267 replies to this topic

[Pink Mayuri]

Wow, that's a sad story. I knew she was a porn "actress," but I didn't know she had become so poor. How shitty that her parents blew her half mil.

[RainIsBeautiful]

Holy cow, I loved this show. Urkel was annoying as...well, you know...but somehow, I kept tuning in.

[jcpdiesel21]

My parents and I used to tune in just because of Urkel. He wasn't as grating when he first came on the show. I even bought an Urkel book from a book order. The whole Stephan Urquel/Steve Urkel thing was stupid, though.

[Jazper]

You know, I always wondered what happened to that damned Judy...

[Readster]

Wow, what a story there. Man, there's an E! True Hollywood story, I'm glad she's moving on. Yeah, loved the show myself, but the last two season, I tune in less and less and before I knew it, it was on CBS. I watched only the last episode and that was it.

[RainIsBeautiful]

I stopped watching when it switched to CBS. What happened then? Does anyone know of any good Family Matters websites that have episode guides?

[katymo]

I always thought Waldo was pretty funny and I actually liked Urkel in the early/mid seasons. I think I started to get jaded when he became Stephan Urkelle or whatever the fuck. Then the different Harriet appeared which was the last straw. Wasn't Carl gay in real life? Somehow that explains a lot.

[Your Density]

The whole Stephan Urquel/Steve Urkel thing was stupid, though.

Not as stupid as Bruce Lee Urkel. In hindsight, it was rather offensive.

[powderfaith]

This show hasn't showed in Australia for years, but there's something that's always bugged me - was there, or was there not, a little sister in the earlier seasons? I swear there used to be little girl who then seemed to completely disappear, and was never mentioned again.

[RainIsBeautiful]

That's the same girl who's mentioned at the top of the thread...Jamiee Foxworth, who played Judy.

[Reese9879]

This show hasn't showed in Australia for years, but there's something that's always bugged me - was there, or was there not, a little sister in the earlier seasons? I swear there used to be little girl who then seemed to completely disappear, and was never mentioned again.

Yep, that was Judy Winslow. She went up the stairs only to never return again. I heard that she is/was doing porn movies.

[coleoptera]

this show had a terrible record for disappearing characters: the little sister, and the aunt -- who left behind her son.

[jcpdiesel21]

this show had a terrible record for disappearing characters: the little sister, and the aunt -- who left behind her son.

No kidding! All of the sudden, there was no little sister any more. Did they just decide that they didn't need her any more? And why in the hell did Richie stay with the Winslows instead of going... wherever with his mom? Bryton McClure was so annoying.

Bruce Lee Urkel? I don't remember that one, which is probably a good thing.

Wasn't there a later episode where Urkel put Carl in his transforming machine and Carl came out as a ginormous dweeb? I thought that was stupid.

It is amusing how when Waldo (full name: Waldo Geraldo Faldo, hee!) showed up, Eddie got much smarter because they had a new "dumb" character on the show. I always laughed when Waldo was added to the credits, and was shown being pelted in the head with a basketball. Heh.

Stephan Urkelle was beyond stupid (and Jaleel White has bug eyes without his glasses), but Myrtle Urkel, who loved Eddie? Even worse.

Edited by jcpdiesel21, Apr 8, 2004 @ 12:14 PM.

[healing fish]

I remember Bruce Lee Urkel. Didn't he have to fight off a bunch of thugs ninja-style? God, how stupid.

[RainIsBeautiful]

Hee! Lieu rocked!

And Bwuce Wee Urkel was sooooo annoying. Not as bad as Elvis Urkel, but almost.

[jcpdiesel21]

Elvis Urkel?

Obviously I don't know this show as well as I thought!

[Dei]

The Bruce Lee version(s) of Urkel (and, if I remember correctly, Carl) is/are the main memory I have of this show. I remember that Steve had his DNA scrambling machine in storage somewhere, and he and Carl went there only to be surrounded by a bunch of toughs. He brags about the machine, pulls out a vial labelled "Bruce" and claims that he can't remember whose DNA it is. He lists a few famous Bruces, then Bruce Springsteen which gets the guys in the gang all excited. They let him (and Carl, I think) get in the machine and use the Bruce DNA, then when they step out Steve says in an insultingly stereotypical "Chinese" (or, more accurately, Elmer Fudd) accent, "Oh, now I wememba! Bwuce Wee!" and they beat up the gang.

I have no idea why that episode sticks in my head so much, unless how much I hated it impressed it into my brain.

Out of curiosity, since I stopped watching for the last several years, did Laura and Steve (not Stephan) ever actually start dating? I could have sworn when I was a kid watching it (don't know what I'd think if I watched it now) that show was leading up to that, and have always wondered if it ever happened.

Edited by Dei, Apr 8, 2004 @ 10:13 PM.

[healing fish]

Didn't Laura ask Steve to marry her in the finale? Or was I hallucinating that day?

[TheCustomOfLife]

No, that's what happened. Steve saved the world from outer space, or summat like that, and Laura asked him to marry her.

[Eegah]

Anyone remember Steevil, the Halloween episode where a ventriloquist dummy of Urkel comes to life? It was pretty lame, but it did have great special effects, showing the dummy moving around with no body part offscreen and no apparent means of moving it.

[TheCustomOfLife]

They really dipped into the VSE territory when they adopted 3J. God, I hated 3J. What kinda name IS that?

[healing fish]

Fuck, I hated that kid. HATED him. Can't even talk about him.

[Corbinxxa84]

I liked Family Matters. Before Urkel came along, it was a genuinely entertaining and unique show with a nice message and very likeable characters. Even the uber-hip granny was awesome simply because Rosette LeNoire just played it so laid back. Mother Winslow was probably the most bad ass character in TGIF history.

Then Urkel, which I didn't mind so much. I didn't mind Aunt Rachel and her neurotic acting. I didn't mind Richie. I didn't mind Little Judy and her over-the-top diva character. I didn't even mind 3J.

But then they did the worst thing possible. They got a different actress to play Harriet. The best thing about the show, IMO, was the interplay between Carl and Harriet Winslow. Carl could be a jackass sometimes, but ultimately, he loved the hell out of his family and Harriet knew that, but it didn't stop her from cutting him dead with a perfect "oh please!" swagger.

When they fucked that up and brought in a bland, uninteresting middle aged woman to play Harriet for the final season on CBS, that was it. The same thing happened to me with Fresh Prince of Bel Air, too.

[Leanan]

I hated Urkel. Or rather, I hated the way he would look all pathetic and sad when someone told him to fuck off, thus making the person feel bad for what they said. I'd have no qualms over telling him to stay away from me, given how annoying he was.

And why in the hell did Richie stay with the Winslows instead of going... wherever with his mom?

I don't know why he stayed with the Winslows, but I do remember it being mentioned that Rachel moved to Detroit. She came back during some Christmas episode. She was supposed to fly in from Detroit for Christmas, something happened to her plane, blah blah, she finally does arrive at the end of the episode to (What else) sing.

[Miss Kubelik]

Any discussion of Steve Urkel must eventually lead to his dance-- The Urkel and the moronic accompanying song. Some of the lyrics were "Do the Urkel! Do do do do the Urkel! Do the Urkel now!" and "...hitch up your pants, stick out your pelvis, I'm tellin' ya baby, it's better than Elvis!" I think there was a lesson about having fun without alcohol buried somewhere in that episode, too, but its the Urkel dance that I am unable to forget. It doesn't help that that same year, some girls performed the Urkel at my grammar school talent show.

I don't know either.

[HeadCase]

The lyrics to The Urkel Dance