La vie de famille

The character Urkel gets a lot of trash thrown his way, but look at what the actor himself did: He stole a sitcom. It doesn't happen often. Now I'm not certain when he was first introduced on the show, but I believe it was during the first season. He was the "wacky neighbor" with a crush on Laura -- nothing more. Within two seasons, the show was his. He owned it. Huge plot lines revolved around him; he got as much if not more screen time and dialogue as anyone else, and in many cases, more than the entire cast. Some may not like him, but he stole the show out from under the original cast through pure energy and originality. He developed a dead-pan 'look' that rivaled Johnny Carson's and one-upped Mr. Roper's. His physical comedy was outrageous, sometimes slightly ridiculous, but ideally suited to a basic family sitcom. Anyone of-age who has watched some TV in their time knows who Urkel was -- because he was dominant. Like him or not, Urkel is a unique, unforgettable character in TV history, and for that massive achievement, he deserves credit.

Family Matters started out as a rather ordinary Cosby Show-like sitcom about an everyday African American family living in suburban Chicago. But then something happened. Next door neighbor Steve Urkel was introduced. And just like that, ABC's TGIF line-up would never be the same.

I'll agree with most and say that the first six seasons were very funny. Classic episodes included Steve playing the role of Laura's husband for a school project, Carl teaching Steve how to drive, the introduction of Stefan, and the obligatory trip to Disneyland. Unfortunately, after Season Six (ie. when Steve finally moved in with the Winslows) it was pretty obvious the series was starting to wear thin. The writers seemed to be running out of ideas, often having to rely on Steve Urkel himself and his inventions for all the comedy, his cousin Myrtle was re-introduced for no reason, and even Steve's own character cooled down to the point where by the last season, he no longer seemed like the clumsy, nerdy Steve Urkel we all knew and loved.

Essentially, Family Matters was a very funny show for a while, but also one that should have stopped while it was still at its prime, rather than being forced to end after two or so seasons of lousy ratings.

Like it or not, 'Family Matters' did produce a cultural icon. People everywhere knew who you were talking about when you mentioned the name 'Urkle,' the accident-prone next door neighbor who wore red framed glasses, suspenders, highwater pants, and had a passion for cheese and an admiration for Laura Winslow. Funny, too, that his becoming a regular on the show was by mere accident, since they only wrote Steve in for one episode. Like all cultural icons, it will be the one that actor Jaleel White will be forever associated.

'Family Matters' was a terrific comedy series, save the last one or two seasons where the situations became pretty desperate as an aging Jaleel White likely got tired (and too old) to play the hapless nerd character, and wanted to just be normal Steve (which he could because in the show he invented a machine where he often played a Dr. Steve and Mr. Urkle type towards the end of the series). It was also one of the few pleasant black comedies on television then and now, as few these days seem to offer anything more than insulting stereotypes and idiotic characters. The Winslows were a loving family (and one that didn't speak in ebonics just because they're black) who faced difficult problems in their lives and so forth. The show addressed issues of racial pride, of prejudice, of love, your typical family values.

The Winslow family consisted of the sometimes impulsive Carl (VelJohnson), the father; Harriet the intelligent mother (Judyann Elder); the oldest son, Eddie (McCrary); the oldest daughter, Laura (Kellie Shanygne Williams); the youngest sister Judy (Jaimee Foxworth), who appeared occasionally before disappearing altogether; and later, they added a little fellow named Ritche (Bryton McClure). There was also Mother Winslow (LaNoire); and of course, Steve Urkel.

Urkle did compete a few years later with Waldo (Shawn Harrison), Eddie's friend, because like all television comedy series, they need an idiot character. Urkel did create many misadventures because he never seemed to pay attention to what he was doing, but he was no idiot. Or, at least not the way Waldo was. He was a pretty funny guy for the while he was on the show.

And they were a pretty funny family, especially in the moments between Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson), the father of the household, and his dufus friend, Urkel, which went on for some time the way Dennis the Menace often got on the nerves of George Wilson. Likewise, Urkel found it easy to annoy many of those in the Winslow household, namely the object of his affection: Laura, who squirmed around the hopeless dork, but finally managed to look past his faults (basically, just his appearance and awkward manner).

It was a pleasant show that ran in the TGIF line-up for quite some time, with other family comedy series that generated an audience and developed into series in a way that ABC may never again be able to reproduce. Everyone on the show was terrific, although my favorite, wasn't Urkel, but the lovely Rossetta LeNoire who played Mother (Estelle) Winslow. She was always such a pleasant character, and gave such a great performance.

If you ever get to see the reruns of the show, which do appear on network television every now and again, I would recommend watching it. It was a pretty good family series for it's day. And one that produced a cultural icon.

The story of "Family Matters" is a story about two distinct shows wanting to go on. One show is a down to earth family drama about real life issues. Stuff like gun control, gang violence and getting by in school. Then something happens towards the end of the first season. Laura needs a date to the school dance, so the dad calls up a friend to set her up with a boy named Steve.

This brings us to show #2, the Steve Urkel show. Test audiences and producers loved Jaleel White's Urkel. And quickly the show changed gears to make him the focus. The show's tone also drastically changed. Soon it became a sci-fi show that happened to take place in a family's house. Urkel would invent robots, time machines, teleportation pods and cloning machines.

People are divided on the show. Either they loved the down to earth family drama, or they loved the crazy out there stories with Urkel. It is an interesting show to follow. It is like the way the Fonz took over "Happy Days", but where the Fonz was super cool, Urkel is a super nerd. The show had some all-time great moments, but watching it from beginning to end, there are more duds than you may remember. Was the quality decline of the show to blamed on Jaleel White's character? Or as Urkel would ask..."Did I do that?"

I have always been disappointed at how networks often cancel shows before allowing them to take their natural progression. If CBS was going to pick up the show, they should've committed to a final season. I understand that the ratings may not have been the same as the first few seasons, but I'm sure they would've picked up with a little promotion "Urkel and Laura, this is the season." Family Matters was an excellent show that deserved its final season; it was a staple of Friday nights on ABC, that if you compare, put its current Friday night line up to shame.

Laura and Steve were engaged, but we never get to see them finally marry (the last episode I saw was when Urkel was in space, kinda lost track when the show switched networks). Or at least, cancel the show, but allow for one or two final episodes to be made, to allow the show the conclude adequately.

A similar thing happened with the show "Quantum Leap," where the crew got last minute notice the show wasn't going to be renewed, and they had to do post production work to add black screens adding two sentences, one of which the most unsatisfactory "Sam NEVER leaped home." I'm pretty sure that same thing happened with "Perfect Strangers" too. I can understand canceling floundering shows abruptly, but not one that has been on for 9 years. At least that's what I think.