All that said, its great to have this show on DVD. Hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, and based on characters from his stand-up routines, Fat Albert ran for an amazing twelve years, becoming along the way, one of the most beloved Saturday morning cartoons of all time. Rather than serving as a commercial for action figures or video games, each episode of was a morality tale, with Fat Albert and his crew (Weird Harold, Mushmouth, Bucky, Dumb Donald, Rudy, Bill and Russell) learning some sort of valuable lesson. There was music and there was fun, and if we weren't careful we might learn something before we were done.

This two-disc collection features the first twelve episodes from the 1972 season. My all-time favorite episodes aired in later seasons, but there are some true classics from the first year. "Creativity" shows how Fat Albert and the rest of the Junkyard Gang came to form their infamous band. "Lying" and "Playing Hookey" are among two of the more memorable episodes from my youth, and installed in me valuable lessons about being dishonest and skipping school.

Supremely dedicated fans of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids will no doubt want to pick up this collection. But if you are a casual fan, you may want to wait for some of the later season, as that's when the show really began to hit its stride.

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 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. There is, however, a great booklet that comes with the set. But the real treat is the bonus CD that features 14 tracks, including the opening and closing themes, and all the songs that appeared in the first season. If there's one thing tha makes this collection a "must have" it's the CD.