Page 45 - Will Smith: A Biography of a Rapper Turned Movie Star

From Rapper to Actor
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because I had to, like a homework assignment. I found that
the music told stories and had really clever rhymes . . . far
more literate than rock & roll. It opened my eyes.” 4
The show now had writers and a cast, but there was no
guarantee it would make it on the air. First, they had to tape
a sample episode, known in the television business as a pilot.
It would be shown to a test audience to see their reaction.
The test audience loved the pilot, and The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air was given a go-ahead. The show premiered on NBC
on September 10, 1990.
Most of the reviews at the time said the show was good but
not great. The Boston Globe rated the premiere episode three
stars out of four, but added, “Like the best of the new comedies,
‘Fresh Prince’ isn’t anything to get excited about, but . . . it has
enough good moments to warrant future attention.”5 A New
York Times critic was taken with Smith’s talent, writing that
Smith displayed “a strong sense of comedic timing” and
praised him for his ability to ad-lib. The critic also noted that
“on the few occasions he muffed a line, [Smith] calmly called
out, ‘Sorry, Mom,’ to his mother, visiting from Philadelphia
and watching the performance from the audience.”6
Not all the reviewers were as kind. Another New York
Times critic expressed concern that the Fresh Prince was too
much of a “smart aleck” and added, “Making matters
shakier, the brightly, energetic Mr. Smith seems to be
learninghow to act on the job and is frequently overshadowed
by the rest of the cast, particularly James Avery as the father
and Karyn Parsons as the older daughter, Hilary.”7