"A Different World" (1987)TV series 1987-1993

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

24 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Big laughs on campus.

Plot:

A group of students at a historically Black university struggle to make it through college.

Plot Keywords:

African American | Sitcom | Historically Black College

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 16 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 26	3:00 AM	BET	Two Gentlemen of Hillman	#2.2
Sat. July 26	3:30 AM	BET	Some Enchanted Late Afternoon	#2.3

Cast

Jasmine Guy	...	Whitley Marion Gilbert Wayne / ... (136 episodes, 1987-1993)
Kadeem Hardison	...	Dwayne Cleophus Wayne (132 episodes, 1987-1993)
Darryl M. Bell	...	Ronald 'Ron' Johnson / ... (103 episodes, 1987-1993)
Charnele Brown	...	Kimberly 'Kim' Reese (90 episodes, 1988-1993)
Dawnn Lewis	...	Jaleesa Vinson Taylor / ... (89 episodes, 1987-1992)
Cree Summer	...	Winifred 'Freddie' Brooks (87 episodes, 1988-1993)
Lou Myers	...	Vernon Gaines (65 episodes, 1988-1993)

Runtime:

30 min (142 episodes) | 60 min (1 episode)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Bill Cosby

Trivia:

The visuals of the campus buildings and entrance to the fictional Hillman College were of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Quotes:

Julian Day: [Whitley and Julian are breaking up in an Italian restaurant] Waiter, check please.
Whitley Marion Gilbert Wayne: Yes, la cuenta and *fast*!
Julian Day: It's "il conto".
Whitley Marion Gilbert Wayne: Oh, cuenta, conto, Kunta Kinte, just get the ding-dang check!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '80s Strikes Back" (2003)

After a Rough First Season, It Became Great

After a very rocky first season, this show not only went on to become an accurate portrayal of the Black college experience, it was also an accurate portrayal of college life in general. This show is one of the exceptions to the rule that drastic changes ruin great series. During the first season, it became obvious that Lisa Bonet couldn't carry the show and that the real star of the show was Jasmine Guy, whose character of Whitley Gilbert will always be remembered as one of the all time greats. Also, even though the show was set in a college, you never saw the kids actually attending class. All this changed during the second season when both Bonet's character of Denise Huxtable and Marissa Tomei's character of Maggie were written off the show and were replaced by Freddie, played by Cree Summer, and Kim, played by Charnele Brown. But perhaps the big change was that not only did you see the kids attending classes, but the show became more issue oriented. Issues like date rape, AIDS, domestic violence, apartheid and teen pregnancy were all covered in this show and helped to make it more than a "Cosby Show" spin-off. Also, besides the above mentioned characters, Kadeem Hardison's portrayal of Dwayne Wayne helped make this show great.