Product Description
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Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The: The Complete Second Season (DVD)
The prince is back and fresher than ever! In the second season of
this inspiring comedy, as the Banks family continues to adjust to
Will living with them in Bel-Air, they find themselves
questioning how they live in the process. Meanwhile, Will’s fear
of becoming like his uptight Uncle Philip and his preppy cousin
Carlton prompts him to take drastic action to make sure this
doesn’t happen. Race relations become a hot topic in the Banks
household when Will’s mother, Viola, has trouble accepting that
her sister Janice is marrying a Caucasian man. And Philip and
Vivian’s past returns with open arms when a Sixties radical is
invited into their home. Hilarity and heart combine in the second
season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Guest stars this season
include Nicholle Tom (The Nanny), Allen Payne (House of Payne)
and members of New Edition Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie
DeVoe.
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Before he became one of the biggest movie stars in the world,
Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black) spent six seasons as
a poor kid from Philadelphia who gets sent to his wealthy aunt
and uncle in California to learn some class--leading to a classic
sitcom collision of street smarts and pampered privilege. The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - The Complete Second Season finds the
show in a happy groove. Will and the Banks family snipe and
bicker cheerfully while grappling with problems ranging from
true-to-life to truly preous. The more realistic side of
life is found in episodes such as when Will's mother Vy (Vernee
Watson-Johnson) has a new boyfriend and Will gets jealous, or
when Will finds himself attracted to a girl (Queen Latifah,
Bringing Down the House), but won't take her to the prom because
she's overweight. The ridiculous side bursts out when Will and
his pompous cousin Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) decide to make money
by becoming strippers.
But whether realistic or silly, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
stays a crisp, clean sitcom, with snappy writing and brisk,
capable interplay among the cast, which also included James Avery
and Janet Hubert-Whitten as Mr. and Mrs. Banks, the tolerant and
usually sensible parents; Karyn Parsons as the spoiled,
narcissistic Hilary; Tatyana M. Ali as the cute, sassy Ashley;
and Joseph Marcell as the droll British butler Geoffrey. Despite
living in a fantasyland of wealth, the show regularly touched on
racial and class issues--lightly, but not turning a blind eye to
the complexities of American life. When Will's aunt Janice
(Charlayne Woodard, The Crucible) wants to marry a white man, Vy
refuses to accept the match; Geoffrey falls in love with a
neighbor, but rejects her when he learns that she's an heiress
and not a housekeeper. The writers are clever enough to subvert
expectations, such as when Will loses a basketball game so
another player can catch the eye of a pro scout--only to learn
that the other player thinks professional sports are an absurd
gamble and doesn't want that kind of career. Through it all, Will
Smith kept the show from being just a showcase for himself; he's
secure enough to let the other actors take the spotlight, but
carries episodes easily when they're built around him. No longer
a rookie in this season, his comic chops start to equal his cocky
charm, making the second season particularly strong. --Bret
Fetzer