7.4/10156 votes#1 - Call of the Wild
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/1987
The newlywed Sondra and Elvin return from their honeymoon with shocking news for Cliff and Clair: they want to abandon their dreams of being a lawyer and doctor and open an outdoorsman's "wilderness store." Geoffrey Owens (Elvin) becoms a regular cast member.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: N/A
7.5/10158 votes#2 - Theogate
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/1987
Theo and Cockroach come home unusually late from a track meet, and the Huxtables got a phone message earlier from the track coach. They both deny anything out of the ordinary happened, but attorney Clair knows better. A mock trial is held for Theo and Cockroach at the Huxtables' for Clair to get to the bottom of the situation.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: N/A
6.4/10144 votes#3 - It's Not Easy Being Green
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/1987
Rudy wants to wear summer clothes in winter to a party, while Cliff tries to get rid of an old water heater.
Director: N/A
Writer: Carmen Finestra
7.2/10147 votes#4 - Cliff's Mistake
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1987
While setting up the house as a "haunted house" for Halloween, Cliff discover's he's lost a power drill that his neighbor loaned to him. First appearance of Wallace Shawn as Jeffrey Ingalls.
Director: N/A
Writer: Janet Leahy
7.3/10171 votes#5 - Shakespeare
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 10/22/1987
Christopher Plummer and Roscoe Lee Browne appear. Theo must read Julius Caesar for school, but complains that it is boring. Russel and his friends read scenes from the play aloud, and Theo is enthralled. Later, the men read from a different work of literature-a story Rudy wrote!
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: N/A
6.9/10132 votes#6 - That's Not What I Said
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 10/29/1987
Cliff and Clair have a marital argument after Theo gets detained by police for riding in a car with an unlicensed driver.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Carmen Finestra
6.8/10130 votes#7 - Autumn Gifts
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 11/5/1987
Rudy goes to an older widowed lady's house each afternoon to have tea and play cards, but notices that she refuses to take her daily medication for diabetes. She tells Cliff, who devises a plan to try to convince her that she needs the meds to live. Eileen Heckart appearance. Keshia Knight Pulliam appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
Director: N/A
Writer: Matt Williams
6.7/10133 votes#8 - Looking Back (1)
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 11/12/1987
Sondra and Elvin have their first marital fight, and Elvin comes to the Huxtable house for comfort and support. Clair shares about the difficulties in their house as flashbacks are shown.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Carmen Finestra
6.6/10139 votes#9 - Looking Back (2)
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 11/12/1987
Flashbacks are shown while history is shared with Elvin.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Carmen Finestra
6.7/10155 votes#10 - Where's Rudy?
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 11/19/1987
Theo and Vanessa lose track of Rudy in a mall while Clair enters a squash exhibition. Earle Hyman (Russell) appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.8/10148 votes#11 - Dance Mania
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 12/3/1987
Theo and Cockroach have tickets to appear on television on the dance show "Dance Mania", but are told that only one of them can enter the studio during the filming because of fire laws. Theo miscalculates by offering to let Cockroach go in (thinking he'll refuse) and gets angry when Cockroach takes him up on the offer.
Director: N/A
Writer: Matt Williams
6.6/10142 votes#12 - The Locker Room
Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 12/10/1987
Theo and his classmates brag about their dates with girls in the locker room, but Theo's mood changes when one of the guys goes out with Vanessa and brags about it the next day. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Janet Leahy
7.0/10149 votes#13 - The Show Must Go On
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 12/17/1987
Vaudeville is shown to Rudy and her friends, who are unimpressed.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Carmen Finestra
6.9/10127 votes#14 - Bookworm
Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 1/7/1988
Clair drags Cliff to her book club meeting, and he's the lone male there. Much to Clair's surprise, Cliff knows quite a bit about the book in question! Meanwhile, the kids attempt a sleepover at Sondra and Elvin's run-down studio apartment, but are overwhelmed by the noise and lack of utilities. Appearances by Angela Bassett and S. Epatha Merkerson.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Janet Leahy
7.2/10150 votes#15 - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 1/14/1988
Rudy has to play the violin in music class at school, but gets jealous because she thinks her classmates' instruments are more fun. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Naoka Nakagawa as Kim.
Director: Chuck Vinson
Writer: Carmen Finestra
6.8/10134 votes#16 - The Visit
Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 1/21/1988
Theo visits a friend in the hospital who has cancer. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. Special appearance by Armand Hammer.
Director: N/A
Writer: Carmen Finestra
7.3/10145 votes#17 - The Drum Major
Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 2/4/1988
Vanessa tries out for the drum major at school. Theo playfully mocks her efforts, but learns from friends that Vanessa is the target of sexism and intervenes on her behalf. Meanwhile, Cliff cooks up a batch of extremely spicy chili as Russell tries to pay off a loan from an old friend. Deon Richmond as Kenny. Troy Winbush as Denny. Guest appearance by Dub Taylor.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
5.7/10147 votes#18 - Waterworks
Season 4 Episode 18 - Aired 2/11/1988
Clair tries to stop Cliff from fixing a leaky pipe by hiring a team of professionals: friends of Sondra and Elvin from Princeton.
Director: N/A
Writer: Janet Leahy
6.8/10133 votes#19 - Once Upon a Time
Season 4 Episode 19 - Aired 2/18/1988
Rudy writes a fairy tale, and the colorful story is acted out in her fantasy. Members of the family play the roles of a village full of happy people and a mean group that ruins their fun. At the end of the episode, Rudy declares that when she becomes "president of the world", she will put a stop to all mean people. Cliff and Clair proceed to watch news reports of weapons' testing and bombings, and urge her to "hurry, because we need you right now." Earle Hyman as Russell.
Director: N/A
Writer: Carmen Finestra
6.8/10135 votes#20 - Petanque
Season 4 Episode 20 - Aired 2/25/1988
Cliff and a friend play pétanque. First appearance of Sullivan Walker as Dr. James Harmon.
Director: N/A
Writer: Matt Williams
7.2/10128 votes#21 - Trust Me
Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 3/3/1988
A friend of Clair's has marital problems; Cliff takes a "mini-vacation" in the house as Theo, Rudy, and Vanessa try to stump each other with riddles.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Carmen Finestra
7.0/10159 votes#22 - Home for the Weekend
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 3/17/1988
Denise comes home from college, but seems to have more time for her friends than for the family.
Director: N/A
Writer: Carmen Finestra
6.8/10125 votes#23 - The Prom
Season 4 Episode 23 - Aired 3/24/1988
Theo, Denny and Smitty go to great lengths to impress their dates for the senior prom but fail disastrously; Cliff and Clair relive their own prom. Troy Winbush as Denny. Adam Sandler as Smitty. First appearance of Michelle Thomas as Justine. Phylicia Rashād appears on the episode of A Different World which airs later that evening.
Director: N/A
Writer: Janet Leahy
NaN/100 votes#24 - Gone Fishin'
Season 4 Episode 24 - Aired 4/28/1988
When the Huxtable men go fishing, Theo catches a dead body, and soon attracts attention from the media. This success goes to his head, while Rudy and Kenny find a nest of baby birds, but the mother bird is missing. The two stories eventually cross in a surprising-and rather humiliating-lesson for Theo. Deon Richmond as Kenny.
Director: N/A
Writer: Carmen Finestra
The Best Episodes of The Cosby Show Season 4
Every episode of The Cosby Show Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Cosby Show Season 4!
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April...
Genres:ComedyFamily
Network:NBC
Season 4 Ratings Summary
"Call of the Wild" is the best rated episode of "The Cosby Show" season 4. It scored 7.4/10 based on 156 votes. Directed by Jay Sandrich and written by N/A, it aired on 9/24/1987. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Theogate".