Before he was a huge movie star, consistently saving the world from Aliens, Will Smith was wearing Zubaz pants and living with his auntie and uncle in Bel Air. Early in the first season, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” hit the road with an episode set in Palm Springs – and by hit the road, they added some palm trees to a LA sound stage.
The episode starts innocent enough, Carlton is planning his weekend in Palm Springs: golf, summer internships, and then there is a Freddy Kreuger mask:
The pair are on their way to see Uncle Philip and Aunt V, who have already arrived in Palm Springs via Mr. Furth’s helicopter. The boys are driving out Mr. Furth’s Mercedes when problems arise as they get lost near Argweo Drive (?) and get pulled over.
The boys have been mistaken for car thieves as Palm Springs has had a surge in thefts lately (and why does that cop look familiar?). They attempt to call home for help, but Jeffrey hangs up on them since it was his day off and thought they were being lazy again. So they are left to sit in jail with a flamboyant man wearing leather (in Palm Springs???? – weird). It is there that they hatch a plan:
The plan, to get the 1990’s version of Gino LaMont to break in live during a football game – which is, in Carlton’s words, the only thing that people do at Palm Springs retreats (so true). Remarkably, the plan works – and wait, was that Hank Azaria as the racist cop?
Phil and Vivian head down to the police station and proceed to unleash hell on “Mayberry R.F.D.” and “Barney Fife” who have no idea how the legal system works:
