Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This DVD set compiles all 24 episodes from the hilarious second season of this 90s classic. While season 1 centered around Will trying to bring some levity and street wise knowledge to his snobbish relatives, season 2 shows Will blending in with his new family and forming a more cohesive unit. This season also marked a lot of changes for the show including a brand new more spacious house set, new additions to the supporting cast such as Will's mom and Will's new best friend Tyriq (my personal favorite), the broadening of unique character traits for each family member that would become their trademarks, and the first time the show was ranked in the top 20. Here are the episodes that make up this memorable season;

1. DID THE EARTH MOVE FOR YOU?- Will and his new girlfriend are trapped together during an earthquake.
2. THE MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES- Will and Carlton try to help Ashley with a bully problem.
3. WILL GETS A JOB- Will juggles school and a new job in order to pay for a homecoming party.
4. PSAT PSTORY- Will confident while preparing for college aptitude tests while Carlton is a mess.
5. GRANNY GETS BUSY- Philip can't bear to think of his widow mother having a new man in her life.
6. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO MARRY?- Will's mom forbids Will to attend the interracial marriage of Aunt Janice.
7. THE BIG FOUR-OH- Vivian's 40th birthday marks a crisis as she is determined to perfect her dance skills.
8. SHE AIN'T HEAVY- Will likes the full-figured Dee Dee (Queen Latifah) but doesn't want to ask to the dance.
9. CASED UP- A pompous lawyer (Malcom Jamal Warner) who's dating Hilary sues Will after a car accident.
10. HI-HO SILVER- Will and Carlton think a party guest (Zsa Zsa Gabor) stole their silverware.
11. THE BUTLER DID IT- Carlton rents the house to Bell Biv DeVoe for a video shoot while his parents are away.
12. SOMETHING FOR NOTHING- After winning money at a fundraiser, Will is reluctant to donate it to charity.
13. CHRISTMAS SHOW- The family must come up with heartfelt Christmas gifts after they are robbed.
14. HILARY GETS A LIFE- Hilary must work for a caterer after her credit cards are canceled.
15. MY BROTHER'S KEEPER- Winning at basketball isn't as important to Will as it is to his opponent from Malibu Prep.
16. GEOFFREY CLEANS UP- Geoffrey falls for a neighbor he believes is a housekeeper but who turns out to be rich.
17. COMMUNITY ACTION- Hillary develops a crush on a doctor after being ordered to do community service.
18. ILL WILL- The family fears Geoffrey's memoirs while Will fears having his tonsils removed.
19. EYES ON THE PRIZE- Needing a game show partner, Will must choose between bickering friends Jazz and Tyriq.
20. THOSE WERE THE DAYS- A '60s radical wanted by the FBI influences Will and Carlton to protest a teacher's firing.
21. VYING FOR ATTENTION- Will dislikes his mother's new boyfriend.
22. THE AUNT WHO CAME TO DINNER- Aunt Helen unexpected arrival disrupts Will and Carlton's plans with two women.
23. BE MY BABY TONIGHT- The family fawns over Ashley's new boyfriend but Will chokes when she asks him about sex.
24. STRIP TEASE FOR TWO- Will and Carlton become strippers to regain Vivian's bracelet after getting a bad stock tip.

Extras include cast bloopers and a featurette called 'Best Bits of Bel-Air', with montages, trivia and pop-ups. It is disappointing that Will Smith seems intent on distancing himself from this show now that he has become a big Hollywood star. It would be refreshing to see updated interviews or even an audio commentary or two from the star of the show. In closing, despite the lack of bonus content, this is still arguably the most memorable season from a truly 'fresh' TV show.

Season 1 was ok,but season 2 was great.The producers fixed up the set,their were new cast members added like ;Vy(Wills mother played by Vernee Watson-Johnson),Helen(the loudmouthed sister played by Jennifer Lewis),and Janice Smith(played by Charlayne Woodward who eventually marries a white man on the show.Here are all the 24 episodes from Season 2;

1.Did the Earth Move For You?
Original Airdate 9/9/91
Whole lotta shaking going on.Will and his girlfriend hold on tight when a quake hits Los Angeles.

2.The Mother of All Battles
Original Airdate 9/16/91
It's Will and Carlton to the rescue when a bully bugs Ashley.Then her parents get involved.Uh-oh.

3.Will Gets a Job
Original Airdate 9/23/91
With an eye patch an parrot on his shoulder,Cap'n Will waits tables to pay for Homecoming expenses.

4.PSAT Pstory
Original Airdate 9/30/91
Hip is to hop as gluconeogenesis is to-The PSAT has Will chillin and Carlton crammin'.

5.Granny Get's Busy
Original Airdate 10/7/91
Red-hot Mama.When his widowed mother shares a smooch with the handyman,Phillip freaks out.

6.Guess Who's coming to Marry?
Original Airdate 10/14/91
"Do you take this man...? "Will's aunt plan's to marry a white man... and Will mother objects.

7.The Big Four-Oh
Original Airdate 10/21/91
Gotta dance.Unerved at turning 40,Vivian dons leg warmers and a leotard and heads to dance class.

8.She Ain't Heavy
Original Airdate 11/4/91
She Aint Heavy
Will Will's cool quotient take a hit if he dates a girl who's phat...and large?

9.Cased Up
Original Airdate 11/11/91
Will's underage and uninsured.So when he's involved in an fender bender, it's Phillip who gets sued.

10.Hi-Ho Silver
Original Airdate 11/18/91
The Case of the Missing Silverware.Will and Carlton suspect a film star copped the cutlery during a party.

11.The Butler Did It
Original Airdate 11/25/91
With Phillip and Vivian away.Carlton tries a little risky business.He rents the house for a music video.

12.Something for Nothing
Original Airdate 12/9/91
Bad luck.Will wins $1000 at at country club fundraiser, then learns he's expected to donate it to charity.

13.Christmas Show
Original Airdate 12/16/91
Noel.. and no presents.On a Yuletide ski trip, the Banks lose their gifts to a thief but soon find the true meaning of Christmas.

14.Hilary Gets a Life
Original Airdate 1/6/92
Will uses his creative-writing skills on Hilary's resum'e.When she gets the jod, disaster is sure to follow.

15.My Brother's Keeper
Original Airdate 1/13/92
Hoop dreams.Will is determined to impress a college basketball scout,until he meets his main competitor.

16.Geoffrey Cleans Up
Original Airdate 1/20/92
Geoffrey fears love and money dont mix when the housekeeper he falls for turns out to be an heiress.

17.Community Action
Original Airdate 2/3/92
Lovesick Hilary's tempature rises when she meets a hunky doctor.

18.Ill Will
original Airdate 2/10/92
Facing a tonsillectomy.Will is a tower of jelly.But a wisecracking fellow patient cheers him up.

19.Eyes on the Prize
Original Airdate 2/17/92
He's got game.Will needs a partner to compete on a game show,he hears a chorus of "Choose me!

20.Those were the Days
Original Airdate 2/24/92
We will not be moved.A '60s radical inspires Will to protest when a free- thinking teacher is fired.

21.Vying for Attention
Original Airdate 3/2/92
Will goes a couple of rounds with the green-eyed monster when his mother meets a great new guy.

22.The Aunt Who Came to Dinner
Original Airdate 3/23/92
Will and Carlton have dates with two French cuties but Aunt Helen's surprise visit torpes the ooh-la-la.

23.Be My Baby Tonight
Original Airdate 4/27/92
The birds and the bees. Will is stunned when Ashley turns to him with questions about the birds and the bees.(sex).

24.Striptease for Two
Original Airdate 5/4/92
Will and Carlton need money.They could mow the lawns,wash cars or-here's and idea-become strippers!

Cast
Will Smith as Will Smith
James Avery as Phillip Banks
Janet Hubert Whitten as Vivian Banks
Karyn Parsons as Hilary Banks
Alfonso Riberio as Carlton Banks
Tatyana M. Ali as Ashley Banks
Joseph Marcell as Geoffrey the Butler


Notable guest star appearences by;Queen Latifah,Malcolm Jamal Warner,Raven Symone and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

This series picks up right where the show left off in season 1 with a whole lot more hilarity! The actors really seem to embrace their roles even more in this season, resulting in more realistic conversations and exchanges of insults. Of course, Will gets the upper hand, as he should! This DVD set is packaged in just a slightly different manner than the first, although its contents are similar. The menus are exactly the same (aside from the dance sequences shown beside the menu options). The "special features" (and I use that term reluctantly) are still found on the 4th disk. Unfortunately, one of the special features re-caps the highlights of the season and gives us "pop-up video"-style trivia about some of the actors, some of the jokes, and more. The other one shows bloopers from season 2. This would be awesome if they were different from the ones that run during the credits at the end of the show! But for the most part, they are not.

As far as the episodes themselves, they are high quality! Most of the jokes are clean but hilarious, although you may have your kids asking you questions about some of the "adult" content. Here are some of the episodes that highlight this wonderful season:

DID THE EARTH MOVE FOR YOU?: Will and his girlfriend get trapped in a room during an earthquake.
THE MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES: Will and Carlton try to help Ashley out with her bully problems at school.
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO MARRY?: One of Will's aunts causes a controversy in the family when she plans to marry a white guy.
SHE AIN'T HEAVY: Will finds the perfect woman - only problem: she's overweight.
CASED UP: Will finds himself in court when Hillary's boyfriend, an aspiring lawyer played by Malcolm Jamal Warner, sues him for damages to his car.
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING: Will wins $1,000 at a country club fundraiser but lands himself in trouble when he does not donate the money back to them.
CHRISTMAS SHOW: The Smith family ski trip ends up being not-so-merry when the family is robbed of all their possessions.
MY BROTHER'S KEEPER: Will learns a valuable lesson when his biggest basketball rival lives in the hood and struggles just to stay alive.
ILL WILL: Will winds up in the hospital with tonsilitis, and the Banks family worries that Geoffrey is writing down all their dirty secrets.
EYES ON THE PRIZE: Will has to choose between Jazz and Tyriq to be his partner on a TV game show.
BE MY BABY TONIGHT: Ashley asks Will about sex, which throws the entire family into a panic about her new boyfriend.
STRIP TEASE FOR TWO: Will and Carlton become male strippers to earn enough money to buy back Vivian's bracelet that they pawned off.

This season is filled with moments guaranteed to have you laughing out loud and quoting the lines to friends and family members. I highly recommend it!

the second season of the fresh prince was every bit as good a i thought it would be. every episode brings back memories of my first viewings of the show when i was a kid. i must say though, it took an unfair amount of time for season two to come out. the first season was realeased on the 8th of february and season two was released the eleventh of october. eight month's is way too long to wait for season two when there is (if i remember right) six seasons. if warner brothers keeps releasing them at this rate, it could be four years before we have all of our fresh prince seasons available. that is unacceptable by all means.

Man I've been waiting for this for so long, and finely it's out the fresh prince of Bel-Air is but one of the few good shows left out there.
It's a good laugh when you're down or when you're watching with you're friends.
It has everything from laugh your head off comedy to heart warming scenes which made it a series that will always be remembered.

over all a sopping 10/10

Just got my season 2 for Fresh Prince and it is every bit good as I remember it. I remember watching it as a kid and nothings changed. All the characters are hilarious. The plots have gotten funnier too. This is a must have for people who grew up watching this show in the early 90s.

The 2nd season is where the show really became hillarious. Fresh Prince is one of the most hillarious shows I've ever watched, and Will's character is a unique blend of charm, confidence, mischief, & innocence. He is such an amazing comedic actor with great timing (he is still in demand to this day!). He is blessed with tremendous talent & I love it. I also love that he personally has a lot of morals. He is a great role model. Many black men growing up today should emulate him instead of trying to be "thugs" like rappers.
I highly recommend this show to whoever wants to laugh for hours. If you don't find this show funny, you were unfortunately not born with the humor gene!

Season 1 was ok,but season 2 was great.The producers fixed up the set,their were new cast members added like ;Vy(Wills mother played by Vernee Watson-Johnson),Helen(the loudmouthed sister played by Jennifer Lewis),and Janice Smith(played by Charlayne Woodward who eventually marries a white man on the show.Here are all the 24 episodes from Season 2;

1.Did the Earth Move For You?
Original Airdate 9/9/91
Whole lotta shaking going on.Will and his girlfriend hold on tight when a quake hits Los Angeles.

2.The Mother of All Battles
Original Airdate 9/16/91
It's Will and Carlton to the rescue when a bully bugs Ashley.Then her parents get involved.Uh-oh.

3.Will Gets a Job
Original Airdate 9/23/91
With an eye patch an parrot on his shoulder,Cap'n Will waits tables to pay for Homecoming expenses.

4.PSAT Pstory
Original Airdate 9/30/91
Hip is to hop as gluconeogenesis is to-The PSAT has Will chillin and Carlton crammin'.

5.Granny Get's Busy
Original Airdate 10/7/91
Red-hot Mama.When his widowed mother shares a smooch with the handyman,Phillip freaks out.

6.Guess Who's coming to Marry?
Original Airdate 10/14/91
"Do you take this man...? "Will's aunt plan's to marry a white man... and Will mother objects.

7.The Big Four-Oh
Original Airdate 10/21/91
Gotta dance.Unerved at turning 40,Vivian dons leg warmers and a leotard and heads to dance class.

8.She Ain't Heavy
Original Airdate 11/4/91
She Aint Heavy
Will Will's cool quotient take a hit if he dates a girl who's phat...and large?

9.Cased Up
Original Airdate 11/11/91
Will's underage and uninsured.So when he's involved in an fender bender, it's Phillip who gets sued.

10.Hi-Ho Silver
Original Airdate 11/18/91
The Case of the Missing Silverware.Will and Carlton suspect a film star copped the cutlery during a party.

11.The Butler Did It
Original Airdate 11/25/91
With Phillip and Vivian away.Carlton tries a little risky business.He rents the house for a music video.

12.Something for Nothing
Original Airdate 12/9/91
Bad luck.Will wins $1000 at at country club fundraiser, then learns he's expected to donate it to charity.

13.Christmas Show
Original Airdate 12/16/91
Noel.. and no presents.On a Yuletide ski trip, the Banks lose their gifts to a thief but soon find the true meaning of Christmas.

14.Hilary Gets a Life
Original Airdate 1/6/92
Will uses his creative-writing skills on Hilary's resum'e.When she gets the jod, disaster is sure to follow.

15.My Brother's Keeper
Original Airdate 1/13/92
Hoop dreams.Will is determined to impress a college basketball scout,until he meets his main competitor.

16.Geoffrey Cleans Up
Original Airdate 1/20/92
Geoffrey fears love and money dont mix when the housekeeper he falls for turns out to be an heiress.

17.Community Action
Original Airdate 2/3/92
Lovesick Hilary's tempature rises when she meets a hunky doctor.

18.Ill Will
original Airdate 2/10/92
Facing a tonsillectomy.Will is a tower of jelly.But a wisecracking fellow patient cheers him up.

19.Eyes on the Prize
Original Airdate 2/17/92
He's got game.Will needs a partner to compete on a game show,he hears a chorus of "Choose me!

20.Those were the Days
Original Airdate 2/24/92
We will not be moved.A '60s radical inspires Will to protest when a free- thinking teacher is fired.

21.Vying for Attention
Original Airdate 3/2/92
Will goes a couple of rounds with the green-eyed monster when his mother meets a great new guy.

22.The Aunt Who Came to Dinner
Original Airdate 3/23/92
Will and Carlton have dates with two French cuties but Aunt Helen's surprise visit torpes the ooh-la-la.

23.Be My Baby Tonight
Original Airdate 4/27/92
The birds and the bees. Will is stunned when Ashley turns to him with questions about the birds and the bees.(sex).

24.Striptease for Two
Original Airdate 5/4/92
Will and Carlton need money.They could mow the lawns,wash cars or-here's and idea-become strippers!

Cast
Will Smith as Will Smith
James Avery as Phillip Banks
Janet Hubert Whitten as Vivian Banks
Karyn Parsons as Hilary Banks
Alfonso Riberio as Carlton Banks
Tatyana M. Ali as Ashley Banks
Joseph Marcell as Geoffrey the Butler


Notable guest star appearences by;Queen Latifah,Malcolm Jamal Warner,Raven Symone and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

The slow decay of the show, that is, but right now it's still relatively classy stuff...

Let's start with the positive aspects:

1. The show got renewed.

2. The show got a bigger budget, allowing for a proper set redesign. (it now looks like they live in a mansion...)

3. DVD video quality looks good, as had season 1.

4. Geoffrey is as awesome as ever.

5. Phil's mother returns and is terrific as always! (She and Wil have this awesome on-screen chemistry as well.)

Episodes worth seeing first, and in no particular order:

* Guess Who's Coming to Marry?: Wil's aunt is intent on marrying a white man (a yummy Deitrich Bader). Wil's mother is against the proposal.
* The Mother of All Battles: Ashley encounters a bully.
* She Ain't Heavy: Will falls for a chick with the right personality but not his favorite body shape. Will he grow up?
* Cased Up: Wil, uninsured and underaged, gets into the car and causes an accident... with Phil gets sued.
* Hi-Ho Silver: Wil and Carlton believe their neighbor (Zsa Zsa Gabor!) stole Phil's antique silverware!
* Something for Nothing: Wil wins $1000 in an event, but isn't happy when he learns the money is to be donated as charity back to the event organizers. He instead has a better idea...
* Those Were the Days: A 1960s' radical encourages Wil to protest when a free-thinker teacher is fired.
* Granny Gets Busy: Phil dislikes the notion of his widowed mother dating his handiman.

The bloopers were terrific. It's always great to see bloopers! :-)

But I was hoping for a documentary about the changes put in to season 2.

Now for the stuff YOU want to read;

1. As with season 1's release, the audio is mono. This was 1991. Stereo had been a standard for a whopping seven YEARS. I cannot believe this show was originally made in mono.

2. Starting with the opening episode, Vivian's role from distinguished mother to that of an overt cartoon character has begun. It's little wonder she ultimately left after season 3.

3. Indeed, while the series has always had a "live action cartoon" style to it, season 2 seems to favor the cartoonish side over the others (drama and social-awareness); the ensemble of all three was what made Fresh Prince so memorable.

4. The number of overtly "socially aware" plots has plummeted. Some episodes still have some socially aware themes, but season 2's style keep them from being as poignant as they could be.

5. I'll admit this one is somewhat minor, but I miss seeing Jazz being thrown out the door all the time!

All of this isn't to say the show's gone to pot just yet! (that's season 4...) But it has been said that season 1 is the best of the six and I've got to agree with that as well. Season 1 had the perfect balance and is a gem to be treasured. Season 2 seems more like a typical show with occasional moments of glory. But it is definitely worth the purchase.

I used to watch this all the time when I was a kid, and I still love it today. Will Smith was hilarious on this show, and it really helped to catapult him to super-stardom. I loved how he was always making fun of Carlton, who was always just so goofy, and kind of full of himself. And it was also hilarious how Will used to dress back then, with the weird, multi-colored shirts, and that crazy high flat-top hairdo that all the black guys had 15 years ago. Nostalgic in a fun way. Anyway, great show, and a beloved part of my childhood.

Oh, and the theme song was the first song I ever learned how to play on the drums.