MovieChat Forums > The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990) Discussion > Changes and Inconsistencies

Changes and Inconsistencies

posted 11 years ago by Steve_Walls183
23 replies | jump to latest

.

It seemed like the writers were eventually
going to get Will and Jackie together - but then she
suddenly disappeared.... never to be mentioned again.

Aunt Viv is played by two different women

Baby Nicky jumps from "Newborn" to Age 4

In an episode from Season 4- Will starts
to get serious with a girl named Lisa,
and he goes Flying with her father-
( The episode where the plane goes down)
It seemed like the writers were going somewhere
with that whole plot - but then we never
see that particular Lisa ever again.... or her Father...
Instead - Will eventually meets ANOTHER girl named Lisa
and gets serious with her!

Jazz marries Jewel, and then gets her pregnant-
She is never seen again - only mentioned,
and the baby is never talked about.

Will and Lisa ALMOST get married twice-
but then they both change their minds...
their Parents end up getting married ( which was dumb )
and then Lisa is never seen or talked about again.

Such a great, funny show -

but it sure couldn't make up its mind

which way it wanted to go !

There were all kinds of weird little inconsistencies

and ideas that were changed, re-written or canned!

Still a great show !

.

[–] furienna 11 years ago

The first actress to play Aunt Viv was fired, so they had to bring in a new one. And many shows have aged up a baby to a five-year-old, since you can do more with a five-year-old than with a baby. But I can't explain any of the rest.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] Kentry-1802 11 years ago

The Fresh Prince show acknowledged some of the changes in a humorous way. In the first episode with Daphne Reid, Jazz remarks that Vivian looked different while Will stared right into the camera uneasily. When Ross Bagley(around age 5) replaced the baby actor, Jazz asked Ross who he was. Will replied, "This is baby Nicky." Jazz gave a confused expression, and Will humorously says,"He grew."

It's like, cool. It's like, totally rad awesome!

[–] hubcap18 10 years ago

Also, in a later season premiere, Jazz asked Will "So, who's playing the mom this year?"

_______
The sun is shining... but the ice is slippery.

[–] mikeyg24 11 years ago

To be fair this was a sitcom not a soap opera and comedies often take a lot of liberty with dramatic license. While there were some extended plots throughout the series each episode was really intended to be taken on it's own merits. Jewel was introduced to facilitate plots in one or two episodes but that her character was never seen beyond those is no big deal really.

Yours sincerely, General Joseph Liebgott

[–] thirstydeer 11 years ago

Another inconsistency that I never heard an explanation for is the whole design of the house completely changed. When the show started you rarely saw the main staircase because it was in the front hallway out of sight from the camera, and on the other side of the living room was the dining room, and then a separate kitchen with its own stairs going upstairs. Suddenly it changed to a massive living room with a large staircase feeding it, and a far more open kitchen with breakfast area.

[–] phildog120 11 years ago

That was always strange to me, too, but I liked the new design better.

There really wasn't a TV explanation, other than the real-life situation of the show getting a bigger budget which allowed for more elaborate sets. Older TV sitcoms didn't really need to conform to continuity boundaries so much as today where audiences are more critical of these things.

[–] megafauna005 11 years ago

Jackie was great and I wish she stayed longer than just 1 season or whatever.

Jesus NEVER existed! He is Judeo Christian MYTH!

[–] kristen1165 9 years ago

I don't think it's uncommon for the set to change after the pilot.

[–] jellienellie818 11 years ago

Don't forget in the first season Ashley was 9, then she was 11, then I think in Season 2 she was 13...

The Poolhouse got a complete makeover.

Will was 17 for a few seasons.

There are a lot more inconsistencies, those are just the few off the top of my head.

[–] blaque108 11 years ago

I didn't think anything of it with the one episode with Cree Summer and John Witerspoon that was just another episode. Then when Nia Long came in as Llsa I just thought that was a conicedence (spell check). That Jazz and Jewel part probably was just a waste it was great to see Jazz find someone but only to have them leave and never be heard of again or seen. I hated that part with Lisa and Will wedding and then the parents go on to get married. You think in Season 6 Will would have said something about it in Season 6 episode 1.

[–] TalkerFellDownAndWentBoom 10 years ago

I think Aunt Viv was played by two different woman to show how she aged.

"She don't love you, she's just lonely." -She Don't Love You;Eric Paslay

[–] j-p-j-steel 10 years ago

Phil and Hillary teach Ashley to drive in "Grumpy Young Men" (S0E04) but shehad been driving for years by "The Baby Comes Out" (S03E20) and even drove Vivian (1) to the hospital...

Not the most dramatic inconsistency, but still...

[–] EmilyTheDramaQueen 9 years ago

Plus on that one: There was the episode before she drove Vivian to the hospital where she and her girl scout friends stole the car and wrecked it cause they didn't know what the R stood for, someone who had been driving would already know that.

"I'd rather lose for what I am than win for what I ain't"

Kacey Musgraves "Pageant Material"

[–] Dee_Charlotte 10 years ago

*bump*

Not to mention the different versions of young Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv.

In one episode they used different actors to portray them and Uncle Phil was actually shown as a slim young guy, with short hair.

In the Soul Train episode they were portraid by their actual actors, just with wigs. That not only gave Uncle Phil an afro, but also showed him as being just as heavy back than as he was later.

Granted, the hair thing doesn't have to mean anything (easily shaved off), but the weight is a plot hole.

[–] Dee_Charlotte 10 years ago

*back then

[–] furienna 10 years ago

This would happen in a lot of TV shows back in the day. The writers simply didn't think about that in the future, people would be able to watch these shows in syndication, and even buy whole seasons on DVD. So continuity was never much of an issue, especially not if we're talking about changes between two different seasons. The writers had no idea that people would be able to scrutinize the show like this, because they didn't expect us viewers to keep track on the small details. They just wrote what worked for every individual episode. It is true though that "Fresh Prince", which never was afraid to break the fourth wall for a good joke, lampshaded a few obvious changes, like the fact that Aunt Viv and baby Nicky suddenly were played by brand new actors.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] hubcap18 10 years ago

At least they didn't get rid of a core family member.

_______
The sun is shining... but the ice is slippery.

[–] Eclectic_Flamingo 10 years ago

Actually I think they did mention that Jewel stole Jazz's stuff and ran off. They played it real dramatic and Jazz said something like "I guess she wasn't who I thought she was". I think it was the episode with the Shaft wedding.

"You can never have enough big white belts."-Big Bob Pataki

[–] gc18 8 years ago

Syndication has been around since the late 50s but the DVD/home video market is still a bit new.

But in the past most sitcoms had stand alone episodes not multi episode story arcs like today.

But also like with the continuity of I love Lucy then an episode was only aired once maybe twice.