DISCLAIMER: The following is a heartfelt rant by a sensitive writer. All words and sentiments are my own and Debbie Allen had nothing to do with this post…but if you know her personally or happen to have her cell phone number, tell her I said thank you.
6 seasons, 3 theme songs, 145 episodes.
For 30 years, A Different World has been as much a part of my life as my Social Security number or the freckles that surround my nose. For a lot of newly-minted thirtysomethings like me, it’s so hard to imagine life without the college that feels like home, the characters that feel like family, and the NBC show that partly inspired and encouraged many of us to become the people we are today. The show originally developed as a spinoff of The Cosby Show chronicling the college years of my favorite Huxtable, Denise, at fictional Hillman College has since turned into something so much greater — a irreplaceable sitcom celebration of Black culture that’s stood the test of time.
Thinking back to childhood in the ‘90s, I remember loving A Different World for all of the reasons most of Black kids I grew up around in the south did — the soulful & catchy theme song (Always the Aretha version, please), the fashion statements, the humor of Sinbad’s Walter Oaks, the beauty — and unforgettable accent — of Jasmine Guy’s Whitley Marion Gilbert-Wayne, and the overwhelming cool factor that came with watching young Black students — that could’ve been your mother, father, cousin, or older sibling — attend an HBCU while dealing with real life situations and stigmas. Such a concept had never been considered primetime entertainment and, honestly, hasn’t been since. A Different World also instilled in me this yearning to one day have a similar experience built around higher education, great friendships, and the full-bodied HBCU experience.
As a teen, A Different World became the thing of true marathon watching. Whenever I could catch even back-to-back episodes of the show, watching was a must. It was during my teen years that I realized the series grabbed my attention in a totally new way — that the storylines, character development, and themes present in each half-hour episode resonated in ways they hadn’t during the show’s original run. Watching the love story of Dwayne and Whitley unfold, watching Kim truly work hard for the money along the journey to med school, and watching Freddie find herself as a budding legal eagle gave me such an appreciation for their growth and evolution even as fictional characters. Though the episodes were over a decade old by then, they had a masterful duality about them that was undeniable — the content had stood the test of time and was still culturally relevant yet the show still encapsulated the look and feel of the ‘80s/’90s Black college experience that my parents and my friends’ parents lived. Watching A Different World reruns also fed my then-budding love of all things ‘80s — even though I found it so hard to watch and appreciate the season one episodes. Nonetheless, when I packed up my life to attend my PWI (#IssaPlotTwist, I know…) in the mid 2000s, I took A Different World with me — even making the show’s theme my parents’ ringtone. I mean, how could I not?
More than two decades after its premiere, A Different World had become one of my all-time favorite shows. By the time I was a sophomore at Florida State University, I’d seen all 145 episodes at least 10 times, had shared YouTube clips of my favorites with friends near and far on social media, and managed to cop season one on DVD from a bargain bin for five bucks. My junior year, however, brought me a chance at my own A Different World experience through classes at my now alma mater Florida A&M University. Almost immediately after first stepping foot on the highest of seven hills as a student, the nostalgia of those classic A Different World episodes came rushing over me. “This could be my Hillman,” I remember thinking about that new chapter at FAMU. And, to quote the old woman from Titanic, “it was…it REALLY was.”
My years at FAMU, between undergrad and grad school, felt closer to A Different World than I could’ve ever imagined. My admiration for the classic sitcom only grew as I walked the same halls as real life Whitley Gilberts who drove Benzes, carried Louis Vuitton bags, and spent their fathers’ money as they worked toward their degrees. I shared classes with the Kimberly Reeses who hustled full time between multiple jobs while never losing sight of their dreams. I faced my own “Dr. War,” who ultimately forced me to face the music about taking news seriously if I was ever to become a professional journalist and not “be a buzzard.” I spent hours on that campus surrounded by the actual Freddies, Rons, Dwaynes, Jaleesas, and Charmaines of my generation, drawing comparisons between the characters I’d literally grown up watching and the classmates that ultimately became family members. My love of A Different World (and other memorable shows of the same era) even colored my initial grad research, further forging the inseverable connection between the undeniable influence of the show that showcased the Black college experience and its lasting place in my life.
Now a young professional, I can’t imagine a life without A Different World. Whenever I think about the show’s characters who shared den, living room, and bedroom spaces with me through the decades, I get emotional like I’m sharing war stories. I think of how people and a college that don’t really exist seemingly paved a pathway of VERY real experiences and milestone moments I connect with so deeply. I shake my head now re-watching Whitley’s journey to becoming an art buyer because of how closely it mirrors my own journey to becoming a journalist. I chuckle at how Dwayne returned to Hillman’s math department as a professor and how I similarly returned to my own HBCU’s journalism department as a student media adviser — both of us trying to instruct and reach a new generation of students. Today, thanks to TVOne, I get to relive glimpses of my own HBCU experience on a hill miles and miles south of the fictional Virginia HBCU I swore I’d one day apply to and attend. It truly is funny how life imitates art and vice versa.
There’s something else to be said about the art. Some of it stays with you, but the best kind becomes apart of you. For me, A Different World falls into the category of art that deeply touches my life down to the soles of my feet — and I know I’m not alone. Good art, television included, inspires reflection, think pieces, tributes, historical research, recreations, and enduring conversations related to meaning and purpose.
To me, for its cultural relevance, impact, and resonance, A Different World (yes, even the season one episodes) represents the best kind of art.
Consider yourself a big A Different World fan? Share your favorite episode picks, your favorite memorable moments, or even how it affected your own HBCU experience in the comments! Don’t forget to check out TvOne’s A Different World 30th Anniversary marathon airing 9/24!