TV

The Cosby Show', one of the biggest surprise hits in American television history, was must-see viewing from 1984 to 1992. Focusing on the everyday adventures of an upper-middle-class black family, the series revived the sitcom genre, and sparked controversy about race and class in America.

Set and taped before a studio audience in Brooklyn, New York, 'The Cosby Show' revolved around the day-to-day situations faced by Cliff (Bill Cosby) and Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) and their five children. This family was unlike other black families previously seen on television in that it was solidly upper-middle-class - the Huxtables lived in a fashionable Flatbush brownstone, the father was a respected gynecologist, and the mother a successful attorney.