Customer Reviews

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The Complete Fourth Season

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Season 4 had some major changes to the show. First off, Vivian is played by Daphne Maxwell-Reid (Tim Reid's Wife) and also Little Nicky Banks comes into the picture, at least it gives this show the best last 3 seasons of the show. Here are the episodes to expect in the 4th season.

74. Where There's a Will, There's a Way (Part 1 of 2)
College-bound Will and Carlton settle into their new L.A. party pad, to which Carlton brings the woman of his dreams -- Jackie. Unfortunately, it is also soon overrun with partygoers.

75. Where There's a Will, There's a Way (Part 2 of 2)
Will brings Carlton shocking news that Jackie is an old friend of his from Philly; the two guys get evicted from their apartment; and Hilary asks for a "special" proposal from Trevor -- and gets it.

76. All Guts, No Glory
Registration day finds Will signing up for no-brainer classes, plus one that might truly challenge him -- a philosophy course he takes to meet a girl.

77. Father of the Year
Stuck with caring for Nicky for the day, Will soon discovers the benefits of baby-sitting: he's suddenly a big man on campus with the women so long as he poses as a single dad.

78. It's Better to Have Loved and Lost It...
After Will's friends guys rib Carlton about being a virgin, Miss Right (Belcon) appears and sweeps Carlton off his feet. Elsewhere, Geoffrey confesses a secret of his own.

79. Will Goes a-Courtin'
When Phillip sues Will and Carlton for unpaid rent, two different versions of the dispute are aired -- neither entirely truthful.

80. Hex and the Single Guy
Hilary summons an outrageous TV psychic and spirit channeler who arranges a séance to communicate with the dead and enable Hilary to get over Trevor once and for all -- and hexes a disbelieving Will.

81. Blood is Thicker Than Mud
Will and Carlton try to get accepted into an African-American fraternity; Will proves to be just what they want in a pledge, but one of the brothers sees Carlton as a "prep-school, Bel Air-bred sellout."

82. Fresh Prince After Dark
Will breaks a date with Jackie to accompany Hilary to a Playboy Mansion reception for weather reporters being photographed for the magazine.

83. Home is Where the Heart Attack Is
Will sneaks greasy, high-fat foods to Philip after he promises to diet and exercise, then blames himself when Philip has a heart attack.

84. Take My Cousin -- Please
On academic probation, Will schemes to improve his grades by fixing up a newly divorced English professor with Hilary, who soon finds fault with the man, further jeopardizing Will's academic future.

85. You've Got To Be a Football Hero
Will uses booze to prove his manliness while competing with a hulking football hero who wants to score points with Jackie, and his fraternity brothers leave drunken Will in a cemetery, where he is haunted. Meanwhile, Ashley learns that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

86. 'Twas the Night Before Christening
Vivian promises god-motherhood of her child to both of her sisters, while Will hatches a harebrained scheme to get Boyz II Men to perform at baby Nicky's christening.

87. Sleepless in Bel-Air
Will pays for putting off studying for a midterm until the last minute, and Ashley pays for staying out late on her first date.

88. Who's the Boss
Business drops off at the Peacock Stop when Carlton takes over as manager; elsewhere, an "I Hate Hilary" newsletter precipitates stormy weather.

89. I Know Why the Caged Bird Screams
Will and Jazz steal a statue from a rival school, whose team retaliates by kidnapping ULA's lucky charm -- Carlton, the strutting peacock mascot.

90. When You Hit Upon a Star
Will becomes a jet-setter while dating a pop star.

91. Stop Will! In the Name of Love
A Valentine's double date finds Will treating Ashley like a kid and Ashley demanding r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

92. You'd Better Shop Around
A car dealer hires Will, then persuades him to drop out of college.

93. The Ol' Ball and Chain
Philip foots the bill when Jazz decides to marry a jailbird -- who moves in on Will.

94. The Harder They Fall
An overprotective dad takes Will flying to scare him out of getting too serious with his daughter.


95. M is For the Many Things She Gave Me
It's double trouble for Will when Philip's old flame visits with her daughter, who's attracted to Will.

96. Mother's Day
Newlyweds Jazz and Jewel try to start a family, but it turns out they're going to need a little help -- from Will; Phil urges the kids to give Vivian thoughtful Mother's Day gifts.


97. Papa's Got a Brand-New Excuse
Will's long-lost father, Lou, breezes into town and promises Will the moon, which angers Phil and Vivian, who give him the cold shoulder for walking out on Will and Vy. When Will was an infant, his father went to get a pack of cigarettes and never came back. Years later he became a trucker, but Will was going to college by then. When his father abandons him a second time, Will accepts the fact that Uncle Phil is the closest thing to a father that he has ever had.


98. For Sale By Owner
A stranger makes a generous offer for the Banks estate, which prompts the family to reminisce about their good times there.

99. The Philadelphia Story
Will returns to the City of Brotherly Love and discovers he's the [...] of old friends' jokes, prompting him to go into training to settle an old score and clear his reputation as a chicken.

I can't wait for seasons 5 and 6 to come out within the next year or so. It's real cool now!

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - The Complete Fourth Season

The fourth season of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" isn't the best season but it still had a lot of funny episodes. The first two episodes are probably the funniest, especially the second one where Hilary's fiancé Trevor hurts himself bungee-jumping on TV. Philip then says, "Let's just hope Trevor's okay." Cut to the next scene, everyone's in black and Philip says, "Well, it was a lovely service."

The problem with this season was the new Vivian. Daphne Maxwell-Reid is a good actress but it's hard to top Janet Hubert-Whitten's version. Janet made Vivian feisty and a take-no-mess type while Daphne's sterile version made it hard to watch (the writers must have known that too, maybe that's why Daphne wasn't in that many episodes). The good news with that is that the focus shifts from Vivian and onto the other characters, which in turn makes them stronger (see Will in "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" - my favorite episode).

The problem with the DVD set is that it looks rushed. Even the menu appears half-hearted compared to previous "Fresh Prince" sets. Also, there are no special features at all - but I guess that's not a big loss because all I usually watch are the episodes and the special features in previous sets weren't all that special, as someone mentioned earlier.

This season shows that the show wasn't on its death bed just yet. That would happen during the last season. -EJR

First, my two complaints about this DVD collection. 1) Daphne Maxwell Reid is not half the Vivian that her predecessor was. In fact, I find that the new Vivian gets on my nerves. She is not the same character as she was in the past. They may as well have written in a divorce and re-marriage or something! 2) This season has no special features. I guess this isn't the worst thing, since the first three seasons' "special features" were not so special in the first place!

Having gotten those two things out of the way, this season gives us as many laughs as previous seasons, and even has some extremely serious moments to boot. Will and Carlton face new challenges and adventures as college freshmen. Hilary mourns the tragic death of her fiancé Trevor. Ashley continues to embrace young adulthood, even if the rest of the family is unwilling to allow her to grow up. There is wonderful on-screen chemistry/tension between Will and Jackie (played by Tyra Banks). Other special appearances are made by Robert Guillaume, Hugh Hefner, Donald Trump, and Boyz II Men.

Here are some of season 4's highlights:

All Guts, No Glory: Will faces the challenge of sticking with a class that forces him to try.
Father of the Year: Will receives extra attention from the ladies when they believe he is a single dad.
Blood is Thicker Than Mud: Will and Carlton attempt to work their way into a college fraternity. Unfortunately, Carlton is not seen as "black enough."
Home is Where the Heart Attack is: Philip promises to try to lose weight, but Will sneaks him burgers to satisfy his cravings. A heart attack results.
`Twas the Night Before Christening: Philip explains to little Nicky how he received 4 middle names at his christening. Special appearance: Boyz II Men
Who's the Boss?: Carlton becomes manager of the Peacock Stop, and Will learns what Geoffrey knew all along: life isn't easy when you work for a Banks.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Screams: Carlton, ULA's mascot (the pigeon) gets kidnapped by their rivals before the big game.
You'd Better Shop Around: Will decides to drop out of college to sell cars.
Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse: Will's father comes to pay him a visit, making many promises to spend more time with his son. (This episode is a real tear-jerker.)
The Philadelphia Story: The Banks family takes a trip to Philly, only to find out that Will has become a joke in his hometown.

As in my previous reviews, I have only highlighted my personal favorite episodes - they're all good! A warning to those who might watch this as a family: the content in this season is racier than in all others! A lot more innuendo and sexual content! Still, compared with what's on TV these days, it is reasonably mild. This is yet another wonderful season of a great TV show!

As we All know, In the 4th season of F.P.O.B.A., Daphne Maxwell Reid replaces Janet Hubert-Whitten for the role of Vivian. When Daphne Maxwell Reid came into the scene as Vivian, the show started going downhill. It was still a good show for it's last 3 seasons but the reason why it started going downhill is because of Daphne Maxwell Reid. When DMR took over as Vivian, Vivian became a whole new charcter. Vivian was dull. Vivian never got up in the kids faces and told them off when they did wrong. Vivian focused way too much on baby Nicky. She hardly gave Phillip the attention she used to. The other characters held the show together for the last 3 seasons. Plus, DMR's acting on the show can't compare to JHW's. I don't know if DMR acted that way on purpose or if the writers made Vivian that way intentionally but JHW was the best Vivian. This dvd deserves 4 stars and not 5 due to the change in Vivian and the fact that there are no bonus features. A bonus featurette explaining why JWH was Replaced with DMR would have been nice.

Season 4 is one of my favorite seasons.

I'm waiting for the last two. So far I haven't seen any news on the fifth season yet. Below is the release schedule thus far:

Feb. 8, 2005
Oct. 11, 2005 (8 months)
Feb. 14, 2006 (4 months)
Aug. 8, 2006 (6 months)

So far it is March and no news from tvshowsondvd yet about the next release. We at about the 7 month mark, and therefore I'm expecting to see the next season released this spring, and I desire to see the sixth season released before the end of the year. I hope they don't fall behind their reasonable release schedule, although it would be nice if studios put all seasons of shows on DVD much sooner than releasing them over a few year period.

One thing I will not accept is if they decide not to put out the last two seasons. That would be a great evil because you can't go this far and then stop. That is what encourages piracy.

"The Fresh Prince" was a great show during its first three seasons. The fourth season was good, and still pretty funny, but true Fresh Prince fans know that this was when the show started its swan song. First of all, the real Aunt Viv was gone, replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid. The Vivian Banks character was useless from that point to the end of the series. Next was the addition of the new child, Nicky, which only brought the morale of the series down even more. Like "Fresh Prince" really needed another kid. The Nicky character was useless as well. Will and Carlton are pretty much the same, Ashley (she can sing!) finally shows some depth, and Uncle Phil shines, becoming, in a sense, the true heart and soul of the show. The fourth season really offers very few classic Fresh Prince episodes, but there is still some good entertainment here, and a few memorable moments: Carlton experiencing heartbreak from his first lover, Uncle Phil taking Will and Carlton to court, Will attempt to book Boyz II Men to perform at Nicky's christening, one of Uncle Phil's old flames honing in on Will, and the return of Will's father, who talks a big game but ends up leaving Will in heartbreak, leading to one of the most heartfelt scenes in the show's history (Will's teary testimony to Uncle Phil still gives me chills). So, this season is not without its moments, but the best days of "The Fresh Prince" are clearly behind it.

And by the way, the final two seasons of this show need to be released. It has been over a year since this DVD set was released and nothing new has come from "The Fresh Prince". It is stupid that this show has been put on ice while worse shows have seen full-series runs. Give the people what they want.

I love Fresh Prince of Bel Air and have all of the first four seasons which are great! I had forgotten some of the hilarious episodes! I just wish and hope season five would come out soon! We're anxiously awaiting the release!

I also really think that the first 3 season's are more funny as the kids are growing up than in Season 4. This season is also great and worth buying if you are a "Fresh Prince" fan and have the rest of the seasons on box set because there are a lot of great shows to offer on here.

I ordered this DVD used and it shows great. Good for the buck and I got it within two days after I ordered it with standard shipping. I would definitely order here again, and recommend it to everyone.

its worth the money, ive enjoyed so much my family are glade that i bought it. im already planing to buy the next season in a week or two