Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)

Creator(s): Andy and Susan Borowitz
Air Dates: September 10th, 1990 - May 20th, 1996
Seasons: 6
Episodes: 148
Episode Time: 23 minutes
(Source)

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a sitcom that aired during the nineties, and it starred Will Smith playing the character of the same name. This was the show the started Will Smith's acting career. The show is a generally family-friendly comedy, but there were some deeper moments in the show, a couple of which I'll touch on down below.

The show's main character Will Smith hails from West Philadelphia, but one day he got into a fight with some guys, and his mother fears for his life. So, she makes him move in with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel-Air to finish out his high school career and later attend college. It's explained in the theme song, after all. This song is probably one of the most notable television theme songs. It's catchy and it's hard to get out of your head (not that that's a bad thing).

During his stay there, some of his family members don't get along with him right away, namely his Uncle Phil, who doesn't approve of his behavior and doesn't want him influencing his kids. Will has three cousins: Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley. Hilary's the oldest and she's very spoiled and airheaded, but she does have her moments. Carlton is the middle child. He's more dorkier due to him being rather smart and studious. Will teases him a lot, but not in a mean way. And can't mention Carlton without putting this here:

via GIPHY

Or this infamous Carlton scene (I laugh every time):

Talk about breaking the fourth wall!

According to this Variety article, the Carlton dance and this scene were improvised by the actor who played Carlton, Alfonso Ribeiro.

Ashley is the youngest and the one Will connects with right off the bat.

There's also Will's best friend Jazz, and thorn in Uncle Phil's side. He usually he says or does something that pisses Uncle Phil off and he throws him out the door.

But, as the show goes on, Will starts to grow on everybody and becomes closer to the family, even Uncle Phil warms up to him and becomes a sort of father figure for Will. One of my favorite scenes in the show was in an episode when Will's real father shows up and tries to get back into Will's life. Later, he promises to take his son traveling with him (he's a truck driver), so they can spend time together. But, he backs out (because "something came up") right as Will is all packed and ready to go.

Another memorable scene was in the episode "Just Say Yo" when Will is given some Speed at school by a classmate and he keeps it in his locker. During a school dance, Carlton asks will if he has some Vitamin C tablets and looks for them in Will's locker. He mistakenly takes the Speed and winds up in the hospital. Will get praised by his family for saving his cousin's life, only they don't know he was reason he was in the hospital in the first place. At the end of the episode he confesses in a very emotional scene.

The show lasted for about six years and ended in 1996. It's been 20 years and this show still airs on TV and many people still remember and enjoy the show. Apparently, this is yet another show that is getting a reboot. According to these two articles, Will Smith will be producing it under his production company Overbrook Entertainment. The plot line currently unknown, the author of the article speculates, based on an Instagram post, it will be the opposite to the original (spoiled kid moves to West Philadelphia). Whatever the story turns out to be, I am interested in seeing what becomes of this, especially with Will Smith working as producer. 

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air DVD Box Sets