The Doctor Is Out

Raindrops keep falling on Bill Cosby’s head.

But that doesn’t mean his eyes will soon be turning red. Crying’s not for him.

Observers at first glance might want to shed a few tears for Cosby’s new character, Hilton Lucas, however, for he is one fine mess because of a series of white lies.

Lucas’ wife is mad at him, a former schoolmate has insulted him, he’s been dropped off at night in a strange neighborhood 10 miles from home, and a portly man who thinks Lucas is a burglar is prodding a rifle into his back. And the rain is pouring down.

But it’s tears of laughter that Cosby, his writers and the group of technicians filming Lucas’ predicament on a massive sound stage inside the historic Kaufman-Astoria Studios in Queens are hoping to elicit from viewers who will see the chaos unfold on an upcoming episode of Cosby’s new CBS series.

The comedian punches out varying ad-libs during different takes, while head writer Dennis Klein, producer Joanne Curley Kerner and others suggest how to tweak more laughs from the scene.

They even improvise a new ending that finds Cosby singing in the rain. “A thousand bottles of beer on the wall, a thousand bottles of beer,” Lucas drones as he rounds the street corner to start on the long, wet journey home. Director John Whitesell yells “Cut!,” the rain machines stop, and the crew applauds. Cosby soon reappears with his trademark cigar and a familiar twinkle in his eyes, looking very pleased.

Welcome to “Cosby Part 7,” or rather “Cosby,” the stand-up comedian-actor-author-pitchman-multimillionaire philanthropist-doctor of education-executive producer’s seventh venture into a prime-time entertainment series since “I Spy” in 1965. The comedy, which premieres Monday at 8 p.m., is the crown jewel of CBS’ new fall slate as the network attempts to break out of its two-year ratings slump.

And unlike “Leonard Part 6,” the botched 1987 Cosby feature film that even he begged audiences to avoid, Cosby, 59, is in the comfort zone here. He has brought in veteran writers, such as Bernie Orenstein and Saul Turteltaub, who click with his sensibility. He has surrounded himself with former colleagues on the crew. He kids members of the adoring studio audience. He hugs co-star Madeline Kahn between takes. There is even time for brief backstage visits with his high school football and track coach.

But the distractions don’t last long. Cosby, who broke down racial stereotypes, revitalized situation comedy and reversed the fortunes of a network in the 1980s with “The Cosby Show” on NBC, is consumed with making his new vehicle work. That includes frequent--and sometimes tense--discussions with his writing staff, restless nights and insulating himself as much as he can from the glare of hungry media.

Cosby said he has no time for the buzz and the barbs that have been flying since it was announced that he was returning to a network sitcom with an unusual two-season commitment from CBS Entertainment President Leslie Moonves. The deal reportedly has the network paying more than $1 million per episode.

Some industry insiders immediately started casting dark clouds over the prospects of the series, largely because its star is coming off two high-profile failures: “You Bet Your Life,” the 1992 version of the famous 1950s game show with Groucho Marx, and 1994’s “The Cosby Mysteries,” an NBC drama that failed to intrigue viewers. Cosby was also executive producer of NBC’s short-lived “Here and Now,” a 1992 sitcom featuring Malcolm-Jamal Warner of “The Cosby Show.”

The show’s uncertain prospects were further clouded by news accounts earlier this year of Cosby riding herd over the production and firing writers left and right. Telma Hopkins, who was originally cast to play Cosby’s wife, was canned and replaced by “Cosby Show” veteran Phylicia Rashad. Some critics then charged that, with the addition of Rashad, the new show was basically “The Cosby Show” without the kids.

The producers have already braced for the inevitable comparison by critics between the new “Cosby” and the phenomenon of “The Cosby Show.”

Cosby, however, has other things on his mind.

“I am working now,” Cosby said in a rare quiet moment before a taping.

“I’m deep in the trenches,” he said. “You can see that all around here, working with people, saying, ‘Let’s try this, let’s go here.’ And it’s been great.”

Then he pointedly added: “I do not have time to try and get rid of some things around my feet about ‘Why are you doing this?’ or ‘Why are you coming back?’ or ‘Why are you getting so much money’ or people looking for a story.”

He then answered the doubters with a smile: “Why am I doing this? Because it’s there.”

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“Cosby” stars Cosby as Hilton Lucas, 60, who finds his life turned inside out when he is “downsized” out of his job after 30 years of working as a passenger representative for an airline. With more than enough time on his hands, the curmudgeonly Lucas tries to cope in a continuing battle with an everyday world that puzzles and bewilders him. He is often underfoot in the home he shares with his wife, Ruth, who clearly loves him but finds dealing with him a challenge.

The series is based on a popular British comedy, “One Foot in the Grave.” Also featured are Madeline Kahn as Ruth’s friend and partner in a flower shop, Doug E. Doug as Ruth’s nephew and T’Keyah “Crystal” Keymah, formerly of “In Living Color,” as the Lucases’ grown daughter.

Moonves, Cosby and Marcy Carsey, a principal in Carsey-Werner Productions, which produces the show, have sought to downplay the notion that the network will sink or swim based on how well “Cosby” does.

“Bill Cosby is very important to us,” said Moonves, adding firmly, “The fate of CBS is not on Bill Cosby’s shoulders.”

Said Cosby: “It’s something that I don’t want, because, first of all, there are people who were here before us,” referring to existing CBS stars such as Candice Bergen (“Murphy Brown”) and Cybill Shepherd (“Cybill”).

And Carsey added, “I think anyone would be crazy to think that anything would measure up to the success of ‘The Cosby Show.’ I honestly don’t think CBS has those kinds of expectations. It’s a solid show and brings a lot of class to the schedule. What we want to do with this show is make it wonderful--and wonderful in its own way. We get sidetracked if we worry about anything else.”

*

Yet the importance of “Cosby” to CBS cannot be underestimated.

Mitch Semel, CBS’ vice president of programming, East Coast, said: “The show is in a very crucial slot on Monday nights. Mondays is definitely a night where we’re trying to establish a position of strength with our comedies.”

Moreover, there is the strategy of CBS and other networks to bring back veteran stars in new shows that they hope will replicate earlier successes.

“Cosby is important because of the extraordinary success he had in the ‘80s with ‘The Cosby Show,’ ” Semel said. “He’s a real keystone of what Les is trying to do. It will be a prime example to see how well the strategy works.”

The stakes have risen even higher on “Cosby” in the last few weeks, because of the temporary sidelining of CBS’ other big new comedy gun, “Ink,” starring Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. “Ink” was supposed to premiere Monday after “Cosby,” but is being revamped and delayed. “Cosby” will now be paired with the new “Pearl,” starring Rhea Perlman, which also premieres Monday, but “Pearl” does not have the automatic viewer appeal or promotional clout that the Danson-Steenburgen show might have. “Ink” is still scheduled to follow “Cosby” on Mondays starting Oct. 21.

To be sure, Cosby would like nothing better than to have another hit, particularly after the highly visible failure of his two post-”Cosby Show” series. And he is more than aware that he is competing against “The Cosby Show.”

But while he hopes that the new show will be a winner--and insists that he will not hold CBS to the 44-episode commitment if the series doesn’t catch fire--there is a deeper mission that is driving Cosby.

It’s his own internal pressure and his desire to bring back to situation comedies “real stories and characters who really talk to each other, not just come into a room and start yelling.”

“Yes, I don’t want this show to wind up being No. 74 or 75,” he said. “I want those numbers. But what has to happen is that the shows have to have quality. After that, viewers can turn it off for whatever reason they want to--because they feel I have too much money or I’m too old or they don’t want to watch ‘old people humor.’ But to those people watching who know good TV, they will see that it’s quality, and it’s good.”

To achieve that goal, Cosby has thrown down the gauntlet to his writing staff.

“We will do stories, from beginning to middle to end, and that’s the way it’s going to be,” he said with a determined tone. “With the Huxtables, the children were getting older, so we did slices of life. We didn’t have to do a full story. Now we have to tell stories in order to keep the viewer’s attention. That’s what I have to get the guys to understand.”

Another crucial part of getting his desired quality, he said, is Rashad. Explaining Hopkins’ departure from the series for Rashad, he said: “Telma was brand new to me. I was brand new to her. And there are times when I want to go. And if I’m unfair to any actor or actresses, it is when I decide to go, to ad-lib. Phylicia can catch. When she came, the comfort zone was much, much better.”

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But while viewers might be initially comforted in seeing Cosby and Rashad back together again in a domestic comedy, “Cosby” is not “Huxtable Redux.”

The Huxtables were the family that you wished were your neighbors. The Lucases probably are your neighbors. The Huxtables were the well-heeled, cuddly couple with adorable kids and a loving interaction charged with a subtle but potent sexual chemistry. The Lucases live in Queens, are solidly middle-class and interact with the unmistakable edge of married couples who still love each other but get on each other’s nerves.

Saying that part of the inspiration for the series came from material in his stand-up act and the success of his bestsellers “Fatherhood” and “Time Flies,” Cosby explained: “In my act, I say, ‘I want you young people--and by young I mean those in your late 40s on to teenagers--I want you to pay attention, because I happen to know that you will come this way if you’re fortunate enough to live this long. And you’re going to want to know and I’m going to tell you why old people act the way they act.’ ”

Cosby said audiences will not confuse Hilton Lucas with Cliff Huxtable. Alluding to his well-known love of jazz, Cosby said, “Hilton can play notes that Cliff couldn’t play. Cliff would have been retired, not downsized. You expect Cliff to have more control, so to speak. But we already know from the English show that Hilton has lost some idea of how to behave.”

In the British version of the comedy, the lead character, Victor Meldrew, is grumpy and not a little vindictive, seeing himself as a victim of society. If he sees someone throwing soda cans on his lawn, he will put dead fish and oily papers through their mail slot. He thinks nothing of being suspicious of the food in Chinese restaurants or getting even with people who cut him off in traffic.

But don’t expect this much crust with Cosby. He will remain the lovable foil, even if it means softening the focus and theme of the English-bred predecessor. Former “Cosby” head writer Richard Day, who was fired early on, has publicly charged Cosby with being afraid to stay true to the essence of the British character at the risk of alienating viewers.

“Well, yes, that is correct,” Cosby responded. “If the critics complain that Bill Cosby’s got such a nice image he’s afraid that he can’t do evil things like this Englishman--well, that is correct. And that is nothing to be ashamed of if you’re in show business.”

He continued: “Suppose an audience holds Bill Cosby in a certain position of trust, and I come in and bust that. I think that my audience will turn me off in a minute if I enter on that level. They expect more from me. So when the scripts call for me to be nasty or do nasty things, I ask that, first and foremost, the audience identifies with my character and his being abused. This is what sends writers into fits because they’ve got to now think. How can he retaliate in a way that is not violent but by using his head?”

The humor of the situation is not automatic. Lucas’ plight might be seen by some as tragic or painful.

Said head writer and executive producer Dennis Klein: “Every week, this guy is trying to swim against the tide of society that wants to pull him into old age, uselessness, quiet retirement and death. There is obvious sadness in this, but what makes this funny is Cosby. He makes this guy come out a winner, not a loser. He wins against the odds.”

Industry insiders and media buyers so far say they have high expectations for the comedy, noting that Cosby is a comfortable, known commodity who will instantly connect with viewers. They say his previous failures came not because he has worn out his welcome but because viewers preferred to see him in a situation comedy.

Several weeks into the production, Cosby said he is feeling confident about his new series and its direction.

“I feel very, very comfortable with what we have,” he said. “The people who work with me trust me, and I mean to deliver on their trust. The writers trust me. Therefore, I cannot and do not want to abuse that. And the same with my audience.”

*

By comparison, “The Cosby Mysteries” and “You Bet Your Life” seem like distant memories.

Almost.

“ ‘The Cosby Mysteries’ had two quality episodes, then it just got lost,” he said. “The mystery was: ‘Where was the mystery?’ I loved working with [co-star] Rita Moreno, and I think it might have worked with more humor and a little more intellect on the mystery side.”

He grew more reflective when looking back on “You Bet Your Life,” where Cosby would banter with contestants before asking them questions that, if answered correctly, could earn them prizes.

“I don’t know what happened with ‘You Bet Your Life,’ ” he said. “My wife didn’t like it. I kept saying, ‘But I’m having a ball.’ Everyone knew and I knew it would be an immediate hit. We were going to have pure Cosby, what comes from his mind. I saw myself as the second banana. I didn’t know these contestants, but viewers liked them. But when it came time for them to have some kind of education, then it all fell apart.

“My wife felt that the people damn near served as buffoons. She thought it was embarrassing to like people and then hear a question that was very simple, and these people were struggling to answer. I really tried to be as tender as I could. I thought I gave respect to quite a few of them. But it was uneasy and embarrassing, and people didn’t want to see that anymore.”

The situation comedy format, on the other hand, seems to be fitting Cosby like a glove. Discussing future ideas and possible story lines, he has the enthusiasm of a young person just starting out in the industry, instead of the seasoned, award-winning comic whom many of his associates address as Dr. Cosby or Mr. Cosby or Mr. C.

The going isn’t always smooth, however. Cosby described a recent heated session with his writing staff.

“Nobody was yelling, but we were all trying hard to come up with things, and nothing was working,” he said. “Sometimes I wonder, ‘Are these people writing for me ?’ I went to bed early, that’s how tired and bothered I was. But I woke up at 2. I jotted down some notes about what I thought we should do, went back to bed around 4 and woke up at 8.

“When the car came to pick me up for work, there was a script that the writers had worked on after I left. It was wonderful. Everything had fallen into place. Now we’re laughing and having a wonderful time. They watched the rehearsals on a monitor, and we were sending messages back and forth talking about how beautifully everything worked.

“This is what it’s all about, man. This is what it’s all about.”

* “Cosby” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on KCBS Channel 2.