a patient of his who is expecting child number 13. But Cliff's plan backfires when Clair is struck by how good Mrs. Burke looks.

Theo's plans to impress his date by wearing an expensive designer shirt are ruined when Cliff forces him to return the extravagant purchase. But Denise comes to the rescue when she offers to make Theo an exact copy for a third of the price.

Excited that the whole family will be together for Thanksgiving, Cliff anxiously waits for Sondra's arrival home from Princeton. But instead of celebrating, Sondra spends the holiday trying to persuade her parents to let her go to Paris for the summer.

While staying at a friend's house for a weekend, Theo has his ear pierced to prove his independence. When the ear becomes infected, Theo is forced to show Cliff the earring and accept his punishment – a lecture from Grandpa.

Cliff is chosen to be honored with a very prestigious award: Physician of the Year, but on the night of the awards banquet, Cliff is delayed in the hospital delivery room. So a proud Theo accepts the award for his father.

To warm up for his night out with Clair and their friends, Cliff shows off a few of his dance moves in the living room. Denise claims her father's footwork is old-fashioned and boring, and that break-dancing is the superior art form. To show Denise and her friends what dancing is really about, Cliff invites his friends Ralph and Marie over to teach the teenagers how to jitterbug.

Cliff and Clair are concerned when they find a marijuana cigarette in Theo's schoolbook. Theo is upset that someone has planted the joint in his book, so he goes out of his way to find the culprit who set him up.

Vanessa is confident that her science project will bring her the usual top honors she expects, until she discovers that the other students in her new advanced-placement class are much more competitive than she thought.

After Sondra is ripped off by a conniving auto mechanic, an incensed Clair goes to court to right the wrong. While Clair is preparing her court case, Cliff plays family chef and cooks up some rather bizarre concoctions for dinner – leaving the kids hungering for Mom's cooking.

Guest stars: David Smyrl as the man in court, Shawn Elliott as Mr. Wilson, Alan North as Judge

Cliff is excited to join his former teammates from Hillman College in a grudge match against Norton University, until he discovers he is 25 years out of shape. Josh Culbreath, 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, guest stars as Sanford B. "Tailwind" Turner, the only man ever to beat Cliff "Combustible" Huxtable.

While Clair is away at a seminar, an imaginative and exhausted Cliff dreams up ways to entertain the children, including that old standby – the bucking-horse ride. But only Grandpa Huxtable is able to tame the troops. When Rudy complains she has no one to play with, Cliff allows her to have a friend or two sleep over. But the modest gathering soon turns into a rollicking slumber party for eight.

Guest stars: First appearance of Peter Costa as Peter, the Huxtables' neighbor, Earle Hyman as Russell, Alicia Keys (billed under her given name of Alicia Cook)

Theo finds a battered young boy at the playground of the Keystone Community Center and takes him to the Center's director, Tony Castillo, played by guest star Tony Orlando. Cliff, Theo and Tony try to help the boy but get no response. Tony, however, senses there is something special about the child and remains patient and determined to win him over.

Guest stars: Alexis Cruz as Enrique Tarron, Ada Maris as Selena Cruz, Angela Bassett as Mrs. Mitchell, Lisa Mordente as Expectant Mother #1

While Cliff snoops around trying to discover his special birthday surprise, a clever Clair has arranged for the Huxtable family to see legendary performer Lena Horne. Cliff is beside himself when Lena dedicates a song to him and invites the family to her dressing room after the show.

Cliff arranges a surprise European cruise for his parents, and the family chips in and arranges to have an oil painting made of the elder couple from a photo of them as newlyweds. But, despite the elaborate gifts, Grandma and Grandpa are most impressed with the children's home-cooked dinner, followed by a rousing lip-sync rendition of the Ray Charles classic Night Time Is the Right Time, featuring the whole Huxtable family.

Sondra's smitten with her boyfriend, Elvin, who is not always reliable. But Cliff prefers a different guy for her, Daryl, a pre-med student, who he thinks would make a great addition to the family. When Sondra and Elvin have another fight, she spitefully makes a date with Daryl, while Cliff coaches the would-be suitor on how to win her heart.

In exchange for helping older sister Denise with her school project, Theo wants Denise to introduce him to her gorgeous friend, Suzanne. Theo immediately sets out to impress the sexy 17-year-old. Cliff is amused and Denise is distraught when the love-struck Theo dazzles Suzanne with tales of sophistication in an effort to win a date with her. But Theo's bubble bursts when Suzanne's burly boyfriend shows up at the Huxtable home.

As Halloween approaches, the Huxtables make elaborate preparations and look forward to dressing up in outlandish costumes. Vanessa spends most of her Halloween party trying to mask her true feelings for Robert, whom all the girls think is the coolest guy in the seventh grade.

The Huxtable family is thrilled when Clair's sister, Sara, announces her engagement. Legendary jazz vocalist, Joe Williams, plays Clair's father, Al, who refuses to sing at his younger daughter's wedding unless Clair sings with him. Clair and her mom, Carrie, join forces to teach Sara a little something about marriage while Grandpa Al and Cliff chide the groom-to-be about the role of a husband.

Denise's friend, Michelle, thinks she has a medical problem and wants to keep it from her parents, so she asks Cliff for advice. This leads Cliff and Clair to question whether their children would come to them with their problems or seek outside help. They hold a family forum to make sure their children know the lines of communication are always open. But the children pose some hypothetical questions which give their parents pause.

Guest stars: Stacey Dash as Michelle, Denise's friend

Vanessa, a straight A student, finds that her grades suffer when she studies with Robert, a classmate that she has a crush on. With a big school dance coming up, she is afraid to show her parents a bad test grade fearing they will keep her home. The night of the dance, Vanessa wears Denise's new sweater without her sister's permission, causing an all-out brawl between the two.

While leafing through a catalog, Clair sees that a painting by her great uncle is for sale at an auction. She remembers her childhood when the painting hung in her grandmother's house, but was later sold to pay medical bills. Although the estimated price for the painting is very high, Clair is determined to bring it back into the family.

Guest star: John Marion, head of Sotheby's, the prestigious New York auction house, as the auctioneer.

With an exam on William Shakespeare's Macbeth less than two days away, Theo and his friend Cockroach scheme to pass the test without reading the play. Meanwhile, the Huxtables enjoy some new-fallen snow by having a snowball fight, and Cliff takes Rudy sleigh riding.

The Huxtable family dentist, Dr. Burns (Danny Kaye), helps Rudy's friend, Peter, overcome his fears of dentists with his zany style of dentistry. And Peter is not the only patient persuaded by Dr. Burns to jump into the chair as Cliff gets a checkup of his own.

Cliff convinces his father, Russell, a former professional musician, to come out of retirement and play with his old band, The Jazz Caravan, in an old-fashioned jam session. Since his retirement, Russell thinks he is not the musician he used to be. But Cliff and his mother, Anna, use reverse psychology to convince him to blow the trombone with his pals once again.

It is an average day for the Huxtables: Denise teases Clair on her lopsided work of art after the two return from pottery class, and Cliff talks Theo and Cockroach into writing an educational rap song for a class assignment. But when Cliff's friend Dan (Samuel E. Wright) confides about his troubles at home, Cliff is reminded that average days are not to be taken for granted.

A cocky Theo is sure that in a few years he will easily land a job as a fashion model and have a great car, apartment and plenty of spending money. So the Huxtables stage an elaborate scheme to prove to him that living on your own is not what it is cracked up to be. Theo's lesson in reality starts when the Huxtable home is converted into the Real World Apartments with Cliff as the strictly business landlord, Harley Weewax; Clair as the restaurant owner, Millie Farquar; Denise as the shrewd head of a modeling agency; Vanessa as her gum-cracking receptionist, and Rudy as the hard-nosed bank loan officer, Mrs. Griswald.

Cliff 'Combustible' Huxtable is thrilled when his former college track rival, Colonel Sanford B. 'Tailwind' Turner, invites him to run the prestigious anchor leg of a charity relay race in the Penn Relays track meet. He is even more excited to discover that his formerly fleet-footed opponent, Charlie Stevenson, is now fat. But Cliff does not realize he is in for the surprise of a lifetime.

Notes: Portions were filmed at the Penn Relays, held in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field.

When Theo receives a mediocre grade on a history paper that he thought he aced, his grandparents give him some insight on how to improve his grades. When both Cliff's and Clair's parents come to the Huxtable home for dinner, Theo learns that the subject of his history paper, the Civil Rights March in Washington D.C., was a remarkable event that deeply touched the lives of his parents and grandparents.

Theo wants to take flying lessons after he is impressed by a guest speaker at his school – a World War II fighter pilot. When Theo asks Cliff's permission to fly, Cliff jokingly reminds his son of all the other professions he has considered in his young life. Meanwhile, a bossy Rudy introduces the family to her first boyfriend, a boy she clearly has wrapped around her finger.

When Vanessa invites two friends over to visit, they see the large, well-furnished Huxtable home and report back to the other kids at school that Vanessa is a rich girl... and decide she must be stuck up. Angered and insulted, Vanessa gets into a fist fight to defend her reputation.

Denise is sure her English paper deserved an "A" but discovers the difference between high school and college when her Professor gives her a "D." When she comes home from college for the weekend, Denise must explain to her parents why her grades are faltering. Also, when Clair takes to her bed with a pinched nerve, Theo helps out with the family chores – much to Cliff's amazement.

Guest star: Rosalind Cash as Dr. Hughes

A thrifty Cliff pretends to be a man of meager means when he shops for a new car. But his attempt to hustle the salesman fails when a window shopper recognizes the disguised Cliff as Dr. Huxtable. Meanwhile, Rudy cuts pictures out of a book for a school project, unaware that she is destroying Cliff's prized encyclopedia collection.

Guest stars: Gilbert Gottfried and Sinbad

It is a labor crisis when Cliff is called to the hospital to deliver three babies. Meanwhile Vanessa unsuccessfully tries to keep her girlfriend from smoking while she is in the Huxtable home.

When Theo and Rudy play wildly in the house, Vanessa warns them that someone is bound to get hurt. Theo does not listen, though, and Rudy ends up with a bruise on her face. If Cliff and Clair find out how Rudy got hurt, Theo will be in big trouble.

Clair and Denise attend a bridal shower for Denise's girlfriend. And, while the mood is festive, Denise confides in her mother that she is worried for her friend, who is marrying at a young age and is pregnant. Also, Clair banishes Cliff and Theo after they try to crash the affair.

The Huxtable family and friends celebrate Cliff's 50th Birthday. Denise and Sondra come home from college to join the festivities and try to make Cliff feel young by pointing out things that are older than Dad. Clair throws a lavish dinner party for Cliff's 50th Birthday; but despite the happy occasion, she cannot conceal her dislike for one of the guests – a friend of Cliff's who divorced a friend of hers.

Cliff and Clair look forward to a visit from their old friends, Scott and Jill Kelly (Robert Culp and Ann Reinking). Clair knows how foolish Cliff and Scott act when they are together, though, and gives Cliff a warning. The two pranksters must promise to behave themselves and act like grown men – not silly boys – when the foursome dine at a fancy restaurant. Also, Theo and Cockroach contemplate shaving their heads so they can appear in a new hot music video.

Cliff, Clair and Russell Huxtable visit their alma mater, Hillman College, with the whole family. The college, which Denise now attends, is paying tribute to President Zachariah J. Haynes on the occasion of his retirement. Clair sings "All Good Things Will Be Added Unto You" with the Hillman choir.

Guest stars: Joe Seneca and Gloria Foster

Sondra and Elvin shock Cliff and Clair when they return from their honeymoon camping trip with a surprising announcement. The newlyweds have decided to give up their respective career paths to open a camping store in Brooklyn.

Theo is on the hot seat when he comes home late from a cross-country meet and makes the Huxtable family miss the opening curtain of Vanessa's school play. Cliff and Clair suspect that Theo is not telling the whole truth about his tardiness, so a Huxtable family court is convened, with Vanessa as the judge, Clair as the prosecutor, Cockroach as Theo's defense attorney, Rudy, Kenny and Peter as the jury, and Cliff as the surprise witness.

When a neighbor asks Cliff to return his prized power drill, Cliff promises to return it later that day. But Cliff then spends the day frantically searching the house, realizing he has no idea where he put the drill. Also, Theo and Vanessa help Rudy prepare a haunted house for her Halloween party.

Roscoe Lee Browne and Christopher Plummer guest-star as college professors who help Theo and Cockroach study Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Also, Denise visits for the weekend, and Cliff insists upon barbecuing, even though it is freezing outside.

Guest stars: Lisa Bonet, Christopher Plummer, Roscoe Lee Browne

Cliff and his father, Russell, pay a visit to the Huxtables' neighbor, Mrs. Hickson (Eileen Heckart). Also, Sondra and Elvin have an unusual promotional idea for their wilderness store.

The Huxtable family goes to the mall to cheer Clair's entry in a winter squash contest. Cliff encourages Theo, Vanessa and Rudy to support their mother's accomplishments, but they see a visit to the mall as a chance to pursue their own interests. And while they're supposed to be looking after their younger sister, Theo and Vanessa become distracted and Rudy is soon lost in the mall.

Guest stars: Louis Nye as a rival entrant

When Clair gives Theo a pair of tickets to the taping of a television dance show, he invites Cockroach to go with him. But later he must make a difficult decision when only one of them can be admitted to the studio. Meanwhile, confronted with the realization that he is the only Huxtable who does not know "new math," Cliff agrees to take lessons from Vanessa.

Cliff has his hands full when he takes Rudy and her friends to see a vaudeville show and none of the kids find the performers very funny.

Clair is afraid Cliff will embarrass her at her book club meeting by pretending he read the book being discussed. Cliff insists he will finish the book on time, but Clair thinks he will try to fake his way through. Also, Sondra and Elvin entertain their first overnight guests – Vanessa, Rudy and Theo.

The air is thick with competition as Cliff and his friend James Harmon go head to head in Petanque, a French outdoor bowling game. Clair and Nicole Harmon laugh over their husband's competitiveness, but the men take the competition very seriously.

When Clair's friend, Dyan, fears her marriage is in trouble, she goes to Clair for help. Meanwhile, Cliff takes a mini-vacation at home.

Theo Huxtable and his friends are determined to treat their dates to the best prom night money can buy. Meanwhile, at home, Vanessa and Rudy help Cliff give Clair the prom she never had.

Cliff follows up his "lost weekend" food binge with a day of emergency fasting for his annual blood test and physical. Despite his yeoman performance on the treadmill, the results indicate that his overindulgence in hoagies, chocolate soda and strawberry cheesecake must cease. Meanwhile, Denise is not fazed in the least by her firing from the record company. She picks herself up, dusts herself off, orders a large cheese pie – and then gets hired on as a waitress in the pizza parlor.

Vanessa falls victim to a rumor circulating around school that her boyfriend Roy has broken off their romance. Rudy offers Vanessa some sisterly advice: be really tough, remember that the woman is the boss and do not forget to tell him off! As her anxiety builds and her confidence deteriorates, Vanessa becomes increasingly clumsy, much to the chagrin of everyone in her path. Meanwhile, Denise's prospective employer, a photojournalist who is preparing a book on the pygmy tribes, persuades Cliff and Clair to allow Denise to accompany her to Africa.

Bedlam erupts in the Huxtable kitchen when Sondra goes into labor. In his confusion, Elvin drives off to the hospital without her. When he and Sondra drive to the Hospital, Sondra is forced to drive the car. Everyone gathers in the hospital waiting room to hear the surprise news – Sondra has delivered twins! Named Winnie and Nelson. Also, Elvin will re-join the Doctor Academy. Meanwhile on the Huxtable's residence, Theo has second thoughts about his girlfriend, Justine, when he meets Julia, the beautiful co-ed who is dating his friend Howard. When Cliff and Clair returned home, she is trying to figure out what a "Grandma" is. Also, they enjoy the Spaghetti and meatballs, cooked by Theo and Howard.

Clair hopes an exercise instructor, known as "The Bonecrusher", will help her fit into her new evening gown. Clair throws herself into the workouts, but her efforts are undermined by a mischievous Cliff. It seems he is so upset that she has not told him about her plan to lose five pounds in a week that he will pull every underhanded trick in his book to "test" her willpower – including the ultimate temptation: guacamole and corn chips.

Babymania grips the Huxtable household, with Elvin videotaping every waking moment of his children's lives. It turns out that Elvin can't stop to shoot a video. When Russell shows up with eight tickets to a Michael Jackson concert, Sondra convinces the paranoid papa that it is okay to leave the twins with "strangers" like Clair and Cliff for a few hours. Clair gets called away suddenly on a case, leaving Cliff to act as sole baby-sitter. Eventually, caring for two infants takes its toll, and Clair returns to find three slumbering cherubs in the living room.

Clair's television career gets off to a rousing start when she is invited to be a guest panelist on a Sunday morning current events talk show. She is a big hit with the producers, but cannot stand the three insufferable chauvinists on the panel with her. Meanwhile, poor Cliff is suffering prewithdrawal pains; Clair has purchased a beautiful new sofa for the living room and his favorite old sofa and chair are to be banished from the house. In a moving finale, Cliff bids a sentimental farewell to his "old friends".

Cliff and Clair take a well-earned break from kids and chores, depositing Rudy at Grandma's, dropping Vanessa at a friend's house and heading for the Poconos. That leaves Theo alone in the house for the weekend. When his friends hear about it, they organized a party. But, somehow, the "intimate gathering" of close friends turns into an open house for hundreds, most of them strangers. The house is soon trashed, leaving Theo to face the wrath of Cliff, who wonders why there is "no place in America to get rid of your kid".

Cliff tracks down the only living relative of his unmarried patient, who is about to deliver her first child. Her grandfather, a 67-year-old former boxer named Ray Palomino is reluctant to get involved because he is afraid that his secret of being illiterate will be discovered. But thanks to an emotional delivery room meeting with his lovely granddaughter, some prodding from Cliff and a waiting room encounter with a retired English teacher who offers to coach him, the ex-fighter vows to make a "comeback".

Time marches on, but some things never change. Cliff rents his favorite children's movies for Rudy's party, but Rudy prefers more contemporary titles. Rudy patiently explains the facts of life, "It's a New Age. Dad – get with it!" and asks for permission to go to bed when she feels like it, instead of at 9:30. Crafty Cliff agrees, knowing full well that Rudy's enthusiasm for staying awake all night will wane in a week. She actually lasts four days, but not without first seeing (and borrowing hard-boiled dialogue from) every late night 1930s gangster movie on the tube.

Theo wants the freedom to date other women, but when his girlfriend Justine shows up at the college hangout with another guy, Theo's attitude turns her off. He tries turning to a voodoo expert, Dr. Lotus, for help in removing Scott from the picture, but he cannot afford the doctor's hefty fee. When Theo asks Dad for the money, Cliff has a much better (and cheaper) idea. He applies an old (and unbelievably messy) Huxtable family concoction to Theo's hands and face that is guaranteed to get Justine back – and teach Theo a valuable lesson.

When Rudy interferes with Theo and Justine's chocolate mousse-making in the kitchen, Theo complains to Cliff that they are constantly being interrupted and are never alone. Cliff suggests that Theo take Justine to a long foreign film with subtitles if he really wants to be alone with her. When they cannot find one, Justine decides to work to pick up extra money and Theo agrees to help a beautiful drama student rehearse a play. But he gets carried away during a love scene and Justine breaks off their romance. Cliff advises Theo to beg, plead and then "go to the next level" if he wants to get her back. But even Theo's howling like a dog and groveling at her feet fails to change Justine's mind.

Theo wants to go to Egypt for an archaeological dig, so he brings the hosting professor to dinner to help convince his parents to spend $1,500.

Denise surprises Cliff and Clair by returning home a week early from Africa. But even more surprising – she brings with her a new husband, naval officer Martin Kendall, and his 3-year-old daughter, Olivia. In typical Denise style, she not only neglected to tell her parents about her marriage, she never even told them about Martin's existence! And it does not take Cliff long to figure out where the newlyweds will be living until Martin's naval housing is approved – the Huxtable Inn, of course.

Cliff's story about how he and his roommates cleaned their floors in college inspires Theo and his buddies to strap soapy sponges to their butts and slide across the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, their landlord (who lives directly beneath them) is not amused by their ingenuity – he is too busy cleaning up the water damage! Theo and his friends are evicted, spurring Cliff into immediate action to have them reinstated (lest Theo be forced to return to the Huxtable's already overflowing abode).

Vanessa and her girlfriends are asking for trouble when they play the alphabet game with a bottle of Scotch. Vanessa chug-a-lugs her way to a miserable night of sickness and through a nasty hangover the next day. But Cliff and Clair decide to hammer the lesson home even further. They devise an alphabet game of their own that includes Rudy, four shot glasses, a bottle of booze and a confused and extremely reluctant Vanessa.

Even after raising three daughters, Cliff's in over his head when Rudy reports her first "boy trouble." Clarence, the boy she likes, likes her. But his friends taunt him about it, so he treats Rudy badly to quiet them. Clarence and Rudy's relationship quickly deteriorates from a love match to teasing, name-calling and a knock-down, drag-out fight. Cliff tries to give Rudy his facts-of-life speech (the one about boys being like helicopters and girls being like geraniums). But at the school dance, the wise Mrs. McGee pairs Rudy and Clarence and they mend fences all on their own.

Guest star: Elaine Stritch

Cliff's ingestion of a sausage hero immediately before bedtime brings on a dream in which spores contaminate the U.S. water supply (except in New Jersey) and impregnate thousands of men, including Cliff, Elvin and Martin. Theo, the only unwed mother-to-be, soon joins them. They commiserate and console each other, but their solace is short-lived. Contractions send them all to the hospital and into the most bizarre delivery room.

Cliff's late-night eating habits finally bite back, with a vengeance! His nightmare is filled with such Muppet characters as overstuffed talking sandwiches, back-talking refrigerator denizens and a bloodthirsty mob of creatures in the operating theater of Cliff's hospital. It seems that Cliff is scheduled to perform a delicate operation for their viewing pleasure, but he somehow winds up on the table as the patient, before waking up safe and sound in his own bed.

Phylicia Rashād, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Lisa Bonet, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam and Raven-Symoné host this special episode featuring bloopers from the past five seasons.

Theo and Justine take a big step without telling either set of parents, and it all comes out, literally, in the wash. When Cliff finds Justine's undergarments in Theo's wash load, Theo comes clean and admits that he and Justine have been living together ever since her roommate moved out. When Cliff and Clair refuse to support him unless he returns to his own apartment, Theo takes a bold and defiant stand. But level-headed Justine brings reality back into focus for Theo, and together they make a wise decision for their future.

Vanessa and her girlfriends display extraordinarily bad judgment when they lie and deceive their way into borrowing a car and making a trip to Baltimore to see a rock concert behind their parents' backs. The journey is disastrous: the car is stolen, a con artist cheats them out of their concert tickets and a pickpocket takes all their travel money. But all pales in comparison to the reception that awaits Vanessa upon her return home – Hurricane Clair strikes with all the fury of a mother scorned! Meanwhile, Olivia tries to impress Cliff with some jokes.

Denise applies to a local college, only to be told that her Hillman credits will not be accepted. She will have to enter as a freshman and need a tutor. She bemoans the fact that they will not give her credit for her "life experiences" – such as marriage and living at home with her parents. Always on the lookout for a shortcut to success, Denise is enthused when she hears Olivia's teacher using rap music to teach the children to count. But she is deflated again when she volunteers to become the teacher's apprentice and is turned down because she is without a college degree.

Olivia cannot understand why she must go to church when God obviously wants her to go to the zoo with her friend. But after spending some time with Cliff's visiting great aunt Gramtee (Minnie Gentry), Olivia decides that she would rather take part in the family's togetherness in church the next day. Mavis Staples leads the choir and church in a rousing song.

Cliff and Clair look forward to reclaiming the house as another school year begins. Cliff pushes Vanessa out the door on her way to college, then rushes Rudy off to school. But Rudy's afraid that her prepubescent body will not measure up with the other sixth-graders. As Denise voices fears that Olivia's first day of pre-school will be traumatic, Olivia blithely announces "point me in the direction of that school and I'm outta here!" Finally, Cliff and Clair's peaceful afternoon is shattered when a weary Theo returns from his whirlwind, 17-day European tour to literally kiss their living room floor.

Clair's teenage cousin Pam Tucker moves into the Huxtable home, triggering a period of adjustment for all concerned. Although she appreciates the upscale surroundings, Cliff and Clair's rules cramp her style. Weeknight parties are out, and Pam is already said yes to an invitation from her boyfriend Slide. She is sorely tempted to defy the Huxtables' curfew, willing to let the punishment fit the crime. But while testing the waters, she begins to appreciate the value of the curfew and the wisdom of its enforcers.

Having broken up with Slide, Pam sets her sights on Aaron, a new student whose brains compassion and integrity are all top of the class. Meanwhile, Alfred, a nervous expectant father turns to Cliff for tips on how to play basketball with his future son. Alfred also gets some insights from Theo on how boys view their fathers when it comes to sports. And both Alfred and Cliff get an enlightening lesson from their wives. Finally, Olivia announces her intention of becoming a doctor as well as a professional football player.

Bring on the hoagies, orange sodas and potato chips – it is playoff time. But Sondra upsets Elvin's football-watching plans by promising their help in moving two friends to a new apartment. Afraid he will miss the entire game, Elvin enlists the aid of "his brothers" Theo and Martin to hurry things along. In the day's most exciting match-up, Sondra and Nancy defend against the moving team's sneaky maneuvers and sloppy execution. In other football news, Clair demonstrates some impressive baton-twirling moves, while Olivia sticks to her original plan to become "Dr. Crusher, Middle Linebacker".

Theo is just one good grade away from the Dean's List. Fortified with devil's-food donuts and chocolate milk, he is determined to cram for tomorrow's Economics final. That is, until he lifts his head from the book in the college cafe and locks eyes with the girl of his dreams. A serious Economics recession begins; Theo escorts Cheryl to a party instead of hitting the books. Yet even while close dancing, his mind wanders to current indicators and the Gross National Product. Luckily, Cheryl's a girl who can add things up; she encourages him to go home and finish studying.

Theo helps Pam improve her grades – so much so that she starts thinking about college. Unfortunately, her Ivy League dreams are dashed by the nightmare of how much it will cost to get there. Her classmates are no help either – jealous of her improving grades, undermine her growing confidence. At home, Olivia announces her intention to become President, certain that the highest office in the land will give her the power to create her own flag, eat turkey stuffed with french fries and stay up "real, real late".

Basketball coach Ray Evans (John Ritter) and his wife Alicia (Amy Yasbeck) have devised the perfect game plan for the birth of their first child. Baby book in hand, the over-anxious couple prepares for any contingency. Their practice sessions run like clockwork. But when the first contractions begin, Ray falls apart! Worse, three hours into labor, a stressed-out Alicia turns on him – blaming Ray for "her condition." Crushed, Ray bails out. It takes a whole lot of coaching from Cliff to get him off the bench and back into the game.

When Cliff and Dr. Harmon ditch their wives to team up for the charity pinochle tournament, the rejected spouses decide to enter the tournament themselves. But when the wives defeat the defending champs, suddenly only Cliff and Jim stand between them and the coveted trophy. Meanwhile, with Rudy as baby-sitter, Olivia whines her way into staying up late and watching a horror movie. But when their overactive imaginations detect monsters in the house, the girls take extreme measures to protect themselves.

With everyone else out of the house, Theo prepares for a romantic evening with his girlfriend, Cheryl. But his plans are thwarted by the Invasion of the Romance Snatchers! First, Denny and his girlfriend Ellen drop by in mid-spat. Then, Cliff and Clair return home, their ski weekend rained out. Grandma and Grandpa Huxtable drop by to borrow a table saw; and Elvin arrives to transport it to their house in his van. By the time Cheryl shows up, Theo's so confused he may need the rest of the evening to figure it all out.

Olivia, in bed with a cold and laryngitis, is miserable because she will not be able to sing at Grandma and Grandpa Huxtable's 55th wedding anniversary. Despite the exotic home remedies suggested by the steady stream of would-be "doctors" in the house, it is Cliff who actually saves the day by finding a way for Olivia to "voice" her feelings at the party. Meanwhile, longtime sweethearts Lance and Charmaine reminisce about the high points of their romance. But their fuzzy memories are no match for Aaron's total recall of even the most obscure events in his and Pam's four-month relationship.

It is bowling-night-as-usual: Cliff's team loses; low bowler buys dinner; that is Cliff. During the post-game Chinese meal, Carleton and Dr. Harmon – two cricket-playing Caribbean natives – must endure a walk down baseball's memory lane led by former baseball greats (Frank Robinson and Joe Black). Revenge is sweet, though, as a late-night game in the middle of the Huxtable living room, separates the cricketeers from the boys of summer.

Everyone tries to keep Cliff from hearing about the 50%-off sale at Jake's, his favorite appliance store. But their efforts are to no avail; Cliff already has set his sights on an electric sander. While at the store, Cliff hears Jake recount the story of the damages he had to pay to Stanley Rappaport, his former friend (and now worst enemy), for a traffic accident. It does not mean much to Cliff until Jake's daughter Cookie introduces Cliff to her fiance, Jonathan Rappaport, and begs Cliff to reconcile Jake with Jonathan's father...Stanley.

Guest stars: Red Buttons, E. G. Marshall and Audrey Landers.

Theo begins his internship in psychology as a counselor at a local community center. His new charges test him immediately. Wise to their tricks because he used to pull them himself, Theo wins a few skirmishes, but then loses his cool. The next day, he is less concerned about his image and more interested in helping his kids. One student, Stanley, reminds him of himself when he was younger: defensive about his messy notebook, sloppy handwriting and slow reading speed. Thus, Theo begins to suspect that Stanley has a learning disability, too.

Guest star: Lynne Thigpen

Vanessa, home from college, announces, "I'm engaged." "To do what?" Cliff asks, dumbstruck. Vanessa then reveals her year-long relationship and six-month engagement to Dabnis, a college maintenance supervisor who is, by his own admission, "knocking on 30." Since Cliff and Clair did not know that Vanessa was even dating anyone, the news is a shock. Cliff and Clair take turns confronting their formerly level-headed daughter. Clair voices concern about how far apart Vanessa and Dabnis are in age, while Cliff questions Vanessa's "back door presentation of both her relationship and her fiance."

Rudy and two girlfriends don makeup and trendy clothes to crash "The Exchange," an "Over 16" dance club in New York City. Cliff and Clair overhear the plan and decide to let them go – with Pam, Lance and Charmaine as secret chaperones. Since the teen club is a big step down for them, the three mature high schoolers are praying that no one recognizes them. A would-be Romeo tries to hit on Rudy and her friends; Lance steers him away without blowing his cover. But when Pam wins a chance to dance with headline rapper J.T. Freeze, she completely loses her cool.

Olivia is upset because Martin is leaving for the Orient. After extracting a promise that he will not leave without saying goodbye, Olivia hides herself in the living room closet, hoping to delay his departure indefinitely. The rest of the family prepares to welcome legendary African singer Miriam Makeba to the Huxtable home. But Ms. Makeba almost gets lost in the shuffle when Martin comes downstairs to leave, Olivia is nowhere to be found and the whole family abandons their honored guest to search for the six-year-old.

Eager for extra cash, Pam fills in for Cliff's regular assistant. Everything is under control until Mrs. Minifield bypasses the hospital and arrives on Cliff's doorstep with contractions less than four minutes apart. Meanwhile, Kenny shows up to work on a school science project with Rudy and Stanley. Hoping to make Rudy jealous, Kenny has brought along his girlfriend of three days, Deirdre. Rudy sees right through Kenny's plan, and so does Deirdre. She dumps Kenny before the paste is dry on their model. Only then does he realize that he actually likes Deirdre.

Guest star: Ed Lover

Knowing Cliff's penchant for junk food, Clair searches Cliff's favorite hiding places for chips and cookies before she leaves for a business trip. All she finds are fruits, greens and other healthful items. "I've turned over a new leaf," promises Cliff. With the help of every condiment in the refrigerator, the girls manage to make palatable Cliff's dinner of boiled chicken, brown rice and steamed broccoli. Later, Sondra intercepts a late-night delivery of Buffalo chicken wings, pizza and ice cream. "Olivia," Cliff yells upstairs, "That food you ordered is here!" But as Cliff downs his last slice of pizza, Clair calls from Washington.

The boxes are packed, the moving van is loaded, but Cliff still has his doubts. "I've been burned before," he reminds Clair when she reports that Sondra, Elvin and the twins are ready to depart. While Elvin and Sondra supervise the unloading in New Jersey, Winnie and Nelson remain with Cliff, who would rather take a nap than look after the twins. A game of hide-and-seek ensues and Cliff knocks over the grandfather clock, breaking it. By the time Elvin returns, Cliff is not a happy camper. This may not be the best time for Elvin to explain to Cliff that now he and Sondra have moved to New Jersey, Elvin's family needs a second car – Cliff's station wagon.

Preparing for a school project, Olivia seeks out a more reliable source after Cliff tells her a bunch of outrageous stories about himself at age six. Among other things, it seems that Cliff's first bicycle hangs in the Smithsonian next to the Spirit of St. Louis! Olivia brings Russell on as a consultant, who relates some interesting (and true) stories about the young Cliff that even Cliff has forgotten. Meanwhile, Theo's students at the community center thrash out the moral and ethical dilemma presented by their discovery of a monogrammed money clip containing $600 in cash.

Clair hosts a group of Hillman College alumnae who have gathered to plan a testimonial for a much-loved professor. While trying to come up with a way to describe the colorful woman, Clair and her friends reminisce about their fun-filled college days. Meanwhile, Olivia persuades Cliff to get a "beauty makeover" in her new hair salon.

Parenting is the #1 topic of the day around the Huxtable home: Sondra and Elvin want to provide for the twins in their will. After seeing a lawyer to draw up a will, Sondra and Elvin narrow the field of candidates for guardianship of the twins. Will it be Cliff and Clair, or Theo? After Rudy oversteps her bounds and Clair reminds her who's in charge, Rudy turns sullen and surly. Cliff wonders what's bothering Rudy, besides the fact that she is 13 and her parents are always wrong. "It's the whole world," Rudy reveals. "It's everything."

In her annual plea, Clair begs Cliff to just hand over his receipts and let her and the accountant thrash out the tax return. But Cliff wants to stake his claims first – to Elvin, Sondra, the twins, Olivia, and Cousin Pam as Huxtable dependents. Caught without an appropriate gift for Deirdre's birthday, Kenny tells her he has planned a party for her at the Huxtables. When Deirdre realizes the party is just a spur-of-the-moment cover-up, she dumps Kenny forever. Desperate Kenny appeals to Stanley for help. Stanley is highly motivated: unless he can convince Deirdre to take Kenny back, Rudy, Stanley and Kenny could become a threesome again.

Cliff invites a host of relatives and friends to celebrate Theo's graduation from NYU. And, despite a scarcity of tickets, Cliff just keeps on inviting people. Theo's protests fall on deaf ears. "If they ask me, they're coming," declares the proud father. Eight years of magic, love and laughter with the Huxtable family come to an end as Cliff's invitation list for Theo's graduation continues to grow. At the commencement ceremony, Cliff thinks back eight years to the day he used Monopoly money to illustrate the harsh realities of life to then-13-year-old Theo. By the time Cliff emerges from his reverie, Theo is already a graduate. Cliff and Clair dance cheek-to-cheek one last time in the Huxtable living room – and then dance off the set into television history. (This episode was immediately followed by a three-minute "thank you" tribute from NBC.)