Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire — 30-Year Reunion

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Original Viv was a much more interesting character. Second Viv was a glorified extra.

I totally agree. It is like they out of their way to find someone who wasn't interesting at all.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I thought only Will had beef with the OG Aunt Viv

Why was Carlton absent when she made her return on set with all the cast?

The only thing I've seen on this so far was an interview segment on Tamron Hall this week with the actors that played Carlton, Jazzy Jeff, and Hillary. Ribeiro (Carlton) mentions he missed it due to having to tape AFV at the same time.

I wondered the same thing though, as while I've never heard of individual detailed incidents, I certainly knew of the friction between the original Aunt Viv & the cast, and had heard Ribeiro take a crack about her being nuts in the past when asked about her in an interview. I wouldn't be shocked if it was a strategic conflicting schedule for him, but who really knows..pure speculation.

And agreed with other posts that the original Aunt Viv was way better. She was headstrong and driven, the new one was more your classic 20th century sitcom, toned down, homemaker wife. I always found it odd how they didn't just replace the character, but her entire personality as well.

That said, I totally get why they got rid of the original Aunt Viv, if she was causing thst many issues. But just saying, she was clearly the better Viv IMO

[Fuzz]

I was watching Ratched and I was like, hey, I think that's Geoffrey! It was, indeed. Haven't seen him in anything in years.

[MoneyGuy]

I’ve never seen an episode but I love Alfonso Ribeiro. I may have to give this show a chance.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I’ve never seen an episode but I love Alfonso Ribeiro. I may have to give this show a chance.

You haven't seen Fresh Prince? You are either way to young or way to old.

[FlamesAddiction]

If young Will Smith the actor was half as annoying as the character, I can see why another actor or actress might find it difficult to work with him. Don't get me wrong, I thought the show was funny, but a real life person behaving that way wouldn't be a delight to be around. It was one of the things that made the show funny though.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

You haven't seen Fresh Prince? You are either way to young or way to old.

There were/are a lot of shows I’ve felt weren’t worth my time.

I’m selective with what I watch.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

If young Will Smith the actor was half as annoying as the character, I can see why another actor or actress might find it difficult to work with him. Don't get me wrong, I thought the show was funny, but a real life person behaving that way wouldn't be a delight to be around. It was one of the things that made the show funny though.

I tend to think Janet Hubert was more a victim than an antogonist, at least at first. I also wouldn't put it over over the young, immature star to be young and immature, and use that star power to derail a supporting cast member he didn't get along with, including influencing his other cast members to take his side. Only one of them was the meal ticket.

Hubert was clearly hurt and destroyed, and I felt Smith didn't come off all that great in that segment. It seemed he expected the classic TV reconciliation and was stunned and offput to hear how much he cut Hubert's career and life at the knees. He's pretty lucky that Hubert was clearly there to forgive because it seems like she had that knife in hand for years after pulling it from her back.

And yes, the OG Aunt Viv was the massively better character.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Yamer

I tend to think Janet Hubert was more a victim than an antogonist, at least at first. I also wouldn't put it over over the young, immature star to be young and immature, and use that star power to derail a supporting cast member he didn't get along with, including influencing his other cast members to take his side. Only one of them was the meal ticket.

Hubert was clearly hurt and destroyed, and I felt Smith didn't come off all that great in that segment. It seemed he expected the classic TV reconciliation and was stunned and offput to hear how much he cut Hubert's career and life at the knees. He's pretty lucky that Hubert was clearly there to forgive because it seems like she had that knife in hand for years after pulling it from her back.

And yes, the OG Aunt Viv was the massively better character.

I was thinking about this, but at the time its not as though Will Smith had all that much pull. His career was just starting out.

Its more likely that there is a fire behind all this smoke. Sure, her career suffered after this but its highly unlikely that she is entirely blameless.

Hubert may well have been hurt, but shows like these are collaborative affairs. If the cast dont get along it translates to the final product.

She clearly feels that Will Smith was the principle villain in this affair, but like I said before, she cant possibly feel that she is blameless. Remember, this was one of Smith's first jobs, its not like he had the authority of a Hollywood Legend so its unlikely that he stages some sort of 'cast coup' all on his own, she likely stepped on a lot of toes for it to get to that stage.

Out of all of the cast I'd say that the only one with enough clout to pull something like this off would have been James Avery and from what I've read he was a very kind and reasonable person, but a consummate professional, so to get him on board there is likely something pretty serious going on in the background.

Either way, this is the job. If someone doesnt fit they just move along. I think if she feels Will Smith ruined her career at that point then there has to be more to the story.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The only thing I would say though is even if there was blame on both sides (which there likely was) she was right to point out that being termed "difficult" is a career killer for a black woman in Hollywood.
Will got to ride the rocket to fame and fortunate.
Though she did continue to work somewhat steadily after - but more episode to episode instead of a full time gig. But she arguably worked more after Fresh Prince than before. So perhaps it still did help her.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Locke

I was thinking about this, but at the time its not as though Will Smith had all that much pull. His career was just starting out.

Its more likely that there is a fire behind all this smoke. Sure, her career suffered after this but its highly unlikely that she is entirely blameless.

Hubert may well have been hurt, but shows like these are collaborative affairs. If the cast dont get along it translates to the final product.

She clearly feels that Will Smith was the principle villain in this affair, but like I said before, she cant possibly feel that she is blameless. Remember, this was one of Smith's first jobs, its not like he had the authority of a Hollywood Legend so its unlikely that he stages some sort of 'cast coup' all on his own, she likely stepped on a lot of toes for it to get to that stage.

Out of all of the cast I'd say that the only one with enough clout to pull something like this off would have been James Avery and from what I've read he was a very kind and reasonable person, but a consummate professional, so to get him on board there is likely something pretty serious going on in the background.

Either way, this is the job. If someone doesnt fit they just move along. I think if she feels Will Smith ruined her career at that point then there has to be more to the story.

She's certainly acknowledged that she wasn't blameless, but her cost was much, much higher than Smith's. And Smith was known well enough in celebrity and music circles before Fresh Prince, and I would guess that right around 1993 he was in negotiations as the next big thing in Hollywood, and within 3 years starred in two major blockbusters: Bad Boys and Independence Day. I think a lot of people saw his star on the rise in the very early 90s.

James Avery definitely would have been a patriarch and leader in the cast, but the show wasn't the Fresh Uncle of Bel-Aire. Without Will Smith there was no show. Avery would have had influence, but not near the command of Smith. No one really knows if Avery took a side, but given everything people have said of his character I think probably not.

I dunno, that's the way I read that moment in the special. One person devastated and looking to move on, another going through the motions then taken aback by someone's genuine pain. Smith's ongoing vanity makes me believe this more likely.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The only thing I would say though is even if there was blame on both sides (which there likely was) she was right to point out that being termed "difficult" is a career killer for a black woman in Hollywood.
Will got to ride the rocket to fame and fortunate.
Though she did continue to work somewhat steadily after - but more episode to episode instead of a full time gig. But she arguably worked more after Fresh Prince than before. So perhaps it still did help her.

You're absolutely right. But as I pointed out, its collaborative.

If you dont want to be termed 'difficult' then some of that is also within your control. As long as the production wasnt being unreasonably demanding, there are ways to get your point across without being 'difficult.'

As I understand, working on TV shows is arduous. The hours are long and the demands are harsh. But thats the job.

Either way, I'm glad they made up (to a degree) and are all moving along with their lives.

Does anyone know how much money Will Smith made doing this show?

[flylock shox]

Watched this last night after bingeing on the first 5 episodes of the series itself.



My biggest takeaways:


1. I miss Uncle Phil


2. Almost 30 years later, I may still have a crush on Tatyana Ali


3. What the hell have I been doing all this time?

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Locke

You're absolutely right. But as I pointed out, its collaborative.

If you dont want to be termed 'difficult' then some of that is also within your control. As long as the production wasnt being unreasonably demanding, there are ways to get your point across without being 'difficult.'

As I understand, working on TV shows is arduous. The hours are long and the demands are harsh. But thats the job.

Either way, I'm glad they made up (to a degree) and are all moving along with their lives.

Does anyone know how much money Will Smith made doing this show?

I don't think it was great, he was garnished up to 70% of his paycheck for the first three years because he owed 2.8 million to the IRS for not paying his taxes.

[Sainters7]

I kinda got the impression she could be a fairly intense personality. Ribeiro basically implied she was "crazy" a few years ago when asked about it.

I have no doubt Will Smith at that time would be cocky, and probably challenging to deal with for an actor with an intense side, given Smith would be in his early 20s and brand new to acting, as a rapper. Its unfortunate, but also I'd have to think foolish to butt heads to that degree with the person the show is literally built around. Of course they're going to side with the Fresh Prince himself over the actress playing his aunt.

Good to see they had some closure though, as mentioned I always thought she was the far superior Viv. I really need to watch this now..

[GreenLantern]

So how do we watch this in Canada?

[Jiri Hrdina]

Crave

[MoneyGuy]

It’s also on Netflix.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

It’s also on Netflix.

We sure about this? I can't find it on there anywhere..or just not released yet?

[CRXguy]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

It’s also on Netflix.

The reunion, not the actual show series.

You can also find it on YouTube. Will's red table talk post show has more bits from the interaction between Will and Janet that you don't see in the reunion show.