The Cosby Show — Season 4

Aired 24 September 1987 • 22 min

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 an outdoorsman's "wilderness store." Geoffrey Owens (Elvin) becoms a regular cast member.

Aired 1 October 1987 • 22 min

Theo and Cockroach come home unusually late from a track meet, and the Huxtables got a phone message earlier from the track coach. They both deny anything out of the ordinary happened, but attorney Clair knows better. A mock trial is held for Theo and Cockroach at the Huxtables' for Clair to get to the bottom of the situation.

Aired 8 October 1987 • 22 min

Rudy wants to wear summer clothes in winter to a party, while Cliff tries to get rid of an old water heater.

Aired 15 October 1987 • 22 min

While setting up the house as a "haunted house" for Halloween, Cliff discover's he's lost a power drill that his neighbor loaned to him. First appearance of Wallace Shawn as Jeffrey Ingalls.

Aired 22 October 1987 • 22 min

Christopher Plummer and Roscoe Lee Browne appear. Theo must read Julius Caesar for school, but complains that it is boring. Russel and his friends read scenes from the play aloud, and Theo is enthralled. Later, the men read from a different work of literature-a story Rudy wrote!

Aired 29 October 1987 • 22 min

Cliff and Clair have a marital argument after Theo gets detained by police for riding in a car with an unlicensed driver.

Aired 5 November 1987 • 22 min

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 the meds to live. Eileen Heckart appearance. Keshia Knight Pulliam appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.

Aired 12 November 1987 • 43 min

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.

Aired 19 November 1987 • 22 min

Theo and Vanessa lose track of Rudy in a mall while Clair enters a squash exhibition. Earle Hyman (Russell) appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.

Aired 3 December 1987 • 22 min

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.

Aired 10 December 1987 • 22 min

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. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty.

Aired 17 December 1987 • 22 min

Vaudeville is shown to Rudy and her friends, who are unimpressed.

Aired 7 January 1988 • 22 min

Clair drags Cliff to her book club meeting, and 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. Appearances by Angela Bassett and S. Epatha Merkerson.

Aired 14 January 1988 • 22 min

Rudy has to play the violin in music class at school, but gets jealous because she thinks her classmates' instruments are more fun. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Naoka Nakagawa as Kim.

Aired 21 January 1988 • 22 min

Theo visits a friend in the hospital who has cancer. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. Special appearance by Armand Hammer.

Aired 4 February 1988 • 22 min

Vanessa tries out for the drum major at school. Theo playfully mocks her efforts, but learns from friends that Vanessa is the target of sexism and intervenes on her behalf. Meanwhile, Cliff cooks up a batch of extremely spicy chili as Russell tries to pay off a loan from an old friend. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Troy Winbush as Denny. Guest appearance by Dub Taylor.

Aired 11 February 1988 • 22 min

Clair tries to stop Cliff from fixing a leaky pipe by hiring a team of professionals: friends of Sondra and Elvin from Princeton.

Aired 18 February 1988 • 22 min

Rudy writes a fairy tale, and the colorful story is acted out in her fantasy. Members of the family play the roles of a village full of happy people and a mean group that ruins their fun. At the end of the episode, Rudy declares that when she becomes "president of the world", she will put a stop to all mean people. Cliff and Clair proceed to watch news reports of weapons' testing and bombings, and urge her to "hurry, because we need you right now." Earle Hyman as Russell.

Aired 25 February 1988 • 22 min

Cliff and a friend play pétanque. First appearance of Sullivan Walker as Dr. James Harmon.

Aired 3 March 1988 • 22 min

A friend of Clair's has marital problems; Cliff takes a "mini-vacation" in the house as Theo, Rudy, and Vanessa try to stump each other with riddles.

Aired 17 March 1988 • 22 min

Denise comes home from college, but seems to have more time for her friends than for the family.

Aired 24 March 1988 • 22 min

Theo, Denny and Smitty go to great lengths to impress their dates for the senior prom but fail disastrously; Cliff and Clair relive their own prom. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. First appearance of Michelle Thomas as Justine. Phylicia Rashād appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.

Aired 28 April 1988 • 22 min

When the Huxtable men go fishing, Theo catches a dead body, and soon attracts attention from the 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. Deon Richmond as Kenny.