The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Licensed postcard

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1990 to 1996. Starring Will Smith as a Philadelphia teenager sent to live with his relatives in Bel Air, the show dealt with the difficulties of a street-smart teenager adjusting to a more affluent lifestyle in a comical manner. Although not a critical success, the series was awarded a few honors, including multiple Image Awards.

In 2022, the series was reimagined as a drama titled Bel-Air.

Muppet Mentions

• In the second season episode, "Something for Nothing," Philip Banks tells his daughter, Ashley, that he would get her a stuffed Miss Piggy doll.

• In the second season episode, "Be My Baby Tonight", Will asks Ashley what she and her boyfriend, Kevin, are doing this weekend. Ashley replies, "The same thing as every weekend. Pizza and Dad's renting a video. This week it's The Muppets Take Manhattan."

• In the sixth season episode, "Get a Job," Carlton dresses up Will in a bright yellow costume for a commercial for a chicken restaurant, and calls him Big Bird.

References

• On the first episode of Muppets Tonight, Gonzo looks over the new KMUP evening line-up. One of the shows on the schedule is Frog Prince of Belair.

• An image of Kermit as the "Frog Prince of Bel Air" appeared on a licensed Muppet postcard.

• The show's theme song was parodied in a 2018 Sesame Street web video, where Bert and Ernie tell the story of how they became roommates. (YouTube)

• The Muppet Babies episode "Animal and the Magic Mummy" includes a visually inspired rap sequence by the characters' band Muppet Rocksplosion.

Connections

• Tatyana Ali played Ashley Banks
• Hank Azaria played a bigot cop in "Mistaken Identity" (1990)
• Rosalind Cash played Mrs. Bassin in "Six Degrees of Graduation" (1993)
• Dick Clark appeared as himself in "The Philadelphia Story" (1994) and "I, Whoops, There It Is" (1996)
• Kim Fields played Monique in "The Best Laid Plans" (1993) and appeared as herself in "For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll" (1995)
• Dulé Hill appeared as Omar Campbell in season 3 of Bel-Air
• Brad Garrett played John "Fingers" O'Neill in "Fresh Prince: The Movie" (1994)
• Tom Jones appeared as himself in "The Alma Matter" (1993)
• B. B. King played Pappy in "Bourgie Sings the Blues" (1995)
• Queen Latifah played Marissa Redman in "Working It Out" and Dee Dee in "She Ain't Heavy" (both 1991)
• Jay Leno appeared as himself in "Will's Up a Dirt Road" (1994) and "The Script Formerly Known As..." (1995)
• Joseph Marcell played Geoffrey
• Branford Marsalis appeared as himself in "Sleepless in Bel-Air" and played Duane in "Stop Will! In the Name of Love" (both 1994)
• Brian Stokes Mitchell played Trevor Collins-Newsworthy
• Pat Morita played Mr. Yoshi in "Love Hurts" (1994)
• Karyn Parsons played Hilary Banks
• Regis Philbin appeared as himself in "I, Stank Hole in One" (1996)
• Alfonso Ribeiro played Carlton Banks
• Little Richard appeared as himself in "The Client" (1994)
• Chris Rock played Maurice/Jasmine in "Get a Job" (1995)
• Glenn Shadix played Ralph Scorpius in "Hex and the Single Guy" (1993)
• William Shatner appeared as himself in "Eye, Tooth" (1996)
• Raven-Symoné played Claudia in "Vying for Attention" (1992)
• Jack Tate played Mitchell in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Screams" (1994)
• Ben Vereen played Lou Smith in "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" (1994)
• Malcolm-Jamal Warner played himself in "Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect: Part 2" (1990) and Eric Sanders in "Cased Up" (1991)
• Vanessa Williams played Danny Mitchell in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Home from the Forum" (1992)
• Oprah Winfrey appeared as herself in "A Night at the Oprah" (1992)

External links

• IMDb