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FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR, THE: A NIGHT AT THE OPRAH (TV)

Summary

One in this comedy series about a Philadelphia teenager living with his wealthy uncle’s family in California.

Will’s attempts to liven up Uncle Phil’s television campaign advertisement for superior court judge backfire, as it proves to be tremendously embarrassing. Furious, Uncle Phil throws Will out of the house and refuses to let him enter, or even to speak to him. Vivian gets him to change his mind, although he is still highly upset. Excitement breaks out when Trevor arranges for the Banks family to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show as part of a show about political candidates and their families. Will is especially excited, although Trevor tells Uncle Phil in private that only the immediate family was booked, excluding Will from appearing on the show. Uncle Phil tells Vivian to inform Will of this news, but she cannot bring herself to do it. Uncle Phil says he will do it himself, but Will expresses his genuine gratitude for bringing him along and for being included as part of the family. Uncle Phil thus feels guilty about telling him, and they end up bringing him along to Chicago.

The family goes backstage to prepare for their appearance, and Will has still not been informed that he will not be appearing with them. Oprah herself comes backstage, much to Ashley and Carlton’s excitement. Just before the family goes onstage, Uncle Phil finally decides to tell Will that he will not be accompanying them. The show begins and an angry Will attempts to join the studio audience watching the show. He attempts to interrupt the proceedings with a question, but is upbraided by Oprah for doing so. However, he eventually gets to speak, trying to embarrass the family for not allowing him to appear with them and airing information about their personal lives; he believes that they are too ashamed of him to allow him to appear with them. Oprah realizes what is happening and takes Will’s side, allowing him to sit onstage with his family. This has the added effect of turning the audience against Uncle Phil, pointing to the problems in his family as proof that he should not be made superior court judge. The rest of the family, however, attests to Uncle Phil’s character and positive traits, albeit in ways that inadvertently make him seem worse. This sparks an argument amongst the family about their private problems, including Hilary’s relationship with Trevor. Finally Will stands up to defend Uncle Phil, commending him for incorporating him into the family and noting that their problems are not unlike any other family’s. Things go awry when an audience member loudly insults both them and Will’s mother, causing him to physically attack the man.

After the show, Will apologizes for his behavior, although Oprah seems to take it in stride despite her dislike for him. Uncle Phil becomes dismayed when he learns that his poll rating has gone down following his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. However, Vivian and Will both have faith that he will still win, because he is a “decent man.” Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: NBC
  • DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:23:17
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: 122576
  • GENRE: Comedy
  • SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Comedy; TV - Comedy
  • SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1990-1996
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Quincy Jones … Executive Producer
  • Winifred Hervey Stallworth … Executive Producer
  • Samm-Art Williams … Executive Producer
  • Leslie Ray … Supervising Producer, Writer
  • David Steven Simon … Supervising Producer, Writer
  • Werner Walian … Producer
  • Benny Medina … Co-Producer
  • Jeff Pollack … Co-Producer
  • Mary Ellen Jones … Co-Producer
  • Bryan Winter … Co-Producer
  • Efreem Seeger … Co-Producer
  • Shelley Jensen … Director
  • Andy Borowitz … Created by
  • Susan Borowitz … Created by
  • Quincy Jones III … Music by
  • Will Smith … Cast, Will Smith
  • James Avery … Cast, Philip Banks
  • Janet Hubert-Whitten … Cast, Vivian Banks
  • Alfonso Ribeiro … Cast, Carlton Banks
  • Karyn Parsons … Cast, Hilary Banks
  • Tatyana M. Ali … Cast, Ashley Banks
  • Joseph Marcell … Cast, Geoffrey
  • Oprah Winfrey … Cast, Herself
  • Brian Mitchell … Cast, Trevor
  • Lou Felder … Cast, Howard Marshall
  • Victoria Morsell … Cast, Lydia Marshall
  • Marykate Harris … Cast, Audience Member
  • Deborah Swisher … Cast, Alexis
  • General S. James … Cast, Audience Member