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- Other Thoughts:
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is another show that could fit all the categories you have. First there was Same Character Different Actors. You remember the first actress who portrayed Vivian? All of a sudden the "Reid" lady is playing her. Then there is singing (Carlton singing Tom Jones' songs). What about Ashely hitting puberty? She went from cute kid to a not so nice girl. Then there was the birth of that bratty boy who went from infancy to five years old in two seasons. Fresh Prince jumped when Will Smith had professional/personal problems with Janet Hubert and replaced her with Daphne Maxwell-Reid. Nothing against Daphne as an actress, but as Vivian, she tanked! Janet complimented James Avery; with Daphne, she came off more like his brother rather than her husband. And who can forget that little onionhead, Nicky? Ooh-fah, the shark still hasn't stopped jumpin' with his addition! Fresh Prince jumped when Will had professional/personal problems with Janet Hubert and replaced her with Daphne Maxwell-Reid. Nothing against Daphne as an actress, but on this show, she tanked! Janet complimented James Avery; with Daphne, James came off more like her brother than her husband. Btw, who can forget that little onionhead, Nicky?! The shark music came on when he was hatched!!
First of all, this was a great show. Even after it jumped the shark, it was still great, but not as good. Fresh Prince was never the same after the first Vivian left. The new was, well, to be honest, NEVER FUNNY! NOT ONCE!!! I have no memory of her ever doing or saying anything funny. The first one was great, funny, and (as has been said before) worked well with Mr. Avery.
When the Fresh Prince's aunt changed actresses, from Janice Huppert to Daphne Maxwell-Reid (Tim's wife), and Will said on the show, "You look kinda different; wha' happened?"
The opening credits started with Will Smith singing. If you can call rap singing. Didn't Ted McGinley play an extra in one episode? You've got puberty, you've got Vivian getting a major face-lift. I'm sure someone died and I just missed an episode. A kid got born for no particular reason. They film it before a live studio audience, don't they? Fresh Prince was a one-joke stretch. Downtown kid moves uptown and shocks everyone.
Daphne Maxwell-Reid was an improvement!
Definitely when Will and Lisa inexplicably broke up during the summer break. After that, it just blew.
Will keeps making jokes about Carlton's height. I do not think Carlton is short. They cannot think of new jokes besides Carlton's height.
The ending was really lame. The show could have gone on for so much more!!! But Will Smith looks good in any show or movie =Ţ
I don't understand Why ashly had to turn in to such a hooker hoe. She was such a cute girl and now she started dressing Slutty.
When I Saw Will Smith in drag in Wild Wild West and realized he looked just like Ashley.
Fresh Prince is so old. This idiot is too old to be acting like a jerk. The same thing with Family Matters. Erkle is like 26.
It got to be that the shows had a "lesson" at the end which "made you think"...one that comes to mind is the episode in which Carlton and Will get arrested for driving uncle Phil's Mercedes, at the end Will says something like "When a cop sees a black man driving something other than a burned out Pinto..." I knew then that the show had tanked, even though it was only 2 or 3 seasons in. Of course, I'm not even going to comment on the last episode, which I thought was the worst Fresh Prince ever...It's interesting to note that Will Smith's career has just about parallelled the rise and fall of Fresh Prince. When the show was at its peak he could do no wrong, but now he's having trouble hanging on to a good acting role...
I think that Fresh Prince of Belair is a funny show and great to watch. I will admit though that when everyone started growing up it started to go down hill, and also when Vivian was replaced. But the re-runs are still fun to watch.
I found it hard to adjust to the new mrs. banks. I'm sorry but, she looked nothing like the orginal mrs. banks!! The first one was darker and taller than the feeble second one. I liked Will's old Aunt V!!!
Fresh Prince was a great show. You have to remember it was just a show about fun and games and that's all there is to it. It was good for what it was.
not only did they add a new character in to the Banks family, (little Nicholis Banks) but the mother, (I can't remember her name at this time) after the birth of Nick was played but a different actress. This is just one of the many random usless facts of TV history I have stored in my head thanks you for letting me use it
what the hell happened to jazz??
I seem to recall an episode where the youngest child, Ashley, sings "Respect" by Aretha Franklin to her family to let them know that she's a big girl now and deserves more R-E-S-P-E-C-T. BLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAACHHHHHHHHHH!
When Daphne Maxwell Reid stepped in but also when the youngest daughters body began to develop. I don't know how old she was on the show but it's hard looking at girls on TV in a sexual manner when you remember them as pre-teens. That's sick. I couldn't watch after that.
As soon as they changed actresses for Vivian's character, the show pretty much got off the air just before it went from bad to horrible!!
little nicky from 'fresh prince' was a champ. he was the only thing preventing me from switching channels. did you know he was in the 'little rascals'?
Never jumped. Always been a good show. Even the repeats are worth watching. It is a good show.
I think the show jumped the shark with the addition of little Nicky. The addition of this baby was in no way beneficial to the show. The jokes about Uncle Phil's weight got old.....but they still made us all laugh. I don't understand why everyone is commenting on the addition of a new Aunt Viv? Who cares? Its not like she was the main character? The new one was just as good as the old! It wasn't that big of a deal.
The second Vivian was better and I really hated the first one. Jazz was always hilarious and Hilary and Carlton are my favorite characters. I never really cared for Will, he just wasn't funny. The short jokes were mean.
I heard that they got rid of the old Vivian because in real life Will Smith hated her so they fired her and got a new one. Crazy stuff.
I dunno, after having watched every episode, I don't think the Fresh Prince jumped at all! I mean, yeah, it did get a bit frivolous, but ya know, they were aware of that.. ^_^; Dahpne Maxwell-Reid was an ok Vivian, but Janet Hubert was the best, I do have to agree with that... and who could forget Jazz being thrown outta the Banks' house every episode, that was funny even though it was stock footage.. and then when in that dream sequence Jazz finally turned the tables on Uncle Phil!
when the original Aunt Viv. left due to pregnancy and that annoying replacement came to the show, the shorter heavy chick. i loved the original aunt viv and when she left thats when the show sold itself out.
Come on! I didn't watch the Fresh Prince for social relevancy! And why do you use Carleton as the guy with a gun? Although it did look damn funny when he had that mad face with the gun
When Carlton was beaten up by some hoods, and was in the hospital, and Wil decided that he had to get a gun and get even. Carlton talked him into giving him the gun, and Wil began to cry.
This show was always funny and still is always funny, its one of the only shows i can watch over and over. Will Smith is always funny. The greatest show ever.
The Fresh Prince jumped when Will got shot and Carlton got a gun to get revenge. It is my absolute favorite "special episode" ever.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air jumped the shark when the actress who originally played Vivian Banks left to have her baby and they hired that new actress to take her place. She did not have the presence on stage that the original woman had and she did not have the demeanor to play it properly. she did not seem like a strong successful black woman, who could be married and independent, and knew how to take care of her husband. And of course a few years later the show went off of the air. This had to have been because of the ratings because there have been shows like 90210 that went on longer, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was funnier. I think if they hadn't of jumped the shark the show would have went on for a few more years.
Just because the show starred Fresh Prince didn't mean Janet Humbert had to have the "Prince" hair-do all the time.
There was an episode where Bel-Air High (or whatever) had a big basketball game, and Will single-handedly carried his squad to victory. The only thing is, the gym looked like the one from my preschool where the court was about half as long as normal and the rims were 8 feet off the ground. Jeez, I think Gary Coleman coulda slammed on that one. Speaking of basketball, was Carlton played by ESPN's current NBA analyst, David Aldridge?
Come on! I didn't watch the Fresh Prince for social relevancy! And why do you use Carleton as the guy with a gun? Although it did look damn funny when he had that mad face with the gun
It didn't, it was always great. The first 3 seasons were great cause it was like all the 80's jokes and Will's clothes and style were hilarious. The second 3 seasons were funny because the show got much smarter and although Vivian was sort of phased out of the show, the other characters and jokes filled the gap and quite frankly were much funnier than the old Vivian ever could have been.
The perfect Jumping point for the Fresh Prince of Bel Air is the hazing episode. You know the one, Will and Carlton both pledge the fraternity and Carlton is hazed for being too white. The line "I'm running the same race as you brother, why are you tripping me up?" is a perfect example of "A Very Special..." The show, nor myself, was never the same after hearing that line.
For me, FPofB jumped the shark when it started to become very popular and Will Smith began to develop a monster-sized ego, both on the show and off. I mean, every episode either had him scoring with women who found him so attractive or him putting someone down (Carleton, Phillip). No longer was the show about a Philly boy adapting to his new surroundings, it became about Will the comedian/stud It also became obvious, to me at least, that Will Smith, the actor, found himself to be the absolute be all and end all of TV comedy by the way he used to mug for the camera. It just got so that I couldn't stand him or his character. I mean how did Alfonso Ribiero and James Avery really feel about being the butt of this guys jokes every episode, week in and week out? I just found that his character became so unlikable, and when the show ended and since he has become a movie star, his ego has gotten out of control.
The episode when Will gave Carlton some drugs so he would do better in basketball. Carlton collapsed on the court and almost died...then will took the credit for saving his live and didn't tell anyone it was he who actually gave Carlton the drugs in the first place...it was touching i must say....NOT
I am a big Fresh Prince fan. I think the actors did a really good job of bringing out their characters, you could tell they had great chemistry together. Also, I think the show did a very good job of evolving the plots as well as the characters. I also think that the show did the right thing by bowing out gracefully and not dragging it on and on (like Family Matters).
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was one of the funniest shows ever put on television and I miss the hell out of it! Why are there no more shows about black families on TV anymore? Also, why are there no shows about rich families on TV anymore? Why are all television families white, dysfunctional, poor, and WHITE! TV sucks these days! They need more funny family sitcoms like the ones they had in the '80s and early '90s before the world got so cynical. I mean, I love Seinfeld and I think it was one of the greatest shows ever but its success single-handedly killed the sitcom family forever. Yes, I know, Malcolm in the Middle is a hit, but once again, poor, dysfunctional, and WHITE!!!
When Carlton took speed and acted all crazy....that really disturbed me, that was when Fresh Prince jumped the shark....i could never look at the show the same again
The greatest episode ever was when they showed something that happened from Will and Carlton's perspective and then from Uncle Phil's perspective. They were both biased to say the least. This was the best sitcom episode ever. After that it was all down hill.
I loved the first Vivian, she was sassy and smart and she fit in perfectly, the new Vivian was really a different character but they didn't want Phil to have to remarry so they just replaced her and started calling her that.
This show jumped when Will's dad came to visit. Will and his dad went to the fair and hung out catching up on old times. Then his dad invites him to leave Uncle Phil's house to go with him. Will says yes, gets his dad a trophy saying "world's greatest dad," but doesn't realize his dad left without him. Will starts to cry and Uncle Phil says "your my son now." That is when Fresh Prince jumped the shark.
Tyra Banks?!?!? Every time I see her on the show, her attitude walks in the door 5 minutes before she does? Why do shows have to make characters so stereotypical? She was the "Ghetto Girl" from Philly who decides to go to Will's college on a basketball scholarship. LLLLLLAAAAAAMMMMMMEEEEEE!
The reason they replaced Janet with Daphnne Maxwell-Reid is because she was lighter-skinned. She sued them because of that- had nothing to do with Will Smith. I will bet my last penny that the idiot who posted that crap is either white, or wishes they were. Never jumped, and as far as I am concerned, if W.S. had not wanted to go large, it would still be on. I was a gaffer for that show- get your facts straight before you post dumb B.S.
This show jumped the shark when the new Vivian came in. The original Vivian really got into the role and played it well. The new Vivian couldn’t act and it’s a good thing that not a lot of episodes were directed towards her like some of them were directed towards the old Vivian. I still watched the show faithfully just as long as there wasn’t any with the main focus on the new Vivian.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air used to be a really good show to watch. It was a different type of comedy that focused on the interpersonal interactions of a wealthy black family. At the same time, it also debunked some of the stereotypes and misconceptions about black people. However, in some ways, it also reinforced some of those stereotypes, especially in those episodes where black women were portrayed as sex objects. Nevertheless, I'd have to say that The Fresh Prince was a good show until Daphne Maxwell-Reid took the part of Aunt Vivienne. Ms. Reid didn't have the personality for the part and once she came on board, the chemistry of the show changed. At that point, it became more of the Will Smith show. The other times The Fresh Prince "jumped" was when it tried to deal with touchy issues such as inter and intra-racial prejudice. It was then that the show became rather preachy. I don't mind a comedy that has a moral tone to it but, at times, The Fresh Prince was too moralistic for its own good. For the most part, The Fresh Prince was a funny show but toward the end, it lost a lot of its punch. I'm just glad Smith and company had sense enough to pull the plug on this show when they did because The Fresh Prince was becoming rather stale.
The show jumped the shark whenever Little Nicky (or whatever the Banks' fourth child was named), was born and then suddenly became 3 or 4 years old. As he did scenes with the kid, you knew Will was cashing in and calling his agent for different action. This show went from funny and rap to irritating and crap ! ! !
The first few seasons of "Fresh Prince" were good. It wasn't comedy for the ages or anything but each character had a niche and performed it well. In that sense, I'm not really sure that the show was created to be any good past three or four seasons. Once Daphne Maxwell-Reid became Vivian, it was all over and I stopped watching. Not that Reid wasn't a good actress but she was all wrong for the part. The comedic interplay between Phil and Vivian under Janet Hubert was priceless. Under Reid, it was downright ordinary.
I think the show jumped when Will had to deliver a baby in the back seat of the limousine of some TV reporter. By the way, they were stuck in a traffic jam on their way to a Lakers game or something. Definitely one of the cheesiest shows out there but I always watched it because nothing else was on when the reruns played. Remember Will Smith's hip-hop career? Forget the parents, some of us "Just don't understand" why he tried.
The show jumped when the NEW Vivian came in. Man, She was nowhere near as good as the original one. I could of lived with the baby being born, but this was too much!
I just could not accept Daphne Maxwell-Reid as Aunt Vivian. She was all wrong for this role. She spoke with the same damn vocal inflections in every one of her lines. Her portrayal sucked the personality and life out of Aunt Viv. She came off looking stiff and angry - like she didn't want to be there. She just couldn't hold a candle to Janet Hubert-Whitten, who made Aunt Viv a real and compelling character.
Aunt Viv, what's the deal? You think that when the first Aunt Viv left they could at least cast a new one thats even remotely similar.
OK, Nicky was born in one season. The next season, when the show comes back, he's like 5! Nobody else is any older, and it's never even mentioned. What was the motivation behind that one?
I hated the recast of the mom. The new kid was an annoying twerp (sp). Why don't these writers and producers know about the new kid jinks? That Oliver (Brady Bunch) had it right...jinks, jinks, jinks....
this show never jumped. it was a bad move when they recast the first vivian but it was still a funny show and its still funny in reruns. and the person that made the comment about will smith not being able to hang onto any good roles, that sounds more like his wife jada pinkett-smith. he happens to be playing in the movie ALI.
Look, I don't care what parts were weak. I loved it after Trevor died, and the family went to see Scorpious, and Will called him Scrupulous. Then he had that nightmare and he was just grabbin' on Scrupulous yelling "BREAK THE HEX, MAN! C'MON... BREAK THE HEX!" Singed, Rafael De La Ghetto (Let's get some barbeque and get busy!) Hillary BANKS! YES, TREVOR?! WILL...YOU...MAR-RY...Meh...[thud]
I really enjoyed this show for the most part and never believed that it officially jumped. Yes, I agree the fat jokes and the short jokes wore a bit thin. Also, I never really understood those "Very Special" shows either (Will getting shot). But for the most part this show was very enjoyable to watch. You could tell the actors played their parts very well. And for a half-hour, this show made me forget about my problems and made me laugh (that's all I can ask from a TV show).
I think they should have done a spin-off with Jazz as the title character. Now he was a funny guy. To Hell with Will "I'm a film actor now" Smith. He was great in the early days, but fame has completely gone to his head.
When Will tries to get it on with this religious girl who won't have sex until she's married, he gets Jazz to dress up like a minister to trick her into thinking they're married. That's messed up, yo.
the fresh prince's aunt, i don't remember the characters name but at some point a new actress took over the role. I think it's when her son is born( on the show). Also, the new baby is a jumping the shark.
Daphne Maxwell-Reid can't hold a candle to Janet Hubert-Whitten. The show isn't even funny with her on, there was no chemistry among the actors, and one more important thing: the bitch can't act. Nice move, Will Smith. You f**ked up your own show.
When they replaced the old Aunt Viv with a totally unfunny new one. Also, contrary to rumors, the original and better Aunt Viv left the show because she asked for mo' money and didn't get it...though she deserved it. The better episodes were the ones that featured her. She was prettier too than the other Aunt Viv because there's not enough pretty dark-skinned black women featured on network television.
it wasn't the same after the original vivian left. she had passion. the new one was bland.
This show was funny in it's original primetime and is still funny in reruns. I don't think this show jumped the shark. But their is a however, a HUGE difference between the first and last seasons and gradualism in between. No, I'm not talking about the different Vivians. I'm talking about the atmosphere of the show. In the beginning the Banks were somewhat bougie (sp?). And toward the end, the were just straight up ghetto. My personal fav. episode has to be the one from where this quote was taken. "Hillary Banks" "Yes Trevor" "Will you marry me...(THUD)..." I still crack up seeing that to this day. One thing about Fresh Prince is that they were along with Blossom in "A very special.." land. I know NBC struggles on Mondays nights because of CBS's staple line up and monday night football, but man they loved to advertise "a VERY special Fresh Prince, followed by a VERY special Blossom" All in all, a very good show that didn't take itself TOO seriously.
At a lot of points it sort of faked the shark and then after you add them all up you get the actual jumping action. Obviously the change of Aunt Viv was a big one - although Will making light of it was quite well-done. Some of the other parts which helped it over the shark would have been the rapid growth of Nicky and Ashley's puberty - especially the episode where she has a party when Viv and Phil are out and someone (I think it's Naughty By Nature) are rapping in the background while everyone gets drunk. Hilary jumped the shark individually when her fiance-to-be died while proposing - the idea was spectacular but it had the problem that they didn't seem to have anything planned afterwards for Hilary's character which was a bit of a shame. Jeffrey the butler contributed when he was dating the toilet paper heiress - trying for another fish-out-of-water setup was really too much. That episode was also the beginning of the fall for Phil and Carlton - Phil because of the hairpiece (I could never quite see him the same way after that). Carlton's jump finished when Ashley's friend had a crush on him - going on the way the plot was set up in the first few series this was clearly the bottom of the barrel. The "behind the scenes" episode was also quite jumpish. That said, the toilet paper heiress episode did have the best blues parody ever - Will's harmonica playing "My butler is black/my butler is blue/coz his honey's got green/comin' out her wazoo". The thing I really loved was the outtakes (Phil: It must been stolen. Will: Did y'all hear that Cletus? It must bin stolen., Jeffrey: We wouldn't want to break one of her crystal fusiliers (laughter) Phil: What's a fusilier? Jeffrey: You don't want to break a crystal one., Hilary: Rock breaks your sciss-orsciss-scisssss., Carlton: Women glossing their lips and glossing their hair. Will: Excuse me ladies but do any of ya'll gloss your hair??, and of course the "broken harmonica" outtake). Great show though - always hanging out for reruns.
Here's the deal. Will Smith comes across as a decent human being. But he's not and never has been an actor. Basically this is how it is: Put the Fresh Prince on a horse....Wild Wild West. Have the Fresh Price fight aliens...Men In Black. Put the Fresh Prince in Independence Day, and you have the Fresh Prince in Independence Day. People see his movies/show because they like him, which is fine. But being yourself in different costumes isn't acting. I couldn't bear to see the Fresh Prince as Ali....that went too far, so I can't comment on that. But TV & Movies were better when studios hired actors.
This show was clever, funny, and light-hearted until Will found the love of his life Lisa. When she entered the show, plots got serious and the show got bad.
This show never jumped the shark. It has and always will be a long-time favorite of mine. The jokes between Will, Uncle Philip and Carlton were the FUNNIEST and not to mention Geoffrey's one-liners. Ashley became the cutest and NOW sexiest girl alive. I didn't really like the way little Nicky suddenly became older within a couple of episodes; rapidly changing from baby to 4-years-old. Like other shows that have ruined the careers of many child actors (i.e. Diff'rent Strokes), this show proved them wrong. Many of the actors easily found work. Will is nominated for his performance in "Ali," Tatyana recorded an album, Karyn, James and Daphne found work in various television shows and immediately after the demise of the show Carlton found work on "In the House." My other favorite show.
This show is phat. I love watching this show because it was funny as well as a show that show serious sides of life. The episode where Will got shot was a classic. It showed Carlton and Will's serious sides because they were usually silly all the time. I loved that show. If there was an Oscar for sitcoms Carlton and Will would have got one for this episode. Another classic was when Will's dad finally showed up after all those years it showed Will's talents real well too.
I always loved the show, but at some points in the show it just totally went downhill. Like when Aunt Viv's actress changed. The old one was so much better, but every time I looked at her I couldn't help but think What was so bad about her to make Will hate her so much? At least she got off the show to have her baby. And Will's mean jokes about Carlton's height and Phil's weight got old after the first two seasons. I wish they had Jazz on more, He had a great character but he was only in a few episodes.
I almost kicked in my TV when Lisa dumped Will at the alter because she "wasn't ready", and nobody was upset. Will even hugged her WHILE STILL AT THE ALTER and they all went to the reception and it was happy happy joy joy. There was no indication WHATSOEVER of problems in their relationship before. And Lisa was so gung-ho about eloping at Las Vegas, which they changed their minds after Will didn't feel right giving his vows while dressed up like Shaft. But she gets to the church and now she has cold feet. It's obvious they didn't want to pay for new permanent characters, which is why Hillary's fiance died and Lisa left the show and Ashley's boyfriend, who she talked about on regular basis, only showed up once.
Too many special episodes. I think the writers forgot that this was mainly a sitcom and it was a great one at that. Having a different actor play Vivian was actually a plus as she was better off in that role than the 1st one. But there were way too many special episodes.
it seemed like every episode featured will smith crying at some point and saying "awww uncle phil!" the high (low) point was the one where carlton takes some pep pills. all of these ****ty shows had a pep pill episode. saved by the bell, degrassi high, the hogan family , all of 'em. brilliant writers . they were probably all dusted at the time or possibly coked out of their gourds. way to go morons!
I don't think this show ever jumped the shark. I would say that it came really close during the last season when Will and Lisa where about to get married (again!) and they both back out at the last second (again!). Then their parents decide to get married instead. You never even see Lisa or the parents ever again. Fortunately, the show ended soon after this so I won't say that it jumped. Otherwise, it was a great series and it made me laugh every episode.
Actress Nia Long played 2 different characters in the Fresh Prince. She was the ditzy girl (forgot her name) Will dated on the episode with Queen Latifah and a couple of years later, she played Will's girlfriend/fiance Lisa.
This show is the best, the show never and I mean never really jumped. The show was realistic having a wealthy black family and having a trouble teen move in to get his act together. To me, I think there were a few points were the show could have possibly jumped the shark was when Will went back to his hood (philly) and then wanted to stay and the show cut to a black screen saying this: "The Fresh Prince of Philadelphia ?????" thank god they didn't do that because it would look like they wouldn't have enough material to run with the show and when they changed Vivian's but all in all it was good to see Will and Carlton try to scheme over Phillip the father. Hillary bossing Jeffory around. Ashley complain to her parents about how to live her life. One of the best shows ever and still to this day I still watch the reruns!!!!!!!!!!
Of the worst black characters on TV in the 90s, Urkel, to me, is #1. Carlton is #2. Is he really supposed to be the living representation of blacks who want to be "white?" I hate whenever he dances to Tom Jones and does that corny-ass swinging thing. Upon writing this post, I realized something. Both of these characters were involved in drug episodes! Both episodes have a "cooler" lead character (Laura for Family Matters, Will for Fresh Prince) pressured by somebody (the head cheerleader, some white guy) to take drugs (weight loss pills, speed). The stereotypical character (Urkel, Carlton) discovers the pills and thinks the pills are aspirin. Result: the stereotypical character acts extremely hyper, with disastrous consequences (Urkel makes faulty shelves for Carl and passes out, Carlton dances too much and too fast and passes out). The "cool" character learns from their mistakes and that drugs are bad, and the shark jumps on Family Matters and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!
I think the Fresh Prince jumped the shark when Lisa and Will were about to be married. I just watched the episode on a re-run and I think the show was never the same after it. Lisa and Will decided not to be married, but at the same time, Lisa's dad and Will's mom got married instead. The episode never got finished. It left you hanging. Your thinking that Will and Lisa couldn't get married now because they would be brother and sister. But after that episode you never saw Lisa, her dad and Will's mom. They just disappeared. Spooky eh. Not really. Even though I thought the show was pretty funny and relatively good. It just got ****ty after the marriage episode. It never regained it's popularity.
While the show was never the same after they replaced the mother (and other sharkiness around that same time), this show never jumped. It remains one of the most underrated hilarious shows of all time. I hate the new Vivian as much as anyone else, and of course we also have graduation from Bel Air Academy, the loss of the excellent Kellogg "Cornflake" Lieberbaum character, and the birth of little Nicky (complete with Boyz II Men guest starring at the christening!), but this show was really a "moments" show. Sure, the plots/backdrops of the show were well above average (even after that major sharkfest), but what really made the show were certain moments. Like one episode, a "new Vivian" one if I'm not mistaken, Carlton, Will, and Uncle Phil are all stuck in a cave for the night. Of course they're all going a bit crazy, so they're really pouring out their hearts. The beginning of one scene is a zoom in on a Carlton monologue: "I just keep replaying it in my mind, over and over again. The way they taunted and teased him... It shows you just how unjust the world really is." Of course you think he's talking about Rodney King, but then he breaks down in tears and goes, "'Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids!' Why don't they give the rabbit some damn cereal?" I'm laughing just typing it. A show that had moments like that from the beginning to the end could NEVER have jumped the shark. Another favorite is when Will is trying to tell Jazz that he (Will) has to bring Carlton along to a game show and not him (Jazz) because Carlton is bright and Jazz isn't, but Will of course can't say that in so many words. Will: Carlton really wants to go on that show. It would make him very happy in his last days. Jazz: Last days? Will: Yes, the doctor says Carlton doesn't have long to live. He has a terminal illness. Jazz: Oh yeah? What's he got? Will: He got...he got...Bette Davis Eyes. Or my a great one liner featuring guest star Malcolm Jamal Warner (I think it was him). Malcolm's character: I'll see you in court. Jazz: Oh yeah? We got a ball and hoop out back, we can go right now, sucka! In my humble opinion Jazz was the greatest sitcom recurring character of all time. He wasn't on too often, he wasn't missed for too long, and he was always a bright spot in any script. Jeffrey A. Townes aka DJ Jazzy Jeff proved that he is as good an actor as Will Smith with that character.
I Think that Fresh prince of bel air only had one bad season out of five years. when they had Nia long appear as to many people and the whole thing at the end of an episode where will and her didn't get married but there parents did.. how sick was that i think that, shouldn't have been included.. at all you never seen the parents after that. I think that is when fresh prince jumped the shark
Shut yo mouth! This show never has jumped. I think what I liked best is all the references of white people not trusting black people (i'm not racist but I liked how Will was the only one who noticed that. For example Will saying things like "White woman in trouble" to get the attention of people or that episode where Carlton and Will get pulled over by the cops, which was mentioned in an above comment). I would just like to say again I am not racist and I have the utmost respect for most people (except for people like the Washington Sniper, Barbara Streisand or Steve Irwin)
The show never jump. The best show was when carlton and will go to Jazz's apartment in the hood an they carlton into a thug.
I love this show. It's so outrageously funny every episode without fail. The characters are wonderfully mixed and interact with each other fantastically. Okay, so they got a different woman in to play Vivian- big deal! Due to the fact I actually saw series 4, 5 and 6 before 1, 2 and 3 it makes no real difference to me. And, sure, they introduced Nicky. But I don't care- he was another character for Will to interact superbly with. The BBC often make crappy decisions, but showing a complete run of all episodes from the programme is not one of them. I hope when the current run is over, they'll start again as I'll want to record the show due to the fact no move is being make for a DVD release.
If the worst thing people can find to say about this show is that one actress left and had to be replaced, I'd say that's high praise. Who cares if they got a new Vivian, when most of the humor was centered around Will, Carlton, and Uncle Phil? I'm not saying that the actress who played Vivian first was bad, but she by no means made the show. The only individual actor they couldn't afford to lose other than Will was Avery Johnson. This is definitely one show that never even spotted a dorsal fin.
This show is always good for a laugh, I love watching the reruns. I don't mind the actor switch for Aunt Viv, I don't even mind Nicky mysteriously aging during one offseason. The only thing I have a problem with is the last season. It's only purpose was to propel Will into his acting career. He always had to make fun of everybody and he was always dating hot chicks (yeah right!). Then he and Lisa decide not to get married so soon and then you never see her again. Fortunately, the series ended quickly after that. Now we're stuck with Will making crappy movies where he plays a cocky black guy who makes fun of other people to make himself look better.ZZZZZZZZ. Remember his interview on the E! channel? "If I set my mind to it I honestly believe I could become President of the United Sates." Somehow, no, I don't think so.
WHAT WAS SO FRICKIN' FUNNY? Damn! All you would see is Will Smith make a stupid ass face and scream like a girl and the whole audience would howl with laughter. Yeah right! He was the most annoying person I've seen on T.V. since Raven-simone on The Cosby Show, and she was ridiculous. And the rest of the cast certainly didn't help matters. So to sum it up, this show jumped from the jump, okay?
Will and Lisa... engaged for a while, loved each other. End of series 5, didn't go through with the marriage, but decided they would get married some day. Eagerly looked forward to next season... but Lisa never appeared again. They just carried on as if she had never existed.
When Ashley hit puberty. She started dressing like a slut. It wasn't a great show to begin with. Will Smith was overbearing and irritating "Ya know wat I'm sayin?*idiotic winking*" That got old after the first episode. But the exact jumping episode was when Will caught Ashley making out with a college guy at a party. She turned into the kind of girl that Will liked to date: easy.
I think "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" had a really dumb episode where Will ALMOST gets married. Then the woman she almost marries has a father who Vy marries! I mean, Will's almost-wife becomes his stepsister! In reality, no mother/father would make their kids feel uncomfortable that they almost married someone who is now their stepsibling!
Always a good show, whether on NBC or in reruns, can always watch even with Daphne Maxwell-Reid. However, it didn't come without its flaws. 1) Plain and simple, no actress could come close to covering the ground that Janet Hubert-Whitten did, the chemistry and timing between her and the cast was impeccable. The second one, as said above, was like Uncle Phil's sister. 2) The 1994 season. It wasn't Nicky's rapid growth that hurt the show, at least not as much as making Lisa a regular character. The plotlines got really silly that season, probably to cater to Nicky's role. Remember the ep. with Susan Powter where Will wears a fatsuit for a day, then chases Lisa through the supermarket because he thinks she's cheating. Then he carries her out of the supermarket. Lame. I love Nia Long as an actress, but having her on as Lisa was a bad move. The next year was a bit better, but the writing was still silly and immature, not as sharp and sophisticated as the first four seasons.
One of the greatest sitcoms of all time!! (even my parents loved it growin up) First, when the "new" Vivian came in it confused everyone, but Vivian was always only a supporting character to the other's shennanegans anyway. So, no big deal. It can be argued that the show jumped the shark when Nicky was born, but I still remember some really good episodes when he was around. Nicky's Christening for example. Some hilarious stuff when Will was rippin on Boyz II Men on accident. Lisa was also a mistake that they struggled to get out of. Ashley's puberty, however, was needed. She grew up so they had to deal with it. Besides, she looked damn good! Final Verdict by me: Never Jumped
When they changed the "Aunt Vivian" character. Nothing against the 2nd one, but she was too "sweet". Not as gutsy as the first one.
Does anyone remember the episode when Carlton was hanging out in Compton. He and Will made a bet that he couldn't last there. He ended up staying. They kept referring to Carlton going to Compton and hanging out in Compton, and Will and Aunt Vivian, and the rest of the family was acting like he was hanging out in a Crack House. He was hanging at Jazz's apartment with all these so called hardened street guys. He ended up giving the dudes he was hanging with investment advice and dressing like a gangbanger. He was even telling them what to do like where he was going to sleep. If that wasn't bad enough, when the episode re ran, he wasn't hanging in Compton anymore. They edited the tape to say something else. I guess the people in Compton got mad, and rightfully so. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm the only person that noticed that.
Although the last season lost its verve (especially after the faux wedding between Will and Lisa in the season previous), this comedy never jumped. This was the last good comedy on NBC where EVERYONE (not just white people) could relate to it. This was also the last good comedy where the writing did not have to stoop as low as sex jokes and vulgar humor. I can catch more laughs in a single episode of this show than in an entire run of today's so-called comedies. As for the character change of Aunt Vivian, that did not hurt the show in any form. Besides, while Aunt Viv was a major player on the show, she was not the main focus. Will Smith was very funny, as was the ensemble. Thank goodness that many syndicated markets continue to show this in reruns because, with all of the crappy quality that today's comedies possess, I could use a good laugh.
This "could have been great" show never rose above mildly amusing for me. I KNOW it wasn't about 'social relevance' but what could have been a funny look at class conflict among Blacks turned into a one joke (ok, two or three joke) sitcom. Daphne Maxwell-Reid seems like a GENUINELY NICE HUMAN BEING, but is just NOT that interesting an actress. Janet was class, poise and presence personified. I hardly EVER watched it after she left. And from early on, this show started to stink for me: I DETEST shows where the star gets ALL the laughs (Nanny, Mama's Family, Coach). Actors more secure than the modestly gifted Mr. Smith were not threatened by sharing the spotlight (Mary Tyler Moore, the guy on Barney Miller, Frasier, etc.)
Fresh Prince never jumped the shark. I liked the show and i still watch it. I like the second Aunt Viv better than the first. To me those episodes were better. Ashley went from a cute little girl to a sexy young woman in those episodes. Hillary was still dense from day one and Geoffrey jokes against uncle Phil were funnier during the later years. The only two problems that i had with Fresh Prince was Will's overacting and always stealing the spotlight and Carlton's character. Carlton is that kind of person where you just want to slap the hell out of him if you ever saw him because the character he portrayed was a stuck up snob saying stupid stuff like '"i dont have to work i'm rich'". I never liked Carlton from day one, but i could not stand him ever since the episode where he, Will and Phil were stuck out in the woods freezing cold and Carlton said to them "i want to make fun of people who are on financial aid". When i got to college, i had to get on financial aid for pay for tuition because to me that is the only way i can stay in school and Carlton's statement has made me lose any kind of respect (not that i ever had any) for him. I remember the episode where Carlton didn't get accepted into the black fraternity at his college for being a prep school sellout and Phillip said at the end of the episode "When are we going to stop doing this to each other"? When your snobbish son stops letting the whole world know that he is rich and everybody else isn't and poking his nose at people who are trying to make it in the world the normal way
If I stopped and really thought about it, I could say an endless amount of things about this show. Great premise, great first few seasons. The actors complimented the roles to a tee. Then the crap hit the fan the moment Ashley hit puberty and got an attitude licence, Ricky of whatever the kid's name was was born, Will suddenly got romantic with a girl who had no personality, Hillary was on the verge of moving out, and, last but not least, the overnight change of Vivian Banks. Towards the end, this show tanked. A bit of advice-- when a show is popular, don't change it by having babies around, turning cute little girls into cranky bitches, and having Will and Carlton go to some stupid college.
come on! i can't believe no one has mentioned that episode which saw carlton get held up at the atm and will got shot and then carlton got all morose and lame (more so) and started carrying a gun, and will had to talk him out of going to look for revenge. classic!
This show never jumped the shark, even though it could have done many times. Bringing in a new Vivian, Ashley getting all grown up, the birth of baby Nicky who then went to on to be about 5 yrs old within the space of a single season... To cancel out any possibilities of sharkjumping when the new Vivian came on, they did actually make reference to it. The Carlton short/naive/sexless jokes are still funny and so are the Uncle Phil fat jokes. I could see that some people may be offended by them and since I am very short and get short jokes, I can understand that. But I still find the short jokes hilariously funny!
I didn't like the switch in actresses to play Vivian, but the birth of Nicky was the death of the show. Needless new characters, especially "suprise" babies added to a cast are a clear sign a show's writer's are tired and the show is done.
This show jumped the shark when Carlton is feeling down after having an argument with his dad, and Tom Jones slides in and sings a heavily butchered version of "It's not unusual". Then Carlton himself joins in and it gets beyond sickening. Plus it added nothing to the storyline - it was merely an attempt to get extra viewers. It was one of the worst shark jumps ever!
Will and Lisa's "wedding" was pretty awful - why be so in love, not get married, allow your parents to marry (making you step-siblings), vow to marry someday then not go through with it ever again? Where did Lisa go? The writers obviously didnt think this one through very well. A wife would have lost Will his Fresh Prince edge, (in fact they even realised that a serious relationship would, which is probably why they threw in that episode where he cheated.) and even if they were to not let him get married, no way should their folks have tied the know.they should have ended it, made a clean break and actually split up instead of saying "we will someday" then causing huuuge confusion by not ever bringing lisa back at all.
I think this show jumped when Will and Carlton graduated. Their college years were just silly...Hilary with a talk show, all those episodes about Ashley growing up, the new baby....
Sherman Helmsley made at least 4 appearances -- twice as a judge (who died in one episode) and twice as, essentially, George Jefferson, with Ouissie in tow. It bothered me that the viewers were supposed to pretend not to notice.
It never jumped any god damn shark, it was always funny, and who cares about vivian she never did anything, I always wondered but who cares? she wasn't even really a character and will is funny and hillary to, ashley was kinda stupid and jazz was ok but the rest were funny and it always was fine and I thought nicky was cool!
This show was so-so at best -- however, it began to jump the shark when the original Vivian left, and then completed the jump whenever Geoffrey the butler tried to lip people off in a nod to Benson. The problem was that Geoffrey and the actor who portrayed him were lousy beyond belief, and in no way could be compared with Robert Guillaume. Anyway, I hate Geoffrey, found him totally unfunny and despise seeing him on re-runs. If I'd been Phillip Banks, I would have kicked that ******* to the curb - better that the guy was collecting pogey than lipping off his employers.
This show was a silly show! But there were three serious episodes that made this show jump! 1) When Carlton took those pills. 2) When Will was shot. 3) When Will's dad showed up.
This show was a one joke wonder. After you get over the inner city kid in Bel Air, there was nothing funny about it. But it really jumped the shark when Will meets the girl who was killed by a drunk driver. Preachy, unrealistic, not a funny or a tragic moment.
When Carlton and Will got robbed at the ATM and Will got shot, I thought it was ridiculous. Suddenly this light hearted show turned dramatic. Then Carlton brought a gun into the hospital when he visited Will and Will decided to propose to his girlfriend -- plus it was a 2 part episode which is also annoying.
The show more or less jumped when baby Nicky grew up and Expresso Vivian was replaced with Cafe au Lait Vivian. The "very special..." shows were hard to take (Carleton and drugs, Carleton and a gun, Will's Dad), however, there were more good moments then bad ones. I laugh to this day thinking about Jazz getting thrown (literally) from the front door, along with the corresponding "Wh-ah!" What made it funnier was that seemingly everyone in the house was able to lift the guy! They'd stare daggers at him, then out the door he goes! As for the Vivian switch, the show had the good taste to poke fun at this common sitcom occurrence - Jazz looks at Aunt Viv and says "You kow, Mrs. Banks, ever since last summer, there's been something different about you" - at which point Will looks at the camera with an all-knowing look. Hilarious! The Trevor episodes were good too - "How's tonight looking, Hillary?" Hillary: "Very promising" Oh yeah, and "Hillary Banks...Will...you...marry...me-THUD!
It really jumped when Malcolm-Jamal Warner showed up as an attorney from Uncle Phil's law firm. He walked in the kitchen with Hillary on his arm and made some wisecrack about the Banks family being like the characters on the Cosby Show....GEEEEEZ!!
When the original, gorgeous and elegant Vivian who was perfect as a rich, educated Bel-Air wife and mother left and was replaced by the shorter, lighter skinned woman who just always looked like a stranger who had wandered in and the family was trying to humor her to avoid being slaughtered.
Okay, I'm gonna try to make this short, because I tend to really talk off when I do this sort of thing. Okay. The Fresh Prince was a great show. Very funny. But that doesn't mean it never jumped. This show committed all sorts of crimes that cause shows to jump, but there was one thing in particular that just took the cake. Something happened between something like the first and second seasons, or the first and third seasons... around the time when they switched sets, something like that. (I LIKED the old set.) Anyway, what happened was that every episode suddenly depended on Will's short jokes to Carlton and his fat jokes to Uncle Phil to be "funny". But with so many of them, they stopped being funny. Their quality went down. They became offensive to me-- everyone can handle a "oh, he's a little chubby" joke, but you gotta draw the line somewhere. I think someone stated that Will's ego got the best of him. Yeah, that's about it. The show became less about his adjustment from Philly to Bel Air and more about how many jokes Will could throw out whenever he got into a bad situation. There are other things that COULD have caused the jump-- remember those crimes I mentioned? Well, they were things like switching the actresses that played Vivian between seasons (the original Vivian was wonderful and funny and brought personality to the character. The second one was flat. She just said her lines and got the hell out the studio at the end of the filming.) They allowed Will and Carlton to go to college-- another no-no, because that sort of growth is always a bad thing for tv characters, and the worst thing they ever did was let Vivian have a baby. A baby! That's just a mistake. That's a show murderer. I don't know how they got away with it. Maybe it's because that wasn't really their main problem. Well, whatever. I think I'm done here. Peace.
THE CHANGED AUNT VIV! THEY SOOOOO CANNOT DO THAT... NOW THE SHOW IS CORNY AND CHEESY BECAUSE OF HER! AT LEAST SHE COULD TALK WITH MORE ATTITUDE... BUT NEVERTHELESS, PROPS TO SUCH A HILARIOUS SHOW!
How was anyone supposed to buy Will Smith as a kid from the mean streets of Philly who needs to be shipped off to Bel-Air for his own safety? Will Smith is the black Ron Howard as Opie. He's Michael J Fox with bigger ears. I don't buy him as a tough guy, a punk, a troubled youth, or anything other than a guy who says please and drinks milk.
I don't think this show jumped that much...it took the run-up to a jump when they replaced Aunt Viv (Janet Hubert-Whitten was sassy and spunky, and even though she was now rich, she never was high and mighty, she could git on down with the best of 'em!)...Some of the shows setups were priceless. The funniest part of the show was that, although Carlton, played by Alfonso Ribeiro (sp), was always being slammed for not being able to dance, in real life, Alfonso starred ON BROADWAY in his own show, called "The Tap-Dance Kid". Irony of ironies! Geoffrey's acerbic one-liners...Jazz being thrown outta the Banks' front door practically every episode...Hillary the total airhead...and of course Tatyana M. Ali growing up to become TA-TA-ana (she was right up there with Kim "Tootie" Fields and Soleil Moon "Punky Brewster" Frye)...all of these and more made this show a very very nice way to spend a half-hour. "...just sit right there/I'ma tell you how I become the Prince of a town called Bel-air..."
This show looking back at it jumped the shark so many times, it's ridiculous. The best seasons of this show were probably the first three. My favorite episode of this is probably the one where will pretended to be a poet named Rafael de la ghetto. Again this show jumped a few times but I think it definitely jumped the shark when Will went to college and carlton followed him there it wasn't the same. It also jumped when Vivian was played by another actress. This show I think more than any I have seen was written so sloppily and had so many inconsistencies. Some of these inconsistencies are funny now when you look back on the show and catch it but at the time they sucked. For instance, Will in a few episodes was like a basketball all star, they put him on this level where he definitely would have been a scholarship basketball player at the very least in college, they never followed up on that. The basketball episodes were funny because the court was like the size of my room, its hilarious to see will smith run up and down that tiny court with his tight shorts. Also Will had this friend in some of the earlier seasons I forget his name tre I think it was, what the hell happened to him. Also carlton was suppose to be like a super nerd, but yet when time came to go to college he had to settle for the same school as will? Huh? Another inconsistency that was very annoying during the will goes to college period was the introduction of tyra banks as a supporting character in the show and then the disappearance without explanation of her character. I guess there was some sort of problem there with tyra banks. Well these are just some of the many inconsistencies on this show, I have a great time catching them whenever I see this show on repeats. I think only family matters had more of these inconsistencies.
The episode where they made Will cry over having speed in his locker at school. Will is an alright actor and everything, but tears just aren't his specialty! The whole family was too ignorant about the situation and happy-"be-smart" drug messages should only be jokes in comedy shows.
The "Carlton" dance...need I say more?
It was really out of character when Hilary started developing a life towards the end. Things got too weird. For the record, Carlton IS short, but he is the best character on the show.
I liked the second Vivian. The first one was real uppity with her "I'm a proud black women" type personna. The second one was much more likeable, kind, more caring - she had a sense of humanity about her.
dont think it did ever jump. carlton rocked. remember the quote from carlton when will asked him to go somewhere with him and carlton said "uh uh! theres NO WAY im missing saved by the bell!" one of the BEST tv quotes ever.
Will Smith's overwhelming ego destroyed the careers of anyone who came near this show. Last year Alfonso Ribeiro was in that McDonald's commercial, and I swear I just saw the actress who had a recurring role as Will's mother in an Aleve commercial. When Mr. Smith forced out the original Vivian, Janet Hubert-Whitten, for whatever reason--probably bruised his ego to have someone in the ensemble a billion times more talented than he--the show jumped. The new Vivian was just a total cipher of a character, I don't think she said anything except "Ashley, your father's right." I think even Baby Nicky (another sure sign of j.t.s.), who aged like six years in one off-season (yet another), had more lines than she did. Ms. Hubert-Whitten was a brilliant actress and brought depth and sensibility to her character. The other Vivian, I could never believe she was married to Phillip in a million years. The only thing to say in her defense is that the writers never really allowed her to showcase a multi-dimensional character, but the chemistry and depth just clearly weren't there. The new Vivian was the demarcation between the multidimensional, complex, progressive but still light and enjoyable sitcom the show was in its early years to the full-on slapstick of the later seasons. That said, even though the later years are much less substantial, it always remained a better-than-watchable show and contained some of the most hilarious moments in television history, such as Will and Carlton dancing to "Apache" by The Sugarhill Gang in a Vegas dance contest. They're (finally!) putting out the first season on DVD January, 2005, and even though the last three seasons aren't nearly as good as the first three, I'll definitely shell out for all six volumes as they arrive. APACHE! JUMP ON IT! JUMP ON IT! JUMP ON IT!
By gradually phasing out Jazz. Uncle Phil & Jazz had some of the grearest nemesis chemistry I've ever seen on a sitcom. Besides who could get enough of "the Jazz toss"
I'm still not sure if Will and or Carlton ever graduated from ULA, but after they left the show just got lame. It was like every time they cut to the living room, Will or whomever would just be chilling there as if waiting for someone to enter. I mean at least Hillary always had a job.
This show was suspended above the shark for a while. First, Nicky was born. Bad move. Then Vivian was played by a different actress. Worse move. Then Nicky aged 6 years in 3 months. Have they no shame? Not only did they bring in an inexplicably rapid-aging child, but a wise-cracking one, at that.
FRESH PRINCE jumped when Janet Hubert-Whiten was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid and the character of Vivian became pregnant. This woman had grown children and had no business having a baby. This lame sub-plot took the focus off Will, who was really the only funny thing about this show, save an occasional funny moment from Alphonsio Riberio and Karyn Parsons.
Finally, a show smart enough to quit while it was ahead! FPoB remained entertaining throughout it's run and never really completely jumped the shark. Although it came close with replacing the smart, sophisticated, talented, confident "sistah-girl" original Vivian with a shallow, watered-down version. I agree that the new Vivian had no sustenance and seemed more like an older version of Hillary rather than the strong matriarchal figure of her predecessor. (One of my favorite episodes was when Vivian strutted her stuff and out-danced women that were twenty years her junior! Now that's talent.) Still, the show managed to make me laugh over and over again - so I am grateful.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air JTS. I'm sorry to say it did. There were 3 JTS moments I can pinpoint 100% accurately. 1) Vivian is replaced because she was dark-skinned. 2) Nicky came along. 3) Will's mom Vy married his almost father-in-law. The new Vivian just stunk she didn't really fit in genetically. I mean Phil's wife had to be dark because of Ashley and Carlton's skin. I watch the show from the pilot episode to the last episode when I was younger it was still a great show. Jazz and Geoffrey's one-liners added a lot of fuel to the show. It was smart to have the show revolve around Will, Phil, Carlton. I would like to see what happened to everybody. This is hands down the best thing Will Smith has done in his career. I have been up all night watching the season 1 dvd. My favorite lines, Phil: well everyone I'm going to the kitchen for a snack. Jazz I want you gone when I get back. Jazz: Good I have plenty of time on my hands then. Classic.
The Vivian switch was definitely the beginning of the end for a once-funny show. The switch itself wasn't horrendous, but soon after, they added the annoying little kid (Nicky?), and the 'younger' actors became a bit too old to be playing the 'wacky sitcom kids' role. Still a funny show in the early years, though.
Fresh Prince jumped several times, namely when they replaced the original actress who played Aunt Viv, when Will got a job and went to college, when Baby Nicky was born, when Baby Nicky grew from a baby to an annoying, unfunny smart-mouthed five year old overnight with no explanation AND, finally, when the show got turned into the Tatyana Ali Singing Showcase. In the later seasons, it felt like Ashley was ALWAYS singing. This wouldn't have been so bad, had it not been a painfully obvious ploy to promote Ms Ali's real life singing career as well. Then there was the Lisa character, who wasn't a problem for me until the writers did a really stupid, unbelievable move and have her ditch Will at the alter. After that it seemed pointless that she was ever included in the show in the first place. And THEN there were episodes that were far too serious for their own good, like Will getting shot and the drunk driving episode. These episodes could've been good but they were too heavy handed and in your face for me considering this was supposed to be a sitcom. Some how, though, with all it's shark jumping, Fresh Prince still managed to remain funny until it ended.
This show was basically as good at the end as it was at the beginning: not a great show, but a good show. Usually funny. A big part of what made it good was unquestionably Will Smith himself. He has charm, comedic timing, presence, and isn't a bad actor. As far as the Mrs Banks change in actresses, it doesn't mater all that much, though I agree with those that say the first one was probably better. (I hope this doesn't come out sounding racist, but the first one was more "black," and that somehow worked better.) The best episodes were those that combined the usual comedy with social commentary. That is why I think the all time single best episode ever was the one where Will's father (briefly) comes back into his life, and then (yet again) abandons him. The scene where Uncle Phil and Will's father (played well by Ben Vereen) have their argument/confrontation in the living room is great: it's great because it is REAL. Comedy is at its best when it is not only funny, but also, real. This was demonstrated by Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen, and such tv shows as MASH and All in the Family. At moments like that (Uncle Phil and Will's father talking, Will realizing his father has abandoned him again), this show reaches a degree of reality and honesty that makes it worth watching.
I remember when the real wedding episode first aired as the 5th season finale in 1995. As an 11 year-old boy, I could recognize poor, inconsistent writing. The script just didn't make sense and ended that season on a bad note. I'm surprised that the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was renewed for a sixth season. Nothing about Will and Lisa not getting married or Vy (Will's mom) and Lisa's dad tying the knot was even mentioned during the sixth season. Poor writing, which contributed to the demise of this once-funny sitcom.
When Tom Jones guest stars as Carlton's guardian angel and they sing "It's Not Unusual"
Nothing I have ever witnessed on television is as saccharine sappy as this episode where Uncle Phil has a heart attack. Scene after scene is an exercise of corny wretchedness. From Will's holier-than-thou diatribes to Carlton's "worried son" routine, this episode will have you running to the toilet as it jumps the shark.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a pretty good show. I have been watching it at night, and have been surprised to find how good it is. Fresh Prince is probably an overlooked sitcom, as it has humor, a good story, and a lot more going for it. My biggest criticism of the show is Nicky. Between seasons, he entered the mysterious Wormhole of Rapid Aging that so many sitcom players seem to enter. Suddenly, he wasn't a newborn baby; he was a five or six year old kid! Though I think that Fresh Prince has mostly good writing (though, after reading other reviews, I can see what people are saying about how Lisa apparently fell off the face of the planet), this was, in my opinion, a very bad move on the FPBA writers' parts. Whenever a very young child ages five or six years between seasons, it usually means trouble. Also, after seeing some of the season one episodes, I agree that the original Aunt Vivian was much better. I have nothing against the "new" Aunt Vivian per se, but I just think the original was better.
This show started to sink when Vivian was replaced. The first actor was better and funnier!
For me, it jumped the shark when Vivian was replaced. I find that if an actor in the first season is replaced in the second season, it is no big deal, but the original actress was on for the bulk of the show. She had an attitude and stage presence that was very impressive, and she was very easy to like. The new actress, however, was more conventional, had less of an attitude, and became your typical housewife. Sad, indeed.
After Will Smith was successful in getting Susan and Andy Borowitz removed as Exec. Producers, he went after Janet Hubert who had gotten pregnant which would cause the storyline to have to be changed to include a baby (she got huge by the end of that season) and had her fired. She sued the production company and won a judgment of $5 million; however, the award was appealed and she lost.
When Lisa and Will didn't marry, and their parents did. There was no rationale for Lisa dumping Will beyond "rushing." Their parents, by contrast, really did rush. It really left the series incomplete.
If possible, this show jumped the shark three times. It definitely jumped the shark the first time when Vivian Banks got pregnant. The second time was when Vivian changed from the darker black woman to the lighter black woman. The third time was when from one season to the next, the little kid grew up like 5 years in one summer. How weird is that!!! Thats some scifi stuff going on there.
It's not that "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" was an unfunny show, but I think it got increasingly less funny with each passing season. That said, I think it jumped with the first "A very special..." episode. I can't remember which one that was-maybe the one where Carlton and Will end up in prison for being suspected car thieves, the one where Will gets shot at the ATM, the one where Carlton takes Will's speed, the one where Will lets that other basketball team's star player make the winning basket because the guy is a single dad who paid his dues to get there-but "Fresh Prince" wasn't a good show for special episodes. It was a goofy show (one of my favorites was the episode where Will wore the fat suit in the supermarket, where his pants fell around his knees and he didn't know it) and serious episodes just came off all wrong. Actually, I think the entire premise could easily have played itself out in under a season. The clash of classes has been played out enough through the years. But the show stayed humorous and Will Smith has a comical way about him that made even some of the crappier jokes come off successful. Meaningful episodes just didn't work right.
This was a great show to watch. It kinda started to jump when the actor for Vivian was changed. The new one was alright, but the first one was great! That also happened to be th time when everyone started growing up. Oh, and Vivian was pregnant with the new boy on the show (I can't really remember his name), she was pregnant in real life. So she quit to take care of her baby.
The re-casting of Vivian was NOT, in ANY WAY an act of shark-jumping. The move was not made of desperation to keep the show alive, ala the recasting the "The Dukes of Hazzard". The show actually jumped when the teen girl started singing. The actress was simultaneously working on musical career(with Wil Smith agreeing to produce her records) and these episodes with her singing were so obviously constructed as vehicles for her to display her talent as opposed to being honestly scripted to be good episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
To be fair, Fresh Prince didn't jump with Daphe Mawell-Reid. Actually, it got better. Janet Hubert-Whitten had an attitude both in-character and out that was not needed. Her attitude got her fired and in retrospect, she didn't fit in with the family. Daphne brought an air of sophistication and class to the role of Vivian that was missing with JHW. JHW portrayed Vivian as a ghetto bitch. Daphne was the glamour queen the show needed. I have discussed this with other people who found her to be more motherly. Also, when she joined the show, it was more realistic the parents would have 1 light-skinned child and 2 brown-skinned children. Fresh prince really jumped when little Nicky grew up overnight. Another potential moment was when Nia Long's character and Will almost got married. It did become a shark biter for the most part though, because the hype over their impending nuptials and subsequent break-up was sort of the death knell for the show in that it didn't have more to go because it dominated the storyline so much and on top of that, Nia just disappeared without so much as a mention.
When Vivian got the job teaching at the school and the 2 boys thought they'd ace the class as they were 2 black boys studying black history and got shown up by all the other whites in the class. It was the first episode I remember where it went all preachy and political about race, comedies are not supposed to "make you think", they're meant to make you laugh
There was an episode where Will's father showed up. They were all set to leave for a trucking trip across the country and his dad leaves without a word(ain't it always the way?). Will breaks down and collapses against Big Ol' Uncle Phil, screaming "Why doesn't he want me?". The episode ended on this father/son embracing statue with Will crying. Fade to black. The drama (oh the drama!) is just dying to be a part of your list.
For its first two seasons, this show was pretty funny, having an occasional misfire but on the whole it was good. The second season was the show's best. Partway through the third season the show's producers had another VSE and this time had Will give Carlton speed... or perhaps chum. The show went downhill after that; Carlton was essentially demonized, Hillary got stupider, Ashley tried too hard to be cool, Vivian was replaced by another actress, Phil's character essentially became jokes about him being fat, Will reduced his vocabulary to "Yo, whassup G?", the guest stars were wasted (Ben Vereen was the worst example, shoved into a VSE) and (dun dun dun) the baby came. UGH! That was merely the tip of the iceberg. A fine little show, ruined.
TFPoBA ( The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) was probably one of the best sitcoms of the 90's. Too bad it became a very big mess of a TV show. First of all, the Vivian replacement is probably a great actress, but she was utterly horrible on the show. In season 3, I could see Will's cockiness rubbed off to the other actors/actresses. Will became too dramatic, Carlton got too immature, Ashley became the voice of reason shockingly, Hilary got too stupid, Geoffry got too sarcastic, the new Vivian was just annoying, but I couldn't find anything bad about Phil. If you watch a 1st season episode, then watch a 5th season episode, you can see that all of the character's personalities are different. What a massive bummer.
When the show started in 1990, Vivian #1 was, in real life, 34, Hillary 24, Will 22, and Carlton 19. Vivian #2 was 46 when she started in '94. In the opening credits, Jazz is shown playing b-ball with Will in Philly but in Episode 2, "Bang the Drum, Ashley", Will introduces Jazz as having met him in a club the other night.
Vivian #1 looked like an educated, professional, business woman -- although she sure got ugly at the end of her pregnancy; Vivian #2 had no spark and was just a lump on the couch in every scene.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air never jumped. If anything, it did a reverse jump, kind of like the Odd Couple. The show took on its' successful format beginning in the second season. The first season, while not bad, was stilted. The entire first season was about "inner city" Will's contrast with his uninteresting, wealthy cousins, which got old fast. The Banks family was way too formal, the Banks kids, always wearing their school uniforms, looked like little Lord Fauntleroy's. Will's super serious soliloquy's to the camera had no spontaneity, and were read with all the humor of a funeral sermon. Carlton existed strictly as a straight man for Will. The first season design of the Banks house looked like the inside of an English Castle. You would never guess the show was set in the 1990s. It was kind of an all black, moribund version of Diff'rent Stokes, with the kind of educational, sociological ambitions of the Cosby Show. But beginning in the second season, things got funky. The show became a parody of itself, a parody of television and pop culture. Gone were pretensions of self-importance It was now surreal and unpredictable. The pace of the show, glacial in season #1, was now on speed dial. The interior of the house was completely revamped, the sets overflowing with colors, and the Banks kids dressed contemporary. Carlton was allowed to be funny in and of himself, his character taken hilariously to the point of absurdity, no longer just a straight man for Will. Will was looser- he stopped trying so hard to act, and just played himself. Welcome was the replacement of Janet Hubert-Whitten by Daphne Maxwell-Reid. Janet Hubert-Whitten was too dour. Daphne was flat out prettier, and more believable as the mother of the 3 Banks kids. It was unnecessary for the Bank's to have a fourth child, a cheap plot device, but did not hurt the quality of the show. Prince was still making me laugh in its' final season.
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10-03-2013, 04:05 PM
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Boned the Fish When...
