My Favorite Blassic Sitcom: Vol 7.29 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air "Will is from Mars…"
A common enemy is the funnest bond
If you thought you needed a Nia Long, look no further. Her recurring role as Will’s fiancé in season 5 is a highlight of the show. That’s just about where the celebration ends because “Lisa” and Will match as well as pinstripes and polka dots. But before I get too into it:
Featured Sitcom - Season 5, episode 17 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (February 20th, 1995)
Streamed on Max
Context
This episode was great for people who remember when tv show themes had lyrics:
Will said “Lucy, I’m home.”
Husband Ricky’s iconic line from the groundbreaking I Love Lucy sitcom (1951-1957). Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball had such business acumen that I can’t even find a clip on YouTube to prove my claim. But as a tv show that pioneered syndication, you should easily be able to find a rerun. Notably, the starring pair had real-life turbulent marriage.
When listing off potential child names, Will mentioned Will-Simba and Will-Stafa
He was very clearly referencing two main characters in the 1994 hit Disney film The Lion King. He was also being an idiot
Will called Lisa Aunt Jemima.
This one has layers. Will walked in on Lisa doing her acne and wellness regimen, looking less than fully refined, and compared her to a mammy stereotype on a syrup bottle. While Mrs. Jemima is notably thicc, this was not a compliment. And despite efforts to liberate/reclaim this imagery, it’s still a point of controversy.
Cameo from The Jeffersons
While Lisa and Will are at group couples therapy, who walks in but George and Louise “Weezy” Jefferson from the hit show, The Jeffersons, with the best theme song of all time. This crossover produced some notable humor and uninspired misgony. My favorite joke is the fact that the actor who plays George Jefferson was a different Fresh Prince character who died in an earlier season of the show.
The Zany Premise
Will ain’t got the sense of a goat
Uncle Phil gives Will and Lisa an engagement gift of a relationship counselor. While they initially doubted that it was necessary, their first session revealed their love wasn’t as smooth as either of them thought.
In a middling, unresolved b-plot, Hilary hires Geoffrey to work for her part-time, and her needs quickly prove overwhelming for the gentleman butler.
Lesson learned
A lot of y’all need to break up
One of the best questions you can ask yourself is: Why do I want what I want? Socially, professionally, and romantically, we’re all given messages from the time we’re born on what’s normal, acceptable, and expected. These messages are so ubiquitous and reinforcing that we often don’t know how to separate our organic desires from what we’re taught to want. Make it more fucked up, we can unconsciously presume that a partner received the same messages with the same interpretations.
This is how Will and Lisa ended up in a predicament where they’re set to get married, yet they aren’t in alignment on family, cohabitation, or where they want to live post-marriage. They believed in the age old lie that love was enough to work through fundamental incompatibility. Spoiler alert: They never make it past the altar, and this episode forebodes their fate.
What’s it like from the future?
An unfriendly mirror
Thee George Jefferson and the Fresh Prince of Belair. Male leads from different generations who essentially expect the same things from their female partners: subservience and resilience. I watched the end of the episode with my partner, and she said there were no good lessons. I’d tend to agree. But I responded that in some cases, these shows are a grand representation of what not to do. It’s like watching a train wreck with a laugh track.
It’s not lost on me the role culture plays in perpetuating patriarchy. But I’m still surprised at how blatant it was in shows that aired in my lifetime. Just how much has changed? What is the difference between Will Smith and George Jefferson? And finally, how much does this difference matter if it produces new versions of the same result?
Favorite Jokes
Will: “What is that smell?
Lisa: “Oh it’s my chicken stew.”
Will: “Girl, exactly what part of that chicken are you cooking?
Lisa: “Come here boy. I want you to taste it.”
Will: “Why!?”
Lisa: “So you expect me to be a gourmet chef, raise eight kids, and look beautiful 24 hrs/day?
Will: “Too much?”
Lisa: “And what exactly will you be doing?”
Will: “Ima be supporting y’all!”
Lisa: “On what? That one-figure salary you pull down at The Peacock?”
George Jefferson (to Will): “Your daddy is so fat, when he went to school, he sat next to everybody!”
Weezy Jefferson (to Lisa): “The only thing stupid here is your big-eared boyfriend. He looks like a car coming down the road with both doors open.”
Lowbrow Lowdown
I just be wanting to chill fr
This month threw me in a different direction every week, and I was vacillating between being a jolly jigaboo and a pissed off peon. Unfortunately, I prefer to know what’s going on at all times and become immediately incensed when I don’t. Leave me along, I’m talking to the lady. Anyways, my moments of decompression were extra important. Here’s what I did with it:
I got lost in the best way at a neighborhood park (issa secret location) with a covered basketball I never plan on sharing.
I attempted to bird-watch at a nature preserve. But they can fly and my eyesight bad, so I think they were watching me.
I went crate-digging and struck gold (I think I got the last one).
I flaked cus I’m never fake. This month I canceled dinner plans, therapy, and a chiro appointment cus I ain’t feel like going when the magic moment arrived. It’s easy to feel guilty about flaking, but I think it’s unkind to expose people to the version of me that’s ready to go the whole time.
Watched my favorite rookies in the WNBA All-Star game.
Acknowledgment
My mama say don’t take dating advice from people who don’t date and people who got pregnant by her daddy. I think I’d add 90 sitcoms to that list.
So who should Young Metros trust? See below:
Y’all come back to see me…
Every last Monday. Helping you push through. Vol. 8.26 coming soon.