The Newcomer

The Newcomer

September 29, 1973 TV Episode Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

Also known as: Baby on the Way

Studio
Filmation Associates, Bill Cosby Productions

Synopsis

Dumb Donald just can't see the good about being displaced by a newborn sibling. He can only anticipate the bad: the baby will cry all the time and take up space in his bedroom, and, of course, the infant will take his parents' attention from him. Will Fat Albert and the kids be able to show him how they get along with their siblings? To Dumb Donald's surprise, when it actually happens, his little sister is cute and needy. She needs him. And this is a good thing. He likes being needed -- and grown up.

Characters

Fat Albert, Rudy, Mushmouth, Dumb Donald, Bill, Mudfoot, Russell, Bucky, Weird Harold

Credits

Directing

Director
Hal Sutherland

Producing

Producer
Lou Scheimer, Norm Prescott

Voices

Voice
Bill Cosby (Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Mudfoot), Jan Crawford (Russell, Bucky), Gerald Edwards (Weird Harold), Eric Suter (Rudy), Lou Scheimer (Dumb Donald)

Production notes

"Na-na-na, gonna have a good time, Hey, hey hey!"

The show initially ran on CBS from 1972-1984, but moved to NBC in syndication for one year in 1989. The episodes revolved around the daily life lessons learned by Albert and his friends. Topics ranged from social issues to personal introspection and were blended with humor and music. Among the many great characters that inhabited Fat Albert's world were Rudy, Mushmouth, Donald, Bill, Weird Harold and Russell.

Bill Cosby lent his voice to many of the Fat Albert characters, playing Fat Albert, Bill, Mushmouth, Mudfoot and the Brown Hornet.

Live action bumpers featuring Bill Cosby were set around animated episodes of Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids, a series about a group of urban adolescents growing up in a Philadelphia neighborhood. The show was based on Cosby's 60's stand up comedy monologues about his childhood.

In 1979 the show was re-titled The New Fat Albert Show and featured a new segment called The Brown Hornet, a send-up of superhero cartoons starring a larger-than-life African-American crime fighter in outer space.

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids enjoyed one of the longest careers in Saturday morning cartoon history, running for twelve consecutive years; a record bested only by the many incarnations of Scooby-Doo.

This was Filmation producer Lou Scheimer's favorite episode of the series.

Song in this episode: "Lean On Me."