Independence Day

Independence Day is the 14th episode of Season 1 of The Cosby Show, also the 14th overall in the series. The episode was directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Matt Robinson. The episodes originally aired in the United States on NBC on January 10, 1985.

Synopsis
Theo gets an earring without permission.

Plot
Theo gets his ear pierced to impress a girl, but Denise thinks it might be infected. She is correct, and Theo must go to Cliff. Cliff hopes that Grandpa Huxtable will punish Theo, but the old man instead relates the story of how Cliff tried to straighten his hair to impress Clair, but ended up burning it off! Russell brags, and Anna reminds him of the time that he had a tattoo of her name placed on his chest, but ended up with a huge scar on his chest when he tried to remove it when the tattoo artist misspells Anna's name (Adda instead of Anna, which was also the name of the girl who was a rival of Anna's for Russell's affection)!

Trivia

 * Grandma Huxtable (Clarice Taylor) mentions Adda Mae Ward, her long-ago former rival for Grandpa's affections. Taylor famously played Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, in the musical The Wiz (1978).
 * Hanging in Cliff's office is the emblem for Temple University, a large, stylized letter "T". Temple is Bill Cosby's alma mater.
 * Bill Cosby and Malcolm-Jamal Warner had to repeat the 'looking' scene many times to be able to get through it without laughing.

Quotes
[Theo is wearing an unplugged set of headphones to cover a pierced ear]
 * Cliff: Son?
 * Theo: Yeah, Dad?
 * Cliff: There's no music coming through the headset. You still bopping to what's left of your brain?


 * Theo: [Cliff has just made Theo come into his office where he is examining Theo's ear for infection] Hey dad, can we go somewhere else? This place is for pregnant women...


 * Cliff: Your grandson pierced his ear.
 * Russell Huxtable: On purpose?

Cast

 * Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable
 * Phylicia Ayers-Allen as Clair Huxtable
 * Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo Huxtable
 * Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable
 * Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable
 * Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable