a Steve Urkel character? I think it could have because you don't need a IDIOT to have success in ratings. It would just been a Sitcom simliar to Fresh Prince with to parents, and 4 kids with visits from other relatives.

I seriously doubt this show would have even made it into a 2nd season without Steve Urkel. There was nothing unique enough about any of the family members. Steve was different and viewers either loved him or hated him, but he gave the show a marquee name and they rode on it for most of the 90s. Even people who never watched the show knew who Steve Urkel was.

I don't think it would have last that long without Urkel. I watched it from the beginning but I was beginning to lose interest until he joined the cast.

No way.

Originally posted by Brent88
No way.


Waldo and Weasel could have been the clowns if there wasn;t any Steve Urkel

Like it or not, Steve Urkel is a cultural icon that will forever be etched in people's minds. The show owes much of it's success to that character played brilliantly by Jaleel White though taking nothing away from the other cast members who were also great.

Family Matters had a great run and is one of the most popular and longest running African American comedies ever next to The Jeffersons and The Cosby Show.

Nope, the show was boring and I think it would have been cancelled if not for Steve coming along. Not to take anything away from the great actors of the show :)

No way, and not to say anything bad about the other actors because they were also the reason the show lasted. The way the cast interacts with Steve Urkel made the show funny. :lol:

I don't think it would have lasted without Steve Urkel. He was the reason for the show, maybe not the main reason. He made the show what it was.

Nope, no way. However, I think it would have been a better show if they didn't blow the Urkel character out of proportion.

Well, all you have to do is look at the simple facts:

When FM first hit the air, Urkel wasn't even on the show. He doesn't even appear until episode 12, and then it's only as a guest star.

Remember that FM was originally conceived as a spin-off for Harriet Winslow's carachter from Perfect Strangers. The show was originally revolved around Harriet and the Winslow family, and Urkel was nothing more than the crazy kid next door who appeared in an episode here and there.

But it didn't take long for the Urkel carachter to catch on, and from there, the whole show was quickly refocused to make him one of the stars -- if not the top star -- of the show.

Personally I don't think this show would have made it past 2nd season. I mean none of the other characters had enough substance. I mean Eddie & Laura wouldn't even be funny if there was no Steve.

The show was never a big ratings hit anyway. I think ABC just kept it to appeal to a younger audience.

Originally posted by USTVFanFromUK
The show was never a big ratings hit anyway. I think ABC just kept it to appeal to a younger audience.


Yeah i think the highest the show was ranked was #25 to #30

Originally posted by USTVFanFromUK
The show was never a big ratings hit anyway. I think ABC just kept it to appeal to a younger audience.

Sorry I really doubt that. If it was bombing in the ratings, they wouldn't have kept it around no matter what :)

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
Yeah i think the highest the show was ranked was #25 to #30

Top 30 is considered fairly good for most shows. :)

This show did make the top 20 in its second season and had fairly good ratings for many years. I believe that for a long time it was the highest rated TGIF series.

Originally posted by Angela Micelli
Top 30 is considered fairly good for most shows. :)

It only ranked top 30 for one season. TGIF wasn't strictly about ratings for ABC, it was about how well a show did for its target audience. This show did well with preteens and teens thus allowing it to be renewed. I know your a Boy Meets World fan and I'm sure you know BMW never ranked top 30 for any season but was still renewed.

If you don't believe me then you can cheak this site for ratings. But it's only up to 2001 to 2002 season

http://www.chez.com/fbibler/tvstats/ratings_us_index.html

Probably not, but I can tell you this I much rather watch the 1st season of Family Matters than the last three seasons.

Probably not, but I can tell you this I much rather watch the 1st season of Family Matters than the last three seasons.


I agree, the first season was better than the last season

There is no doubt in my mind that ABC would have canceled the show after it's first season, had it not been for Urkel. In episode 12, when Urkel made his first appearance, the studio audience was cheering "Urkel! Urkel! Urkel!". So the decision was made to have a little bit of Urkel in each episode. Episode 13 made it in the top 20 thanks to him and the show became extremely popular with kids. I mean who hasn't heard of Steve Urkel? The last few episodes of the first season ended at number 15, much higher than when it started because of him. The show was very popular on TGIF. If he hadn't come on the show it would have been canceled and forgotten about after it's first season. Now the show will always be remembered. The other cast members are also very good. Eddie and Laura became much more funny when Steve came on the show.

There is no doubt in my mind that ABC would have canceled the show after it's first season, had it not been for Urkel. In episode 12, when Urkel made his first appearance, the studio audience was cheering "Urkel! Urkel! Urkel!". So the decision was made to have a little bit of Urkel in each episode. Episode 13 made it in the top 20 thanks to him and the show became extremely popular with kids. I mean who hasn't heard of Steve Urkel? The last few episodes of the first season ended at number 15, much higher than when it started because of him. The show was very popular on TGIF. If he hadn't come on the show it would have been canceled and forgotten about after it's first season. Now the show will always be remembered. The other cast members are also very good. Eddie and Laura became much more funny when Steve came on the show.



Well just because the ratings were not high in the first 12 eps doesn't mean the show would have done poorly. The show was just starting and hadn't hit it's stride yet. I still believe the show had enough funny characters to still last 5 seasons or more


Waldo
Carl
Eddie

I agree SitcomAnalyzer, it is really unfair to the other actors on the show to say that if Urkel was never introduced the show would not have lasted past the first season. I found season 1 to be a very good season. Like Urkel was the show's only hope which is not true. Not to say it would have lasted nine seasons but at least give the other actors the benefit that the show probably could have at least lasted five seasons.

I agree SitcomAnalyzer, it is really unfair to the other actors on the show to say that if Urkel was never introduced the show would not have lasted past the first season. I found season 1 to be a very good season. Like Urkel was the show's only hope which is not true. Not to say it would have lasted nine seasons but at least give the other actors the benefit that the show probably could have at least lasted five seasons.


Yeah it was similar to the Cosby show before Urkel showed up.

I agree SitcomAnalyzer, it is really unfair to the other actors on the show to say that if Urkel was never introduced the show would not have lasted past the first season. I found season 1 to be a very good season. Like Urkel was the show's only hope which is not true. Not to say it would have lasted nine seasons but at least give the other actors the benefit that the show probably could have at least lasted five seasons.

I don't think it has anything to do with whether or not the actors were good; the truth is that a show won't last 9 seasons unless there is something unique about it and Urkel was very unique. Even if you hated the show and never watched it, you knew who Urkel was.

There wasn't anything unique about Full House yet it lasted 8 seasons and also others shows that did not have a stand out character and lasted a long time. I am not saying that Urkel did not add that uniqueness to the show he did he was sort of a mixed blessing. And let's face it how many times can you laugh at Urkel being clumsy and all of his statements and mannerisms it got so old and stale quick I just get tired of reading post saying if it wasn't for Urkel it would not have gone past the first season. To me that is an insult to the other actors who I think did pretty well pre-Urkel especially Reginald Vel Johnson, JoMarie Payton, Telma Hopkins, and Rosetta Lenoire.

I don't think it has anything to do with whether or not the actors were good; the truth is that a show won't last 9 seasons unless there is something unique about it and Urkel was very unique. Even if you hated the show and never watched it, you knew who Urkel was.


The show lost viewers once Jaleel White became a grown man still play the part of a Nerd. It was ok when he was 11-15 but not 21

Exactly Sitcom Analyzer it was fine when he was younger 11-15 but once he was 20, 21 he was too old to be acting that way. By the seventh season he just became annoying. All of his antics got old! Although he contributed greatly to the show's success he unfortunately contributed to the show's demise as well. Now Waldo was funny all the way through from seasons 2-7. He was funny without falling all the time and saying the same statements for nine seasons.

That's also why the last 2 seasons sucked, not only because Jaleel White was getting too old to play Urkel, but Waldo wasn't there either.

[QUOTE=SimpsonsFan]That's also why the last 2 seasons sucked, not only because Jaleel White was getting too old to play Urkel, but Waldo wasn't there either.[/QUOTE


The last two seasons sucked also because Rachel was not there, Mother Winslow was hardly seen, and it focused too much on Steve and his inventions, Laura, Stefan and Myra and in the last season Harriette was replaced. Shows you that you need the whole cast not just Urkel.

I think if urkel wasn't around it wouldn't last past the 3rd season. The first season seemed bland with out that much of steve urkel and plus their were shows that were somewhat just like it ex: Cosby and Fresh Prince but it was probally the #1 show on tgif. their is a website where you can check the ratings for a certain day over 10 years and it gives you the ratings here's friday

1987-1997
#2 Family Matters
#3 Full House (first couple of seasons)
#4 Step by Step
#6 Boy meets World
#8 Sabrina
#9 Hanging with Mr. Cooper
(#1, #5, #7, and #10 were different ch.)

Yeah, when FM first aired it was alot like The Cosby Show, and if you look at the ratings, even TCS was beginning to lose viewers. Growing Pains, Family Ties, and Who's The Boss? were also beginning to lose many viewers, which shows that people just weren't interested in those kind of shows anymore. Steve Urkel certainly brought something unique to the show.