On The Cosby Show, Phylicia Rashad always delivers parenting moves that were knowledgable and made out of love as Clair Huxtable.
While many moments from Rashad’s unforgettable time as family matriarch Clair proved the character’s parenting prowess — not to mention the actress’ capability to bring that to life for audiences — there is one moment that’s stood out to viewers of The Cosby Show over the years. And this week, it turns 35 years old.
In the season 6 episode “Off to See The Wretched,” which aired on April 5, 1990, Vanessa Huxtable (Tempestt Bledsoe) sneaks off with friends to a concert four hours away from their New York City homes, in Baltimore. The girls lie to their parents about whose house they’re staying at, believing they’ll be home before any of their parents figure out what’s up.
Their plan takes a turn when their car is stolen during a snack stop in Wilmington, Del. Determined to get to the show, they take the bus, only to have more headaches along the way. The moment of reckoning comes when they discover their parents have found out their lies, fearing they’re in danger when a fire breaks out near the home they’ve said they were staying at.
Clair is a force as she reprimands her teenage daughter for her thoughtless and dangerous actions. Vanessa looks inconsolable as they return from the “30-minute ride home,” with Clair assuring her, “We’ve only just begun.”
“I think of you lying on the floor of some burning building, dying of asphyxia, and you’re down in Baltimore, having big fun!” the exasperated mother begins. “Weren’t you, Vanessa? Isn’t that where you were? Didn’t you go down there to Baltimore and have big fun?”
When Vanessa attempts to answer, Clair snaps, “Shut up! Don’t you dare open your mouth when I’m asking you a question.” Sensing her younger daughter snooping from the stairs, without hesitation, she yelled, “Rudy! Go to bed,” causing the youngest Huxtable to scurry up the stairs.
Turning back to Vanessa, she continued, “I only hope that you can have this same experience, Vanessa. I hope that one day you come to realize exactly how it feels to think that your child’s life is in danger. You have taken us from levels of frenzy, panic, distress, and now that we know you’re okay, rage,” she snarls.
Clair points out the opportunities Vanessa and her friends had to turn the situation around. Each time she tries to apologize, she’s dismissed, until Clair lays down the law one last time.
“There’s just one more thing, Vanessa, I have to say to you. You have proved to us that you cannot be trusted. It’s going to be a very long time before we even think of trusting you again,” she said, turning down one last apology to say, “For all I know, you are lying right now. Go to bed!”
