Samm-Art Williams Movies

While scouting out potential colleges, Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) are detoured in Nevada, with an uninvited Jazz along for the ride. Ending up in a café-casino, our heroes are consumed by gambling fever--leading into a potentially lethal run-in with some rather tough customers. Although Janet Hubert-Whitten (Vivian) does not appear in this episode, we do get generous glimpses of heavyweight boxing champ Riddick Bowe--to say nothing of former Miami Vice costar Olivia Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hoping for one last "bonding" session with Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) before they head off to college, Philip (James Avery) bundles the reluctant teens off on a special camping trip. It isn't long before the intrepid trio gets lost, then trapped by a blinding snowstorm. Salvation comes literally from above when a sack containing $25,000 falls from the sky. This bankroll is actually the grand prize in a radio contest, but Will doesn't know this as he sets fire to the bills in order to stay warm! Chi McBride (Boston Public, The Nine) shows up in a supporting role. This episode was originally seen on Thursday, rather than the series' standard Monday-night timeslot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Bankses welcome 1960s political activist Marge Smallwood (Peggy Blow) into their home. Before long, Marge has stirred up the dormant radicalism of Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), to the extent that they fervently campaign for the reinstatement of a "misfit" teacher who was fired by Bel-Air Prep for arranging a field trip to a Robert Mapplethorpe art exhibit. Meanwhile, a shady-looking character begins hanging around the Banks home, making Marge unusually nervous. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tom O'Roarke is cast as Jameson Whitworth, a very eccentric and highly superstitious client of Philip Banks (James Avery). Taking a liking to Philip's brash nephew Will (Will Smith), Whitworth hires the "Fresh Prince" as his combination business advisor and good-luck charm. Terrified that Will is a harbinger of financial ruin for Whitworth, Philip decides to fight fire with fire, using the daily newspaper horoscope as his weapon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single one hour special), Will (Will Smith) and the Banks family continue shopping at the mall in preparation for a Halloween party. Along the way, Will and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) compete for the attentions of a toothsome lass named Melinda (Paris Vaughn), with Will trying to impress the girl by listing all the "celebrities" he's met in his lifetime (most of whom appear as themselves in a highly fanciful series of flashbacks). Meanwhile, Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten) enjoys a brief moment in the spotlight as a mall singer; gadget-happy Philip (James Avery) threatens to buy out an entire electronics store; and Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) is falsely accused of shoplifting. Things come full circle when Melinda shows up for the party--along with two unexpected "guests." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single hour-long installment), the Banks family, including cousin Will (Will Smith), head to the mall in order to shop for a Halloween party. Their original mission is all but forgotten as the various family members wander off into their own misadventures. Will and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) compete to find a date for their halloween party before midnight; Philip (James Avery) bids fair to purchase the entire stock of a trendy gadget shop; Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten) enjoys unexpected popularity as a Tiffanyesque mall singer; and Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) and Hilary (Karyn Parsons) are suspected of shoplifting. (Note: the DVD version of this episode is slightly abridged). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first film of brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, M. Emmett Walsh plays Visser, an unscrupulous private eye hired by Texas bar owner Marty (Dan Hedaya) to murder Marty's faithless wife Abby (Frances McDormand) and her paramour, Ray (John Getz), one of Marty's employees. But Visser is no more up-front with Marty than with anyone else; he makes some slight modifications of the original plan so that it better serves his own best interests. After a surprise double-cross and the murder of one of the important players, matters spiral out of control, and the plot gyrates through a complicated string of darkly humorous events. False assumptions, guilt, and fear all lead to a frantic attempt to conceal evidence and the heart-pounding, irony-filled denouement. Blood Simple was re-released in the summer of 2000 with a digitally-remastered soundtrack and -- at the Coens' behest -- a few minutes of dialogue trimmed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Henry was the hero of a popular ballad sung back during the times of the Industrial Revolution. Danny Glover stars as Henry. The rest of the cast includes Tom Hulce, Lou Rawls, Lynn Whitfield and Barry Corbin. As the story goes, John Henry supposedly crushed more rock than a steam drill. Some believe that this story was factually based on the railroad work that was done during the late 19th century in the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia. In addition to his need to compete with machines, it is felt by many that John Henry also had to struggle against the wealthy white men who were eager to replace workers with their machines. ~ Elizabeth Smith, Rovi