Pilot

"Pilot Presentation" is the pilot and first episode of the first season of the American sitcom The Cosby Show. "Pilot Presentation" originally aired in the United States on NBC on Thursday, September 20, 1984, at 8:00 PM ET. This episode debuted the week before the official start of the 1984–85 United States network television season. Cliff and Clair only have four children in this episode: Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy. Sondra, the firstborn, is introduced later in that season, episode 4. She is not in the featured nor mentioned in the intro. The confrontation with Theo in this episode is seen again as a flashback twice during the remainder of the series, in the Season 4 episode "Looking Back" and the series finale "And So We Commence." The episode was directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson. The episode was a critical and commercial success, achieving both high ratings and positive critical feedback.