Family Matters

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ABC (ended 1998)
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Show Summary

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A perfect spin-off from Perfect Strangers: Family Matters focused on Harriet Winslow (the elevator operator from the Chronicle) and her family of sorts. Carl Winslow, her husband, was a dutiful cop, and a gruff and lovable father to three kids: Eddie Winslow, the rebel son; Laura Winslow, the smart-aleck daughter; and cute little Judy Winslow. They had opened their home to Harriet's sister, Rachel Crawford and her little baby son Richie, and in the very first episode, Carl had to open his home to his cool and streetwise mother, Estelle Winslow, whether he wanted to or not.

Everything was going along just fine until one day, Steve Urkel, the inventive nerd, barged into their home and eventually, into their hearts. Steve had a killer crush on Laura, but she would never give him the time of day. Steve Urkel was intended to be a one-shot appearance, but his popularity with the fans won him the number-one spot as America's favorite nerd.

As the show went on, the characters and the stories evolved. Richie grew from a little baby into a rambunctious and impressionable little boy. The stories started revolving around Steve and his incredible inventions, which became the greatest sight gags on the show. In almost every episode, Steve ends up breaking furniture, windows, and Carl's patience. Eddie and Laura each had best buddies to hang out with: Eddie had dim-witted yet lovable Waldo Geraldo Faldo,and Laura had faithful and true-blue gal pal Maxine. The greatest mystery of Family Matters is Judy and Rachel's sudden disappearances from the show, but Rachel made guest appearances whenever possible.

To stop Steve from chasing her, Laura matched him up with perky-yet-pushy Myra Monkhouse. Steve loved Myra physically, but his emotions will always go to Laura. Eddie had his share of steady girlfriends, and even he had an Urkel chasing him- Myrtle May Urkel, Steve's cousin from Biloxi (Jaleel White also). Every so often, Steve uses one of his inventions to turn himself into debonair, irresistable lover Stefan Urquelle or karate hero Bruce Lee to draw Laura closer to him, much to Myra's chagrin.

At the end of season 6, the Winslows welcomed Steve into their home when Steve's family went to Russia. Pretty soon, Richie hung out with 3J, a tough, streetwise kid always running from the children's home. The Winslows then adopted 3J as one of their kids, as they did with Steve.

In the final season, Family Matters - along with Step by Step - moved to CBS, and Steve slowly matured from the annoying nerd that he used to be. This was when Laura started falling in love with Steve, and Myra got kicked to the curb, but she vowed to get her "Stevie-kins" back. Also, the original Harriette, JoMarie Peyton, had left the show in mid-season and Judyann Elder took her role. Steve and Laura got engaged, but they never had a wedding because CBS dropped the ax on the show. But, nevertheless, Family Matters had a great successful run and is one of the longest running African-American comedies ever.''In Germany the show is known as Alle unter einem Dach ("Under One Roof").
In Spain it is known as Cosas de casa.
In France it is known as La Vie de famille ("Life of the Family").
In Italy it is known as Otto sotto un tetto ("Eight Under One Roof").
In Sweden it is known as Rkna med brk.moreless
8.7
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Average Rating: Great
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Episode Guide

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S 9 :  Ep 22 Aired 7/17/98
S 9 :  Ep 21 Aired 7/17/98
S 9 :  Ep 20 Aired 7/3/98
S 9 :  Ep 19 Aired 6/26/98
S 9 :  Ep 18 Aired 6/18/98

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Family Matters News

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    By Stefanie Lee, Dec 03, 2010

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Fan Reviews (101)

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  • Great show

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Jamesbray, Jan 17, 2012 Report Abuse
    This was one of my favorite sitcoms for so many reasons, it had great characters and great personality. I liked every season of this show, even the more recent ones, sure it focused more on Urkel, but so what, he's a fun character.

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    0 0

  • This show was so good we did an intro remake

    10
    "Perfect"
    By groovyboombox, Dec 30, 2011 Report Abuse
    Intro Family matters remake
    http://vimeo.com/34354860

    We loved it so much we made that remake of the intro

    enjoy some other fun

    Giant Spaghetti Boy
    http://vimeo.com/34353719

    Crazy Salad Chef
    http://vimeo.com/34352809

    BACON karating pizza with Fork Sensei
    http://vimeo.com/34351770

    New Haircut same badass additude
    http://vimeo.com/34351226

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    0 0

  • Annoying

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By Phunner1416, Jun 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    This is the most annoying and aggravating show to have ever disgraced TV! With all the annoying things that that idiot says, "Did I do that?" and "Morning Winslows!", he's voice makes me want to kill myself! How it ever managed to be somewhat popular, I don't know, but it has a stupid plot, with stupid people. The show might be half-way decent if it didn't have that annoyance, Steve Urkel! So, like I said, worst show ever!I'm glad it's not on the air anymore, to bad it's on Nick at Nite, but it's good that it's only on at like 4 AM!moreless

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    1 2

  • Not that good. They might as well have called it 'Urkel'.. Because I was watching it on COMCAST and it said "A modern Chicago family is bothered by their neighbor, Steve Urkel". The show isn't that good, but it had his funny parts. SOMETIMES. Turn off themoreless

    3.2
    "Bad"
    By fullworld, Jun 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    Not that good. They might as well have called it 'Urkel'.. Because I was watching it on COMCAST and it said "A modern Chicago family is bothered by their neighbor, Steve Urkel". The show isn't that good, but it had his funny parts. SOMETIMES. Turn off the TV, Puh Lease!

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    1 3

  • No...more....Urkel. He completely took over the show and by the end of the series' WAY overdone run on TV his character was a complete farce.

    1.8
    "Abysmal"
    By NODAK1979, Jun 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    I suppose with all the bland characters on this show, it's only to be expected that Steve Urkel would eventually take over the show. But did they really need to turn to all the completely lame and pathetic scientific crap to keep the show fresh? By scientific, I mean the machine in Urkel's basement that turned him into the ultra-suave Stephon Urquell. Of course, he used this alter ego to swoon Laura, the woman of his dreams. However, for a show that was supposed to be about good old family values and a family trying to make it by in the 'hood of south Chicago, this seems a little far fetched. It isn't the freaking Jetsons or Lost in Space!

    That aside, the show wasn't very funny at all. Every good sitcom has at least one character who is in the spotlight and is usually the center of most of the hijinks. This show didn't have that for me, as I found Urkel to be extremely grating and one dimensional. His signature "Did I do that?" got old after one season, but he was never given anything else to work with.

    In summation, I don't recommend this show and I don't think it's any small wonder why it is hardly shown in syndication anymore.moreless

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    2 3
 

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Child Stars, Dysfuntional Families, Large Family, Laugh Track, Love/Hate Relationships

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