The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Synopsis

After a fight at a basketball court, a concern mom sends their son to live with family in Bel-Air. While there, he grows up and learns that the fighting style he came out with.

Review

This is a 90s classic. It is funny, until it isn't. However, it is the place where Will sharpened his teeth in acting and you can see that as he moves through the seasons. Constantly getting better, even as the writing got worse. I mean, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to write new stories for 6 years at 24 episodes a year. Plus all the fat jokes which were always good.

There is an episode in the final season where it is a classic bloopers' episode. It was good and helped call out some of the over acting that was comedic at the time, that just feels like pandering or stupidity now. I also have to remind myself that this show was meant for young adults, not old grizzled people.

One of the best things was a live audience and using the same set over and over. It meant you could pay attention to the screen without be distracted by the constantly changing background. Somehow it is different in this than How I Met Your Mother, but I think that because they had multiple different constant sets that did change with time. Whereas, this show kept the same one over and over.

My Rating

It is funny how I mention the background not changing as a good point, because this show is boring. By the 5th season, I was ready for it to finish. I still don't understand why they had Will and Lisa not get married. Then we never see the new dad anymore. It was like a fever dream. It has never sat right with me. One of my favorite episodes is probably the episode where Will's dad shows up. I've seen the Reunion special and Will says that when he was in that embrace with James Avery, James said to him "Now that is acting" as he had been mentoring and coaching him for years. Their relationships are the best part of this show and even though the 6th season was a drag, I still appreciate the tied knot at the end. Mainly because this show became relatively repetitive and slow, I am giving this a 7.

Parental Rating

Mom is in. She doesn't understand some jokes, but supporting family is a primary element in this show. There is no nudity and limited language as this did run on TV in the 90s. The violence is all toward dolls or manakins, not toward people mostly. Dad has never been a sitcom fan, and this isn't going to be the one he would start with, but it doesn't break any of his rules. Approved by both.

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