Family Matters (TV series)
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Family Matters was an American sitcom based on a middle class African American family living in Chicago. It ran from 1989 to 1997 on ABC, and from 1997 to 1998 on CBS. 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; 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, 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.
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History
Early years
Family Matters was originally envisioned as a working-class version of The Cosby Show, many of its 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.
From the Winslows to the nerd
While Family Matters originally focused on the Winslow family, later episodes centered almost exclusively on Urkel. Plots centered on his unrequited, long-standing crush for 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 (during the first and second seasons; Randy Josselyn was the series' lone white regular), the streetwise Weasel (Shavar Ross) and dim-witted Waldo Heraldo 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 introduced him to Ted's cousin Myra Monkhouse (Michelle Thomas). She was a pretty girl who had huge crushes for 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, 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. Also notable, he 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), often tried to attract and flirt with Eddie.
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, racism, sexism, cancer, death, dyslexia and gun violence (this also resulted to 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.
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 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. The real reason was Judy was never popular with fans and rarely had an entire episode centering on her character. Because of this, she was completely written out of the show (see Chuck Cunningham syndrome).
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, to have featured the marriage of Steve and Laura, never entered production.
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 "Grandma" 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)
- Barry Jenner as Lt. Lou 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)
External links
Trivia
Even though In the show Eddie was 2 years older than Laura, In real life Kellie Shanygne Williams (Laura) is actually older than Darius McCrary (Eddie)
