Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The-Season 1 (1990)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Back To Bel-Air: A Fresh Look
Rating
Year Of Production	1990
Running Time	599:30 (Case: 588)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (5)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Debbie Allen Madeline Cripe Ellen Falcon Eddie Gorodetsky
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Will Smith James Avery Janet Hubert-Whitten Daphne Reid Alfonso Ribeiro Karyn Parsons Tatyana Ali Joseph Marcell Ross Bagley
Case	?
RPI	$59.95	Music	Quincy Jones III Marco Marinangeli Will Smith

Before Will Smith became the Oscar nominated A-list star he is today he started as one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. The duo started their celebrated music career in 1985 with their own unique brand of rap and hip-hop which was radio-friendly and therefore widely accessible to the mass audience as it was devoid of politics and profanity. In fact, their music was based around parodies of popular films such as Nightmare on Elm Street, famous personas such as Mike Tyson and the usual teenage angst issues, for example their song ‘Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble’.

By 1989 not only had DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince won a Grammy award for ‘Parents Just Don't Understand’, but their debut LP had sold millions of copies worldwide. In the same year a new genre of rap was also on the rise which was politically aware and dealt with mature issues with groups such as Public Enemy and N.W.A. In order to stay relevant in the shifting popular culture Will Smith risked all. With the help of producer Quincy Jones he opted to move to television. NBC agreed to the sitcom even though Smith had not had any professional acting experience, although as part of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince he was very popular on MTV.

Andy Borowitz and Susan Borowitz created the show “The Fresh Prince” based on Will Smith’s persona as a musician/rap artist. While in the show he is referred to as Will Smith, the character’s full name is ‘William’ Smith, and in real life he is ‘Willard’ Smith. More importantly the producers cast established actors who had performed on Broadway, film and television, in the hope that Smith would learn from his peers. They were James Avery as Phillip Banks and Janet Hubert-Whitten as Vivian Banks who portrayed Smith’s Uncle and Aunt respectively. Smith’s cousins were portrayed by Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton, Karyn Parsons as Hilary and Tatyana Ali as Ashley.

It would be this ensemble dynamic which would be at the heart of ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ as the storylines were based around the family rather then Smith as a comedic individual. The premise of the show is that Smith’s mother, Viola 'Vy' Smith (Vernee Watson-Johnson), in the hope of giving her son William Smith (Will Smith) a better opportunity to excel academically and gain employment opportunities sends her immature wayward son to the wealthier and distinguished Banks family in Bel-Air. The Bank’s family are an African American family living in a prestigious Los Angeles estate. They are sophisticated and refined but somewhat out of touch with the real world. As Smith enters this world, both the family and Smith will learn about respect, individuality and family values.

Another element of the situation comedy is the well written characters. Vivian Banks is an influential academic of Black History and Black Literature and is most encouraging and accepting of Smith until he steps out of line, while Phillip Banks is a successful lawyer (later on in the series a Judge) who tries to set an example for Smith. It is revealed earlier in the season that both these characters have earned their wealth and respect, both endured hardship to earn an education and be accepted in worlds in which they are a minority due to their underprivileged upbringing. Their children, 21 year old Hilary, 17 year old Carlton and 12 year old Ashley are privileged, spoiled and unaware of any struggle, while being waited on hand and foot by their unimpressed British butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell). Smith exists between these two worlds as he is from the poorer districts of Philadelphia, which is a similar background to that of his Uncle and Aunt and he easily fits in with his cousins who share the same adolescent anxieties.

Despite the seriousness of some the issues covered in the show, mostly dealing with a commentary on plights of African American youth, the show is highly amusing. It is very much a live action cartoon with Smith often looking into the camera, physical sight-gags, well written one-liners and inspired visual gags i.e. the thought bubble. Also there is the inclusion of Jazz (Jeffrey A. Townes aka DJ Jazzy Jeff) who played Smith’s dim-witted best friend, and who always made a memorable exit in each show he appeared in.

Season 1 was broadcast in the USA during 1990-1991. As a result new-comers to the show may not understand some of the punch-lines of the jokes which revolve around early 90s popular culture such as New Kids on the Block, Milli Vanilli and The Brat Pack. There were also numerous musical guests such Heavy D, Al B. Sure!, Tevin Campbell and Queen Latifah as well as numerous sports personalities such as Bo Jackson, Isiah Thomas and Evander Holyfield as well as Hank Azaria, Vivica A. Fox, Naomi Campbell and Kathy Griffin. For those who remember the show, time has been good to ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ - it is still comedic and from what I can tell all the music remains intact ranging from hip-hop, rap, R&B and rock.

Season 1 sets up the show's premise well and by the end of the season all of the characters are on the verge of growth and acceptance. Hilary wants a ‘glamorous’ career, Smith and Carlton are in their final year of education and Ashley is no longer a child but an adolescent all the while as Phillip and Vivian learn a thing or two from Smith’s frankness and unstoppable confidence.

All 25 episodes are included in the DVD box set in the same order they were originally broadcast in:

Disc 1

The Fresh Prince Project

Will Smith joins the Banks family unaware his boisterous antics are somewhat unimpressive to the Banks.

Bang the Drum, Ashley

Will bonds with Ashley and tries to open her mind to other musical styles than the classical music she learns as a result of her father’s insistence..

Clubba Hubba

As Will starts to get used to his new lifestyle, he meets a girl at the country club; with Carlton’s help he tries to impress her and her father with a ‘preppie’ act. .

Not With My Pig, You Don't

Phillip isn’t getting along well with his parents who have come to visit him; Will tries to mend the situation. .

Homeboy, Sweet Homeboy

Ice-Tray, a friend of Will’s, comes to visit and much to the disapproval of Phillip and Vivian, Ice-Tray befriends Hilary.

Disc 2

Mistaken Identity

On a trip to Palm Springs to return a vehicle, Will and Carlton get lost and are mistaken for car thieves.

Def Poet's Society

Will invents Raphael De LaGhetto in an attempt to impress a girl, which of course backfires on him.

Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect (1)/ Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect (2)

Hilary is hosting a Halloween party and all the family attend, while Will and Carl compete for a date.

Kiss My Butler

Will organises a surprise date for Geoffrey.

Disc 3

Courting Disaster

Will and Carlton are both friend and foe and in this episode Carlton tries to outshine Will who has become a popular basketball star at school.

Talking Turkey

Will’s mother Viola visits the family for Thanksgiving although she is appalled at what Will has become.

Knowledge is Power

Day D*** One

Deck the Halls

Disc 4

The Lucky Charm

One of Phillip’s clients takes a shine to Will and employs him much to Phillip’s disapproval.

The Ethnic Tip

Will complains about the lack of Black History taught at his school in an attempt to explain his lack of enthusiasm in history class. As a result Vivian is employed to teach at Will and Carlton’s school, much to their dismay.

The Young and the Restless

Grandma Banks visits the family and rebels due to Phillip’s restrictions.

It Had To Be You

Jazz sets Will up on a date with his sister.

Nice Lady

Disc 5

Love at First Fight

A college student of Vivian’s begins a relationship with Will but unfortunately her studies begin to suffer and Vivian asks Will to stop seeing her.

Banks Shot

Will deliberately disobeys Phillip and finds himself being hustled by pool sharks.

72 Hours

In order to show Carlton the real world Will insists Carlton should spend time in a poor district as a financial consultant.

Just Infatuation

Ashley goes on her first date much to her father’s, brother’s and cousin’s dismay.

Working It Out

Hilary gets a job as a personal assistant to a famous star only to feel mistreated.

A running joke throughout Kevin Smith’s Jersey Girl, which is set in the mid 90’s, is Will Smith being referred to by Ben Affleck’s PR character as no more than an untalented flash in the pan, who's about to risk all by starring in an alien film called Independence Day.

Who could have predicted Smith’s future Hollywood success? As The Fresh Prince of Bel Air ceased in 1996, immediately an onslaught of Smith’s films proved successful such as Bad Boys and Independence Day. Nevertheless this sit-com was his launching pad and his musical career is somewhat still in existence.

I recommend this box-set to fans of the show who want to be nostalgic about the clothes, music and humour that was "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air".

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

The show is presented in its original broadcast ratio 1.33:1 Fullscreen.

The picture is bright but the overall image has a soft tinge. The average Bitrate is consistent at 5.3 Mb/s.

There are no major defects to report except some minor grain.

Those who watched the show when it was originally broadcast will remember the colourful outfits Smith wore and the colour of the transfer is very good and skin tones look natural.

Subtitles are true to the onscreen dialogue.

The layer changes are between episodes and thus undetectable.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is basic.

Dialogue is very clear and but the overall sound as expected is front-focussed rather than all encompassing.

The show is based around a lot of music - often the characters dance to what’s on the radio and Will is often shown arriving with a portable stereo on his shoulder. Smith composed the theme song and the episode titled ‘Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect: Part 1’ featured his song "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble".

This is a solid mix but somewhat underwhelming.

Also included are an Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 track and a French Dolby Digital 1.0 track.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Main Menu Audio

The main menu features the first few bars of the show’s theme looping under a static image of a family portrait.

Featurette

A 16 minute featurette titled Back at Bel-Air: A Fresh Look is included on Disc 5. As expected Will Smith does not make an appearance, and nor do the actresses who played Vivian Banks (she was replaced in 1993) or Hilary Banks. The actor who played Carton is also missing. Rather the interviewees are James Avery (Phillip Banks), Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks) and Joseph Marcell (Geoffery). Also interviewed are the crew and the original creators of the show. The short special feature is informative in regards to the show's beginnings and how the show filtered into early 90s pop-culture. Overall it’s a glossy nostalgic piece.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

The Region 1 release is identical except they have spread the episodes over 4 discs, not 5.

Summary

An excellent season box-set of the classic situation-comedy.

Average DVD in terms of sound and vision.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Vanessa Appassamy (Biography)
Saturday, January 28, 2006

Review Equipment
DVD	Denon DVD-1910, using DVI output
Display	Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
Amplification	Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS
Speakers	(Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12

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