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The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an Emmy, BAFTA, and RTS-award winning popular American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The show starred Will Smith in a fish-out-of-water scenario. He is a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to live with his wealthy relatives in a Bel-Air mansion. His lifestyle often clashes with that of his relatives there. 148 episodes were produced over six seasons.

Theme song and opening sequence

The opening credits and theme song explain the context of the show. Will Smith is revealed as a street-smart teenager, born and raised on the mean streets of West Philadelphia. The plot of the story is shown and rapped in the theme song. The style of the opening is similar to early DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince videos (Parents Just Don't Understand and Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble).

The theme song was written and performed by The Fresh Prince (Will Smith). Contrary to popular belief, DJ Jazzy Jeff did not compose the music for the opening credits. The music was composed by Quincy Jones III, who is credited at the end of each episode. An additional credit at the end of episodes also reads "Theme song written by Will Smith", in regard to the lyrics, with no reference to DJ Jazzy Jeff. The music often used to bridge scenes together during the show is also based on a similar chord structure as the theme song. This too is the work of Quincy Jones III. The full version of the theme song, telling how he went on a plane to Bel-Air, was only used on the first three episodes of the show (The Fresh Prince Project, Bang The Drum Ashley, and Clubba Hubba), although Will Smith did record it as an unreleased B-side. The full-length version, which is 2:52", was included on Will Smith's Greatest Hits album and attributed to himself only. A 3:23" version was released in the Netherlands in 1992, and reached #3 on the charts.

For the first few episodes of the show stanzas one to three and stanzas six and seven were used. Beginning with Episode #9 (titled "Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect (2)"), only the first two and the last two stanzas of the song were used. The change to the theme song allowed for longer episodes to be created.

Seasons 1, 2, 5, and 6 featured an instrumental version of the theme and still photographs from the episode for the closing credits. In Season 2, the music and stills were dropped and closing credits would almost always appear over bloopers and outtakes from the episode. This continued until the end of Season 4. The closing theme over episode clips returned for Season 5 reruns, due to NBC's change from traditional credits to the split screen credits that are currently employed by the network.

Cast and characters

• William "Will" Smith (Will Smith)
• Philip "Zeke" Banks (James Avery)
• Vivian Smith Banks (Janet Hubert-Whitten/Daphne Maxwell Reid)
• Carlton Banks (Alfonso Ribeiro)
• Hilary Banks (Karyn Parsons)
• Ashley Banks (Tatyana Ali)
• Nicholas Andrew Banks (Ross Bagley)
• Geoffrey Butler (Joseph Marcell)
• Jazz (Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" A. Townes)

Other Characters

• Beulah "Lisa" Wilkes (Nia Long)
• Jackie Ames (Tyra Banks)
• Viola "Vy" Smith-Wilkes (Vernee Watson-Johnson)
• Aunt Helen (Jenifer Lewis)
• Trevor Collins (Brian Stokes Mitchell)

Cast members from another NBC sitcom, A Different World, have appeared on this show: Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne) appears as a special guest star in the first season episode "Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect Pts. 1 & 2", Jasmine Guy (Whitley) appeared as Will's hard-working college student girlfriend in the episode "Love at First Sight", then Cree Summer (Freddie) appeared as Will's girlfriend in one episode, Karen Malina White (Charmaine) appeared as a convict who Jazz married, and Ajai Sanders appeared as a secretary in the final season.

Sherman Hemsley played two different characters. Appearing multiple times as Judge Robertson, Philip's mentor and political opponent who died of a heart attack shortly after beating Philip in a landslide, and another reprising his old The Jeffersons character George Jefferson with Isabel Sanford and Marla Gibbs also reprising their old roles (Louise Jefferson a.k.a. "Weezy" and maid Florence, respectively) from the same show. It was the Jeffersons who bought the Banks mansion in the series finale.

Richard Roundtree had an appearance on an early season 1 episode (Clubba Hubba) as a doctor and father of a girl who Will liked but had to impress him. Richard Roundtree is the actor who played Shaft in Will's favorite movie Shaft in Africa (which he had brought up many times in the series as his all time favorite movie).

Nia Long also plays two characters. She is mainly known for playing Lisa, Will's fiancée-turned-step-sister, but she also made an appearance in the episode "She Ain't Heavy" as Claudia, Will's self-centered date for a dance.

Whitten's Departure

Janet Hubert-Whitten, who was cast as Will's Aunt Viv, was pregnant in the summer of 1992, and gained a lot of weight in 1992, while taping the series third season. Janet Hubert Whitten was offered a 12/25 contract, but her episodes were cut to 13. Janet Hubert Whitten sued Will Smith and NBC for breach of contract, so Hubert-Whitten's character, Vivian, was written out in four or five episodes, usually either appearing in the show's teaser or the episode's ending. In the episode "The Baby Comes Out", Whitten made her final appearance as Vivian, and in the final third season episode, Whitten did not appear, as the character Vivian was written out as she was sick and could not attend the graduation of Will and Carlton, although her title card was featured in the opening credits.

In later flashback clip-show episodes, Janet Hubert-Whitten was omitted in scenes where her character Vivian appeared.

In the summer of 1993, Daphne Maxwell Reid stepped in as the replacement Vivian. She joined the cast for the 1993-1994 season throughout the rest of the series' run ending in 1996.

Episodes

Recurring settings

• The Banks Mansion - full series:

The mansion is where the Banks family, as well as Will, live; the address was revealed in the fourth season's "For Sale By Owner" as 805 Saint Cloud Road. A majority of the show's scenes take place in the mansion. Originally, most of the family scenes took place in the living room, with less prominence given to the kitchen, which was unconventionally laid out compared to many sitcoms. The left side of the kitchen had counters that continued along the fourth wall (where the audience would be), and had a lot of depth (from the audience perspective), with camera angles frequently shooting almost parallel to the fourth wall. The set had two interior doors, one of which at the right side of the set led to the hallway left of the living room, and an exterior door to the unseen back yard. There was a dining room also not attached to any of the other sets. The living room set had archways at either end to hallways, and two doorways at the back of the set to the side yard. The right-side hallway was occasionally shot in, and had a staircase upstairs, and the front door. The upper floor hallway was shown in Season 1, until the mansion sets were completely rebuilt after the season.

In the second season, the kitchen and living room sets were rebuilt much larger, and were connected directly by an archway, allowing scenes to be shot continuously between the sets, which is where most scenes were shot. The staircase upstairs was incorporated into the back of the living room, with only one rarely-used exit to the side yard beside it. A television was added at the fourth wall, whereas there had not been one in the first season; the fireplace was removed, however. The archway to the right still led to a hallway with the front door. The only element that remained from the original set was the kitchen's left-hand wall and island which were rotated ninety degrees to become the back wall at the right of the kitchen, with some modification to the cosmetics. The archway was the only way into the room, other than the exit at the left to the backyard patio, which was now an existing part of the main house set.

In addition, Will's and occasionally other family members', rooms are shown (sometimes changing looks between appearances) during the series. The pool house is shown in one episode of season 3, when Hilary decides to give it to Will and Carlton for a night. A different set was used when it became a main location in season 4 until the end of the series, after Will and Carlton moved in.

Despite the changes, the exterior shot of the Banks house, which is an actual house in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California, was constant throughout the series, usually featured in still shots. A running gag, however, featured Jazz being thrown out of the front door using the exterior of the house.

• Bel-Air Prep - Seasons 1-3:

Bel-Air Prep is the high school that Will and Carlton attend in Seasons 1-3.The 3 main sets are the classroom, a hallway and the auditorium (the auditorium was only shown in three episodes: "Def Poet's Society", "Courting Disaster" and "Just Say Yo").

• ULA Student Store - Seasons 4-5:

The ULA Student Store, also known as "The Peacock Stop" for the school mascot, is where Will, Carlton, and Will's friend Jackie Ames work. In Season 4, Jackie is the manager, Carlton is the assistant manager, and Will is the cashier. When Jackie leaves ULA in the middle of Season 4, Carlton takes over as manager and Will becomes assistant manager and cashier until Season 5.

• Hospital - Seasons 2-6:

A hospital in Los Angeles is seen in several episodes which deal with the Banks family's medical problems. The exterior shot of the hospital is a shot of the VA Hospital in nearby Westwood

• Jazz's apartment in Compton - Seasons 1,3-5:

Jazz lives with a few friends in a run-down apartment complex in Compton, California called the Chalet Towers. It is featured in an episode in which Will bets Carlton that he can't last a weekend in the "ghetto". It is also seen in the episode "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," although this time it is only the hallway, which looked much less run-down than in Season 1. Will also plans to sleep there after he and Philip get into an argument, after which he runs away from home. It is also seen in Season 4 in episode "Where There's a Will There's a Way" (Part 2) when Will is going to beat Jazz up for getting him and Carlton evicted from their apartment. It is seen in the season 5 episode "Slum Like It... Not!" where Will convinces Phillip to buy the whole building as an easy money scheme. This setting was seen in every season except Seasons 2 and 6.

• KFPB Channel 8 News station - Seasons 3,4,6:

This setting was seen throughout Season 3 because Hilary was hired as a weather girl and fell in love with Trevor Collins, who died in a bungee accident in Season 4. Due to his death, the setting was written off towards the end of the 4th Season. The setting returned in Season 6 because Hilary's own talk show was produced there.

Very Special Episodes

While largely a comedy, the show commonly had very special episodes to address various relevant issues in a dramatic sense, including a frequent focus on African-American issues. A recurring theme was the comparison of Will's lower-class upbringing and the Banks' high-class lifestyle, and how this affected their cultural identities. Profiling and stereotypes based on both race and class were often addressed on the show, including episodes where Will and Carlton are arrested because they are seen driving a Mercedes, and where Carlton is rejected from a Black fraternity for being a "sell out". Other issues addressed included interracial marriage, substance abuse, pre-marital sex, single parenthood, gun violence, and teenage pregnancy.

Running gags

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There are many running gags and jokes in the series, which span the entire series or merely short spans. Many of these running jokes revolve around specific traits of certain characters. Commonly mocked aspects include: Will's large ears; Phil's girth and baldness; Hilary's lack of intelligence, hatred of work, and obsession with fashion and shopping; and Jazz's smelling of cheap cologne and fried chicken. The most widely mocked character is Carlton, who is teased on subjects including his short stature, square head, nerdiness, awkwardness with women, and love of Tom Jones and Barry Manilow, as well as his not acting "black" enough.

Other running gags occurred throughout the series:

• Uncle Phil pretends to be happy and laughing along with other characters (usually Will), appearing to brush off what they had done until he suddenly explodes into extreme threatening anger.

• Carlton obsessed with meeting his most admired celebrities - for example: Donald Trump, Dick Clark, William Shatner,Bryant Gumbel, etc.

• Will being blamed for everything

• Back-to-reality slaps/smacks to the head

• In many episodes, Jazz angers a member of the Banks family (usually Phillip); thereafter the scene cuts to outside of the front door to the mansion, and Jazz is seen being flung out from the house, usually with the sound of sprinklers in the background. The shot of Jazz flying through the front door was only filmed once for the episode "Bang the Drum, Ashley". The footage was then re-used each time Jazz was kicked out (this running gag was not planned during script-writing, thus in later episodes, Jazz usually wears the same shirt that he had worn the first time he was thrown out for consistency, though there are some unique ejections). In twists on the gag, Jazz has been thrown into the house after angering Phillip on the driveway, Jazz has thrown himself out, Will has been thrown out, and Jazz has thrown Phillip out in a Halloween episode involving a family hex. There are also other instances of people being thrown out of doorways throughout the series.

• An occasional gag is the appearance of actor Darryl Sivad playing a different type of civil service worker. He is shown to be fairly incompetent at his job and is tactless, lacking deference when speaking to distressed characters, seeming as if he doesn't care about the situation and only making those worried even more frustrated.

• Characters, most commonly Will, would break the fourth wall, and speak directly to the audience or simply make an expression directly to the camera. Characters have also referenced production aspects of the show, such as the change of actors for Vivian and Nicky, mentioning events and characters in "the opening credits," or even the set itself.

• The characters sometimes sarcastically make reference to Will Smith's real life success, including pondering laughable suggestions to the idea of Will being a rap star or having a network sitcom.

• Will and Jazz's hand greeting

• Carlton dancing to It's Not Unusual, a song by Tom Jones.

Ratings

The show entered the Nielsen Ratings for its second and third seasons:

• 1991-1992: #18
• 1992-1993: #14

Syndication and DVD Releases

The series was originally an NBC production in association with The Stuffed Dog Company and Quincy Jones Productions (later QDE, or Quincy Jones/David Salzman Entertainment). After the show was released to syndication, the rights reverted to Warner Bros. Television, which continues to distribute the show worldwide (although NBC Universal does own the series' copyright). Currently, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air airs on TBS, Nick at Nite and The-N. It is also currently being aired on the UK digital TV channel Virgin 1.

Warner Home Video is releasing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4 for the very first time. Thus far, they have released the first four seasons. Seasons 5 and 6 are expected to be released soon.

Cultural impact

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has impacted culture in a number of ways, very often through music. In "The Script Formerly Known As", Will lip-syncs Jennifer Holliday's version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical Dreamgirls. Jennifer Hudson says this was where she first discovered the music from Dreamgirls; she eventually sang that song in the film version of Dreamgirls, and won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role. (Smith was also nominated that year for Best Actor in The Pursuit of Happyness.)

On Relient K's CD Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do, the hidden song at the end ("Silly Shoes") includes the sentence "You're moving with your Auntie and Uncle in Bel-Air." Also, in the 2007 single "Do My Thang" off of the "I Can't Feel My Face" album by Juelz Santana and Lil' Wayne, Juelz makes a reference to the show: "Fresh Prince got banks like Hilary."

The show's impact also reached into video games and movies. In the video game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, a clown named Moe breaks into a "clown-revised" version of the theme song twice during his testimony in court ("In West Clownadelphia, born and raised...", and "When a couple of clowns, who were up to no good.").

Spawning many fan-made videos, the dance that Will and Carlton do to win money for a contest in order to head back home was referenced in the feature film Drumline when the Morris Brown College band performs "Apache" by The Sugarhill Gang, prompting the drum majors to imitate the Will and Carlton dance.

References

1. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince: B-Side Lyrics
2. TV.com
3. Variety

External links

• Official US site
• Official UK site
• Official FR site
• Episode guides archive

• 1990 television series debuts
• 1996 television series endings
• 1990s American television series
• American television sitcoms
• Black sitcoms
• NBC network shows
• Television series by Warner Bros. Television
• Television series by NBC Universal Television
• Television shows set in Los Angeles
• Television shows set in California