jacqueline coley: the cosby show revitalized the sitcom. warren littlefield: alright, then let's put cosby at 8. let's put family ties at 8:30. michael gross: and then family ties went poom in a huge way. michael gross: that great thursday night lineup cosby, family ties, cheers, night court. jacqueline coley: nbc really created this idea of must see tv. you're talking about 20 and 30 and 40 million people tuning in. michael gross: people say you were one of america's most successful fathers. i said no, it was bill cosby. cosby was number one. jaleel white: with respect to what's happened of late. it's like, hugely disappointing to all of us, but he set the standard for what a family sitcom was. jim colucci: the cosby show had proven that the family sitcom was a viable genre again. [audience laughter] lynn: i'm mr. belevedere! gerrad hall: by the late 80s family sitcoms were very popular among the big three networks. gerrad hall: there was this incredible resurgence. jesse: this is great, we should be mothers. joey: ah yeah! ethan alter: fa