The Cosby Show (1984–1992): Season 8, Episode 10 - Olivia Comes Out of the Closet - full transcript

♪♪ [theme]

Okay. Here we go. Come on up.

Ready? Yeah!

All right!

Ya-hoo!

Hey, what's up? Hey!

What are you guys doing?

Cleaning.

Nelson, give me a high-five.

Big high-five.

All right.



So you guys got a massive
clean-up job here or what?

We got to. We have a very
serious dinner guest coming tonight.

Who?

Miriam Makeba.

Yeah, right. Get out of here.

No, man, I'm serious.

She's coming over
here after she speaks

at a luncheon your
mother's hosting.

Hey! Subway rat!

Hey, Dad, tell me something.

What is it with
everyone around here?

Miriam Makeba's
coming over here?

What, I move out of the house,

and suddenly,
I'm out of the loop?



Nobody told me that I
was supposed to call you

every time we had a
guest here for dinner.

But, Dad, this is Mother Afrika.

This is the woman who has
the flyest music video out.

This is the woman who I
discovered two years ago

before anybody
else knew about her.

Well, gee whiz.

I guess that erases my 30 years.

Now today you come and,
"This is it and this is that,"

and you wanna be in the loop.

Well, you can't be in the loop!

I'm just lucky that I just happened
to stop by around dinnertime.

Yeah. Yeah, that's
another thing, see?

You can't stay for dinner

because she's coming
with your mother,

and it's gonna be a
nice quiet dinner here

with no fuss, no people, okay?

But don't I at least
get to meet her?

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

If he gets to meet
her, I get to meet her.

[both] I wanna meet
her! I wanna meet her!

You wanna meet who?

That's what I thought.

Lumela.

Which means "Hello, y'all."

See, now this is Exhibit A of
what I've been talking about.

Now, how do you know
this is the correct wear?

I went to the library,

and I looked up an
article on Miss Makeba,

and I know that this is the
correct outfit from her region.

All right.

You went to the library? Mm-hmm.

You didn't watch a video?

This is what I'm talking about.

You... You may say hello to her.

That's right. Thank you.

When a guest is homesick,

Pam Tucker fills the void.

Pam Tucker.

Not one of my children.

Not one of my in-laws, either.

[singing South
African style melody]

♪ Pizza ♪

[all] Hi, Dr. Huxtable!

Hey! Hello there, people!

What, did you get mugged?

How you feeling? Awful.

Yeah. But loads of fun.

Yeah. Lieutenant
Kendall is funny.

He tried to make us
laugh by falling down.

And it worked.

Let's do "The
Lieutenant Kendall."

[all] Yeah!

[all] Whoa!

[kids laughing]

Well, well, well.

It wasn't that bad.

Guys get over
30, man, that's it.

Dad, I'm only 32.

Yeah, but you're over
30. Understand that.

[Marlon] Hey! Food!

Smells like pizza, too!

Is it the kind on
the French bread?

I love French bread pizza!

With the little
pepperoni on the top?

Yeah. Yeah.

[car horn honks] Sit down.

Ah! Sorry! The car
just came for you.

Come on. Too bad.

Bye. Bye, kids.

Good-bye.

Good-bye.

Mmm. That sure smells good.

Yeah, yeah. Just a second.

Just close your
eyes. Close your eyes.

Take a deep breath.

Well, I gotta go
get packed. Mwah!

[groans]

Ooh!

Ah! Yeah. Over 30.

Well, well, well,
Miss Everything.

You just had a wonderful week.

Daddy came home, and
you went to to the museums,

you went sightseeing
and ice skating.

Aren't you happy?

Yes, but it was too short.

Well, listen, that happens,

and then your dad will be
coming back in about three months!

Yes, he will.

May I be frank?

Yeah, Frank, go ahead.

I don't think the Navy's
good my for my daddy.

Why?

Because they take everybody away

and float them on water.

For what?

Your father is a man who
protects the waterways.

But he can do that from here.

How?

With big, big binoculars

and a giant microphone.

Hey, you over there!

Stop bothering that water!

May I be frank?

Yeah, sure.

I think you ought
to tell your father,

and he will take it on
back and tell the Admiral.

And do you know what?

It's such a wonderful idea,

I'll bet you they'll give a
big reward for that idea.

It was mine! It was mine!

I'll bet you they'll
put you on television,

and your picture will be on the
front page of all the newspapers!

Yeah! And you will be rich!

[high-pitched voice] Yes!

So now all you have to do

is take the idea and
you tell it to your father,

and he will then go back and tell
it to the Admiral to get it underway.

But he can call the
Navy on the phone.

No. Denise is back there.

He has to go back
and... and get Denise.

Honey, you don't want
her to be disappointed.

She'll get over it!

That's my daughter.

Well, she can come back, too!

There's not enough
room in this house!

Excuse me.

Certainly.

Daddy, Daddy! This
telegram just came for you.

You're kidding. No.

And it sounds serious.

Oh, it must be. It's in crayon.

And it looks like it's in code.

I think I can decode it.

Okay.

"Dear Lieutenant Kendall.

We don't need
you. The boat sank."

"Thanks anyway. U.S. Navy."

You know what?

I'd better call and
make sure this is for real.

Because if it's not, I
could be in big trouble.

What kind of trouble?

Oh, lots of it.

Oops. Wrong telegram.
I read it upside-down.

Ahem. This one says

"Dear Lieutenant Kendall,

"We fixed your boat.

"We need your daughter Olivia
on board for a secret mission.

Love, the President
of the United States."

Come here, honey.

Ah.

I'm sorry.

You can't go with me.

Yes, I can. I can earn my keep.

I can wash portholes.

I can watch for whales.

I can entertain the troops

with songs, dances,
and seagull calls.

[imitates seagull]

Now, Olivia,

you and I and
Dr. and Mrs. Huxtable,

we sat down and
we talked about this.

You have your calendar
so you can mark off

the days until Denise
and I get back?

It's not that many days.

I know. I have my calendar.

And I have mine.

We'll mark off the
days together, okay?

Okay.

Yeah, that's my big girl.

There you go.

Don't go off too
far. I'm leaving soon.

Okay. And you're not gonna leave
without saying good-bye to me, right?

Right. Good.

I love you, Daddy.

Hi.

Miss Makeba, I want you to know

that, uh, we welcome
you to our home,

and that I have
admired your work for...

For many, many years.

And, uh...

that's... that's all
I'm going to say.

That's very kind. And
please call me Miriam.

Thank you.

Yes.

Uh, Miriam, um, I
just want you to know

that, um, I've really
admired your work.

It's, uh...

And... and I have
all of your albums,

and, uh, they're
down in my basement,

but I'm not going to
ask you to sign them.

Miriam, maybe I
should take your coat

before my husband takes
this down in the basement, too.

And perhaps you
would like to have a seat.

Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Cliff.

You said you wouldn't
go to any trouble now.

Oh, no, no, no. We didn't
go to any trouble at all.

As a matter of
fact, uh, this is it.

There's no food, nothing.

Cliff, stop! Ha ha!

This is true.

Uh, hello. Hello.

Hello. Hello. Hi.

Well, this is... This
is everybody, Miriam.

Hello, everybody.

[all] Hi.

We're not putting on any airs,

but I saw your video,

and I think you're serious.

Why, thank you.

You got it goin' on.

I mean it, you're slammin'.

When I first came to
America, I was cool.

Now I'm slamming?

Yeah. Word up.

Where are Martin,
Olivia, and the twins?

Are there more?

This house is
bigger than it looks.

No, it isn't.

I think they're all upstairs.

Well, will somebody get them?

I'll go. I always go.

And I'm sure that the rest
of you have something to do.

Uh, well, excuse
us, Miss Makeba,

but apparently we have
something else to do.

Oh. This is our
son-in-law Martin.

Martin, Miriam Makeba.

Oh, yeah! I know who this is.

Miss Makeba,

I saw you perform
when I was in Conakry,

when I was stationed in Africa.

Oh, yes.

Guinea is, to me,
home away from home.

Miss Makeba,

can I take a picture of
you with my daughter?

My wife would...
Martin. Martin. Martin.

Don't be so... low.

Why not? Where's your daughter?

She's not here?

She wasn't upstairs.

That's funny. She
left me a half hour ago.

Olivia?

Olivia?

I'll go upstairs and get her.

I always do.

And I'll check out back.

Well, um...

I think I'll check
in the basement.

Would... Would you like to check
the basement with me, Miss Makeba?

Cliff. Huh?

I go check in the basement,

and you can
check in your office.

Excuse me, Miriam.

Yes, excuse me, please.

Excuse me.

I could go back to the hotel.

[door creaks]

Well, if I can't meet
the whole family,

I might as well go home.

I'm sorry.

I didn't know
anyone was in here.

That's okay.

Looking for a little
privacy, are you?

Well, if you must
know, I'm hiding.

You are?

Yes. My daddy promised me

that he wouldn't leave
without saying good-bye to me.

So if he can't find me, he
can't say good-bye to me.

At least you've got somebody
to say good-bye to you.

These people just left me.

That's too bad.

Awfully stuffy in here.

Is there another place to
hide where there's fresh air?

Maybe we could hide outside.

Okay.

Shh.

Shh. Okay.

[whispering] We don't
want anybody to hear us.

Okay.

Are you from around here?

No, I'm from the
continent of Africa.

My name is Nxgowa.

Oh, I'm sorry. Do
you have a cold?

No.

That is my name
in Xhosa. Nxgowa.

Oh. Very interesting name.

My name's Olivia.

In Xhosa, that would be Taneswa.

[clicks tongue]

Now, when you visit the
Xhosa people in South Africa,

they'll understand.

My daddy went to
Africa. Do you know him?

I met him here. He's very nice.

And he's very worried about you.

Then he shouldn't go.

Why not?

Because I don't
want to be by myself.

They why do you
live in a closet?

I don't live there.
I live upstairs.

Alone? No.

With my two little cousins
Winnie and Nelson.

Oh, those are
very special names.

In Xhosa, that is
Rolihlahla and Nomzamo.

Right.

And I also live with
my big cousin Pam.

So you have three cousins.

What fun.

Everybody needs a
cousin to get in trouble with.

That's true.

So you see? You're
really not alone.

Yes, I am.

I only have one
daddy, and he's leaving.

In my culture, we do not
have a world for alone.

It simply does not exist.

Everyone in the
community is family.

That means everyone is
responsible for everyone else.

I like that.

That means you're also
responsible for your family.

And you cannot give
love from the closet.

I guess not.

It's getting cold out here.

Yes.

Hi. Hey. There you are.

Hi, Daddy. I'm sorry.

I was hiding.

I didn't want to say
good-bye to you.

Oh, sweetheart, I didn't
want to say good-bye, either.

Don't worry. While you're gone,

I'll take care of
all these people.

I'll be responsible.

That's true.

Well, you just remember
that I love you very, very much.

Thank you, Miss Makeba.
Thank you for everything.

Thank you.

I better get moving.

Does that mean you're
not going to take my picture?

Oh! Oh! I almost forgot.

You did forget,
but I never forget.

[clicks tongue]

Okay, here we go.

Say cheese.

[Pam] Just one more.

Come on, Dad. Come on.

Hey, Dad, you're on. Cliff.

Oh, no, no! No, no, no, no.

Dad, Dad, come on.

Come on!

[Elvin] Bring Granddad over ere.

Okay, okay. Bring him over here.

Look, do me a favor.

Dad, move.

This is my house!

Okay. One big Huxtable cheese.

[all] Cheese.

Now there you are, Rudy.

Now you are a
beautiful Xhosa bride.

Does this fabric have
a special meaning

like the kente cloth
of West Africa?

Oh, yes.

In my country, South Africa,

we wear this to celebrate
our closeness to the land.

You're dressing
up for the ground?

In a way, yes.

We honor the land
because the land nurtures us.

Like the sparkling
lakes of Tanzania

flowing through Uganda
straight into Malawi

where the green of Mozambique

flows into the Zambezi.

To the Drakensberg Mountains

and the Valley Of
The Thousand Hills

to the long, sandy coast

where the warmth of the sun

says good-bye to us each day.

[Theo] Wow.

You speak with such
eloquence and passion

about the beauty of Africa.

But we don't see that when we
watch TV or read the newspapers.

That's because
that's all your shown.

My image of my homeland

is one of childhood memory.

I look at a stream,
I see myself,

a native South African,

flowing irresistibly
over hard obstacles

until they become
smooth and then disappear.

And those hard
obstacles will disappear

only when people work together.

[singing in native language]

[all singing]

Ha!

♪♪ [theme]

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