When I watched the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion last year, I was immediately filled with nostalgia. Watching some of my favorite characters reunite one last time on that old, familiar living room set was such a joy and brought back a flood of memories. I can't even imagine what that experience was like for the actual actors who made me laugh so hard during the show's six-year run (and the many, many more years of watching Fresh Prince syndicated). I was a bit sad that exchange between Will Smith and Janet Hubert, while genuine, still seemed more self-serving instead of actually healing old wounds. I was relieved to see such a touching moment between Hubert and Daphne Maxwell Reid, Hubert's replacement when she was basically forced to leave the show. I was saddened by the remembrance of the late James Avery. I loved learning so many new things, particularly all that went into the casting decisions when the show first started. It was a great reunion episode.
After watching the reunion, my wife confessed that she hadn't seen all the episodes when she was a kid, so I dutifully rewatched the entire series once again! While I still new every great line (I should; I've been quoting them for years), I will admit that the show didn't hold up impeccably as I thought it would. The writing followed pretty standard set-up-for-punchline rhythms throughout most episodes. There wasn't really a lot of intrigue. But that's okay. Fresh Prince is perfect comfort food that doesn't take itself seriously, even when it tackled very serious topics (this show had far more important messages than people probably realize).
After rewatching all the episodes once again, I have compiled a list of my 10 favorite episodes (please note this doesn't mean I think these are the 10 best episodes). The wife also has a list of her 10 favorite episodes, and we both allowed ourselves one honorable mention. So without further ado, here is my Top 10 Fresh Prince Episodes list:
Honorable Mention: Season 4, Ep. 13: Twas the Night Before Christening
Will tries to one-up his cousins' gift to baby Nicky by telling them he'll get Boys II Men to sing at his Christening. He goes through quite the adventure, but he pulls it off. Boys II Men then sing a great song, which reminded me of how good that group was back in the day. I'll also shout out one of the funniest moments in the show's history when Carlton thinks his prank on Will involving Lisa backfired and proceeds to freak out by crawling all the way across the floor and racing from set to set (breaking the fourth wall, of course). The rest of the episode was rather bad, but Carlton's moment was a highlight of the series.
No. 10 - Season 3, Ep. 22: No Business Like Show Business
D.L. Hughley guest stars as a friend of Will's who does stand-up comedy. They even do a funny skit to pick up unsuspecting women. Not to be outdone by anyone, of course, Will decides he can be a better comedian than his friend. This, of course, backfires in hilarious fashion, but the real point of the story is just to shoehorn an excuse to watch Hughley give us several minutes of great stand-up comedy. I used to know the entire set, and even now I could quote a huge chunk of it. Hughley's bits about wearing gang colors on a plaid shirt, and how drivers in L.A. all have carphones (back when this was a new idea) are two of my favorites.
No. 9 - Season 1, Ep. 24: Just Infatuation
As a big brother to a little sister, I really appreciated how overprotective Carlton and Will were when Ashley's crush - a young boy who's a famous singer - surprises her at her birthday party (Ashley proceeds to faint, of course!). I love the moment when Phil is talking all sweet to Ashley when she leaves for her date with him, then basically lets the hounds loose when he tells Will and Carlton to follow them. They, of course, make total fools of themselves, then, after realizing it was the first date for him, too, they finally get all mushy. A funny episode that all the older brothers out there can relate to.
No. 8 - Season 4, Ep. 24: Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse
Fresh Prince didn't do too many overly serious, dramatic episodes, but when they did, these episodes truly stood out as some of the best. When Will's long-lost father shows up out of nowhere, they feel the obvious awkwardness that would ensue in a situation like that, then they feel those warm, fuzzy feelings when they start to rekindle their relationship. Will even is convinced his father is a changed man, so much so that he wants to drop everything and start a new life with his dad. The trouble, of course, is his dad ditches him once again. The scene with Will and Phil at the end, when Will yells in anger, then cries and begs the question "How come he don't want me, man?" is a tear-jerker every single time. Maybe the best acting Will does the entire series.
No. 7 - Season 1, Ep. 7: Def Poet's Society
Will puts his foot in his mouth by making up a poet named Raphael de la Ghetto (who comes up with names like this?! So funny) and reading some of his works. It works, because the girl he's trying to get with makes out with him, though Will doesn't realize it when she stops kissing him (maybe the funniest mouth gestures ever). To make matters worse, Will says he can bring Raphael to this school poetry reading. So Will convinces Jazz to find someone to play the part, but Jazz bails at the last minute, so Will convinces Geoffrey to do it. This might've been Geoffrey's finest hour of the entire series. His performance is riveting - he's wearing a giant afro wig and a dashiki - until his cover is blown in spectacular fashion. And what does Jazz do? He steps in and pretends HE'S Raphael and steals the girl Will was trying to swoon the whole episode by using the most romantic line of all-time: "Let's go get some barbecue and get busy" (works every time!). Turns out Will's poetry got everyone dates except himself.
No. 6 - Season 2, Ep. 1: Did the Earth Move For You?
Will and his girlfriend are in that annoying lovey dovey phase of their dating relationship, but an earthquake shakes things up (pun intended) when they get trapped in the basement. I could recite about 95 percent of their dialogue in that room, because every line is oozing with comedy genius. Will finds out his girl isn't exactly honest with her appearance ("Since we've down here, you've given me your nails, your eyeballs, and your hair. Now what else on your body can I get at the mall? So good!). The topper is when he makes up a song for her:
I'm stuck in a basement sitting on a tricycle / Girl gettin on my nerves / Goin out of my mind / I thought she was fine / Don't know if her body is hers
Their sarcastic back-and-forths are hilarious throughout the episode.
No. 5 - Season 3, Ep. 14: Winner Takes Off
Geoffrey swindles Will and Carlton by betting on a taped recording of Jeopardy. So Will and Carlton get him back by making Geoffrey think he won the lottery by showing a tape of the previous week's lottery numbers. Money sure does bring out the true side of people in some ways, right? When Geoffrey thinks he won millions, he doesn't hold back as he announces he's quitting. When he realizes he didn't win, he's too embarrassed to stay, so he quits anyway. Uncle Phil goes ballistic on the boys when he learns what happened with one of his funniest rants: "Look, you big-earned freeloader. You take your square-headed cousin and you find Geoffrey, and you bring him back. Or they'll never find your bodies. And I'm a judge. I can make it happen." Will and Carlton track down Geoffrey and embarrass him at his new job by pretending to be his poor sons. "Carlton knows we can't afford any bigger clothes, so he just doesn't grow," Will says in the middle of the restaurant. Carlton follows by crying, "Dad, I want to grow."
No. 4 - Season 5, Ep. 15: Bullets Over Bel-Air
This was another one of the great heavy episodes. Will gets shot on the street protecting Carlton (though he says he was just trying to get out of the way, of course). Carlton is one shaken up from the whole ordeal, though, and he goes out and buys a gun. Will and Carlton have some well-acted heated discussions. Will takes the gun from Carlton, then empties the chamber and starts sobbing as the reality of what he went through finally hit him (no more jokes as a coping mechanism). Powerful episode.
No. 3 - Season 2, Ep. 9: Cased Up
The most underrated episode by far, this episode's story had the best writing from a technical standpoint, and the one-liners and hilarious scenes never stopped. The entire courtroom scene is one uproar after another of sheer comedy. Few moments are better than watching Jazz and Will be so dramatic when they take the witness stand, followed by Hillary going off on useless tangents. And for some reason, everyone smelled cheap cologne and fried chicken. Malcolm Jamal Warner's guest appearance had a couple of funny wink-and-nod moments to the audience. Oh yeah, and we get the funniest version of Jazz getting tossed when he laughs at Uncle Phil and says "Joke's on you, Mr. Banks. You can't throw me out, because I'm already outside." Phil, of course, proceeds to throw him IN the house. So funny.
No. 2 - Season 4, Ep. 26: The Philadelphia Story
This felt like such a meta episode, yet it made perfect sense. Will finally goes back to visit Philly. He soon learns his reputation was squashed because everyone thinks he ran to California like a chicken (Will even gets a chicken sandwich named after him). Will decides he needs to fight the bully that made him leave Philly in the first place (the dude that spins Will over his head in the opening credits) to rebuild his reputation. The Rocky training montage was pretty cool, then humorously ends with Will collapsing to the ground exhausted as a passerby steals something off of him while he's lying there. The episode ends the entire season with a great cliffhanger as Will tells Phil and Vivian that he's not going back to Bel-Air. So how does the first scene of the premiere to start the next season resolve this great cliffhanger? By sending an NBC van to pick up Will and remind him of the show's title, of course (after all, it's not called the Fresh Prince of Philadelphia).
No. 1 - Season 3, Ep. 3: That's No Lady, That's My Cousin
This is Fresh Prince at its core: Will hitting on the girls at school with so many outlandishly hilarious one-liners; Will, Carlton, and a few other guys giving commentary on girls as they walk by (Carlton gets shoved by the "East German team" girl is incredibly hilarious). Will approaches one girl who doesn't give in to the lame pick-up lines, which only makes him want her more. Then there's some new hot girl who starts getting the attention of the boys, and Carlton can't help but feel intrigued by this young new prospect. Will informs Carlton that this girl is "YOUR BABY SISTER, MAN," to which Carlton simply responds "AHHHHHHHHH!" in complete terror. Ashley may have been using some tricks to make her body look....a little further along than it really was, but this episode still announced to the world that Tatyani Ali was not a 12-year-old anymore. Later on, Will thinks he has an epiphany about how he treats girls, but that turns out to be a false alarm that is immediately followed by one last pick-up line to a girl who walks right by him. Fresh Prince is a simple comedy show, and this episode makes me laugh so much every time.
And here is The Wife's Top 10 Fresh Prince Episodes list, though the episodes are listed in chronological order and not necessarily in ranked order. She had a balance of older episodes with the newer ones (I skewed more toward the older episodes). We did have a few crossovers, but we had plenty of variety in the episodes we liked the most:
Honorable Mention: S5, Ep. 21 - Save The Last Trance
JoyBeth loved when Will got hypnotized and started acting like a little child, which comes into play when he tries to take Nicky to get him into a nice school. Will gets so giggly!
S1, Ep. 12 - Talking Turkey
Will's mom comes out to visit the family in Bel-Air. The kids volunteer to make Thanksgiving, but it doesn't turn out quite right. The embarrassment in this episode is felt throughout. Watching the kids pretend they know what they're doing in the kitchen is simply hilarious.
S1, Ep. 13 - Knowledge is Power
Hillary drops out of college and doesn't tell her parents, but Carlton and Will find out (separately), and totally blackmail her into doing their bidding. JoyBeth especially loved the scene at the dinner table when Carlton and Will belittle Hillary in front of everyone by making her bark like a dog, insult Will, then praise Will. One of the greatest scenes in the early years of the show for sure.
S2, Ep. 1 - Did the Earth Move For You?
I was excited when JoyBeth finally got to watch this episode, because she heard my family quoting this episode, including the song, for a long time. When she watched the episode, she loved it, too.
S3, Ep. 19 - Just Say No
One of JoyBeth's favorite episodes that had a more serious tone. Carlton accidentally takes the wrong kind of drugs from Will's locker and is rushed to the hospital. Will's regret is truly felt. JoyBeth appreciated the acting in the key moments, and she liked that the writers were willing to tackle tough subjects.
S3, Ep. 22 - No Business Like Show Business
JoyBeth also appreciated the stand-up comedy. She rolled her eyes when Will and D.L. Hughley's character did their bit to pick up women, but couldn't help but laugh when Will broke the fourth wall and looked at the crowd after getting the girl's phone number.
S4, Ep. 13 - Twas the Night Before Christmas
JoyBeth was a sucker for the incredible version of Silent Night and the songs that Boyz To Men sang at the end of this episode. The iconic 90s R&B group played themselves in the episode and bailed out Will by showing up at baby Nicky's christening. Will, of course, overpromised what he was giving Nicky as a present after seeing the lavish gifts his cousins were giving him.
S4, Ep. 24 - Papa's Got A Brand New Excuse
Another great serious episode, and JoyBeth loved the acting and emotions in the final scene when Will was crying and yelling and when Uncle Phil was trying to comfort him.
S5, Ep. 5 - Fresh Prince the Movie
JoyBeth was dying laughing at Brad Garrett, who played the FBI guy hunting down Will and his family as they try to survive in the government protection program. The episode is so funny considering we see the Banks family try to live like hillbillies despite how spoiled they've been their whole lives. The twist at the end revealing that the story was made up was a nice touch for JoyBeth.
S5, Ep . 11 - Will Steps Out
Two of the best laughs from the wife came from this episode. The first was when Will wore the fat suit and stalked Lisa in the grocery store without realizing his pants were down. It was sweet when he tells her he loves her in front of everyone, too. The second laugh was when Will gave Carlton his "chicksionary" and Carlton gets super pumped and amped (with a glowing radiance surrounding him when he took hold of the book) and says "I can feel the power!"
S5, Ep. 22 - to Thine Own Self Be Blue...and Gold
This episode BY FAR had JoyBeth's favorite scene of the entire show. She seriously busted up laughing, and we even rewound the scene to watch it again. Will is taking a briefcase across town for Uncle Phil's friend, but when he proves he can break into the briefcase no problem, he sees a giant stack of money and realizes Uncle Phil's friend is trying to bribe people. But Will just goes off. His voice changes, he pretends he didn't see the money, and he just spouts off hilarious excuses for why he doesn't want to take the briefcase. JoyBeth quotes this scene all the time. Literally her favorite moment of the entire series.