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Cliff's great-aunt, Gramtee, comes to visit and everyone is excited - except Olivia. Olivia wants to go to the zoo instead of a planned church visit. Gramtee tells stories of Cliff as a child and of a relative who was a slave years ago.

I&#39;ve never quite been sure what to make of this episode of Cosby, but by this time, I had quite given up on the show altogether. Yet, when I looked back at the show after a lapse when it originally aired, this was the episode I viewed. Then when it was in reruns and I checked it out again, by chance, once more, this would be the episode I would see. Minnie Gentry would appear as Cliff Huxtable&#39;s elderly aunt-grandmother-matron figure in his life. There really wasn&#39;t a lot she could do, other than appear wise and friendly. I rather suspect this episode was simply something for her to do, to showcase who she had been. Quite honestly, it worked. From simply seeing her enter the household and smile at family, up to her bland little ditty she sings to Raven-Symone about skipping to the barbershop, I wondered who the heck she was. At first, I foolishly believed she was someone in elderly makeup, and also Gentry was clearly an incredibly tall woman. But to conclude with no ending gag, just the characters in church, obviously it was all done for the old girl&#39;s sake and nothing else. So who was she? Well, it&#39;s hard out here for a pimp! She&#39;s Terence Howard&#39;s grandmother for starters. Having also just watched Boycott a couple of weeks ago, he credited her with being his inspiration. There stands Gramtee. Cosby did diminish considerably by this time, but clearly there is something else that was taking place in the show, such as how Cosby would give other figures (among them, Rita Moreno, Red Buttons, Anthony Quinn and Danny Kaye, to name a few) appearances on his program. No harm done. No harm done with this ep either.

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The Storyteller

This is one of my favorite episodes in the show. It&#39;s just a shame that it&#39;s got a pretty low rating here on IMDb. Firstly, it&#39;s special because, yes, it&#39;s got Terrence Howard&#39;s great-grandmother in it as Gramtee, who is a great character - a funny and gentle woman - like my beautiful Nana was. She was particularly funny at the dinner table, telling Cliff to go get her birthday cake (chocolate, which is her favorite). Cliff: &quot;I don&#39;t want to argue with someone your age, but this is my house and I&#39;m telling you that there&#39;s no cake here&quot;. Gramtee: &quot;I have a strong end when I get ready. Now I want my cake&quot;. The funniest story of the episode was of Olivia wanting to go to the zoo and Playland tomorrow morning, but Denise tries to keep a stern voice, telling her that she&#39;s going to church with the family instead. &quot;God wants me to go to the zoo&quot;. Olivia also tries her best to fake a stomachache, so she doesn&#39;t have to go to church and when Denise asks her what they talked about yesterday, Olivia utters: &quot;I don&#39;t remember!&quot; I&#39;m sure we&#39;ve all been there. Lastly, I would like to mention the scene where Gramtee and Olivia clean up and they sing the &#39;Barbershop&#39; song. It&#39;s also sad for me as it reminds me of a time when I was little - my Nana and I did a similar thing. And of course, the gospel song in the last scene that serves as a welcome for Gramtee was special. Great episode.

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