No wonder our culture is in such trouble. Nobody takes anything seriously anymore. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but Bill Cosby has become a goofy old man. This episode is sad, really. Luckily these people are being nice to each other. Of course, they don't have clue.

This kind of feel-good tripe may sell soda pop and cars, but it won't save lives if there are, in fact, disruptions.

555-0179

-- (dot@dot.dot), October 20, 1999

Answers

"Bring on the darkness"

-- Clyde (clydeblalock@hotmail.com), October 20, 1999.

So what was the plot of the show? Huh?

-- say more (in@the.dark), October 20, 1999.

Plot? What plot? And notice how much SNOW was on the ground? And the "blackout" lasted about 19 minutes. I LOVE reality-based programming, don't you?

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), October 20, 1999.

What part of "situation comedy" escapes your collective grasps??

-- (duh@duh.duh), October 20, 1999.

I still fail to see any humor in the subject of Y2K. Irony yes, but sad irony. Only a DGI would use this subject as a source of humor, because if they really understood the implications they would know that it is sick to laugh about it. They might as well be having a comedy about cancer or AIDS.

-- @ (@@@.@), October 20, 1999.

This show was one of the most peculiar things I've ever seen on TV.

(The basic premise is that during an effort to prepare for Y2K (water, food shown), someone fouls up a generator installation, blowing out the power grid for several city blocks. A surreal "block party" ensues, punctuated by moments of panicking neighbors soothed by non-panicking neighbors. The wierdness culminates in a not-bad imitation of Aretha Franklin by the leading lady, as she soothes their fears with a lenghthy, soulful rendition of a song repeating the phrase: "Bring on the Darkness". Really.)

The whole thing seemed like a vehicle for stating several key "memes":

-Prepare moderately

-I can't beleive businesses would let this happen.

-Don't panic.

-Reach out to your neighbors.

-Don't Panic.

-It's nothing a good barbecue can't solve.

-It's only a power outage.

_Y2K might even be fun.

It had this weird cornball quality that reminded me of the PSA's and movies shown long ago in high school about The Evils Of Marijuana.

I'd hate to think that any of the Perception Mangement firms involved in Y2K had a hand in this. As a taxpayer, I would be offended if we hired hacks like this with public money.

I'm not a regular watcher of this show, so I don't know if it's always so stilted. Cos really is a sad old man.

Did anyone watch it with a DGI? I'd be very curious about the impression it left with people unfamiliar with Y2K.

All in all, once again TV has lived down to my expectations.

-- Lewis (aslanshow@yahoo.com), October 21, 1999.

It was stupid and a big waste of my time, 30 minutes of my life that I cannot recapture again......

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), October 21, 1999.

Just curious, what type food items were they mentioning buying?

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), October 21, 1999.

I watched in amazement that the topic of Y2K was even mentioned on such a high rated show (minus the Drew Carey show). They did have food from a warehouse and a generator and the new husband of the daughter spoke about their "compound". There were several weirdo tinhat types in the neighborhood who showed up for the "block party", (as if that will happen in the middle of winter!) The main focus of this episode was to let you know that those with food stores would share with those without. Very unlikely in a realistic situation. Made several references to dogs attacking in packs, and other Y2K hysteria propaganda statements. Very interesting episode for us GI's but would not change the minds of anyone who was a Polly. Diane

-- Diane (prepare@highlandtraders.com), October 21, 1999.

lisa,

The food that they used when the power was out was all meat, and they had a big barbeque. Cosby's wife said something like "see, we don't have to worry when Y2K comes, we'll just have a big barbeque with all of our neighbors".

Man was it STUPID! The cosby show has really gone downhill, even the acting sucked. Bill Cosby can't be THAT stupid, I think he sold out to someone who wants to keep people in the dark.

-- @ (@@@.@), October 21, 1999.

Ya know, @, the BBQ is probably likely if power's out anywhere > 3 days in warm climates.

Go 'head and eat the good stuff first.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), October 21, 1999.

lisa,

when they were talking about preps, all that Cosby was concerned about, was a 10 lb box of Cheeze Its. Unfortunately, the store was out of stock, and he was grumpy through the rest of the episode.

-- (dot@dot.dot), October 21, 1999.

True, there probably will be lots of fun barbeques for the first power outages that last longer than a day or so, but then it all goes downhill from there. The show did not even address the possibility that food might not continue to get to the stores, and that most of their friendly neighbors did not have anything to eat after the barbeque was over.

-- @ (@@@.@), October 21, 1999.

The show definitely Made A Statement. Let's just leave it at that.

71 days.

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.~net), October 21, 1999.

And what statement might that be? And Jack, your forgot the flashing Y2K CANNOT BE FIXED!

-- bar-b-q (barbq@barbq.xcom), October 21, 1999.

The only statement I saw it make was that Bill Cosby has changed from an intelligent independent artist to a lazy dumb slouch who has sold out his ethics to big business or the stock market or something.

-- @ (@@@.@), October 21, 1999.

The death of his son really broke him down I guess.... I hope that's it, anyway... He seemed to have lost his passion and drive from the 80's. ...

-- Crono (Crono@timesend.com), October 22, 1999.

Please have a look at this site:

Hello Friend

Walk a mile in Bill Cosby's moccassins. Imagine what it was like to lose a son like Ennis. Imagine trying to get back to work as best you can and get on with your life. Hope that you cope as well as he has.

Bill Cosby was the Jackie Robinson of network television, and "I Spy" (which premiered in 1965 and for which he won 3 Emmys) proved that a show with a "Negro" star could be critically and commercially successful. He has been and continues to be a force for good in an industry which needs many, many more like him.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 22, 1999.