Family Matters is alot like Happy Days.

1. Produced by the same people (Miller/Bickley)
2. Small character takes over show (Fonzie/Urkel)
3. Child mysteriously disappears (Chuck/Judy)
4. Big father gets annoyed by, then stands up for lead character (Mr. C./Carl)
5. 4 buddies hang-out with each other (Fonzie,Potsie,Ralph,Richie/Steve,Eddie,Waldo,Weasal-althouh he didn't last long)

some more similarities are

Both the Fonz and Urkel eventually ended up moving in with the Families on the series. (Although the Fonz moved in with the Cunninghams early in the series, and Urkel moved in with the Winslows later in the series)

In both Series during the last season there wasn't that many original charachters left

Happy Days: Mr. C, Mrs. C, , Joanie, Fonzie

Family Matters: Steve, Carl, Eddie, Laura

Also the actor/character who was supposed to be the focus ended up leaving the show.

Happy Days - Ron Howard (Richie)
Family Matters - JoMarie Payton (Harriette #1) (although her character was replaced the original Harriette who spun off "Perfect Strangers" left.

another similarity is that they are both long-running ABC sitcoms

Happy Days-11 seasons
Family Matters-9 seasons-although ABC canceled it after 8

More similarities.

Fonzie was a ladies man and loved himself/Eddie was a ladies man and loved himself.

Potsie wasn't to bright/Waldo wasn't to bright.

Richie was supposed to be smart/Steve was smart.

Never showed Potsie's Parents least I never seen them/Never showed Steve's parents. (correct me if I am wrong on never showing Potsie's parents)

Cunnningham's did not have a pet/Winslow's did not have a pet(dog does not count since it was only one episode.)

Potsie could dance/Waldo could dance.

Cunningham's had Arnolds to hang out/Winslows had Rachael's Place to hang out.

Cunningham kids were in school when show started and then graduated/Winsows kids were in school then eventually graduated.

Cunningham's owned Cunningham hardware/Winslow's part owners of Rachael's Place both owned a business.

Cunningham's had 2 kids boy then girl/Winslow's had to kids boy then girl

Happy days had Ralph who liked to play practicle jokes/Family Matters had Rodney who loved to play practicle jokes.

both shows had a heavy-set, quick-tempered, yet lovable father:
Howard Cunningham/Carl Winslow

Fonzie spent Christmas at the Cunningham's so he wouldn't be alone on the 2nd season of Happy Days/Urkel spent Christmas with the Winslows so he wouldn't be alone on the 2nd season of Family Matters

Chachi accidentally burnt down Arnold's and it was rebuilt/Urkel accidentally burnt down Leroy's and it was rebuilt as Rachel's Place

characters with rhyming first and last names: Ralph Malph/Waldo Faldo

(I think the reason the two shows were similar is that they shared some of the same writers and producers)

Very neat & also very true information! HD & FM are very similar1 :)

Tiff7

http://www.freewebs.com/tiff_lisatony7/

another similarity is that the youngest daughter on both shows get annoyed by, then fall in love with a certain character
HD-Joanie couldn't stand Chachi, then they fall in love and get married
FM-Laura couldn't stand Steve, then they fall in love and are engaged to be married

another similarity is that the theme songs changed
HD-Rock Around The Clock then Happy Days
FM-What A Wonderful World then As Days Go By

Eddie/Fonzie had many girlfriends but finally settled down with one girl.
Fonzie-Ashley
Eddie-Greta

Steve had a dance contest/Fonzie had a dance contest

Winslows had a dog for 1 eps/Fonzie had a dog for a couple eps

When Carl's back went out he was forced to hang off a door to get it fixed/when Mrs. C's back went out, she was forced to hang off a door to get it fixed

Steve went on jury and proved the suspect was innocent/Fonzie went on jury and proved a suspect was innocent.

Yeah I'm pretty sure the eps are similar because they were written/produced by same people.

Any more additions,comments,questions, or corrections?

In both shows the audience applaused loudly for the star of the show everytime they entered the room.

FM - Steve Urkel
HD - The Fonz

Disappearing child played by different people: Judy-played buy Valerie Jones, then Jaimee Foxworth, Chuck placyed by 3 different actors on HD. FM had a geek party eps, HD had a geek party eps.

Urkel's parents were never around for him just as Fonzi's parents abandoned him.

characters with funny nicknames

Alex Park-"Weasel"
Warren Webber-"Potsie"

I like Both Family Matters and Happy Days so it is a Tie For me

Family matters I love Urkel

Many forget that both are spinoff shows b/c they are distant from the parent show. HD is a spinoff of "Love, American Style," and FM is a spinoff of "Perfect Strangers," but neither show makes any reference to it's predecessor and no characters guest star in the spinoff.

Furthermore, most spinoff shows have the name of the spinoff character in their title. Both shows are rare exceptions.

Many forget that both are spinoff shows b/c they are distant from the parent show. HD is a spinoff of "Love, American Style," and FM is a spinoff of "Perfect Strangers," but neither show makes any reference to it's predecessor and no characters guest star in the spinoff.

Furthermore, most spinoff shows have the name of the spinoff character in their title. Both shows are rare exceptions.

Also, they are both rare cases of a spin-off show being more popular than the parent show.

Another similarity: Pat Morita appeared as a cook in both shows, although in Family Matters' case, it was only a one-shot appearance.

^^^ What other show did the late Pat Morita make an appearance in besides Family Matters?

God bless you and his family always!!!

Holly

P.S. Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but what is the deal with the person here who goes by the name Confidence30? They startedlike ten pages worth of chats here at this forum! Even I couldn't do that many over at the forum for the Perfect Strangers TV show, not that I would have wanted to. I haven't looked at every chat here started by the person at this forum, but the conversations that I started at the Perfect Strangers forum at least make some kind of sense.

Until recently, I didn't even know that Family Matters was a spin-off show and that Harriette was a spin-off character despite watching it since I was a teenager. I guess you learn something new every day.

^^^ The show that she originated from is my most favorite.

God bless you and Jo Marie and her former cast members always!!!

Holly