Written by Jennifer
June 08, 2010
As the series progressed, Urkel became a TV icon, and there’s something comforting and endearing about revisiting the show, even when it’s missing its mark.
If you were a fan of ABC’s late 80’s TGIF lineup, then memories of Family Matters undoubtedly loom large in your psyche. Though it was originally conceived as a spinoff of Perfect Strangers featuring the family antics of brash elevator operator Harriette Winslow, the series quickly became a showcase for the talents of young Jaleel White, better known as Steve Urkel. By this point I had all but forgotten that the show was even called Family Matters. I’ve simply referred to it as “Urkel” for the past twenty years.
Surprisingly, there is no sign of Urkel in the first twelve episodes of the show. Instead we get to know the Winslows themselves: Harriette (JoMarie Payton-France) and Carl (Reginald VelJohnson), their teenage son Eddie (Darius McCrary), tweenage daughter Laura (Kellie Shanygne-Williams), and little daughter Judy. Carl’s Mama (Rosetta Lenoire) comes to live with the family in episode one, and the recently widowed Aunt Rachel (Telma Hopkins) and her baby round out the clan. Together they face problems typical to all middle class families with love, loyalty, and humor. Of course, some of the humor is unintentional as jokes land with the subtlety of elephants and actors inexplicably shout their lines at one another with questionable inflection. Looking back, it’s obvious that the show is just finding its rhythm in early episodes, but it what it lacks in quality, it makes up for in heart. Indeed, the Winslows are a likable bunch, and things only get better when Steve arrives on the scene.
With a bouquet of flowers freshly plucked from the cemetery, Steve Urkel descends upon the Winslow household with the intention of winning Laura’s heart. He’s truly a neighbor from hell - bespectacled, suspendered, nerdy to the max - and yet he’s somehow sympathetic. Poor Steve always means well, even if he makes poor Laura sick (to great comedic effect), and even if his very presence is a sign of disaster. Steve’s own family life is clearly lacking, and the Winslows are sensitive enough to realize that he’s simply a lost and misguided kid (albeit an exceedingly annoying one). Whether he’s guiltily asking, “Did I do that?” or inquiring, “Got any cheese?” the nasal whine of Urkel was comedy gold in its day, assuming you were the right age and had the right sense of humor.
As the series progressed, Urkel became a TV icon, and there’s something comforting and endearing about revisiting the show, even when it’s missing its mark. There is so little family-friendly television on the air these days that these simplistic sitcoms of our youth are a welcome sight. They may be a bit short on reality, but what’s more important during one’s formative years than learning that Family Matters?
