Which Huxtable kid is my favorite? – Clacking in Color

Oh, the Huxtables, that remarkable African-American family that lived in a Brooklyn brownstone in New York, is a fictional clan that is often remembered and treasured. Make no doubt about it, The Cosby Show was one of the best damn television shows ever to grace the small screen … not because it depicted a successful family of color, but because it was just damn good period. While most individuals remember the program for Cliff’s outrageous antics and Claire’s amazing parenting skills, others tend to treasure the show for the offspring of those two characters.

Let’s face facts — The Cosby Show would be nothing without the kids.

Am I right? I’d like to think so. However, while some tend to prefer the cuteness of Rudy, the recklessness of Vanessa, or the capers of Theo, my favorite Huxtable was … drum roll please … Sondra. Yeah, that’s right. I liked Sondra. Now there’s something I bet you weren’t expecting!

You see, the fact of the matter is that Sondra Huxtable was cool, a certified dime in my book. All of the children were smart, but Sondra, played wonderfully by the talented Sabrina La Beauf, was the one that set the standard. She was the one that was actually known for being smart. In fact, in the earlier seasons, Cliff would often ask if he would need to fetch a dictionary to interpret what she would say. Growing up in my neighborhood, I was the bookworm. My thesaurus may have just been my best friend. So, it was refreshing to see someone on television that prided herself on being clever and astute. Hell, that helped show me that nerds were cool … well, that and Billy the Blue Power Ranger. I digress.

Sondra was the first one to go off to college. She was the first to buy her own house. She was the first to embark upon raising a family. Sondra was the quintessential prototype. In fact, if I were one of the Huxtable kids, say Theo, I may have been jealous of her success. Now, why wasn’t that ever an episode? Whatever she put her mind to, she could accomplish. Even when she veered off to open her own wilderness store with her husband — a venture that Claire Huxtable wasn’t particularly fond of — she handled that with gusto. Excuse my slang, but somebody better light a match because Sondra was the bomb.

Seldom seen in the first few seasons, the character was given a chance to really develop and blossom as the show progressed. One of the smarter things that the writers did was pair her up with Elvin (Geoffrey Owens), her male chauvinist boyfriend and future husband. The arguments they’d have were indeed comical, and it gave Sondra something to do besides read a book all day. I can’t recall any major riffs between Sondra and her parents, but one episode I did enjoy was in season five when Sondra gets strep throat and is under the delusion that Cliff and Claire have kidnapped her children. She sets out on a mission to get them back. Hilarity ensues.

I don’t know whether or not I saw myself in Sondra. No, I think I just liked what she represented — that hard work and determination could pay off. That was something that my parents taught my sister and me. Sure, I’ll admit that some of the other characters were a bit more colorful — I liked seeing Vanessa get reprimanded in one of the later seasons for going off to have the “big fun” in Baltimore, and I enjoyed Denise suddenly reappearing in season six with a new husband and stepdaughter in tow, but I don’t know. Sondra was just so cool to me. The way I see it, she didn’t have time for that nonsense. That woman had business to handle.

And handle it she did.

Clacked by Jaylen Christie
on May 15, 2012 @ 12:53 EST5EDT