Downloaded the first season of the show and finished it up last night.
I liked every episode. It was surprisingly strong for a first season, especially compared to its contemporaries The Simpsons and Seinfeld.
To be truthful, I didn't start watching Fresh Prince until 1994, but I managed to catch up anyways around that time via re-runs. It was a pretty big part of my childhood, and despite the fact I hadn't seen it since the 90's, I still held it high regard. Re-watching the first season really shows it has earned its place in American lexicon and pop culture, and it just wasn't something cool to watch at the time, unlike other shows back then like 90210 or Baywatch.
A lot of the issues still stick with me today, and are still relevant many years later. Each episode tackles something interesting:
- Will's perception of Carlton and "blackness".
- The loss of innocence of a young girl (Ashley) as she slowly goes through the season, ending in her final maturation as a pre-teen.
- Will's loose interest in black american history, because he read Malcolm X's autobiography three times, without attempting to understand the lessons from that book.
- The complicated characterization of Will, who often does things to act out and how others percieve him, but is a young man who has yet to realize his maximum potential due to his upbringing and young environment
- The tendency of successful black people to forget their roots, and become ashamed of where they came from in the midst of success and prestige.
- Carlton's dealing with the naive thinking that he can overcome anything in spite of his father, in spite of his money, in spite of his success, in spite of being black.
One thing I love is that there's no bullshit. It's perfect for a comedy starring black folk. I forgot how the show does little to horse around. In most sitcoms of this type, there's always a lesson, and everything's okay. But in Fresh Prince, any time someone does something, and they'll often not even have the last word. For instance, in the episode where Will says he wants to have black history added to the history class curriculum, Vivian tells him straight up that he dishonors the legacy of his ancestors by having a loose and vapid interest in black american history. He walks in with a Malcolm X shirt, and he says he's read Malcolm X three times, but can't be assed to read the rest of the history, and assumes that he will coast by in the black history class by virtue of being black. Aunt Viv calls him out on it, and he knows he's wrong. There's no "sorry aunt Viv", there's no family hug at the end. It ends with Will, left without a retort, giving in and picking up a book.
The episode where Carlton learns about discrimination is also heart breaking.
The writing is almost always on point, and the show offers enough ways to make you think about its content without imposing a super long-winded psa like Family Matters or Cosby sometimes did. When it tells a message, it's often through direct REAL TALK (tm)
or through comedy.
When I was a kid, I thought the character of Carlton was a complete joke. But as an adult, I find him a completely well-rounded and amazingly well-written character. How he grows, Alphonso's line delivery "Can you clean mine?"
"Bryan Gumbel, he's darn good"
, and his relationship with Will just makes for truly special television. But more than that, what continues to impress me is how realistic the characterization of the characters is. Sure, it's a sitcom, but the characters - especially Will - often act how teenagers actually act. It's charming in its authenticity without coming off as cheesecake like other family sitcoms.
The one problem I have so far is sexism. There's a girl in almost every episode that's used as a prop, Will and Carlton fighting over like scraps. In one episode, Will dates a college student (Jasmine Guy!!!
). At the beginning of the episode they make it a point that hey, she's a woman, not a girl, and they have little in common. But somehow the magic works and Will finds a way into her pants. But her character is used as window dressing to help accentuate the point to not drop out of school. When Ashley goes on her first date with a local celebrity, Uncle Phil has Will and Carlton follow them, and invade the date to have a one on one talk, because remember guys, Ashley is a possession you buy in a store "and no one will ever be good enough" (Uncle Phil's words). It's the only backwards piece of writing in the show, but it's evened out by the incredibly strong female lead characters such as Vivian and grandma Banks.
TLDR; Fresh Prince is still the captivating, humor filled show I loved 20 years ago and it's been fun to revisit.
Onward to season 2!
