The Cosby Show: Season 5

1988 · 25 episodes

What Season 5 of The Cosby Show

Season five opens with Theo about to start college in New York, while Denise decides to drop out and Sondra reveals she is pregnant. The house fills with change and plans for the future. The conflicts arise from everyday matters: Theo loses Justine after kissing another girl and turns to Cliff to win her back. Vanessa and Rudy clash again and again, and Clair goes on a crash diet to fit into a dress. Cliff and Clair hold the household together while their children look for their place in the world.

25episodes

Oct 6, 1988aired

May 11, 1989latest episode

9.5 hrtotal runtime

Season 5 Episodes

5x01 Together Again and Again
Oct 6, 1988 · 22 min
As Theo begins his freshman year at New York University, Denise announces that she is dropping out of Hillman College. Sondra is revealed to be pregnant.
Director: Jay Sandrich · Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Lisa Bonet
5x02 The Physical
Oct 13, 1988 · 22 min
Cliff prepares for a physical.
Directing: Jay Sandrich · Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Lisa Bonet, John Amos, Sari Chang
5x03 Rudy's All-Nighter
Oct 20, 1988 · 22 min
Rudy's friend sleeps over.
Writer: Janet Leahy · Starring: Grace Johnston
5x04 Move It (a.k.a. The Baby Game)
Oct 27, 1988 · 22 min
Everyone wants pregnant Sondra and Elvin to find a new house.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Lisa Bonet, Earle Hyman, Raphael Sbarge, Clarice Taylor
5x05 Out of Brooklyn
Nov 3, 1988 · 22 min
Denise leaves Brooklyn for a job in Africa.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Lisa Bonet, J. August Richards, L. Scott Caldwell, Pam Potillo
5x06 The Birth
Nov 10, 1988 · 42 min
Sondra goes into labor, and Elvin is a nervous wreck.Sondra gives birth to twins—a boy and a girl—who are named after Nelson Mandela and his then-wife Winnie. Elvin decides to return to medical school.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Deon Richmond, Earle Hyman, Robbi Chong, Kasi Lemmons
5x07 Cyranoise de Bergington
Nov 17, 1988 · 22 min
Theo wants to date his friend Howard's ex-girlfriend, but he is stunned upon learning who she wants to date.
Director: Chuck Vinson · Starring: Troy Winbush, Naomi Campbell, Reno Wilson, Hazel Medina
5x08 How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
Dec 1, 1988 · 22 min
Vanessa, Janet and Kara want to be professional singers; Russell wins a prize in a sweepstakes.
Writer: Janet Leahy · Starring: Earle Hyman, Betty Carter, Pam Potillo, Elizabeth Narvaez
5x09 If the Dress Fits, Wear It
Dec 8, 1988 · 22 min
Clair secretly goes on a crash diet and exercise program to lose five pounds in a week so she can fit into a dress.
Directing: Jay Sandrich · Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Debbie Allen, Carole Shelley, Yvonne Warden, Ahmad Rashād
5x10 Is There a Hamster in the House?
Dec 15, 1988 · 22 min
Rudy takes care of a friend's hamster for the weekend.
Writer: Mark St. Germain · Starring: Earle Hyman, Iona Morris, Grace Johnston, Diana Georger
5x11 Truth or Consequences
Jan 5, 1989 · 22 min
Rudy lies to cover for Vanessa, who secretly goes out on a date with her older boyfriend.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Christopher Carter
5x12 Cliff Babysits
Jan 12, 1989 · 22 min
Cliff babysits Winnie and Nelson when the rest of the family goes to see a Michael Jackson concert.
Starring: Deon Richmond, Earle Hyman, Clarice Taylor, Donovan Bryant
5x13 Mrs. Huxtable Goes to Kindergarten
Jan 26, 1989 · 22 min
Clair appears as a panelist on a local Sunday morning talk show entitled "Retrospective". She also buys a new couch and Cliff tries to cling to the old one.
Director: Chuck Vinson · Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Russell Nype, Austin Pendleton, Kevin Kilner, Michael Lombard
5x14 The Lost Weekend
Feb 2, 1989 · 22 min
With the rest of the family gone for the night, Theo throws a "small" party that gets out of control.
Written by: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Deon Richmond, Earle Hyman, Chandra Wilson, LaChanze
5x15 No Way, Baby
Feb 6, 1989 · 22 min
Cliff tracks down the grandfather of one of his patients: an expectant teenage mother with no other family. Clair deduces that the charming man is illiterate.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Arnold Stang, Sammy Davis Jr., Colleen Dodson, Leticia Herrera
5x16 Can I Say Something, Please?
Feb 9, 1989 · 22 min
Rudy wants to change some of her rules.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Peter Costa, Deon Richmond, Reno Wilson, Naoka Nakagawa
5x17 The Dead End Kids Meet Dr. Lotus
Feb 16, 1989 · 22 min
Theo consults a voodoo shopkeeper for advice on winning his girlfriend back.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Harold Perrineau, Troy Winbush, Moses Gunn, Michelle Thomas
5x18 The Boys of Winter
Feb 23, 1989 · 22 min
Cliff's old basketball friend comes to visit.
Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Reno Wilson, Alex Ruiz, Tiger Haynes, Birdie M. Hale
5x19 It Comes and It Goes
Mar 9, 1989 · 22 min
Sondra bemoans taking care of the twins.
Director: Jay Sandrich · Starring: Deon Richmond, Earle Hyman, Clarice Taylor, Marcella Lowery
5x20 Theo's Women
Mar 16, 1989 · 22 min
After catching Theo kissing another woman in the lounge of her dormitory, Justine breaks up with him. Desperate to win her back, Theo turns to Cliff for advice.
Written by: Mark St. Germain · Starring: Tichina Arnold, Vanessa Williams, Leila Kenzle, Michelle Thomas
5x21 Birthday Blues
Mar 30, 1989 · 22 min
Clair's 46th birthday.
Directing: Jay Sandrich · Writing: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Christine Andreas, Plácido Domingo, Pamela Blair, Denise Nicholas
5x22 A Room With No View
Apr 13, 1989 · 22 min
Vanessa and Rudy argue and fight. After the sisters do physical damage to the house, Cliff exiles them to the basement.
5x23 What He Did for Love
Apr 27, 1989 · 22 min
Theo's friend Denny finds an expensive watch and gives it to his girlfriend, but it is soon revealed to be stolen merchandise.
Directing: Chuck Vinson · Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Troy Winbush, Vanessa Williams, Eden Svendahl, Alex Ruiz
5x24 Day of the Locusts
May 4, 1989 · 22 min
Sondra comes down with strep throat, prompting her mother Clair and Elvin's mother Francine to "steal" the babies.
Director: Chuck Vinson · Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Christine Andreas, Pamela Blair, Marcella Lowery, Donovan Bryant
5x25 57 Varieties Season Finale
May 11, 1989 · 22 min
Theo wants to go to Egypt for an archaeological dig.
Director: Chuck Vinson · Writer: Carmen Finestra · Starring: Deon Richmond, Earle Hyman, Reno Wilson, Darrell Echols