You’re Moving with Your Auntie and Uncle in Bel Air

Back in middle school there was a trifecta of shows that were required watching or there would be nothing for you to talk about the next day in class: The Simpsons, In Living Color and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. We all started watching the latter because D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince imparted the greatest one-two pearls of wisdom you can bestow on a pre-teen: 1) Parents just don’t understand and 2) Girls ain’t nothing but trouble. Now we can all reminiscent about those days with all six season of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
now available, own it on DVD starting today.

As the Fresh Prince of Bel Air entered its final season just as Will Smith the comic rapper was transitioning into Will Smith the action hero as the season started just months after Bad Boys became a worldwide smash, and ended just weeks before he became the king of the July 4th weekend with the release of Independence Day. And transition was the theme of the sixth season: Carlton spends the season trying to get into his father’s alter mater Princeton, Hilary has her new talk show, the appropriately titled Hilary, Ashley is trying to get into the New York School of Performing Arts, Uncle Phil thinks about transition his work on a Hollywood Madam trial into a political career, and even Geoffrey transitions into being a dad after learning of a grown son. All this leaves Will in flux to figure out his own life.

What is always great about watching (or re-watching) old television shows is spotting stars that were not as famous as they are today like the post Saturday Night Live, pre-Bring the Pain Chris Rock who shows up in a dress. And who remembers that Cousin Ashley once dated Steve Urkel? Michael Clarke Duncan shows up in one of his first acting roles. Will and Carlton went on a double date with Castle’s Tamala Jones and The Jamie Foxx Show’s Garcelle Beauvais. Zachery Ty Bryan stopped pestering Tim Allen long enough to harass Carlton. Duane Martin, currently palling around with Paul Riser, was delivering babies on the set of Hilary. And there were plenty of big names stopping by the final season too including Jay Leno, Joan Van Ark, William Shatner, Wayne Newton, B.B. King, Richard Roundtree (in his second appearance on the show with a different character), and of course D.J. Jazzy Jeff shows up a few times as Jazz. Dick Clark also shows up for a bloopers episode (remember when sitcom had these, now there are reserved for DVD sets). And if you didn’t see, or just forget, telling you the sitcom luminaries that show up, in their best known characters, for the series finale would be too spoilery.

The season 6 DVD features all twenty-four episodes on three disks, but for fans of bonus content, sadly there is none to be found. Here is a synopsis:

It’s a rap: the final season! The Fresh Prince’s reign is over. Will Smith and the rest of the hilarious cast take their final bows with all 24 Season 6 Episodes on 3 Discs. A lot’s happened since Will’s life got flipped, turned upside down and he showed up at the Banks’s Bel-Air doorstep. And the final season keeps the fun rollin’ to the very end with hip comedy style, phat one-liners, a not-to-be-missed blooper episode, and guest stars that include William Shatner, B.B. King, Dick Clark, Richard Roundtree, Wayne Newton and – in a standout turn – Chris Rock as an on-the-rise comic and his butt-ugly sister. Any guess who ends up as Will’s date for a night for dancin’ and (ugh) romancin’? You go, Will!

Full Disclosure Notice: This DVD was given to me on behalf of Warner Bros. for the purpose of reviewing the season.

Feed Your iPod vol. LVIII: White Blank Page

Over the past year, very few acts have very much staying power on the album charts beside Justin Beiber (of course it is easier when you release four albums in that time). The only other act is the antithesis of Beiber: Mumford and Sons. For those that still have not yet caught on to English lads it is time to jump on the bandwagon. A bandwagon that recently welcomed Taylor Swift who performed the band’s deep cut White Blank Page. The country starlet turned the passionate song and turns it into a subdued ode of yearning. Both are worth a listen.

White Blank Page – Mumford and Sons




White Blank Page – Taylor Swift

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 4/17/11

The Killing: Wow, that video popping up was shocking. It does help my case that the dad could be involved, getting rid of Rosie maybe to cover up such a video from getting out. You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Chuck: I am a little surprised the show didn’t go full Hannibal Lecher and wheel Volcoff in with the mask on. But this show has been much more fun this season (with the exception of the C.A.T. Squad) with Timothy Dalton on the screen. Great scenes with him and the gun runners and the chess bit. It is a shame he did not escape. Hopefully with Vivian having the weapon, they will have to wheel him back in a couple more times before the end of the season. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: As entertaining as Graduation Goggles was, the longer Jennifer Morrison sticks around, the bigger a drag she becomes. Hopefully next week is the break up episode because it is time for her to go. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Castle: Finally my theory of the most recognizable guest actor as the killer did not come to fruition because I had Erik Palladino pegged from the moment he popped up on screen. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: I was surprised to look at the description for next week to see it is already the season finale. Even though we got ten extra episodes this season, it doesn’t feel like it should be over all ready. And it should be a great one with the Braverman’s coping with Amber’s accident. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Survivor: Redemption Island: Thank goodness there were two eliminations this week because watching the slow decimation of the old Zapatera tribe. Hopefully someone on the old Ometepe tribe comes up with a big play soon because this is becoming excruciating to watch. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Justified: Somewhat of a filler episode. We did get a great scene between Raylan and Art, but everything else seemed to be a transition to the stretch run of the season. But it was nice to see Herc up and walking again. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Community: You really cannot go wrong with a good Veronica Mars reference. It is about time the pop culture junkies on the show finally gave her a shout out. Speaking of which, when is Community going to get around to making a noir episode? You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Outsourced: I remember when I got my palms read back in college and how we made fun of it the whole time. But the chick did say I had a long life line and I am still alive, so she had that going for her. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.

For those looking for my thoughts on the Friday Night Lights return, I wrote about them back when it premiered on DirecTV, check them out at First Impressions: Friday Night Lights: The Final Season.

Also check out my Preview of Happy Endings.

Best of the Week - 4/16/11

Quote of the Week: Because you dress like Justin Beiber and eat pork rinds for dinner. (The Killing)

Song of the Week: I Will Remember You – Sarah McLaughlin (How I Met Your Mother)

Big News of the Week: Norm MacDonald Returns to Television: One of my heroes finally returned to the small screen this week, the only problem is, I have not seen it yet. See, Sports Show with Norm MacDonald is on past my bedtime, So I figured I would head over to Hulu the next day, only it was not there. Next I tried Comedy Central.com and all that was there were five short clips. Then on to Comedy Central’s On Demand channel to no avail. As a last resort, I looked up its repeat schedule and it only reairs past midnight. Seriously Comedy Central, throw me a bone so I do not have to break out the VCR to watch the show.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: I Should Have Known - Foo Fighters (AmazonMP3)

Deal of the Week: Up to 59% Off ABC TV (Castle, Lost, Scrubs)

New Album Release of the Week: Two - Lenka

New DVD Release of the Week: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: The Complete Sixth Season

Video of the Week: After a brief hiatus, this week saw a double dose of Yvonne Strahovski with the return of Chuck and she even popped u[p in the latest College Humor video. Although I kind of wish I could unsee the second. The video lampoons the very parodyable Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga and managed to come up with a song three times worse than any of the songs of the original artists (which has to be hard to do) to the point that College Humor should really think about changing its name. So be warned you may think less of Sarah Walker after watching this video.




Next Week Pick of the Week: Game of Thrones, Sunday (4/17) at 9:00 n HBO: HBO rules the early 00’s critically with show like The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood and Rome, but there have been chinks in the armor of late with some considering Showtime, the must subscribe channel while other consider AMC the channel with the best shows on television (I would argue that title goes to FX). With the critically mixed True Blood the only recent hit, HBO looks to reassert its dominance in terms of quality this weekend with the premiere of the highly anticipated Game of Thrones based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. I know I cannot wait until the show hits DVD shelves.