Joseph Marcell Movies

Still a bachelor after breaking up with his fiancée a scant few moments before his wedding, Philadelphia émigré Will Smith (played, of course, by Will Smith) returns to the bosom of his wealthy California relations as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air enters its sixth and final season. Even though the basic "culture clash" premise was still intact, at this point, nothing Will could do can shock his prosperous and mildly pompous uncle Philip (James Avery) nor his serenely sensible aunt Vivian (Daphne Maxwell Reid). Similarly, Will no longer pokes fun at his relatives occasional haughty airs -- in fact he rather enjoys their pretensions and sometimes embraces them himself. As for the rest of the Bankses, college student Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) is well on his way to full-time political conservatism, Hilary (Karyn Parsons) is not as much of a spoiled brat as in earlier seasons, Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) continues pursuing a singing career, and youngest child Nicholas (Ross Bagley) is -- well, youngest child Nicholas. The series' final two-part episode found Philip Banks deciding to put the mansion up for sale. Among the prospective buyers are several blasts from sitcoms past including Diff'rent Strokes' Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman, and Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, and Marla Gibbs from The Jeffersons. But does this finale mean that Will himself will pull up stakes and return to West Philly? Tune in and see! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young Lakota Sioux, adopted by a wealthy Jewish couple in Beverly Hills, gets in touch with his cultural roots and solves a mystery in this thriller. Because of his upbringing, Jesse Rainfeather Goldman knows almost nothing of Native American traditions. He is doing his internship when he suddenly receives an amulet from the Lakota reservation in Sioux City. It is from his real mother. Jesse's curiosity is piqued and he immediately travels to his birthplace to learn why she sent it. Unfortunately, by the time he arrives, his mother's body is discovered in the smoldering wreckage of her home. She was shot before she was burned. Jesse's investigation into her death is not welcomed by the local captain of police and his assistant. He is almost beaten to death, but is saved by his grandfather, a shaman, and a Lakota woman. The newly healed Jesse begins to explore his tribe's customs. He then contacts his mother's spirit and she leads him to the film's conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The producers of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air weren't about to tinker with a successful format as the series entered its third season. Although West Philadelphia teenager Will Smith (played, of course, by Will Smith) has been living with his wealthy relatives in Bel-Air for three years now, he still hasn't lost his streetwise flippancy, though he does begin evincing signs of burgeoning maturity and responsibility. In the same fashion, Will's host, the Banks family, continues putting on airs and currying favor with the Bel-Air elite, though they generally get their heads out of the clouds and return to earth at the end of each episode. The most signifcant change from seasons past is the pregnancy of Will's Aunt Vivian, a plot development created to accommodate the real-life pregnancy of actress Janet Hubert-Whitten. By the end of season three, Vivian has given birth to a son named Nicholas -- whereupon she virtually disappears from view, reportedly because of creative differences between Janet Hubert-Whitten and Will Smith.
The actress left the show at the end of the year and would be replaced by Daphne Reed Maxwell for the 1994-1995 season. In this season's opener, Will returns from a summer visit to his mom in West Philly with a new haircut and flamboyant wardrobe that appalls his stuffy lawyer uncle Philip Banks (James Avery), leading to the first of several obligatory "Let's stop arguing and compromise" moments. Later highlights included Philip and Vivian's not-so-sentimental journey to their old neighborhood, which had been all but levelled during the L.A. riots; the matriculation of the Banks' youngest daughter Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) into the newly co-ed Bel-Air Prep School; older daughter Hilary's (Karyn Parsons) new job as a TV weather girl; former Jeffersons star Sherman Hemsley's appearance as Judge Carl Robertson, against whom Philip Banks would enter into a bitterly fought political battle; another guest-star turn, this one by no less than Oprah Winfrey; and the ongoing romantic tribulations of Will's prissy, preppy cousin Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro). In one of the season's final episodes, Will gets the opportunity to perform at a comedy club -- where among the other participants is future sitcom leading man D.L. Hughley. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air enjoyed its highest-ever ratings during season three, ending up the 16th most watched program on network television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rap star Will Smith plays West Philadelphia teenager Will Smith (!) as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air launches its first season. Worried that the family's ghetto neighborhood is getting too dangerous for her son, Will's mom packs him up and ships him out to his rich relatives, the Banks family, in ritzy Bel-Air, CA. In the first few episodes, Will's irreverent, streetwise attitude rubs his new family the wrong way, just as their snooty airs drive him crazy; but before long, everyone likes everyone else, and it is clear that the series is in for the long haul. Most of season one is devoted to establishing the characters of the Banks clan: Wealthy, snobbish attorney Philip Banks (James Avery); his down-to-earth wife Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten); their nerdish, preppy son Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro); their spoiled-brat older daughter Hilary (Karyn Parsons); and their smart-mouthed younger daughter Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali). Viewing the entire culture-clash spectacle with haughty disdain (and commenting on the same with hilarious pithy putdowns) is the Banks' "veddy" proper butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell). Occasionally, Will's jive-talking buddy Jazz (played by Will Smith's real-life musical partner Jeff Townes) would pop into the Banks mansion. Among the highlights of season one are a guest appearance by future award-winning actor Don Cheadle as Will's "homey" Ice Tray; Jasmine Guy in another guest-star turn as a scholarship student who briefly falls for Will; Queen Latifah as a flamboyant actress who hires Hilary as an assistant but only under certain "conditions;" the sudden realization when Will and Carlton are wrongly arrested that even in Bel-Air some people judge others by the color of their skin instead of the content of their character; and a wild family Christmas party in which former President Ronald Reagan (played by impressionist John Roarke) makes an extended cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the four-part story "Remembrance of the Daleks," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) have arrived in 1963 London, in search of a stellar manipulator known as the Hand of Omega. Impressed by the pop-cultural trappings of her new surroundings, Ace is blissfully unaware that her movements are being monitored by the two armies in a Dalek civil war -- both of whom are willing to wipe out all mankind to get their mitts on the Hand of Omega before the Doctor does. First telecast October 12, 1988, "Remembrance of the Daleks, Episode 2" was written by Ben Aaronovitch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide