Mention Will Smith’s name, and people instantly think of his array of blockbuster hit movies from the past couple of decades. If you dial back farther, though, Smith undeniably has his roots in music, and it was his rap career in the late ’80s that first made him a household name. After some IRS related woes, he neared financial ruin before NBC gave him the perfect opportunity to jump start his career in a different but related direction. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted in 1990, starring Smith as a fictionalized version of himself. Having left his hometown of Philadelphia, Will moves to California to live with his upscale aunt and uncle. Using Will Smith’s rap background as a vehicle for the comedy, Fresh Prince played on the family’s culture clashes to provide six seasons worth of laughs.
The first five seasons previously saw home video releases, and now Warner Bros at last has brought the sixth and final season to DVD. The new box set hit stores on April 19 and includes all 24 episodes from season 6, collected on 3 DVDs. The episodes range from classic Fresh Prince material to some puzzling guest-centric outings to even a backstage episode full of bloopers. It all culminates in a two-part finale that serves as a touching and memorable send-off.
As The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air rolled into its sixth season, it had become popular enough to draw from a huge list of big name guest stars. Nearly every episode of this sixth season features somebody new and recognizable dropping by the Banks mansion. Chris Rock appears in the second episode of the seasons, followed later by the likes of blues legend B.B. King, Jaleel “Urkel” White, Jay Leno, and Richard Roundtree. Dick Clark appears on the blooper episode (“I, Whoops, There It Is”), and there’s even a parade of TV sitcom favorites toward the end of the series, featuring the in-character casts of Diff’rent Strokes and The Jeffersons. As if that were not enough, William Shatner beams in for the episode “Eye, Tooth.”
Fans of Will Smith and of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will want to complete their collections with this final box set. The series launched Smith into some hugely successful acting roles, and it’s fun to see him in the mid-’90s on the cusp of his new career.
