A Different World 

A group of students at a historically Black university struggle to make it through college.

Creator:

Bill Cosby

Stars:

Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 16 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jasmine Guy	...	Whitley Gilbert 141 episodes, 1987-1993
Kadeem Hardison	...	Dwayne Wayne 139 episodes, 1987-1993
Darryl M. Bell	...	Ron Johnson 120 episodes, 1987-1993
Charnele Brown	...	Kim Reese 111 episodes, 1988-1993
Dawnn Lewis	...	Jaleesa Vinson 109 episodes, 1987-1992
Cree Summer	...	Freddie Brooks 104 episodes, 1988-1993
Lou Myers	...	Vernon Gaines 88 episodes, 1988-1993
Glynn Turman	...	Colonel Brad Taylor 68 episodes, 1988-1993
Sinbad	...	Coach Walter Oakes 59 episodes, 1987-1991

Storyline

A group of students at a historically Black university struggle to make it through college.

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Plot Keywords:

sitcom | historically black college | african american | university | college | 

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Taglines:

Big laughs on campus.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

College Fieber

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bill Cosby, Carsey-Werner Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (142 episodes) 60 min (1 episode)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Declared Majors of regular characters-Dwayne, Math; Whitley. Art History (Minor in French); Jaleesa, Business; Kim, Pre-Med (attended Medical School in final season); Freddie, Creative Writing (attended Law School during final season); Walter, Masters Degree; Ron, unknown; Lena, Creative Writing; Denise, undeclared; Maggie, Journalism.

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Goofs

Throughout the course of the series, Whitley's talents go back and forth between being an accomplished singer/dancer and having little to no singing/dancing skills at all.

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Quotes

[after returning from the Island Police station dressed as women because they're hiding from drug dealers]
Ron Johnson: You got my butt pinched by some dock worker.
Dwayne Cleophus Wayne: A butt pinch hurts a lot less then a bullet wound.
Ron Johnson: [snatching off his wig and slamming it angryly on the couch] At least a bullet is something you can take like a man.

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Connections

Referenced in Roundhouse: TV on Trial (1992)

User Reviews

After a Rough First Season, It Became Great

After a very rocky first season, this show not only went on to become an accurate portrayal of the Black college experience, it was also an accurate portrayal of college life in general. This show is one of the exceptions to the rule that drastic changes ruin great series. During the first season, it became obvious that Lisa Bonet couldn't carry the show and that the real star of the show was Jasmine Guy, whose character of Whitley Gilbert will always be remembered as one of the all time greats. Also, even though the show was set in a college, you never saw the kids actually attending class. All this changed during the second season when both Bonet's character of Denise Huxtable and Marissa Tomei's character of Maggie were written off the show and were replaced by Freddie, played by Cree Summer, and Kim, played by Charnele Brown. But perhaps the big change was that not only did you see the kids attending classes, but the show became more issue oriented. Issues like date rape, AIDS, domestic violence, apartheid and teen pregnancy were all covered in this show and helped to make it more than a "Cosby Show" spin-off. Also, besides the above mentioned characters, Kadeem Hardison's portrayal of Dwayne Wayne helped make this show great.