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The Cosby Show Season 3 Episodes

25 Episodes 1986 - 1987

Episode 1

Bring 'Em Back Alive

Thu, Sep 25, 198622 mins

Rudy sees a snake in the basement. Cliff and Theo cannot capture it, so Clair calls an exterminator. Theo and his friend plan a party with lots of girls attending.

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Episode 2

Food for Thought

Thu, Oct 2, 198622 mins

Cliff has to go on a diet. Rudy does not want her own room.

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Episode 3

Golden Anniversary

Thu, Oct 9, 198630 mins

Cliff, Clair, and the children plan an elaborate celebration for Cliff's parents 50th wedding anniversary. The Huxtable's perform a musical number for the parents and take them to a club for music and dancing.

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Episode 4

Man Talk

Thu, Oct 16, 198630 mins

At school, a classmate starts flirting with Theo. Theo is flattered and interested, but he already has a girlfriend. Rudy wants to have a tea party and since her sisters are busy, she asks Cliff to the tea party.

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Episode 5

Mother, May I?

Thu, Oct 23, 198621 mins

Vanessa starts wearing makeup without her parents' permission. Clair talks to Vanessa and reminds her she must wait until she's 15. Meanwhile, Theo is taking a fire-safety class at school and quizzes his parents on procedures.

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Episode 6

The March

Thu, Oct 30, 198622 mins

Theo has to rewrite a school paper on the 1963 March on Washington. Cliff & Clair, and Cliff's parents, who were actually there during the march, tell Theo what really happened and how they experienced it. He gets to really feel the event.

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Episode 7

Theo's Flight

Thu, Nov 6, 198621 mins

After a member of the Tuskegee Airmen makes a speech at Theo's school, Theo and Cockroach want to take flying lessons. Cliff and Clair agree, but then the reality of lessons and commitment hits Theo and Cockroach. Rudy has a new friend, Kenny.

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Episode 8

Vanessa's Rich

Thu, Nov 13, 198621 mins

Vanessa mentions to the popular cheerleaders the amount of money her mother paid for an art painting. Vanessa is then accepted on the pep squad and starts being picked on for being rich.

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Episode 9

Denise Gets a 'D'

Thu, Nov 20, 198630 mins

Clair has a pinched nerve and has to stay in bed. Cliff and the children try to make her day easier by doing chores around the house. At college, Denise gets a D in one of her classes and is afraid to tell her parents.

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Episode 10

A Girl and Her Dog

Thu, Dec 4, 198621 mins

Cliff's left alone with the kids for a day before they go on a trip out to Washington. A dog follows Rudy home and she has trouble letting go when the dog's owner comes to get it.

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Episode 11

War Stories

Thu, Dec 11, 198630 mins

Russel and his friends visit Cliff to play pinochle. Cliff's father and his friends reminisce about their days in military service.

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Episode 12

Cliff in Charge

Thu, Dec 18, 198622 mins

Clair is asked to help plan a celebration that honors the retiring president of Hillman College in Atlanta. While she is gone for ten days, Cliff has to take care of the house and children.

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Episode 13

Monster Man Huxtable

Thu, Jan 8, 198722 mins

Sondra comes home from college and brings Elvin along with her. Theo is written up in the school paper about his wrestling skills. Elvin helps him learn a few new moves and shares with Theo that he is going to propose marriage to Sondra.

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Episode 14

Rudy Spends the Night

Thu, Jan 15, 198722 mins

Rudy is spending the night with her grandparents. Denise is going with friends to The Village and invites Vanessa to go with her. Theo is waiting for news to go out with a girlfriend. When that falls through, Cliff creates Mens Night.

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Episode 15

Say Hello to a Good Buy

Thu, Jan 22, 198722 mins

It's time to replace the family's aging station wagon, and Cliff is given the task of picking out the new car. He takes Theo along, presumably to teach him how to haggle with a car salesman and get a good deal. Their task is a tough one: They're dealing with a very experienced salesman who has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to get people into a car they don't necessarily intend to buy. Cliff is hep to each tactic, forcing the salesman to work to secure a deal. However, the whole plan is nearly undermined when a loud-mouthed customer recognizes Cliff in his everyday clothing (Cliff had dressed this way and hoped to avoid talking about his profession, as he sees that as irrelevant to making a deal on a car). However, Cliff remains focused and eventually, the salesman makes an acceptable offer. A new car isn't the only thing that Cliff has to buy. He might have to replace his encyclopedias after Rudy cuts pictures of animals from them. Rudy, it seems, is doing a report for school and takes Vanessa's advice on illustrating the report. However, she doesn't know where to find suitable pictures until she starts reading the encyclopedias.

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The Cosby Show, Season 3 Episode 15 image

Episode 16

Denise Gets an Opinion

Thu, Feb 5, 198730 mins

After breaking up with Vanessa, Robert is having girl problems and talks to Cliff about it. Denise is nervous about meeting a blind date and asks Theo to check him out first. When a friend of Cliff's arrives, Theo mistakes him for the date.

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Episode 17

Calling Doctor Huxtable

Thu, Feb 12, 198721 mins

Cliff goes to the hospital to deliver a baby and finds out three patients are ready to deliver. Theo is in charge at home, and Vanessa has a friend over who smokes a cigarette in Vanessa's room.

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Episode 18

You Only Hurt the One You Love

Thu, Feb 19, 198721 mins

Theo talks Rudy into playing circus and when he tries to do the tumbling act, accidentally injures her.

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Episode 19

The Shower

Thu, Feb 26, 198722 mins

Denise gives her friend Veronica a bridal shower. Denise finds out Veronica and her fiancé planned to get pregnant just so they could get married.

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Episode 20

Cliff's 50th Birthday

Thu, Mar 12, 198721 mins

Cliff is turning 50 years old and the family plans a lot of surprises for him. He finds out all the things that are older than him, get a key chain that works for everyone except him, and has a party with some special friends.

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Episode 21

I Know That You Know

Thu, Mar 19, 198722 mins

Sondra and Elvin announce their engagement. Since Cliff always says he knows everything that goes on, Clair and the kids decide to play a joke on Cliff about the engagement. He finds out before the joke and turns the tables on the others.

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Episode 22

Andalusian Flu

Thu, Apr 2, 198721 mins

Both Cliff and Clair are sick in bed with the flu, leaving Theo in charge; Theo orders Vanessa and Rudy around to clean up the house while he takes the credit for it even though he's planning to go out with a girl.

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Episode 23

Bald and Beautiful

Thu, Apr 9, 198721 mins

Cockroach shaves his head to audition for a music video and tries to convince Theo to shave his head also. Cliff's friend from the Navy visits.

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Episode 24

Planning Parenthood

Thu, Apr 30, 198721 mins

Cliff takes Rudy & her friends to a fancy restaurant. All dressed up in their best clothes, they go to the restaurant. Chaos ensues despite Cliff's effort to show them elegance. Clair's sister visits and announces she wants to have a baby.

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Episode 25

Hillman

Thu, May 7, 198721 mins

Cliff, Clair, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy visit Denise at Hillman College and meet her friends.

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