3. The Bankses- Fresh Prince of Bel Air
For anyone who lived through the 90s, The Bankses addition to a list of the best television families shouldn't need much convincing they were the staple of family entertainment for the better part of a decade thanks to their humorous exchanges with Will, whose street-smart, urban upbringing clashed with their more 'upper class' sensibilities. Unlike the previous entry however, it's debatable whether the Bankses would've gone down quite so well were it not for the show's eponymous character. Take Will out of the equation and we're left watching a super-rich married couple with a string of bratty children living the lap of luxury in their plush Bel-Air mansion complete with a pool, tennis court and sarcastic English butler to cater to their every whim. Without Will there to make fun of Uncle Phil's generous waist size or Hilary's shocking lack of common sense, it's not hard to imagine the Bankses being dismissed as supercilious morons rather than the great nuclear family they're remembered as today. Although The Fresh Prince for all intents and purposes was the Will Smith show, he did a good job in not allowing his persona to completely absorb every inch of the sitcom and saved some space for the rest of the family to show their redeeming qualities. Underneath all the layers of Armani, the Bankses don't take themselves too seriously and are as caring as any group you'd ever wish to meet. Though NBC's decision to replace Janet Hubert's no-nonsense, career driven, feminist Aunt Viv with Daphne Maxwell Reid's docile version is one that still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, the Bankses will forever be ingrained in my memory as one of the best families I've had the pleasure of watching in my youth and if they opened their doors for me, I'd be there in a heartbeat.