From 1969 through 1971, Bill Cosby starred in a sitcom entitled The Bill Cosby Show, in which he played Chet Kincaid, a high school physical education teacher. The final episode of the series featured a Jewish character. What was the premise of that episode?
A. A new student, Sarah, entered the high school. As a religious Jew, she would not change to gym clothes to play on the basketball team. The other girls on the team made fun of her for playing in a long skirt, and as a result, Sarah refused to participate. At first Mr. Kincaid thought she was just being difficult and he threatened to kick her off the team. But when he saw how resolute she was, he spoke with her parents and learned about the Jewish laws regarding modesty. He then called a team meeting without Sarah in attendance and explained the situation to the students. At the next practice, Sarah walked into the gym to see that all of the girls were wearing long skirts, and she ran over and joyfully joined in.
B. Danny Rosen was a new student who had transferred into Mr. Kincaid's school. Mr. Kincaid noticed Danny sitting by himself at lunch looking sad and asked him what was wrong. Danny explained that he had no friends, and that his bar mitzvah was in just a few weeks. To convince other students to come to Danny's bar mitzvah, Mr. Kincaid offered to do a comedy routine at the party. As a result, all the kids attended and listened to Mr. Kincaid tell funny stories that were based on the hijinks of the students. This episode became the basis for Cosby's Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids animated television program.
C. A new teacher, Miss Jacobson, joined the faculty of the school as the girls gym teacher. Mr. Kincaid befriended her, showed her around the school, and took her under his wing. As they became more friendly, Mr. Kincaid asked her out on a date. She explained to him that she was touched that he asked, but that she could not go out with him as she had committed herself to only dating Jewish men. At first Mr. Kincaid was insulted, and he started treating her very curtly when he saw her at school. Eventually, however, he recognized that he was wrong, and he apologized to her, saying, “I shouldn’t have treated you badly. I should have respected your wishes as a proud Jewish woman. So now can we just go shoot some baskets?”
D. A new student, Harry, joined the community baseball team which Mr. Kincaid coached on Sundays. Harry, a Chassidic Jew, wore a yarmulke and had payess, and the other kids made fun of him and his “baby curls.” As it turned out, Harry was a great hitter and fielder, and he became the team hero. But he faced a dilemma when the next game was switched from Sunday to Saturday. Harry snuck out of his house on Shabbat and came to the ball field, intending to play. But following words of wisdom from Mr. Kincaid about being true to your beliefs, Harry decided to abide by his faith and headed off to synagogue.
E. Mr. Kincaid’s school hosted a Career Day program which featured parents of some of the students, who addressed a school assembly and discussed their jobs. David Cohen’s father spoke to the students about his job as a criminal defense attorney. After the talk, Mr. Kincaid approached him and said, “Mr. Cohen, can I have your business card? I gotta feeling that I’m gonna need it some day.”