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Rewatching the entire series of "A Different World" on Netflix and something just occurred to me

Lonzo

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Marrying down isn't about money, but pedigree. Whitley would've/should've/could've been living perfectly well with Byron.

Byron was twenty years older than Whitley. Whitley had only recently graduated. She was in her early twenties.

Let Puffy marry a 29 year old and y’all fonts gonna blow up.
 

80sIcons

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Byron was twenty years older than Whitley. Whitley had only recently graduated. She was in her early twenties.

Let Puffy marry a 29 year old and y’all fonts gonna blow up.
Not to mention, Whitley only got with Byron to take her mind off Dwayne. The same way Dwayne did with Kinu.
 

LilPennyGirl

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Byron was twenty years older than Whitley. Whitley had only recently graduated. She was in her early twenties.

Let Puffy marry a 29 year old and y’all fonts gonna blow up.
The character Byron definitely wasn't 20 years older than Whitley. I give him 13 years older at very most. The point I was making was that Whitley's pedigree would've ensured she married well. In early season 2 (before Dwayne) she made a comment about picking out her wedding ring along with her class ring.

I'm not exactly sure where P Diddy comes into this conversation...... You can't compare a strategic politician marrying well to a rapper who trades out girlfriends every few months.
 

MichaelMYERS

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Some of yall need to stop. A Different World would not have gotten " cancelled" cancelled in today's world especially not over some Ron liking Freddy's hair straight mess. If Grownish is still on air I know ADW would have been too, probably would've gotten more seasons.

Power and all it's pointless spin-offs are still airing despite black people saying they were gonna "cancel" 50 Cunt after that Trump mess.

If Klownye is a billionaire after disrespecting our ancestors then there is no such thing as "cancelling" especially in our community.
 

Lonzo

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The character Byron definitely wasn't 20 years older than Whitley. I give him 13 years older at very most.

Jasmine Guy was 29 in 1991 during the fifth season, but assuming Whitley was 19 in the first season, she was 23.

Joe Morton was 44 years old in 1991. It's possible the character Byron was intended to be 36 years old, but given he owns a chain of restaurants established enough to have a program to pay its employees' tuition in college plus mentioning having a location and day care center that have existed for 5 years in the community, I'd guess he was older.

The point I was making was that Whitley's pedigree would've ensured she married well. In early season 2 (before Dwayne) she made a comment about picking out her wedding ring along with her class ring.

Dwayne was a good choice with the exception of not having family wealth.

Out of curiosity, did Byron Douglas III come from family money or was he self-made? Working at the Pit during college doesn't seem to support coming from family wealth (even though sometimes rich kids get regular jobs too).

I'm not exactly sure where P Diddy comes into this conversation...... You can't compare a strategic politician marrying well to a rapper who trades out girlfriends every few months.

How people would trip if a woman of Whitley's age fresh out of college married a forty something like the quick courtship happened with Byron. Puffy is the biggest villain around here and its just the point LSA doesn't take too well to such relationships.
 
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Puddinpop79bell

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It's numbers 3 and 11 for me.
Dwayne became increasingly unlikable after him and Whitley got together especially after the marriage. It was uncomfortable to watch recently as an adult. Sucked she had to give up her pampered life in the name of love. Psht.

And yes, Whitley was foul as fµck to Kikula and deserved to get her sss beat.
It was like once he had her, he could treat her any old way he wanted. There's no way I would have left that guy (I forget his name) at the altar just to marry Dwayne's prune-cobbler-eating ass and wear outfits made out of curtains (Thanksgiving episode where her mom visited).
 

LilPennyGirl

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Jasmine Guy was 29 in 1991 during the fifth season, but assuming Whitley was 19 in the first season, she was 23.

Joe Morton was 44 years old in 1991. It's possible the character Byron was intended to be 36 years old, but given he owns a chain of restaurants established enough to have a program to pay its employees' tuition in college plus mentioning having a location and day care center that have existed for 5 years in the community, I'd guess he was older.




Dwayne was a good choice with the exception of not having family wealth.

Out of curiosity, did Byron Douglas III come from family money or was he self-made? Working at the Pit during college doesn't seem to support coming from family wealth (even though sometimes rich kids get regular jobs too).



How people would trip if a woman of Whitley's age fresh out of college married a forty something like the quick courtship happened with Byron. Puffy is the biggest villain around here and its just the point LSA doesn't take too well to such relationships.
I'm was talking about the characters intended ages NOT the actors ages. The writers wouldn't have married her off to a man 20 years her senior in her early 20's.
 

Lonzo

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I'm was talking about the characters intended ages NOT the actors ages. The writers wouldn't have married her off to a man 20 years her senior in her early 20's.

They never said how old Byron was, but the cues were closer to 40 if not over, and Whitley was 23.
 

DeeWins007

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Yes, all three times...the show went straight to hell wearing one of those creations of Lena James....don't even get me started on the episode of her scamming her ass into Hillman.....
It is funny I just started watching it again last week. I actually think they made the show.... different. I dont think they ruined it. Just another generation. The show is called A Different World, after all... :)
 

DeeWins007

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I loved when the new kids came on the show. It was a natural flow from them being under graduates to adults. They had to bring in new, hipper kids to keep the audience. I hate the first season. Lisa Bonet was the worst.
Im with you on this....
 

GeeMoneyNig

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Black material had the nasty habit of "humbling" the bourgeoisie or bougie black women. Black women of a certain standard were always humbled and belittled by writers. If it wasn't making them incredibly dumb (Hilary Banks), giving them few redeeming qualities(Toni Childs), having them marry down(Whitley Gilbert), or having their education be imbedded in their identity. Very rarely were beautiful bourgeoisie black women were allowed to simply be without humbling or having a dramatic life story.
That's not true.

Vivian Banks was wealthy and never humbled. Hell, Ashley Banks was never humbled either. Helen Willis was never humbled or Louise Jefferson.

There are many upper-middle and upper-class Black characters that were never humbled.

The characters you mentioned just happened to be very immature, out of touch, and condescending; those are never attractive traits in anyone regardless of socioeconomic status.
 

SimbaLuver

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Can we talk about the Juilian storyline??

okay when I was little I remember Whitley almost marrying him. And they even had it in the opening the credits of the final season NOT Byron.
So WHY is Julian in there when they don’t show his storyline of (almost) marrying Whitley??

They barely had a relationship. I'm guessing since the actor was available they used him to show Whitney running off with Dwayne. Joe definitely wasn't available and digital photoshop was crap back then, and I doubt they had the money to do it away.
 
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sierra

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Not to mention, Whitley only got with Byron to take her mind off Dwayne. The same way Dwayne did with Kinu.
Kinu was prior
They never said how old Byron was, but the cues were closer to 40 if not over, and Whitley was 23.
I never thought about it TBH but now that you mention it......I'd have to agree that the Byron character seemed quite a bit older than Whitley.
 

STLBlackBeauty

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He allegedly is dating Tempest Bledsoe. (p.s. My mama had some tea on Ron (IRL) dragging his father's business down the drain...)

when life imitates art. Ron Johnson would have fµcked up his father’s car dealership.
 

frostedwheat

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What the hell happened to Dwayne Wayne...he became very mean and oppressive to Whitley. Unlikable...not to mention the BLATANT colorism involved in that story arc.
Despite doing such a good job depicting positive images of African Americans, A Different World still suffered from many of the same stale tropes commonly found in today's shows: the denigrating of natural hair (Freddie); the hypocrisy of a black woman dating a white man, when Colonel Taylor married and had children with a white woman; and, most obvious, the marginalization of dark skinned women. Once Denise left, they slid another light skinned woman to be the star, to be the one lusted after by numerous men.

Kim was absolutely gorgeous, Jaleesa too, but they never got the same shine that Whitley or even Freddie got. Kim had a great figure, and they used to style her like a church aunt at times. She looked dowdy at times next to Whitley. In later seasons, we saw Kim and Jalessa's roles minimized. Their appearances were always directly connected to a Whitley or Freddie storyline.

Yet despite everything, the best episode was ***** Dearest, when they actually discussed some of the struggles dark skinned women endured.
 

Mipsaf

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Despite doing such a good job depicting positive images of African Americans, A Different World still suffered from many of the same stale tropes commonly found in today's shows: the denigrating of natural hair (Freddie); the hypocrisy of a black woman dating a white man, when Colonel Taylor married and had children with a white woman; and, most obvious, the marginalization of dark skinned women. Once Denise left, they slid another light skinned woman to be the star, to be the one lusted after by numerous men.

Kim was absolutely gorgeous, Jaleesa too, but they never got the same shine that Whitley or even Freddie got. Kim had a great figure, and they used to style her like a church aunt at times. She looked dowdy at times next to Whitley. In later seasons, we saw Kim and Jalessa's roles minimized. Their appearances were always directly connected to a Whitley or Freddie storyline.

Yet despite everything, the best episode was ***** Dearest, when they actually discussed some of the struggles dark skinned women endured.
Should they not depict real life or should they put out the ideal? Would that also have required insightful, self actualized writers, directors, actors and producers?
 

Mipsaf

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1. Didn't realize how long Sinbad was n the show. I'm all the way up to season 4 and he's still there. I didn't care for his character. Just corny especially when doing one of his "schticks"
A bit off topic, but as much as I liked Sinbad's humor, he made me uncomfortable - something off with his energy, like he could easily go from jokey to hostile, it felt.
 

Tall Tee

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I didn't care for sinbad's character when I watched as a youngin but as an adult I appreciate what he brought to the cast more.

Kim and Ron were very ick. I liked her best with the Jafaican that they had play like 3 other characters like we wouldn't notice.
LMBO! Dang, you right. Wasn’t he in Ron’s band with her? :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

SUINSC

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But nothing beats Diahann Carroll and Patti LaBelle playing Whitley and Dwayne's mothers. These two should have gotten a spin-off series. :ROFLMAO:




 

Jena Deveaux

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Why did Maggie room with Denise and Jaleesa if Whitley had an extra bed?
 

Lily Rush80

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And by today's standards, when fans discover who Ron was dating in real life, he would then be uncanceled, lmao.

I never got why they put Jaleesa with that old man anyway. I never figured out how old she was supposed to be. Then I found out the actor was Aretha Franklin's ex-husband. Let me go rewatch this too.
She was 26 or 28 in the first season. I feel like they did not know what to do with her.
 

LalaSharp

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I think the HBO Max version of A Different World is a little different from what I'm used to seeing. There is a cold open with the show starting before the opening credits, and then the opening credits play, and it has contemporary music that was playing on the radio during that time playing in the opening scenes in the pit. I think the regularly aired episodes have generic music in the pit.
 

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When the show started, she was supposed to be 27. I have no clue why I remembered that from the original airing. I was a kid at the time and thought she was SO old. Now looking back (and being far past that age), it’s funny that I thought that. But she would have been close to 10 years than most freshman. In real life, he was 14 years older than her.

I love me some Glynn Turman. He such a handsome old man to me.
He is handsome and he looked good once he cut his hair and married Jaleesa.
 

LalaSharp

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I didn't know NBC wanted a spinoff but Jasmine Guy didn't want to do it. I wouldn't have wanted a show w/ Ron & Freddie if that meant them dating. It would've been nice to see Whitley do well. I hated her from growing into wanting to be a NY art buyer to a broke teacher wearing the same shirt every day & following Dwayne w/ no clear storyline about her desires or plans. A show w/ a Black STEM/Nerd as a lead would've been cool.



This link says the white execs really did not want the riot episode & Debbie threatened to call Jesse Jackson & they believe that was the end of the show when it could've gone for another season or 2. 1 of the execs had been attacked during the riots/uprising. One lady from ADW says it may not have been worth it. I don't think it was worth it.

The riot/honeymoon 2 parter was not particularly well done, in general, and specifically, in terms of addressing the social issue at the center of the episode. ADW had some bangers when it came to addressing issues - colorism, date r@pe, AIDS, apartheid, domestic violence - but the riot episodes felt silly w/ the forced humor & the knock-you-over-the-head messaging instead of good, seamless storytelling. Whitley's in LA w/ dozens of designer bags in an open vehicle? In what world did that make sense?

 

UnderstatedBri

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I didn't know NBC wanted a spinoff but Jasmine Guy didn't want to do it. I wouldn't have wanted a show w/ Ron & Freddie if that meant them dating. It would've been nice to see Whitley do well. I hated her from growing into wanting to be a NY art buyer to a broke teacher wearing the same shirt every day & following Dwayne w/ no clear storyline about her desires or plans. A show w/ a Black STEM/Nerd as a lead would've been cool.



This link says the white execs really did not want the riot episode & Debbie threatened to call Jesse Jackson & they believe that was the end of the show when it could've gone for another season or 2. 1 of the execs had been attacked during the riots/uprising. One lady from ADW says it may not have been worth it. I don't think it was worth it.

The riot/honeymoon 2 parter was not particularly well done, in general, and specifically, in terms of addressing the social issue at the center of the episode. ADW had some bangers when it came to addressing issues - colorism, date r@pe, AIDS, apartheid, domestic violence - but the riot episodes felt silly w/ the forced humor & the knock-you-over-the-head messaging instead of good, seamless storytelling. Whitley's in LA w/ dozens of designer bags in an open vehicle? In what world did that make sense?


The riot/ Honeymoon episode may not have been done the best. But rewatching back that episode, especially when I did 2020, when all that same sh!t was happening in the world around and seeing HOW NOTHING HAD CHANGED 20 YEARS LATER WHEN THEY DID THAT episode, * fµck NBC for trying not to air that episode* , to me was a COME TO JESUS MOMENT. I was too young to really grasp the LA riots and the Rodney king beating. I knew about them as I got older but didnt get to wrap my mind to what was happening in the world at that time.

What I LOVED about the this show was so many special episodes decades later was STILL so relevant to today, and to the point that I I didnt know any better I would think it was created in our times. There was numerous times where their execution was done much better than when current modern shows tried to address the same issues today.
 

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Rereading this thread again, Dwayne wasn’t as toxic as some made him out to be. He just grew up and wasn’t the same geeky dude during first and second season.
 

LalaSharp

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What would Kimberly Reese's life had been if she had been pregnant and kept it, which seemed to be her plan, before she learned about the Leddy Be Ready date kit? She would've missed so many opportunities. I think she traveled every summer & she worked around the clock. Even if her parents kept the baby, she probably would have felt obligated to go home on breaks. She would've been tethered to Robert who cheated real quick when he had the chance.

It was good they didn't introduce a baby with a main character although we got to see how it impacts a student's life with Theresa Randle.
 

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