How much did you love The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? Not as much as us. It was an absolute staple of our childhood. I would say, ‘if you don’t know, don’t worry’, but in this case, if you don’t know, where were you for the whole of the 90s?!
Yesterday, Alfonso Ribeiro AKA Carlton Banks, Will’s perfectionist cousin, posted a photo on Instagram of the cast reunited in a swanky restaurant in Malibu, and the fan reaction has been through the roof.
From left-to-right: Ashley Banks (Tatyana Ali, who ended up going to Harvard!), Carlton Banks (Alfonso Rebeiro, who came 7th in I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here…), Hilary Banks (Karyn Parsons), Will Smith, Aunt Viv (Daphne Maxwell Reid) and Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell, who is now a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company).
Let’s remind ourselves of the basic storyline shall we? Will Smith played a fictionalised version of himself as a smooth, streetwise teen from Philly (we can say that right?) who gets shipped off to live with his “aunty and uncle in Bel-Air” and gets up to all sorts in his posh, new home.
But of course, the missing piece to the puzzle was Uncle Phil, James Avery, who sadly passed away in 2013 aged 68. Ribeiro referenced Avery in the photo caption saying, 'Wishing that James Avery was still with us to make this complete.' Fans lamented the tragic loss on Instagram:
@jno.1986 : ‘Still missing the Big Guy’
@demetrices_ : ‘First thing first, Rest in Peace Uncle Phil’
The NBC show ran for 6 whole seasons until May 1996, tackling brave and controversial issues that are still relevant today, namely race relations and the relentless targeting of young, black males by police officers. Luckily, there seems to be insta-evidence that the show is still alive in an inter-generational way, as one user commented:
@grrymee : ‘I was watching reruns of the show with my daughter on Netflix…still the best show ever created in my opinion.’
With the reunion photo sparking pleas for a new series, fans are calling for Will Smith to play Uncle Phil this time round. It makes sense, as Will is 48 and James Avery was just 44 when he first took on the role...
‘Smell ya later’
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Follow Maeve on Twitter: @maevieCampbell
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.