Family Matters (TV series)

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Family Matters

Family Matters title card
Format Sitcom
Created by William Bickley
Michael Warren
Developed by Thomas L. Miller
Robert L. Boyett
Starring Reginald VelJohnson
Jo Marie Payton (1989-1997)
Rosetta LeNoire (1989-1997)
Darius McCrary
Kellie Shanygne Williams
Jaimee Foxworth (1989-1993)
Telma Hopkins (1989-1993)
Bryton McClure (1990-1997)
Jaleel White
Orlando Brown (1996-1998)
Judyann Elder (1998)
Shawn Harrison (1991-1996)
Shavar Ross (1992-1993)
Michelle Thomas (1993-1998)
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 9
No. of episodes 215
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Thomas L. Miller
Robert L. Boyett
William Bickley
Michael Warren
(seasons 2-7)
David W. Duclon (seasons 3-8)
Running time 25 Minutes (approx.)
Broadcast
Original channel ABC, CBS
Original run September 22, 1989 – July 17, 1998
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class African-American family living in Chicago. The series aired from September 22, 1989 to May 9, 1997 on ABC and, with a network change, moved to CBS on September 19, 1997 to July 17, 1998.

The show, a spinoff of Perfect Strangers, originally focused on the character of Harriette Winslow and her family: husband Carl Winslow, a police officer, rebellious son Eddie Winslow, smart daughter Laura Winslow, and youngest child Judy Winslow. They had opened their home to Carl's street-wise mother Estelle Winslow as well as Harriette's sister Rachel Crawford and her son Richie Crawford after the death of Rachel's husband. The Winslows' nerdy next-door neighbor Steve Urkel was introduced midway through the first season, and quickly became the focus of the show. It was part of ABC's TGIF from 1989 until 1997 before it became part of the CBS "Block Party" lineup from 1997–1998.

Having aired for 215 episodes, Family Matters is the second-longest running U.S. comedy with a predominantly African-American cast, surpassed only by The Jeffersons.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

Removing the recurring character of Harriette Winslow from Perfect Strangers in the fourth season, Harriette was given her own series in Family Matters, which expanded on her home life. Her husband Carl had originally appeared on Perfect Strangers in the fourth season episode entitled "Crimebusters". However, in giving the Winslow family their own series, some continuity problems arose. On Perfect Strangers, Harriette and Carl (and at least Eddie as well) lived in the same apartment building as Balki Bartokomous and Larry Appleton; however, this detail was completely ignored on Family Matters to the point that it is revealed in later episodes that the Winslows had lived in their regular house since before Eddie was born.

The kids, along with their policeman father Carl (Reginald VelJohnson), elevator operator mother Harriette (JoMarie Payton), aspiring writer Aunt Rachel Crawford (Telma Hopkins), and her young son Richie (twin infants Joseph and Julius Wright during the first season, Bryton McClure thereafter), and Carl's feisty mother Estelle Winslow (Rosetta LeNoire), found themselves in typical sitcom-family situations.

Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) was the most famous character on the show. Introduced midway through the first season, the bespectacled Urkel, complete with high-pitched voice and suspenders, was the ultimate nerd; he was highly intelligent, but was very clumsy. His trademark line, "Did I do that?" (whenever he caused an accident) became a catchphrase imitated by the show's viewers. When Urkel caused someone else to have an accident, he would say, "Look what you did!" If Urkel was frustrating Carl, Carl would tell Steve, "Go home, go home, go home, go home!" Steve would reply, "I don't have to take this, I'm going home." Another aspect of the Steve Urkel character that made him famous was his snorting laugh. ABC hosted contests in which viewers were asked to send in their best impression of Urkel to win a grand prize. Originally intended to be a one-time-only character, White's portrayal of Urkel caused the entire studio audience to erupt into chants of "Urkel! Urkel!" during the filming of the original episode. With the series struggling in ratings in the first season, the Steve Urkel character was hastily re-written into several already-completed episodes. By the second season, Jaleel White had joined the show as a regular cast member.

The show's original theme was the Louis Armstrong classic "What a Wonderful World", but was scrapped after the first episode. "As Days Go By", written by Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay, and Scott Roeme, and performed by Jesse Frederick, would be the theme for the majority of the series until 1995, when the theme was cut. A longer version of "As Days Go By" can be heard in the first three seasons. The first-through-third-season version of the opening credits features a scene showing the family riding their bicycles across a bridge over the Chicago River; an allusion to Perfect Strangers, which featured a scene of Larry and Balki riding a tour boat underneath the same bridge in its own opening credits.

[edit] On-going Themes/Gags

It did not take long for the show to develop an idiosyncratic set of on-going plot elements, which certainly added both tension and comedy, even if they did so at the expense of credibility. Not surprisingly, the sheer absurdity of the episodes only increased as the series went on.

A curiously large number of episodes threw the major characters into life-or-death situations, such as Carl falling into a frozen pond; Steve nearly falling out of a hot-air balloon; Eddie and his friends hanging precariously from a fire escape; Carl and Urkel hanging from a tall building by their fingers; Carl discovering a bomb in a treadmill, and having to get off the treadmill without causing the bomb to explode. These key events were usually resolved within a few minutes.

Another recurring theme was the humor derived from gratuitous property damage. Whether Urkel was knocking over a lamp; breaking the Winslows' windows (on several occasions); taking the blame for crashing the Winslow's family station wagon into the living room, even though Eddie was the driver; completely destroying Carl's garage shelves; or having inventions going wrong, and ending up destroying various parts of the house, breaking something was a tried and true way to get a laugh.

[edit] Science Fiction

Critics claim the show jumped the shark in the later seasons that introduced many outrageous inventions from Steve Urkel; turning it from a down-to-earth family show into a science-fiction-based show. These plotlines helped to bend the reality of the show, as it seemed hard to believe that the lives of the characters would continue so normally with the discovery of such groundbreaking inventions. These inventions included: Steve's UrkelBot, an intelligent robot that fell in love with Laura, and briefly became a police officer; Steve's "transformation chamber" that turned him into Stefan Urquelle as well as other odd characters; a cloning machine, which allowed Stefan to become a permanent character; Steve's weight-shrinking machine; and his teleportation pad.

These stories strained credulity more and more in the show's final seasons, and the series gradually developed a self-aware sense of humor on the subject. In the Season 8 episode "Father Time", Carl casually shrugs off Urkel's invention of a time-travel device, citing all of Steve's previous impossible creations, and insisting a time machine is "no big deal" in comparison.

[edit] Comical show, serious issues

See also: Very special episode

While most of the episodes were wildly comical (some likened the show to a "black" version of Laurel and Hardy), there were episodes on serious topics such as teen alcoholism, dysfunctional families, racism, sexism, cancer, death, dyslexia, school bullying, and gun violence. The cast gave a public service announcement after the school shooting episode as well.

Several episodes focused on Carl's job as a policeman and the dangers inherent in such a career. An early episode centered on Harriette and Rachel's father (portrayed by Paul Winfield), who tried to reunite with his daughters after abandoning the family when they were very young (to protect her daughters, their mother had told them that their father was killed as his fighter plane was shot down over Korea).

[edit] Original characters leave the show

As the focus of the show began to center more and more around Urkel (and occasionally his alter-ego, Stefan), other original characters were shunted to the periphery of the show. By 1993, the actresses who portrayed two members of the Winslow household, Judy (Jaimee Foxworthy) and Rachel (Telma Hopkins), left the show. Hopkins (as Rachel) left the series after the fourth season to focus on her own series (Getting By) and made guest appearances until 1997.

No explanation was ever given for Carl and Harriette's youngest child, Judy, mysteriously disappearing. Many fans have noted that Judy's disappearance was similar to Richie Cunningham's older brother Chuck on Happy Days. Judy was never popular with fans, and rarely had an entire episode centering on her character. In the third and fourth seasons, she was little more than a background character, appearing in episodes merely to fulfill contractual obligations, and often not getting a single line. Foxworth explained to audiences on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Tyra Banks Show that her mother demanded that her character be developed in order to receive more money, and the demands were denied. Foxworth was let go, and the producers felt no need to hire another actress to replace her. The producers admitted that they did not think audiences would notice Judy's disappearance, which is why her absence was never explained. Later episodes even have the Winslows acknowledging they only have two children.[1]

In later seasons, other characters also disappeared. Shawn Harrison's character, Waldo, was said to have gone off to culinary school. Waldo had been mentioned a season later by Maxine, who received a poorly addressed Dear Jane letter from Waldo. Bryton McClure, who played Richie, started to appear less once 3J was introduced, and disappeared by the last season. Rosetta LeNoire, who played Mother Winslow, was gone by the last season as well. JoMarie Payton-Noble, the original actress who played Harriette (originating the character on Perfect Strangers), left in December 1997 (prior to the final season) because she disliked the emphasis placed on Steve Urkel and his sub-characters (Stefan, Myrtle, O.G.D., etc.). Many believe this is a case of the series jumping the shark. When a Parade viewer asked why she was replaced, Payton-Noble stated that she also wanted to write or direct an episode, but never could. She was replaced by Judyann Elder.

In the season 9 Christmas episode "Deck the Malls", Estelle, Richie, and Rachel appear for the last time. It is also JoMarie Payton's last appearance as Harriette.

[edit] Cancellation

During its final season, the show moved to CBS. The show never had a proper series finale. The tenth season, which was supposed to feature the marriage of Steve and Laura, never entered production. The ratings had been on a steady decline for the last couple of years, and CBS decided to cancel the show (as well as Step by Step) after only one season on the network; at the end of the season, the show was not in the top 100. After the season ended, the sets were dismantled, much to the surprise of the cast and crew.

The ninth season finale, a two-part episode, ended up becoming the de-facto series finale. Although not an official finale, it did succeed in featuring several types of plots prominent throughout the years. It was not only a very special episode, but also put equal emphasis on Urkel and the Winslows. The comic plot featured Urkel and his inventions (Urkel going into outer space with a pair of NASA astronauts to test one of his inventions), while the more serious aspect involved Harriette attempting to protect newly deputized son Eddie by arranging for him a parking meter reading beat. Both Urkel and Eddie find themselves in danger as part of their storyline — Urkel's clumsiness nearly resulting in disaster during his spacewalk, and Eddie finding himself in the middle of a shootout. Both Urkel and Eddie wind up surviving their predicaments. In the end, Urkel returns home and gets a hero's welcome, and passionately kisses Laura at the end of the final scene; Laura had earlier agreed to marry Urkel by accepting his proposal over Stefan Urquelle's.

[edit] Ratings

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Family Matters characters

[edit] Reruns

As of today, since March 2008, Family Matters no longer airs on ABC Family.

However, on June 29 at 9PM EDT, Nick at Nite plans on airing reruns.

[edit] Production

  • The house depicted in the opening and closing credits is located at 1516 W. Wrightwood Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Mapquest
  • Family Matters was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions in association with Lorimar Television in the first two seasons. In seasons 3-9, it was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions & Miller-Boyett Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, which absorbed Lorimar (a sister company under the Warner Communications banner) in 1993.

[edit] TGIF Universe

Family Matters is set in the same "TV universe" as several other TV series related to ABC's TGIF:

  • Perfect Strangers — Before Family Matters, Harriette Winslow was originally the elevator operator at the Chicago Chronicle newspaper office in the third and fourth seasons of Perfect Strangers. Family Matters was a spin-off series given to this character in 1989. In the second episode of Family Matters, Harriette was fired as elevator operator at the Chronicle, but was soon re-hired as "chief of security", which explained her absence from dealings with the Perfect Strangers cast.
  • Full House — In the 1991 episode, "Stephanie Gets Framed", Steve Urkel helps Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweetin) deal with her anxiety after she has to get glasses.
  • Step by Step — In the original ABC broadcast, the ending gag of Family Matters' third season episode "Brains Over Brawn" is crossed over with the opening of Step By Step's second episode, "The Dance". Urkel's jet-propelled flight pack causes him to fly through the Winslows' roof as one show ends, and crash-land in Port Washington, Wisconsin, where the Lambert-Foster family is enjoying a barbecue as the other show opens. Urkel goes on to help his science-fair pen pal, Mark Foster (Christopher Castile), and lifts Al Lambert's (Christine Lakin) spirits after her potential date dumps her just before a school dance. He reprises his "Do the Urkel" dance in the scene where Al gives the guy who dumped her his comeuppance. Urkel also makes a brief cameo in the 1997 episode "A Star Is Born", snapping a clapperboard on the set of the movie Al was cast in over her two sisters.
  • Boy Meets World — Urkel once sent a chain letter to his friend Cory Matthews, (Ben Savage) who lived in Philadelphia. The two never actually appeared together on either show.
  • Hangin' with Mr. Cooper — Also a cross-over with Full House.
  • Meego — Jaleel White makes an uncredited cameo as Urkel in the first two episodes of this short-lived CBS sitcom (which starred Bronson Pinchot of Perfect Strangers).

[edit] In popular culture

  • In the episode of The Simpsons, "Bart Gets Famous", Bart is worried about becoming an obnoxious fad with his catchphrase on the Krusty the Clown show. Homer tries to reassure him by saying that the same thing was said about Urkel. Then he says that he finds Urkel to be a snot-nosed little punk that he'd like to smack.
  • In "The Springfield Files" episode of The Simpsons, Homer encounters an alien he compares to Steve Urkel.
  • In another episode of The Simpsons, "Helter Shelter", Marge is seen trying to purchase a box of Urkel O's cereal (a product that was actually available in supermarkets in the early 1990's).
  • In the South Park episode "Chickenpox", Cartman has a Steve Urkel sleeping bag.
  • In the American Dad! episode "Stan of Arabia", a man showing Hayley around in a Saudi Arabian restaurant wears a shirt that has a picture of Steve Urkel, and under the picture is the word "Urkel".
  • In a Married...with Children episode, Al Bundy states: "Hey, Family Matters is on! I love this Urkel guy. Everything you need to know about life, you can learn from him."
  • In Big Fat Liar, Jaleel White stars as himself starring as a cop named "Fowl". Many references are made to his "Urkel" days from Family Matters, with Marty Wolf repeatedly referring to him as "Urkel".
  • In the 30 Rock Pilot, Judah Friedlander's character Frank Rossitano asks Keith Powell's character James "Toofer" Spurlock if there are other Black Nerds or Just him and Urkel.

[edit] See also

[edit] Reference

  1. ^ Family Matters - Jaimee Foxworth (Judy Winslow)

[edit] External links

v • d • e
TGIF