A Review of The 80’s TV Show “Family Matters”
“Did I do that?”
“Family Matters” is a wacky, yet sentimental sitcom that lives in the hearts and minds of every African American family I’ve ever met. From Steve Urkel’s clumsy flirtations to Carl and Harriette Winslow’s creative attempts at parenting, along with Laura and Eddie Winslow being equally the best and worst teenagers on any television platform, “Family Matters” took wholesome family content to a new level.
The creation of the show spawned from a single episode of its predecessor, “Perfect Strangers,” a1980s sitcom about two men from different sides of the world learning about life and love through their hair-brained adventures in Chicago.
Harriette (Jo Marie Payton) first appeared on “Perfect Strangers” as an elevator operator for the newspaper where the main characters worked. She was presented as a sassy, full of life, devoted wife and mother with brief, yet notable one-liners.
Later in the series, her husband, Carl (Reginald VelJohnson), debuted in an episode called “Crimebusters” where a cop helped the main characters with an investigative report.
According to CBR, VelJohnson’s appearance on “Perfect Strangers” would “set the stage for “Family Matters,” which also cemented that the two series existed in the same fictional universe well before such things became popular on TV.”
Despite “Perfect Strangers’” popularity, “Family Matters” was arguably the more favored show, airing as a part of ABC-TV’s Friday night TGIF lineup from 1989-1997. The show’s success can mostly be accredited to the character of Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White.
Urkel was the geeky boy-next-door, with an annoyingly screechy high-pitched voice, who fostered a huge crush on the Winslows’ oldest daughter and queen of attitude, Laura. Ironically, Urkel was initially written to be a one-time character.
“White joined “Family Matters” halfway through the first season as the Winslows’ nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel,” Yana Grebenyuk wrote in Us Weekly. “The role was only meant to last one episode, but Steve became a breakout character that paved the way for White to join the main cast.”
Urkel’s popularity, however, was later dimmed by White’s controversy on set with costars VelJohnson and Payton.
“Am I difficult to work with? I wondered for the first time. They’ve said publicly that I was spoiled. But was I really?” White wrote in his memoir, “Growing Up Urkel.” “I think we were all affected by certain privileges and autonomies so I try to refrain from revisionist history or being the pot to call the kettle black.”
However, this clash did not affect the show’s successful production and airing. In fact, some believe that “Family Matters” would have continued for another season if the show was not sold to CBS in 1997.
“Family Matters” primarily follows the traditional sitcom format with a family twist: ending each episode with a moral lesson. If it wasn’t for the primarily African American cast, the show might have fallen by the wayside.
“‘Family Matters’ … was the last live-action scripted primetime show that debuted in the 1980s to leave the air, outlasting all other primetime network debuts of the 1980s with the exception of “The Simpsons.’” Michael Spadoni wrote in his article for Television Heaven.
Overall, “Family Matters” showcases exactly what its name implies, and does so with endurance and excellence.
Merritt is the arts and culture editor for the Liberty Champion.