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dablkbox · 4 years

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Did I Do That?

One thing I can admit is that I am a sucker for a sitcom with a well rounded family and some sort of quirky neighbor. If you're on the same train then you already know what show I had the pleasure of watching: Family Matters.

Family Matters premiered on September 22 1989, on ABC with the show later moving to CBS. The show starred Reginald VelJohnson as Carl Winslow, Jo Marie Paton as Harriette Winslow, Kellie Shanygne Williams as Laura Winslow, Darius McCrary as Eddie Winslow, Rosetta LeNoire as Estelle Winslow, Telma Hopkins as Rachel Crawford, Jamiee Foxworth as Judy Winslow, and Joseph and Julis Wright as Ritchie Crawford. At the beginning of the show Jaleel White was definitely capturing our funny bones as Steve Urkel but it was not until the second season he became a regular cast member. The viewers reactions to his antics and tenderness were enough to secure him a regular spot.

The show ran for 9 seasons which is an incredible run for a black sitcom. The last episode aired July 17, 1998. Family Matters is available for purchase on Amazon and also available to stream on Hulu.

I was a little hesitant to watch this show because I remember watching the reruns of this as a kid and only remember a few episodes being funny. OH DAMN WAS I WRONG! Family Matters is hilarious! The characters are quick and funny all in their own way. The show also really played with the element of physical and environmental comedy. Whether it was Steve transforming into Stephon or the The Winslow Family reacting to one of Steve’s newest machines the characters really played with what was going on around them.

Let’s start with the basics of the show; Family Matters centers around The Winslow Family living in Chicago. The family deals with their everyday lives and with the daily and unnecessary occurrences of their neighbor Steve Urkel. One reason I was excited to watch this show is because it takes place in my hometown of Chicago. It was so interesting hearing them use actual Chicago streets, neighborhoods, and schools. It made me feel like I was really IN the story.

One aspect of the show that I have to discuss is Carl Winslow’s job as an officer. We ALL know the traumatic history black people have in regards to the police. Things have gotten alarmingly worse and it has gotten to the point where there truly is no resolution for all the wrongs the police have done to black and brown communities. Despite all of this we also know there are people of color who are on the force. Carl Winslow was an officer of the Chicago Police Department and from what I gather it definitely feels as though this was done intentionally. This show premiered in the late 80′s and early 90′s which was a time where racial tension between black/brown communities and the police were really starting to reveal themselves. As a Chicago native I know that the 90′s was definitely when more gangs were making themselves known in the communities making police become more aggressive than they already were. During this time a figure like Carl, I feel, was a tactic to make black men who watch the show and don’t view police in a positive manner to empathize with the police by seeing someone who looks like them in the uniform. Remember this is just my theory but it does not seem too far fetched. Even though I am not the biggest fan of Car’s occupation I appreciated how his difficulties being on the force in relation to him being a black man was displayed. There was an episode where Carl had to check one of his colleagues because he harassed his son Eddie for no reason other than the color of his skin. I appreciated the honesty toward that difficult part of his career.

During my rewatch something else that was great to watch was the show’s use of special effects. Growing up I watched many sitcoms but nothing could ever compare to the time and effort that I know were put into the special effects on the show. As Steve became more present his experiments always lead to explosions and/or some substance being shot across the room. I noticed that became an opener for some of the episodes in the later seasons and guess what...I loved every minute of it! The special effects mixed with other stunts in the show was the cherry on top of this comedic sundae. I hope the cast had insurance during the time cause certain things looked a little too daredevil-ish for me. One of my favorite moment is during the episode “High Anxiety” in season 4 when Waldo, Steve, and Eddie were trapped on a fire escape and were trying to get back inside the building. It was almost as if watching something similar to the Universal Soul circus. While the fire escape turned the actors tumbled and flipped right on top of it. I am still till this day wondering if they used stunt doubles.

Another great part of this family sitcom are the characters themselves. I can truly say that after watching this series I enjoyed mostly everyone’s performance(minus Eddie but we’ll get to that) and watching them display the growth of these characters. One character who I deem to be one of the most underrated 90′s girls is Laura Winslow. I am sure those who listen to music have heard rappers refer to their dream girls and used sitcoms references. I have heard people wanting a Whitley Gilbert, Hilary Banks, Denise Huxtable, etc(and clearly we see what’s wrong with this pattern) but never a Laura Winslow which is amazing to me because she was such bold and charismatic character. One of my favorite episodes to see her in is “Fight The Good Fight” in season 2 where she fought to have a black history course taught in school. I know we loved Moesha but Laura paved the way. Did she make mistakes like every teenage girl yes but she knew exactly where she wanted to go and how to get there which makes Laura the blueprint!

I could not leave this post without writing just a tad about Jaleel White. I was looking forward to watching this show because I wanted to see if Steve is actually funny or was it just the expected goofiness that people knew they would get a chuckle out of. I am here to tell you that Steve Urkel is indeed HILARIOUS and that is done because of the brilliance that is Jaleel White. Jaleel was ACTING! Steve was no doubt a comedic character but there were moment in the show where his let his guard down(especially with Laura) and we saw some of the most tender and sincere moments that I have ever seen on a sitcom. The comedic moments were out of this world paired with Jaleel’s vocal and physical talents when it comes to creating Steve. The transformation moment when he turns into Stephon is almost mesmerizing to me. The way he deliberately would time it, deliver lines throughout the process, and even the sound effects he’s making. I know it sounds a little goofy but, this an actor who you can tell does not ming playing on a set. Jaleel now does work more in the children’s entertainment world which is a great thing. I am all for a children programming including images and voices(I know he’s done some voice over work) that include black people but I would love to see him cross over onto something very dark comedy-ish. American Horror Story?

The cast overall is superb and went very well together and had many characters that are enjoyable on screen, like Ms. Estelle(played by Rosetta LeNoire). I always and I mean ALWAYS love a strong matriarchal figure who emphasizes in a very loving but direct way that: I AM GROWN. Estelle spoke her mind but was always there to bring her family together. It is probably the southern in me but it just hits every time.

NOW! As I stated in my opening post not only will I be going over the good but it just wouldn’t be right to acknowledge the bad in some of these shows, or the thing that were less favorable.

Something I noted it what’s similar to what happened with “JJ” from Good Times. Steve was always his brilliant self but there were times where the antics may have been just a filler instead using the comedic moment to fuel the story. It was not to the extreme of how the character of J.J was in a sense “dumbed down” but there were moments I felt okay that little goofy thing didn't necessarily need to happen but it’s fine.

Someone that bugged me throughout this entire series is Eddie Winslow. I mean..he literally only thinks with one head and it gets very irritating after a while. I get it we were all there once teenagers but damn! THINK! I have a complex with straight men who think and act “traditionally” so fair warning that characters like Eddie Winslow in other shows will get the same treatment. Not to mention I am just not convinced with any of Darius McCrary’s performances. Even when he is a special guest star or the lead actor he just always has been a miss for me. Everyone on the cast held their own but I’ve always felt like he was the weakest link.

Overall Family Matters was an amazing display of quality Black television if you ask me. Great comedic scenes/elements, very heartfelt moments, and aired episodes that talked about some important issues such as bullying, gang violence, and even body image. The show gave us great characters; Steve Urkel will ALWAYS be a pop culture icon. I urge you to watch Family Matters again and enjoy everything this quirky and compassionate sitcom has to offer.

Favorite Episodes:

S2, EP 18-Life of the Party

S2, EP 20-The Good Fight

S2, EP 25-I Should’ve Done Something

S3, EP 9-Born To Be Mild

S3, EP 16-Brown Bombshell

S4, EP 13-Muskrat Love

S4, EP 18- Higher Anxiety

S5, EP 8-Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool

S5, EP 10-All The Wrong Movies

S7, EP 14, Life in the Fast Lane

S7, EP 20-Twinkle Toes Faldo

S8, EP 7-Stevil

#familymatters #steve urkel #black television #comedy #sitcom

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