As Days Go By: A Look at "Family Matters"

Does anybody remember ABC's "TGIF" lineup? I do, fondly. I watched a lot of ABC as a kid; the network had some great lineups, but the main night for me regarding the "Alphabet Network" was, of course, Fridays. Back in the 1990s, ABC struck gold continously with their "TGIF" lineup, and over the years of my childhood, I enjoyed shows such as Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Step by Step, Boy Meets World, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. However, the top show for me on Fridays, was--without question--Family Matters.

For years, or for as long as I can remember, Family Matters was (to me) the leader of the TGIF block. It was the end all, be all of shows from not only that block, but from ABC as a whole. And to think, we owe the show's success to another series.

The third season of another hit ABC series, Perfect Strangers, introduced us to Harriette Winslow, who worked as the elevator operator at the Chicago Chronicle, where central characters Larry Appleton (Mark Linn-Baker) and Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot) worked. Harriette was played by JoMarie Payton, and she recurred on the series during Seasons Three and Four. One episode from Season Four introduced us to Harriette's husband, Carl Winslow, a sergent in the Chicago Police Department. The character was played by Reginald VelJohnson, who was coming off his big role on Die Hard.

By 1989, Miller-Boyett decided to take Harriette out of Perfect Strangers and place both her and Carl in their own series, the aforementioned Family Matters. The series, as well all know, centered on the Winslow family, a Black middle class family living in Chicago, and along with VelJohnson and Payton, the series also featured Darius McCrary as Eddie Winslow, Carl and Harriette's first born offspring (and their only son). Kellie Shanygne Williams played Laura Winslow, the middle child and elder daughter, and in the pilot episode, Valerie Jones played youngest child Judy Winslow, though she would be replaced by Jaimee Foxworth in the following episode. Rosetta LeNoire portrayed Estelle Winslow (aka Mother Winslow), Carl's mother, Harriette's mother-in-law, and the children's grandmother, Telma Hopkins played Rachel Crawford, Harriette's widowed sister, and Season One featured Joseph Julius Wright as Rachel's infant son, "Little" Richie Crawford, who would later be played by Bryton McClure (now known as Bryton James) beginning in Season Two.

The series premiered on September 22, 1989, the very day that ABC began their TGIF lineup. We saw a lot of storylines centering on the Winslow family's trials and tribulations, but as the first season progressed, something, or should say someone new had been added.

The young man, the myth, the legend. The episode, "Laura's First Date," introduced the world to Steven Quincy Urkel, played by Jaleel White. In the episode, Laura was looking for a date for the school dance, and in what would be a crazy twist of irony, it was Carl who set up this blind date between Steve and Laura. The episode was supposed to be Steve Urkel's only appearance, but he was an overnight sensation from his first scene; the crowd went absolutely wild for him. So he appeared more often during the season, to the point where they actually filmed scenes featuring Urkel and placed them in a few episodes that preceded his official debut episode.

When the second season premiered, Jaleel White became a series regular, and was even featured in the main intro, as he was shown playing his accordion. As the show progressed, it became an amalgam of family centered storylines, and ones centered on Steve Urkel, along with Eddie and Laura as well, mainly due to Steve's longtime infatuation with Laura. The second season also provided an awesome new wrinkle in the form of Rachel's Place, the restaurant owned by Rachel Crawford, and it served as replacement for Leroy's--after Steve accidentally burned down the joint. Season Two also introduced us to familiar members of the teenage inner circle, such as Laura's BFF, Maxine (Cherie Johnson), and Eddie's dim-witted buddy, Waldo Geraldo Faldo (Shawn Harrison).

The third season was mostly the same as the second season, however, the fourth season (to me) seemed to mark the beginning of a paradigm shift for the series. For one, the character of Rachel was slowly being phased out, as was Judy Winslow, with the running joke that Judy "went upstairs to her room and never came back down." Both characters were removed by Season Five, and by Jaimee Foxworth's own admission, it was due to the fact that the character wasn't developed enough, though others blame the Urkel phenomenon for the character downsizing.

It was in the fall of 1993 that the fifth season began, and in addition, the show hit syndication. For me, I was watching the earliest episodes for the first time, and it was in Season Four that I started watching on ABC. For the most part, the fifth season was quite similar to the fourth season, with one new addition, in a way:

In the episode, "Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool," Laura--immensely fed up with Steve after his latest act of clumsiness--voiced her unhappiness with Steve's personality traits and basically ordered him to change himself. Later on, Steve showed Laura his latest invention, "Cool Juice," which would change his traits. After drinking the concoction, as well as experience the effects, Steve emerges with a different demeanor, as well as a modified name: Stefan Urquelle. Stefan was a hit with Laura and everyone else, but there was one tiny problem: he was a narcissist. Upon realizing this, Laura wanted Steve back, with Stefan turning back into Steve with the help of the "Elixir Fixer."

Originally, Jaleel White wasn't too crazy about the Stefan character, feeling that he was "boring," yet he considered Stefan's debut episode as a favorite of his. Stefan gained enough popularity to return in the fifth season finale, "Stefan Returns," which saw the debut of the Urkel Transformation Chamber, which Steve uses to become Stefan (among other alter-egos he takes on), with the Stefan persona being improved from his debut.

Stefan wasn't the only development for Steve during the series.

Prior to this, Steve Urkel actually received a new love interest, in the form of Myra Boutros-Boutros Monkhouse. The character debuted in episode 4.15, "A Thought in the Dark," and she was introduced as the cousin of Ted Curran, who was dating Laura in several episodes. Both Laura and Ted were behind the hookup, mainly so they could get Steve off their backs, but even though Steve and Myra clicked instantly, the former couldn't help but maintain his love for Laura. As a result, a rivalry began between Laura and Myra--despite the fact that Laura vehemently stated that she had no romantic designs on Steve. The introduction of Stefan further complicated things, but as the series progressed, Laura and Myra did become, well, frenemies for a good bit. More on this later.

The progression saw more developments for many characters. For one, Waldo and Maxine became a couple in Season Four, Eddie and Waldo moved into their own place (though that didn't last long), Carl was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant in Season Six, and became captain in Season Nine, and as for Steve, Season Six ended with the Winslows' nerdy neighbor living with his favorite family on a permanent basis, as he faced moving to Moscow after living with Eddie and Waldo ended in disaster (caused by supercharged termites).

In typical early 90s fashion, the series tackled a lot of pressing issues that still hit us even now. The series was definitely ahead of its time, as one episode centered on Laura's efforts to have Black history taught at her high school, and the racist responses she would receive as well. One episode centered on Eddie developing a drinking habit, while another dealt with guns and gun violence. The one that stands out the most also centered on racism; episode 5.15, "Good Cop, Bad Cop," involved Eddie informing Carl that he was stopped and harassed by a pair of racist cops, though Carl originally questioned the claim due to Eddie attempting to cover up his past traffic violation. Carl's confrontation with the pair confirmed Eddie's statements, and it was a heated and gripping scene that saw the elder of the two cops rightfully called out by Carl, while the younger one was warned about his partner.

While the later episodes continued the special family dynamic, we did get some wild and wonderfully outlandish episodes, usually involving Urkel's inventions. Season Seven started with Urkel and Carl shrunk to size due to modifications to the Transformation Chamber, and actually ended with a cloning machine that resulted in a pair of Steve Urkels, with one of them permanently becoming Stefan, allowing the alter-egos to live separately. Season Eight would see Orlando Brown debut as 3J, a street-wise kid who served as a friend for Richie and would eventually become part of the family.

Steve and Stefan weren't the only characters in Jaleel White's repetoire. Back in Season Two, White portrayed Myrtle Mae Urkel, Steve's lookalike cousin from Biloxi, Mississippi. The character's introduction was part of the plotline of the episode, "Cousin Urkel," which saw Steve away from the neighborhood for a bit after disturbing the piece in one of his many attempts to woo Laura. Enter Myrtle, who was living with Steve's parents in the interim, and as we saw, she has a big crush on Eddie. It would be five years before we would see Myrtle again, and her return in Season Seven's "She's Back!" would begin the hilarious rivalry between Myrtle and Greta McClure, the latter being Eddie's serious girlfriend--who debuted back in Season Six.

In a shocking move, Family Matters was off ABC after eight seasons, and ended up on CBS for the ninth season. I definitely remember this move, and to this very day, I found it absolutely strange. I remember taking a few weeks to get used to the show being on CBS, but I grew comfortable with it. It kinda felt like a different show, but Season Nine definitely had its moments, mainly this:

It happened, folks! Laura Winslow and Steve Urkel finally became a thing during Season Nine. It was a few seasons in the making, but for me, it was definitely coming after nine years. The ninth season saw Steve make attempts to find his new look and improve himself--he even ditched the suspenders. Laura took notice and marveled Steve's efforts, to the point where she finally fell in love with him. This made things interesting, as Laura was also dating Stefan, so it was quite the love triangle.

However, there was one person who wasn't thrilled with Steve's improvement, and that was Myra. She actually broke up with Steve, but after seeing Steve and Laura kissing, Myra claimed that the break-up was done out of a hope that Steve would beg her to reconsider, but Steve had his mind made up: Laura had reciprocated his feelings, and he's all in. What followed was Myra going into Lifetime villainess mode: stalking, attempted seduction, even dressing like Laura and crashing a dinner date. Just absolutely wild. I plan on doing a deeper dive on this in another story.

The ninth season was also hit with a bit of controversy. Out of the blue, JoMarie Payton suddenly departed from the series during that year, though she had considered leaving before Season Nine began. It had been long documented that Payton felt that the series "jumped the shark" a few years prior, but the main story is that Payton wasn't thrilled that Jaleel White had become the centerpiece of the series. I've heard that a lot, and I want to save my thoughts about that for another story as well; honestly, I can write quite a few stories about this series. So yes, Payton was out, with her final episode being "Deck the Malls," a Christmas episode that brought back the characters of Mother Winslow, Rachel Crawford, and Little Richie one last time.

In the episode, "Crazy for You" (Part 1 of a two-parter that centered on Myra's heel turn), Judyann Elder debuted as Harriette Winslow, replacing Payton in the role. She actually appeared in the Season Five episode, "Nunsense," playing a different character, and fans of Martin definitely remember her as Gina's mother in several episodes of the series. I know a lot of fans see JoMarie Payton as the one true Harriette, and I don't blame them. However, Elder's performance as the character was quite stellar, that's for sure.

During a five month hiatus, fans received the shocking news that Family Matters would be canceled after nine seasons. The last batch of episodes aired in the early summer, with one of them seeing Steve and Laura becoming engaged. The series finale was a two-part event that saw Steve up in space on a mission, while Eddie was working his first beat as a cop, much to Harriette's worries. I still, to this day, remember my feelings watching the overall finale on CBS. I was stunned and a bit heartbroken that this show, which was part of my childhood, was ending. I did learn later that a 10th season was possibly planned, and would have happened if the high costs didn't cause the show's cancellation.

Family Matters is not only the greatest show in the 11 year history of ABC's TGIF lineup, it's also one of the greatest shows of all time. The show is the third longest to feature a predominantly Black cast, behind Tyler Perry's House of Payne and The Jeffersons. I loved watching the series on ABC and CBS, and I often enjoy watching the reruns. Family Matters was a show I immensely enjoyed during my childhood. After completing a week of school, I looked forward to 8PM on Fridays to tune in. The show even helped me get through some Fridays when I wasn't feeling well. Without a doubt, Family Matters is truly is truly one of the most iconic programs from the last four decades.