Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: "Busted" (found uncensored version of episode of animated series; 1984)
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated series produced by Filmation and authored by Bill Cosby. The show was based on Cosby’s childhood memories and his stand-up comedy acts from the 1960s. It ran from 1972 to 1984.
Premise
The episodes consisted of the characters getting into trouble and learning a lesson. Many people looking back do not consider this series to be child-friendly. The series had episodes pertaining to STDs, racism, pornography, and, most infamously, an episode on gang violence in which a child is shot and killed trying to protect his older brother. The series is also accused of handling some topics poorly despite good intentions, such as a special-needs child being referred to as "retarded" and a white supremacist painting xenophobic slogans portrayed as a wacky comedic situation.
Censored Episode
The episode "Busted" was used to teach children about the consequences of breaking the law: the characters visit a real prison and learn about the hardships of being an inmate. The original airing of the episode contained uncensored swearing from one of the prisoners, but later airings were censored. In the live-action introduction, Bill Cosby even mentions the usage of swearing as a form of content warning for kids watching, which was kept intact even in the censored version.
Until 2022, no recordings or clips of the original airing had surfaced online. Even the DVD releases do not have the uncensored version. One possibility was that the original studio may have it, but there’s a slim chance that the censoring was still on the original tape. However, since the episode aired in 1984, there was also a possibility that a VHS recording may exist somewhere.[1] [2]
That possibility would become a reality when on June 10th, 2022, a VHS copy of the original airing that contained the uncensored version was uploaded by Internet Archive user "RichGansta." According to the description, their uncle had recorded the episode back when it first aired. Although, it's now believed that "RichGansta's" tape is actually a bootlegged copy of the episode's original master, rather than a TV recording. This would explain why the tape is uncensored and doesn't contain a channel indent or any commercials.
