Fresh Eyes

A Running Diary While Watching the Pilot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 25 Years Later

By: Jeff McDonough

Last week on September 10, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air celebrated its 25^th anniversary. It was back at the end of the summer of 1990 — a little less than a year before I was born — that the inaugural episode aired on NBC. To commemorate this milestone for one of my all-time favorite television shows, I decided to watch the pilot and keep a running diary of my to-the-second reactions. Fresh Prince is a special series for many reasons. It took a big chance by casting a popular rapper with no acting experience as its lead, and in turn launched the career of one of the biggest movie stars in history. Will Smith set a box office record last decade when eight straight films where he was the lead grossed over $100 million in the US alone. He had four previous $100 million domestic efforts before the streak as well, but took a short break from printing money to do some more serious films such as Ali — all that did was earn him his first Oscar nomination, no biggie. While Smith — whose character’s name, in true Seinfeld-ian fashion, is Will Smith — is the center of this universe around which everything else orbits, it ended up being much more of an ensemble show than I imagine the creators expected.

Each of the seven main characters gives a worthwhile performance — which consisted of eight actors because the role of the matriarchal Vivian was shared by Janet Hubert-Whitten and Daphne Maxwell Reid. Unlike most shows where a character has to be recast, this wasn’t a jumping-the-shark-type moment. I don't really consider one actress more the “true” Aunt Viv than the other — probably because they split their time so evenly and were both fine actresses. Hubert-Whitten was the original for the first three seasons before she was forcibly removed due to a reported attitude problem that caused friction amongst the cast and crew. Maxwell Reid took over for the final three seasons and is the only Aunt Viv seen in any reunion sort of setting. None of this is to slight memorable recurring guest stars like DJ Jazzy Jeff as Jazz, Nia Long as Will’s fiancé Lisa, Tyra Banks as Jackie, Ross Bagley as little Nicky and Vernee Watson-Johnson as Will’s mom. It is the relationships amongst the main characters, however, that make the series shine. So let's dive in and run back the pilot — alternatively titled “The Fresh Prince Project” — after two and a half decades. It is 22 minutes in length without commercials — you can stream it yourself here — and all times reflect how far into the episode we are.


00:29 – “In… West Philadelphia, born and raised…” Ah, the Fresh Prince theme song. For my money, it is the catchiest theme song — and most fun to recite — in TV history. Anyone under the age of 40 who doesn’t know the words to the Fresh Prince theme song, I immediately question as a human being.

00:48 – This is when it clicks that this is the extended version of the theme song — not the more condensed version that played regularly. For those of you who didn’t know about this, check out the video. There’s a part in between “…movin’ with you auntie and uncle in Bel-Air” and “I whistled for a cab…” where his mom is kicking him out and where he flies on the plane. I’ve often heard people say, “How could he afford a cab from Philly to LA?” -_____-

Come on, dumb-dumbs. The cab ride is clearly from the airport — presumably LAX, but perhaps John Wayne Airport in Orange County, both of which I traveled through over Labor Day Weekend. The producers assumed that we’d all be able to understand how he got from Philly to LA without showing us his travel itinerary.

01:36 – We reach the bittersweet end of the intro. I’m tempted to re-watch it. Let me just list the little things I noticed and loved:

·  How it opens with the throne that’s perpetually getting “flipped, turned upside down” in front a graffiti backdrop that just oozes ‘90s. Fresh. Prince. Got it.

·  When Will gets caught vandalizing, he mimes to the cop that the spray paint can is actually antiperspirant

·  A textbook airplane spin by the basketball bully

·  He daps the cabbie before the car even comes to a complete stop. The cabbie was apparently played by the executive producer of the show Quincy Jones, who apparently was a bigtime music producer for Michael Jackson in his prime, and apparently Rashida Jones is his daughter. Fun facts, indeed.

·  The kooky way he bobs his head around while waiting at the front door, as the intro fades to black

01:55 – I like that the series starts right where the intro left off. He gets let in the door by the butler Geoffrey. How fitting. These are the two funniest characters and they share one of my favorite relationships on the show. In the finale, when Geoffrey finally calls him Will instead of Master William? *tear* Also, Geoffrey is the one true king. The level of sarcasm and shade this man was able to dish out was incomparable, all while working a thankless job with seemingly endless hours. This is the only time Jeff with a “G” will be acceptable to me. He gets a pass; the dude’s a legend.

03:30 – Will comments that the Master William title “makes it sound like we back on the plantation.” Yeah, I always kind of thought that was weird. I had no idea they mentioned it directly, let alone so soon into the series. Ah, Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil are here. Vivian is his aunt by blood and Phil is married in, so the “loving embrace vs. handshake” approach they each have makes sense then.  Will cracks a fat joke at Uncle Phil’s expense — a harbinger of things to come — and also has to explain that “stupid” and “dope” are actually positive adjectives. Oh, ‘90s…

5:52 – Will’s outfit is a marvel. Neon and blue with a camera satchel. And Uncle Phil actually has some hair, and it’s dark. This isn’t how I remembered him in my mind’s eye. I guess in later seasons Will’s presence there had taken its toll, as far as balding and graying. Ashley! She looks so young. Apparently, Tatyana Ali was 11 in real life. Wait… Ashley Banks is 36 now. Good Lord.

6:12 – Hilary enters with her first line of the series: “Dad, I need $300.” Perfect. Quick thought: Does anyone remember her co-starring performance in 1995’s Major Payne opposite Damon Wayans as a drill instructor? No, just me? Wow, she just dropped some premo ‘80s/’90s names for the “Save the Ozone Celebrity Bus” event she’s attending: Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy and either Charlie Sheen or Emilio Estevez; she can’t remember which — nowadays we’d all know it’s Sheen because no one’s seen Estevez since D3.

7:31 – Will dances to “Back to Life” by Soul II Soul as he staples a Malcolm X poster to the wall of his new bedroom. There are no words.

9:54 – Carlton! I can’t believe he isn’t seen ‘til ten minutes into the episode. Maybe they didn’t realize how important of a character he would be. He is just kind of a snooty dweeb at the beginning. The performance by Alfonso Ribeiro really fleshed out his character into something memorable. So, Will doesn’t even recognize him. Now that I think about it, he thought Geoffrey was Uncle Phil at first and didn’t remember Ashley. He must have not seen these relatives in ages. I know it’s cross-country, but still. You’re going to live with these people. I guess Vivian and Will’s mom are sisters, so whatever.

10:20 – And there’s the Carlton short joke to match the Uncle Phil fat joke. We’re hitting all the checkmarks. Carlton’s hero is Bryant Gumbel. “He’s darn good.” Hahaha

12:01 – So there’s a fancy Bel-Air dinner party the night their nephew from West Philly moves in. I’m sure this will all go swimmingly. Wait, they live in the same neighborhood as (at that time) newly-retired President Reagan. The GOP candidates would be so thrilled. And the incredibly vapid Hilary Banks just said “Global Warming.” In 1990… Already more mentions than in the debate. Zing!

13:23 – Ah, yes. Uncle Phil’s law firm is Firth, Wynn & Meyer — obviously solely to set up an Earth, Wind & Fire joke. Will’s antics are not going over well. Oh no, he’s even corrupting young Ashley with his rap music!

16:04 – Will and Uncle Phil have a heart-to-heart about Will’s “flippant shenanigans” and whether Uncle Phil “forgot where [he] came from.” This is the best scene of the pilot. At face value, the premise of the show is just a fish-out-of-water comedy; nothing special. A kid from a bad Philly neighborhood (who we all know is a hip-hop star) moves in with his hoity-toity relatives in a ritzy Bel-Air mansion. If that’s all the show was we wouldn’t be talking about it 25 years later. Fresh Prince transcended its premise.

Will judges his Uncle and thinks he’s a soft sellout. Uncle Phil opens Will's eyes and shows him that he had a childhood just like his and worked his way up to make a better life for his family. He even saw Will’s hero Malcolm X speak in person. Uncle Phil, in turn, judges Will as just some punk kid who takes nothing serious. Uncle Phil scolds Will and walks off before hearing him out. As Will begins to play a lovely rendition of Beethoven’s “Für Elise” on the piano, Uncle Phil pokes his back in the room and is taken aback. That look on Uncle Phil’s face — where he realizes the potential Will has, as well as the fact that he was also judging Will before getting to know him — is emblematic of the soul of this series.

19:12 – We wind down from the depth of that moment with a sweet interaction between Will and Ashley. He shows that he doesn’t want to be a bad influence. He just wants to open her horizons a little, and he'll make sure he looks out for her.

20:57 – Then we have Carlton singing “Silly Love Songs” by Wings in the shower. That is the first taste of Carlton’s musical endeavors, we’ll call them. Then we get a little glimpse at how the cousins are going to have to coexist now all living together.

21:35 – And we’re done. The outro kicks in, which again, is insanely catchy.

So as far as reviewing the episode itself, it’s a pretty effective pilot. Each character is introduced through the lens of our protagonist Will, whom we also get to know decently well. They also do a nice job of world building in setting up our posh Bel-Air atmosphere — despite the fact the episode takes place entirely within the Banks’ home. It’s a lot of exposition, but it's a fun ride and there are some good laughs.

Fresh Prince is one of my top-5 favorite comedies of all time, but most of my favorite moments involved no jokes. This show had incredible heart and you really grew to love this family. The father-son relationship Will and Uncle Phil develop — we got a peak at its beginnings in the pilot — tugs at the heartstrings throughout. They tease each other and often get into more serious arguments, but the love they grow to have for one another is palpable. The scene where Uncle Phil comforts Will after his real father shows up and gets his hopes up, only to abandon him all over again, is one of my favorite from any TV show, bar none.

I was very saddened to hear about James Avery's passing on New Year’s Eve two years ago. Avery also voiced the supervillain Shredder in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and had a recurring role on That ‘70s Show, which combined with Uncle Phil, make him an absolute treasure from my childhood. This show has continued to live on in syndication on TBS, Nickelodeon, ABC Family, BET, MTV and local affiliates. That's a true testament to its greatness after nearly 20 years off the air. In that famous scene I just mentioned, Will asks Uncle Phil with a whimper, “How come he don’t want me, man?” Well, I think we’ve all proved our devotion to the man formerly known as the Fresh Prince in the years since. And over all those years, we've never forgotten his pals from Bel-Air either.