I was wondering, when did you guys find out that Steve wasn't intended to be the star? I've been watching the show for as long as I can remember and when I would watch it on ABC I always thought that he was supposed to be the star. About 3 years ago, when my brother and I were watching reruns on TBS, we saw the theme song and Steve Urkel was not shown, we watched the entire first episode and we were shocked that he wasn't there. So I went on the internet and I learned that he was just supposed to be a guest star like any other on Episode 12 but his appearance was so strong that he pretty much stole the show after that. I was surprised when I found out.

You know it is funny this show premired when I was nine so I saw the first season along with the pre-Urkel episodes and still it did not dawn on me that Urkel was gradually taking over the show. At the time I thought he was intended to just be the next door neighbor and I thought he was wriiten in from the beginning. I did not find out that he was meant for only one episode until it went off the air.

I guess that does explain why the show is called Family Matters, since it was intended to be a show about a Family dealing with everday problems. When I was age 6-10, I watched the show when it was originally on, and I use to always tell my mom that I'm getting ready to watch Steve Urkel not Family Matters, that's what my brother and I used to always call it when we were younger.

Same here. When I was a kid watching the show I always called it the Steve Urkel show. It took me awhile to realize it was Family Matters, lol. It was until repeats to that I had found out how much he became apart of that show.

Going back to calling the show Urkel, another show I loved to watch when i was younger and would love to see it again, is Empty Nest. I remember calling that show the Pencil show because in Dr. Harry Westons office (pediatrition*) i would always remember seeing this Giant Pencil decor, lol.

My local station is now rerunning the earliest episodes when Steve wasn't in it and I have to say that in a way they are a breath of fresh air. I remember watching this show when it first started and Steve wasn't in it. However I have to say that this show would never have made it to a second season if Steve wasn't there. The show was just too unremarkable and general audiences would find it boring. Funny, I stopped looking at it for one reason or other after the first few shows and only watched it again in earnest in syndication after it had left primetime.

Well I always thought it was about the Winslows, wich it was sort of, then noticed that Steve Urkle taken over and I too used to call it Steve Urkle show.

I did the same thing with Laverne and Shirley, instead of calling it that I called it Lenny and Squiggy and people would look at me like I was crazy, lol.

Yeah I remember when I was younger me and my friends used to say did you watch "Urkel" or are you going to watch "Urkel" tonight.

I remember one time when I was watching an episode, my mom came into my room and said "Oh look, it's The Urkel Show" :lol:

It wasn't until the show started airing in reruns, and when I was a few yrs older, when I realized that it was actually called Family Matters. When I was younger, and watched it when it was originally on, I had no clue that it was actually called Family Matters, to me it was just Steve Urkel or The Urkel Show.