The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (season 4)
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (season 4) | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 20, 1993 – May 23, 1994 |
| Season chronology | |
The fourth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered on September 20, 1993 and aired its season finale on May 23, 1994. This was the first season to feature Daphne Maxwell Reid as Vivian Banks after Janet Hubert-Whitten's departure. This was also the first season to feature Nicky Banks as a regular character on the show. With 26 episodes, this was the longest season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Episodes
- Will Smith, James Avery, Alfonso Ribeiro and Karyn Parsons were present for all episodes.
- Tatyana M. Ali and Joseph Marcell were absent for one episode each.
- Daphne Maxwell Reid was absent for three episodes.
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | 1 | "Where There's a Will, There's a Way" (Part 1) | Shelley Jensen | Gary H. Miller | September 20, 1993 | 60031 |
| Will and Carlton begin their first year of college by moving into their own apartment, while Philip and Vivian enjoy their newborn son. Trevor plans to propose marriage to Hilary while bungee jumping on his TV news show, but is met with a sudden death. | ||||||
| 75 | 2 | "Where There's a Will, There's a Way" (Part 2) | Shelley Jensen | Gary H. Miller | September 20, 1993 | 60032 |
| Will accuses Jazz for sending rappers to his party who got him and Carlton kicked out of their rooms by a grouchy and uncaring old landlord. Hilary has difficulty dealing with Trevor's death. | ||||||
| 76 | 3 | "All Guts, No Glory" | Shelley Jensen | Maiya Williams | September 27, 1993 | 60033 |
| Will withdraws from a difficult college philosophy class then regrets his decision when he discovers that the professor is the most stimulating teacher he has ever known. He chooses to return to that class even when having to forfeit the credits it should give him. | ||||||
| 77 | 4 | "Father of the Year" | Shelley Jensen | Leslie Ray & David Steven Simon | October 4, 1993 | 60034 |
| When Will tries to impress a beautiful college girl by pretending to be a single father and using his new infant cousin as his son, he is forced to accept the honor of "Campus Father of the Year". Jackie (Tyra Banks) makes him feel ashamed and he confesses when offered a prize of plane tickets to Hawaii, so he hands them over to the other student-father, who then confides to Will that he also is lying. | ||||||
| 78 | 5 | "It's Better to Have Loved and Lost It…" | Shelley Jensen | David Zuckerman | October 11, 1993 | 60036 |
| Carlton meets Jo Ann, a beautiful woman on the college campus. They end up spending the night together and Carlton finally loses his virginity. This also helps give him confidence as he prepares again to apply for Princeton. However, Carlton's shot at greater merriment is short-lived, as Jo Ann turns out to be married (to a man who could have helped Carlton get into Princeton) and reveals to Carlton that she was actually using him for a one-night stand. | ||||||
| 79 | 6 | "Will Goes a Courtin'" | Shelley Jensen | Bill Boulware | October 18, 1993 | 60037 |
| Will defies his uncle by throwing a pool party in the yard after he makes his rent payment conditional that Philip repairs the air conditioner in the pool house, which Philip nonetheless demands in exchange for that freedom. The next day, Philip sues, unprepared for them to plead their cases in court before Judge Reynolds. Philip and Will/Carlton paint very different pictures before the judge, who rules in Philip's favor as A/C is not an essential housing requirement. | ||||||
| 80 | 7 | "Hex and the Single Guy" | Shelley Jensen | Barry Gurstein & David Pitlik | October 25, 1993 | 60038 |
| When the Banks family attends a seance so Hilary can contact her dead ex-fiancé Trevor, Scorpius, the spiritualist (Glenn Shadix) gets so frustrated with Will's mockery and skepticism that he curses the family with a hex that brings them all bad luck: Uncle Phil is put out of business because of assumed evidence that he was taking bribes, Ashley breaks an ankle just before her tennis match, Carlton's hair gets bleached as a result of his Macaulay Culkin Halloween costume, Geoffrey gets deported, and Jazz and Hilary plan to get married. Will must convince the psychic to break the curse but when he returns, he realizes the man who cursed the Banks looks like a nerd, his real name is Ralph Scorpius, and he has none of what he had when he placed the curse. Will then wakes up from this dream but the day starts just like it did like an endless timeloop. | ||||||
| 81 | 8 | "Blood is Thicker Than Mud" | Chuck Vinson | Devon Shepard | November 1, 1993 | 60039 |
| Will and Carlton pledge Phi Beta Gamma, a black fraternity whose president (Glenn Plummer) is a friend of Will's. They are given humiliating tasks as part of their initiation, and Carlton is subjected to additional hazing (for instance being forced to eat a live trout while Will and the other pledges eat goldfish) due to the president's personal prejudice against Carlton and his wealthy family, since he equates being black with being working class and from the 'hood. Carlton accepts his hazing silently, earning the respect of many members, but the president denies membership to him while accepting Will. Will refuses to join, and the president is ousted. | ||||||
| 82 | 9 | "Fresh Prince After Dark" | Shelley Jensen | Eddie Gorodetsky | November 8, 1993 | 60035 |
| When Hilary is invited to pose for Playboy magazine, Will and Carlton get to meet Hugh Hefner and the beautiful bikini-clad "bunnies" at the Playboy mansion. Philip is furious and retreats to his self-styled hermitage. When he finally sees the publication, he at first seems pleasantly surprised that the pictures are tasteful as promised by Hugh, until he sees the centerfolds that are more revealing. | ||||||
| 83 | 10 | "Home is Where the Heart Attack Is" | Shelley Jensen | Eddie Gorodetsky | November 15, 1993 | 60040 |
| After struggling to lose weight, Philip has a serious heart attack while eating a cheeseburger that he bribes Will to buy for him. The entire family arrives at the hospital to help Philip get through this except for Carlton. Will confronts Carlton to visit his father by telling the story of his own dead-beat father, reminding Carlton that he has a father who is there for his kids, and saying that he's just being self-centered. Carlton eventually comes to comfort his father and reveals to him that he is just like Superman to him and was frightened to watch his father suffer. Phillip, realizing how self-centered he had been acting as well, apologizes for letting him and his family down and pledges to take losing weight more seriously. | ||||||
| 84 | 11 | "Take My Cousin – Please" | Shelley Jensen | David Zuckerman | November 22, 1993 | 60041 |
| When one of Will's college professors (Phil Morris) gets depressed over his recent divorce, Will hopes to improve his own failing class grade by introducing him to Hilary, who is still grieving Trevor's death. They hit it off but then after a short time, Hilary starts not liking him for strange reasons such as a mole or Adam's Apple. Will ensures that she isn't seeing the professor, she sees Trevor. | ||||||
| 85 | 12 | "You've Got to Be a Football Hero" | Shelley Jensen | Bill Boulware | November 29, 1993 | 60042 |
| When Will is challenged to a drinking contest by Jackie's boyfriend, a popular college football player, he gets drunk, collapses in a cemetery on the way home, and is trapped in a mausoleum with four philosophical ghosts. He learns how foolish it can be to get so very drunk when he meets the ghost of a child killed by a drunk driver. | ||||||
| 86 | 13 | "Twas the Night Before Christening" | Shelley Jensen | Maiya Williams & Eddie Gorodetsky | December 20, 1993 | 60043 |
| Surprised by the expensive gifts that the Banks family bought for baby Nicky's christening on Christmas Eve, Will foolishly promises to provide a live performance by the R&B music group Boyz II Men. Vivian chooses Geoffrey ahead of her sisters as the child's godfather. Philip recounts this as a bedtime story to toddler Nicky in 1998, to which time this episode travels forward. This episode contradicts the latter timeline of the sitcom, as Geoffrey leaves for England and the Banks move out of the mansion in the finale episode. | ||||||
| 87 | 14 | "Sleepless in Bel-Air" | Shelley Jensen | Maiya Williams | January 3, 1994 | 60054 |
| Will and Carlton try to concentrate on their schoolwork while surrounded by the noisy late-night distractions of the Banks family. Carlton ends up irritating Will by revealing that the assignment he was working on was purely optional whereas Will's test will be mandatory. | ||||||
| 88 | 15 | "Who's the Boss" | Shelley Jensen | Barry Gurstein & David Pitlik | January 10, 1994 | 60044 |
| When Carlton becomes the new manager of the campus restaurant, Will refuses to work as his employee. He attempts to do so, and when it does not work out, he gets a job at a sports bar a few blocks away. | ||||||
| 89 | 16 | "I Know Why the Caged Bird Screams" | Shelley Jensen | David Zuckerman | January 24, 1994 | 60045 |
| When Carlton, the mascot of the university's football team, is abducted by the students from a rival college, Will wears Carlton's peacock costume to inspire the team during a championship game. It does not work because they are so attached to Carlton already and his inspiring speech puts even more of a damper on their team spirit. | ||||||
| 90 | 17 | "When You Hit Upon a Star" | Shelley Jensen | Michael Soccio | January 31, 1994 | 60046 |
| Will's love affair with a superstar singer, Michelle Michaels (Stacy Dash), is threatened when he meets her handsome former lover. Will learns that glamorous flings are not as fulfilling as meaningful relationships. | ||||||
| 91 | 18 | "Stop Will! In the Name of Love" | Maynard C. Virgil I | Gayle Abrams & Jenji Kohan | February 14, 1994 | 60048 |
| Ashley asks Will to chaperone her on a date, thinking that her father would be too overprotective. He turns out to be just as overprotective, and when her date takes off, Ashley rebels, running away from Will. Will's date, whose name he cannot remember, leaves him on account of what she calls his double standards. Guest Amy Hunter as Samantha | ||||||
| 92 | 19 | "You'd Better Shop Around" | Shelley Jensen | Devon Shepard & K. Snyder | February 21, 1994 | 60047 |
| Will withdraws from his university classes to become a successful car salesman by the place's owner (Robert Guillaume). His mother becomes furious when she finds out and comes to LA, and gets him to re-enroll at college by threatening to enroll herself. | ||||||
| 93 | 20 | "The Ol' Ball and Chain" | Shelley Jensen | Rich Hosek & Arnold Rudnick | February 28, 1994 | 60049 |
| On the day of Jazz's wedding, his bride-to-be makes sexual advances towards Will. | ||||||
| 94 | 21 | "The Harder They Fall" | Shelley Jensen | Devon Shepard | March 14, 1994 | 60050 |
| Will finds himself stranded in a mountain forest with his new girlfriend (Cree Summer)'s disagreeable father (John Witherspoon), Augustus after having crash-landed. He escapes from there and leaves him to it because he is somewhat unsettled by his overbearing personality and protectiveness of Lisa. | ||||||
| 95 | 22 | "M is for the Many Things She Gave Me" | Shelley Jensen | Gary H. Miller | April 25, 1994 | 60060 |
| When Philip's former college girlfriend, Janice Robertson (Pam Grier), visits the Banks family, she attempts to seduce an unwilling Will, who is supposed to be getting to know the daughter, Wendy (Elise Neal). Vivian is openly jealous of Janice's presence (made worse by overhearing Phil saying he "settled" for Vivian after Janice showed no interest), but when Philip finds out that Will slept with Janice, he apologizes to her and makes it clear that he values his marriage more than anything Janice tempts him with. She accepts his apology (but still has him sleep on the couch for his flirty behavior). | ||||||
| 96 | 23 | "Mother's Day" | Madeline Cripe | Leslie Ray & David Steven Simon | May 2, 1994 | 60051 |
| When Jazz and his wife, Jewel (Karen Malina White), try unsuccessfully to conceive a child, they ask Will to "father" the baby. Meanwhile, Phillip challenges the kids to put more thought into their Mother's Day gifts for Vivian. | ||||||
| 97 | 24 | "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" | Shelley Jensen | David Zuckerman & Bill Boulware | May 9, 1994 | 60053 |
| Will is reunited with his father, Lou Smith (Ben Vereen), for the first time in 14 years. | ||||||
| 98 | 25 | "For Sale by Owner" | Shelley Jensen | Harrison Boyd | May 16, 1994 | 60061 |
| The Banks family is offered a $1 million profit by an unknown buyer, who wants to buy the family house. Clips are shown of previous memorable occasions. The only person who really does not want to move even for the money is Ashley, who shows the most sentimental attachment, a complete opposite to her brother Carlton who'd like to take the money and leave. | ||||||
| 99 | 26 | "The Philadelphia Story" | Shelley Jensen | Eddie Gorodetsky & Maiya Williams | May 23, 1994 | 60052 |
| Will and the entire Banks family vacation in Will's hometown, Philadelphia, and learn a surprising secret about Will's reputation in the neighborhood. Will tells Carlton about a dangerous gang leader called Omar, who Will is determined to fight. However, Will learns that Omar has grown up and so should he. Will stays behind with his mother for the season. | ||||||
References
External links
- List of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episodes at the Internet Movie Database
- List of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air season 4 episodes at TV.com
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at epguides.com
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