When the police pull over Will and Carlton ( Alfonso Ribeiro) in a borrowed Mercedes, on the way to a Palm Springs vacation with Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv ( Janet Hubert-Whitten), Carlton, covered in the security blanket of his class, his rational thinking, and the fact that his father is a judge, assumes they will explain what's going on and drive away no harm done. As such, "Mistaken Identity" served (serves?) as a startling wake-up call, albeit one couched in comfort, comedy, and familiar class dynamics.
#FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR EPISODES HD SERIES#
(One year later, Rodney King's beating by police will spark a series of protests and clashes in Los Angeles.) But much of white America remained (remains?) ignorant of such targeted frissons. In 1990, when "Mistaken Identity" first aired on NBC, a gurgling of tensions and resentments between the Black community and the police, founded on an entire history's worth of subjugation and explicitly race-based violence, were churning nearly at a breaking point. Both parties have lots to positively learn about each other.
And, it lets Will have a "not what he seems" moment, too when Uncle Phil leaves the room after this chat, he notices Will playing Beethoven on the piano. It's a stunning piece of performance that lays the groundwork for the series' deft juggling of silliness and sincerity perfectly. That he heard Malcolm X, whom Will had deified earlier in the episode, speak in person. That he knew struggles and overcame them. Tells him he grew up on the streets of Baltimore.
And Uncle Phil, in the first of Avery's many perfect performances, sets him straight. That he has no idea what life on the streets is like. Will tells Uncle Phil ( James Avery) that he, straight up, has forgotten where he came from.
Class and race issues are at the core of Will's journey from Philadelphia to Bel-Air, and after a series of fish-out-of-water shenanigans where Will's lower-class upbringing clashes with the Banks' upper-class upbringing during a dinner party, these tensions explode explicitly. The theme, extended in this pilot, summarizes the "pauper to prince" narrative of Will's initial journey with catchy, goofy flavor, but it doesn't stop the inherent complexities of this initial narrative's center from being any less pertinent. Right from the jump, from episode 1, The Fresh Prince had more on its mind than its aesthetics might initially hint. "The Fresh Prince Project" (Season 1, Episode 1) For more on The Fresh Prince, here's the latest intel on the upcoming reboot. Grab a hankie, whistle for a cab, and take a trip down memory lane with me. In honor of The Fresh Prince's 30th anniversary, here are the 10 best times the sitcom got serious throughout its run, in chronological order. And when it digs into this core, it doesn't need silly jokes. But these are all catchy seasonings to a fundamentally kind, responsible, and curious main dish. The Fresh Prince is unbelievably silly, no doubt, with its oft-arch performances and willingness to surreally break the fourth wall ("How come we can't afford ceilings?" Will says in one episode, while the camera tilts up to literally show the studio lights). I believe it's because of the show's big, beating, sincere, courageous heart. In celebration of its 30th anniversary (the pilot aired September 10, 1990), I wondered why this show continues to play so wonderfully and warmly where so many other '90s sitcoms become forgotten. It's a special series to me, and to so many folks. Smith, playing a version of himself, lives with his extended family, and everyone lives, learns, laughs, loves, and grows with each other.
Originally airing from 1990 to 1996 for six seasons, the sitcom broke Will Smith through to superstardom in a series of episodes articulating his transition from life on the mean streets of West Philadelphia to life in the palatial mansions of Bel-Air (hmm, if only there was a catchy summary of this inciting incident). The Fresh Prince of Bel-Airwas, and continues to be, a breath of fresh air.