The Cosby Show: Season 5
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of The Cosby Show Season 4.
- Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
- Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
- Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
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.
Move It (a.k.a. The Baby Game)
Oct 27, 1988 · 22 min
Everyone wants pregnant Sondra and Elvin to find a new house.
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 re
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.
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.
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.
Is There a Hamster in the House?
Dec 15, 1988 · 22 min
Rudy takes care of a friend's hamster for the weekend.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Can I Say Something, Please?
Feb 9, 1989 · 22 min
Rudy wants to change some of her rules.
The Dead End Kids Meet Dr. Lotus
Feb 16, 1989 · 22 min
Theo consults a voodoo shopkeeper for advice on winning his girlfriend back.
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.
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.
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.
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.
57 Varieties
May 11, 1989 · 22 min
Theo wants to go to Egypt for an archaeological dig.