Hello y'all. You know, I've been thinking this Fat Albert thing over a while and it does seem as though this show was a bit offensive (are there any African-Americans on this list, and if so, what is your opinion of Cosby's portrayal of African-American youths?). Nearly every one of the characters had a "disability" of sorts. Albert= weight issues, "Dumb Donald"= Dyslexia/ADHD?, Mushmouth=Speech impediment... I guess Cosby's intention was to affirm the worth of all these individuals even though they all (like all of us, really) have something "wrong" with them on some level. I guess this is what makes us special (according to Cos)... I'm continuing my research into the "Fat Albert" issue (maybe I'll do my Master's thesis on it next year....) and have found some more tidbits. First off, I've found some sources indicating that it IS IN FACT TRUE that Bill Cosby is a bit disdainful/embarrased at the apparent "political incorrectness" which the show seems to portray from our contemporary perspective on such issues and he has apparently pressured Hallmark Entertainment (owners of the "rights" to the show) to not re-air it in any form either on t.v., or on video. Apparently there are some very rare video tapes of the show from the eighties on the black market and those few that are mint and unopened can go for over 100 bucks! Check out this cool pic: http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/turnpike/237/albert.jpg I guess I've started to beat a dead horse since there don't appear to be too many more unanswered questions in the case of "The mysterious Disappearance of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. By the way, did any of you see the Saturday Night Live skit a few years back where they did a "Fat Albert/Cosby Kids 'Where Are They Now'"(a la VH1). Hilarious! My next mission if I choose to accept it, will be to find out what happened to all of those lame toy-based cartoons of the 1980's like "Laser Tag" and "Rubick's Cube" ( I sure hope I'm not the only one old enough to remember these gems...). Maybe there's a "story behind these" as well, or perhaps they just really sucked and that's why we don't see reruns of them... Jason
