Something I was thinking about the other day when I saw the DVD set of Season 1 of "Family Matters" at Target (no, I didn't buy it), got me to thinking: If Steve Urkel had never been introduced as a character on "Family Matters," and the show continued to focus on the Winslows like it was supposed to, do you think the show would have lasted as long as it did, and would you have continued watching the show longer than you would have with Urkel?

I suspect that without Urkel Family Matters would have had a much shorter run. Personally I would have preferred the show without Urkel or at least with a lot less Urkel. But Urkel was the breakout character of this show and the ratings increased significantly when he became a main character so I expect he was responsible for the show lasting longer than it otherwise would have.

I suspect that without Urkel Family Matters would have had a much shorter run. Personally I would have preferred the show without Urkel or at least with a lot less Urkel. But Urkel was the breakout character of this show and the ratings increased significantly when he became a main character so I expect he was responsible for the show lasting longer than it otherwise would have.

Family Matters is a favorite show and I would have watched with or without Steve.. 'Cause the Winslow family was terrific. However, I also suspect the show wouldn't have lasted as long.

When I was a little kid, I remember that me and my friends watched it mainly beacue for Urkel.

Never saw the show again as a 'grown-up', but still the impression is that Urkel was Family Matters' key to success

No Urkel...No "Family Matters".

But I wonder if Jaleel White was sick of being Urkel? (I think it would be funny if Jaleel White was in a movie and someone would say "Did Urkel Do That"?...Think of "harold and Kumar").

Urkel was the show. If he's not there, the show probably only lasts a season or two. And he was tired of the character. I remember him saying that if he ever sees that character again, he'd want someone to put him out of his misery. His acting career was defined by Steve Urkel. He never made it as an adult actor.

It's true-there would have been no show without Steve. He was the breakout star and the reason that the ratings increased to the level of staying on beyond a season and more.

It makes you wonder though. What would it have been like without Steve? Nah, it probably wouldn't have lasted as long.

I don't even know if the show would have made it to a second season if they didn't bring Steve in. The critics didn't care for it. It wasn't generating any buzz and the ratings were mediocre. I was a big fan of PS and I was disappointed in the early episodes of FM. I would watch the show sometimes but it was the one TGIF show I didn't care if I missed or not. After Steve joined, I watched every week.