Family Matters (TV series)

Family Matters was an American sitcom about a middle class American family living in Chicago. It ran 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 Perfect Strangers' Harriette Winslow and her family: husband Carl Winslow, a police officer; rebel son Eddie Winslow (so much so that he was grounded practically every other episode); smart daughter Laura Winslow; and youngest child Judy Winslow. They had opened their home to Harriet's sister Rachel Crawford and her son Richie Crawford after the death of her husband, as well as Carl's streetwise mother Estelle Winslow. The Winslows' nerdy next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel, was introduced midway through the first season, and quickly became the focus of the show.

History

Early years

"Family Matters" was originally envisioned as a working-class version of The Cosby Show. Many of the shows' characters are analogues of Cosby Show characters: eldest Winslow child Eddie (Darius McCrary) is adapted from Theo Huxtable, middle child Laura (Kellie Shanygne Williams) was reminiscent of Vanessa Huxtable, and little Judy (Valerie Jones in the pilot, Jaimee Foxworth thereafter) was derived from Rudy Huxtable. The kids, along with their policeman father Carl (Reginald VelJohnson), elevator operator mother Harriette (Jo Marie Payton-Noble), aspiring writer aunt Rachel Crawford (Telma Hopkins) and her young son Richie (twin infants Joseph and Julius Wright during the first season, Bryton McClure therafter), and Carl's feisty Mother 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 across the United States.

Originally intended to be a one time only character, White's portrayal of Urkel was so enthusiastically received, that he became a permanent part of the cast; in fact, several scripts had to be hastily rewritten to include Urkel, while new opening gags were added on already completed shows.The show's original theme was a What a Wonderful World, but after four episodes it was scrapped, and As Days Go By would be the theme for the rest of the series until 1995, when the show's theme was cut. The longer version for As Days Go By can be heard on ABC Family featuring scenes from the show, including Urkel's pratfalls.

From the Winslows to the nerd

The cast of Family Matters

While Family Matters originally focused on the Winslow family, later episodes centered almost exclusively on Urkel. Plots centered on his unrequited, long-standing crush on Laura; his unannounced visits to the Winslow home at inopportune times; and his constantly backfiring inventions wreaking havoc on the Winslows (with comic foil Carl the most frequent victim). His visits were so frequent, that Richie would call Urkel "Uncle Steve." Despite the perceived annoyance, everyone always stuck up for Urkel and appreciated his help and company (although this realization usually didn't happen until after a series of misunderstandings).

Aside from Urkel, Eddie and Laura had other friends. Eddie's friends were Rodney Beckett (Randy Josselyn, for the first and second seasons), streetwise Weasel (Shavar Ross) and dim-witted Waldo Geraldo Faldo (Shawn Harrison). Laura's best friend in the first season was Penny. Starting in the second season, Laura's best friend was Maxine (Cherie Johnson). During the second-season premiere, Urkel burned down the local neighborhood hangout, Leroy's, which Rachel rebuilt and ran as Rachel's Place.

During the fourth season, in an effort to rid herself of Urkel, Laura and her then-boyfriend Ted Curran introduced him to Ted's cousin Myra Monkhouse (Michelle Thomas). She was a pretty girl who had huge crushes on nerds. Urkel tried his best to devote himself to Myra, but his heart always stayed true to Laura. In the end, Urkel's dream finally came true: Laura's feelings for him softened in later seasons, and during the 1997-1998 season, the two fell in love and became engaged. This was much to Myra's chagrin, who always saw Laura as a competitor for Urkel's affections; the two never got along.

As time went by, the characters and stories changed. Richie grew up, and Steve made increasingly incredible and more improbable inventions, including a transformation chamber, which he often used to change into cool, sexy Stefan Urquelle to get to Laura. He also notably invented a cloning machine, a long story of how Stefan became permanently real. Eddie, who attended the police academy so he could follow in his father's footsteps, also gained a steady girlfriend in Greta McClure (Tammy Townsend). Carl and Hariette took in a local youth named 3J (Orlando Brown, who was introduced as part of an episode paying tribute to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program). Urkel's cousin from Biloxi, Myrtle Urkel (also played by White), also visited the Winslows, usually when Steve was away. She often tried to attract and flirt with Eddie, much to his (and later Greta's) chagrin.

In the final season on CBS, the show seemed to be going back to its roots again with more "family centric" storylines-including one where Eddie begins going to the Police Academy. Steve's alter egos also begin leaving, including Myrtle and Stefan. Even Steve was less of a nerd, with more adult clothes and less of an annoying laugh.

Comical show, serious issues

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 (this also resulted in a short school shooting where one of Laura's friends was shot). Several episodes also focused on Carl's job as a policeman, and the danger inherent in such a career. There was also an early episode centered around Harriet and Rachel's father (portrayed by Paul Winfield) who tried to reunite with his daughters after abandoning the family when they were very young. (Their mother had told them that their father was killed when his fighter plane was shot down.)

Original characters leave the show

As the focus of the show began to center more and more around Urkel (and occasionally Stefan), other, original characters were shunted to the periphery of the show. By 1993, the actresses who portrayed two members of the Winslow household, namely Judy (Jaimee Foxworth) and Rachel (Telma Hopkins) left the show. Hopkins (as Rachel) made guest appearances until 1997, but no explanation was ever given for Carl and Harriet's youngest child mysteriously disappearing though she was mentioned once in a later episode as still being upstairs cleaning her room (this was something of a meta-joke, as the last time we see Judy she goes upstairs to her room, never to come down again.) The real reason was that 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. Because of this, she was completely written out of the show.

In later seasons, other characters disappeared. Shawn Harrison's character Waldo was said to have gone off to culinary school, giving his character some closure. 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 as she married Fletcher. Jo Marie Payton-Noble, the original actress who played Harriette, left before the last season as she disliked how the show placed so much emphasis on Steve Urkel and his sub-characters (Stefan, Myrtile, O.G.D. Urkel, etc.). Many believe this is a case of the series jumping the shark. According to a Parade viewer question asking why she was replaced, Jo Marie Payton-Noble also wanted to write or direct an episode but never could. She was replaced by Judyann Elder. She did, however, return for the finale (although in a different role).

Cancellation

During its final season, the show moved to CBS, and in December 1997 actress Jo Marie Payton left, with Judyann Elder taking over her role as Harriette. Family Matters ranks as one of the longest running African American sitcoms along with The Jeffersons and The Cosby Show.

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. After the season wrapped, the sets were dismantled, much to the surprise of the cast and crew.

Cast

*Reginald VelJohnson as Carl Winslow
*Jo Marie Payton as Harriette Winslow (1989-1997)
*Darius McCrary as Edward "Eddie" Winslow
*Kellie Shanygne Williams as Laura Winslow
*Jaimee Foxworth as Judy Winslow (1989-1993)
*Rosetta LeNoire as Estelle "Mother" Winslow (1989-1997)
*Telma Hopkins as Rachel Crawford (1989-1993, occasionally appearing 1994-1997)
*Bryton McClure as Richie Crawford (1990-1998)
*Jaleel White as Steve Urkel (1990-1998)
*Cherie Johnson as Maxine (1990-1998)
*Barry Jenner as Lt. Lieu Murtaugh (1990-1992)
*Michelle Thomas as Myra Monkhouse (1992-1998)
*Orlando Brown as 3J (1996-1998)
*Shawn Harrison as Waldo Geraldo Faldo (1991-1996)
*Tammy Townsend as Greta McClure (1996-1998)
*Judyann Elder as Harriet Winslow (1997-1998)
*Joseph & Julius Wright (credited as Joseph Julius Wright) as Richie Crawford (1989-1990)
*Randy Josselyn as Rodney Beckett (1989-1991)
*James Guttman as Uncle J.G. Winslow(1989-1991)

See also

* Recurring characters of Family Matters

External links

* Short Episode Guide for Family Matters
* Family Matters - tvguide.com