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

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!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 36 reviews  4.8 out of 5 stars