NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
It’s hard to remake a great TV show. It’s even harder to take a comedy and turn into into a drama while still trying to keep the core audience and find a new generation of fans. This is what Bel-Air was facing as they took the reigns from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. How can they turn something that was meant to bring laughter and lighten the mood, and turn into something that makes you think and is a bit darker?
Well, from the first episode, viewers saw the difference. As funny as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was, it did have its moments where the laughter stopped and things became serious. One episode was where Will’s father Lou returned after being out of Will’s life for years. The episode pulled at the heartstrings of viewers but it wasn’t until the end that the infamous scene set the stage for the original show and the new Bel-Air.
As viewers watched the new Bel-Air and noticed that some of the same storylines were being touched on, fans eagerly awaited Lou’s return. And when he did, it was far better than the original. Not that the acting was better, but comparing a comedic approach and a dramatic approach, one would expect the latter to come with more emotion.
Lou came in with guns drawn and his temper already on 100. Will matched his intensity and that scene alone was a highlight. But then Lou vanished from the cast. Viewers wondered when he would return and in Season 3, their storyline came back stronger.
Unlike the original, Will’s character in Bel-Air is searching for his father’s presence. It’s needed more in the reboot than it was in the original. We learned that Lou has been living in Los Angeles since he last saw Will. Will sought him out and while that exchange was more mellow than the first, the tension was still there. We as viewers have hated Lou since the original show and since the recast of Marlon Wayans in the reboot, no one has changed their stance. That was until Episode 6.
Lou is no longer the villain we thought he was. We now understand what happened between Lou and Vy. The only person who didn’t know the truth was Will. And for that, while some of the blame should placed on Lou’s shoulders, his mother withheld some of the story and needs to be held accountable.
While Lou did indeed leave his family short-handed, it was because he was trying to provide for his family. He robbed and hurt a man because the heat was off for 5 days. Vy told him to get the money from the man who owed him for a job and as Lou stated, he heard and understood the message loud and clear. What he did, he did for his family. Along the way, things went sour between Lou and Vy but to keep that information a secret and let Will believe that Lou was just a no-good father, was wrong on her part.
Will had it all wrong. Not just Will, we as the viewers had it wrong. That part of the story wasn’t touched on in the original. Lou’s reason for not wanting to see Will while he was in prison made sense. Lou not waiting to see Will when he was out also made sense in a broken-man type of way. Lou has suffered. He has lost those close to him and given up his dream, now he’s watching his son do the same things and wants it to stop.
Lou has been by Will the entire time but instead of barging in and forcing a relationship, he wanted to make sure he had his life together before approaching his son. Lou is far from perfect but the Lou we thought we knew, is not the Lou we now know.
