How ‘A Different World’ Survived the Downfall of Bill Cosby

I think we need to be able to separate the art from the artist. I enjoyed "The Cosby show", "A Different World" and "Fat Albert". I don't like Bill Cosby. Bill Cosby is a convicted rapist. I hope he pays for his crime by living a long time behind bars unable to enjoy the comforts to which he is probably accustomed. It should make the punishment that much more. I also enjoy American Democracy. I know that many of the founders were slave owners. I don't think less of their ideas because of it. I admire Thomas Jefferson for the "Declaration of Independence" and his ideas about Republicanism. He also was a rapist. He probably raped (what else can we call it?) Sally Hemings when she was 16 or younger. The world is complicated. People have good parts and bad. I'd like to admire the good parts and condemn the bad. Having said this, I'm conflicted about how I feel about this. I'm not entirely comfortable with how I feel.

I loved the show. As a young brown male watching smart witty young African Americans on screen led the way for my travels & intermingling in the US Army. I learned through the show of how at the end of the day we are all equal and have the same struggles. It truly was ahead of its time. #TeamRon for life.

"It's a different show From where it came from!" - paraphrasing the theme song chorus of A Different World

Believe I read that one of the young actresses in Father Knows Best was abused by a parent. I'm old enough that FKB was the reigning family show for my childhood. It is possible that with time African Americans will come to see that these family fantasies, while comforting. are as much about selling cultural norms of consumption as parental perfection. We all have to grow up and live in a real world. I'm sorry for you loss.

I'm sure Mr. Cosby can use the royalties he no doubt continues to receive from the airings of this show on various platforms.

I was in college at the same time as Dwight, Whitley, and Freddie and looked forward to every single episode. While the initial season centered around Lisa Bonet's character, a likable but predictable one, succeeding ones were far superior with narratives that revealed multi-faceted characters with terrific acting. I tuned in every week to watch Dwight and Whitley's budding romance and my favorite character, Gelisa provide a voice of wisdom. There was a kinship with these characters who I related to as I too navigated the sometimes turbulent waters of becoming an adult while managing the pressures of college. Bill Cosby and his actions do not diminish these fond memories one bit!

I loved a Different World growing up. I wanted to be a professor because of it. Art is multilayered particularly the medium of film where so many people contribute to the final product. Cosby was the creator of the spin off but then it span off from that and became its own. The first season wasn't that good. The one's that followed where awesome. At least to me the eleven year old who never missed an episode and dreamed to going to HiIlman some day.

His crimes are unspeakable and the psychotic arrogance of his abuse of celebrity continue to create a deep nausea that won't go away with Pepto-Bismol. And that wife of his is just as crazy, comparing an innocent child's murder to a serial rapist's righteous conviction is identical to Trump's comment that "there were many fine people" at the murder scene of the Virginia rally. Go away, forever, both of you! Ugh!

This was never a good show.

It took a while before I could watch The Cosby Show again. After watching it in recent weeks, I look for something onscreen that might suggest his offscreen behavior. Is he holding Sondra too closely? I don't even like to think of how loving and funny he was with Olivia, Rudy and her friends and other kids on the show. The best in me hopes that all was well. So much work needs to be done on how human beings can categorize their actions. During the era of slavery, an entire generation said one thing publicly and did something else privately. One result: mixed race Americans. Maybe folks on the science side can help us out here. As for A Different World, Debbie Allen's impact is far more apparent on that spin-off than Cosby's. In fact, while watching Cosby I think of the strength of both Allen and her sister, our beloved Clair Huxtable. Clair/Phylicia Rashad is a victim of sorts, too (scary to think because who could really cross Clair Huxtable and live to talk about it?). She was great actress to be as loving as she was with Cliff. It was initially hard for her Rashad to believe Cosby raped women. All this after her real life husband had been unfaithful, if memory serves. Strong woman all around. Sadly, Cosby is not the only one. He just got caught. The color of his skin is often brought up. The ramifications are indeed tougher for African American men who historically have been thought to be sexual predators when race has little to do with these sick hidden acts.

Ummm...Cosby raped multiple women after drugging them. But this story is about how that doesn't count. Not cool.

A good look at all of Cosby's work should be undertaken. The dedication in his book, Fatherhood, contains the words "And to those people with no children but who think they'd like to have them some day to fulfill their lives. Remember: With fulfillment comes responsibility." Most look backs on his 'cute' truisms are pretty sick as are his philosophies on hard work and 'getting ahead'.

I’m baffled how people are unable to separate art/fiction from real life. I still enjoy both The Cosby Show and A Different World. Two TV classics that are far superior to what’s offered today.

Thank you for your thoughtful and informative article on The Cosby Show and A Different World. Now is it not time for your editors to reconsider a return of the weekly TV listings magazine ? Television is no longer the poor stepchild of the Entertainment/News Industry but a major player in all our lives. Attention MUST be paid !