Entertainment

Celebrate Throwback Thursday with a Marathon of A Different World

By Jordan Willard | March 5, 2015 0 Comments

*source: rakuten.com

Happy Throwback Thursday! I have a riddle for you: What does Marisa Tomei, Sinbad, Lisa Bonet, glasses with a set of flip shade lenses, and a sassy, shoulder pad clad Southern belle all have in common? Well if you don’t see the relationship, you clearly must have missed out on the hilarious, enlightening, educational adventures of Whitley and the crew from A Different World, back in the day. Curly Queens, I am pleased to say that after initially being postponed for a hot minute, Netflix has finally decided to release every season- that is 1 through 6-of the classic late 1980s/ early 1990s sitcom, A Different World.

*source: dawnali.com

Allow me to refresh your memory of the premise of this piece of television gold! Once upon a time in TV land, Dr. Cliff Huxtable enrolled his daughter, Denise Huxtable, into Hillman College, a historically black college, located in Virginia. While in school, she met an eclectic group of brilliant minds, and though she eventually dropped out of college (ultimately leaving the show, to occasionally return and reprise her roll as Denise), her friends still continued to confront the unique dilemmas associated with coming of age in this educationally stimulating environment, during this fascinating transitional period in American history. Though a simple, wholesome situational comedy on the surface, A Different World boldly addressed and confronted many social and political issues that were relevant during this era, including the Equal Rights Amendment. This program was also amongst the first to honestly and compassionately discuss the HIV/AIDS epidemic on television. In addition to being unafraid to talk about and educate people on tough issues, the show the ability make audiences laugh while simultaneously tugging at the heart strings, certainly helped to set it head and shoulders above many other sitcoms of the era. Before Ross and Rachel ever shared a cup of coffee at Central Perk, Whitley and Dwayne’s natural chemistry electrified the small screen, keeping everyone at the edge of their seats (I won’t ruin the finale for those of you who are binge watching for the first time, but I will say it is pretty epic!).

*source: fabsugar.com

The series was originally removed from the new fall lineup of television programs for Netflix due to the recent scandal with one of it’s producers, but now it has been confirmed that all seasons of A Different World will be streamable from Netflix, on March 17th, 2015. I’m glad that this show is finally being added to the Netflix lineup, not only because it perfectly indulges my personal taste for nostalgia, but the show itself is essentially time capsule capturing the definitive cultural characteristics of this era, socially, politically, artistically, scientifically; each twenty minute episode is essentially like a 101 lesson in sociology, anthropology, and history of the late 1980s, early 1990s. The life lessons discussed in A Different World are still credited for positively influencing and inspiring young Americans of all backgrounds, to seek out higher education and ultimately strive for the greater good. Though the world is even more different than when the show first premiered back in 1987, the creative quality of the series will still make a strong impact, resonating with young audiences today. PLUS- did I mention you are also guaranteed to laugh…. And quite a bit, I may add? So thank you Netflix for re-introducing A Different World to mainstream audiences, once again.

In celebration of A Different World’s return to the small screen, here is a retrospective of some of my favorite moments from the show:

*source:.ew.com