In the years since Fat Albert was cancelled, the show gradually was pulled from syndication, video tape collections went out of print, and it became harder and harder to find any trace of Cosby's beloved characters. Now, with an upcoming live-action movie that doesn't look too promising, episodes of Fat Albert have finally found their way to DVD in both a single-disc format, and a box set. The single disc of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids features a seemingly random collection of five episodes. There is no apparent rhyme or reason to the episodes that make up this disc – none are the most memorable of the series, and it feels almost like someone reached into the vaults at Filmation and decided to use the first five episodes they found.

But despite the fact this disc doesn't have the episodes I want to see the most, it's just great to have something to watch other than the bootleg video tapes that I've cherished for so long. Among the episodes found on the disc are "Creativity," the fourth show to air, which explains how the junkyard gang came to make musical instruments out of the discarded trash they find. "Take Two, They're Small" and "Smoke Gets in Your Hair" warn of the dangers of shoplifting and smoking, respectively.

What's great about this disc is that three of the episodes feature Fat Albert and the rest of his crew performing the funky junkyard jams that concluded every show. Eventually the songs were replaced with episodes of Brown Hornet, which was never as entertaining as the musical numbers. If you were a fan of the show, or if you have kids, you should check out the disc. But I can't recommend buying Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, if for no other reason than the four-disc, twenty episode collection is a better deal.

Video:
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is presented in full frame. At first the picture quality doesn't seem that good, but then you realize that the live-action sequences with Bill Cosby look fine, it's just the animation that doesn't look that great. The colors are a bit dull, and the animation itself isn't that good. Unfortunately, some things are never as good as we remember. While the show itself is still fun, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids doesn't look nearly as good as I remember.

Audio:
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is presented in 2.0 mono.

Extras:
There are no extras on Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.