Product Description
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Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
Charming and cocky Will continues his reign as The Fresh Prince
of Bel-Air in the fourth fast-paced season of this hit family
comedy with heart. Will and Carlton are living large at college —
even though they live in their family’s pool house. When they’re
not hunting the honeys, like the superhot Jackie (Tyra Banks),
the boys pledge a fraternity, where Will finds out that racism
cuts both ways. At home, Will sneaks the dieting Philip some
snacks, not realizing he’s endangering his uncle’s life. And
Ashley breaks out of her childhood shell in a big way by
undergoing an extremely sexy makeover, exploring the dating world
and demanding some “Respect” from her parents by belting out the
classic song. Donald Trump, Hugh Hefner, Dick Clark, Ben Vereen
(Roots), Robert Guillaume (Benson), Pam Grier (Jackie Brown),
jazzman Branford Marsalis and Boys II Men guest star in this
laugh-filled 26-episode season of the freshest show around.
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The fourth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (which
aired on television for six years) finds Will (Will Smith) and
Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) as college freshmen trying to fit in on
campus. Carlton's mom, Vivian, who was played by Janet
Hubert-Whitten, is now portrayed by the attractive but
not-as-funny Daphne Maxwell Reid. And supermodel Tyra Banks shows
up as Will's latest girlfriend, Jackie. While not quite as strong
as the series' first two years, this fourth season--which aired
from 1993 to 1994--still packs plenty of laughs. Smith, who at
the time was busily parlaying his TV success into a film career,
had not yet become a huge movie star. His charm and likeability
were more important at this time than his acting skills, but
Smith's charisma is undeniable. Whether he's manipulating his
indulgent uncle Philip (James Avery), bossing around his bumbling
cousin Carlton, or basically pimping out his other cousin Hilary
(Karyn Parsons) to a professor in order to get a good grade, Will
comes across as a good boy who does stupid things. There is
always a lesson learned and, just as often, a lesson forgotten.
Though played for laughs, the series also deals with serious
subject matters in an evenhanded way. After Philip is told to
diet and exercise, Will thinks he's doing his uncle a favor by
sneaking him ty meals. When Philip has a heart attack, Will
has to deal with the consequences of what he did. Did he give
Philip the snacks to make his uncle happy, or because it made him
feel good to go against authority? When Will is accepted into a
snooty African-American fraternity that rejects Carlton, he
learns what it's like to discriminate against your own people.
Some of the characters on The Fresh Prince by now have
overstayed their welcome. Hilary has become a caricature of the
spoiled and ineffectual rich girl. And as with many sitcoms based
around their young stars, Philip and Vivian are superfluous
add-ons now. But Carlton's baby sister Ashley (Tatyana Ali), who
is growing into a lovely young woman, exhibits spunky exuberance
as she tackles the rituals of dating and trying to show her
parents she's not a little girl anymore. Ali also gets to show
off her singing chops this season, tackling Aretha Franklin's
"Respect." As for the show's celebrity guest stars (Donald Trump,
Hugh Hefner), it's Smith's former rapping partner DJ Jazzy Jeff
who makes the most refreshing appearance as (what else?) Will's
buddy from back in the day. --Jae-Ha Kim