I was reading a "Worst TV Shows Ever" list and the more I looked into later episodes of this (I only watched earlier seasons mostly) the more I realized that my all-time worst would have to be "Family Matters" hands down. Even though there are shows I personally hate from first season to last and literally can stand two minutes of...this I will remember as the worst because it wasn't bad for awhile.

I don't know if I ever found it all that funny, kind of basic really but at least watchable and certainly an improvement over it's wretched lead-in "Full House". Now that I've caught up a bit...WTH?

Split personalities? Cloning? Matter transporters? Shrinking rays?
How did this happen? Writers actually came up with these ideas? Producers and directors said "Hell Yeah, that sounds great!"? ABC green-lit them? Was there any kind of progression to all this insanity if you were watching the show every week (not that there could be THAT much!)? Was there some kind of re-launch of the show at some point, like "Introducing the NEW Family Matters!" or something? I'm just finding it hard to believe that a normal family sitcom got this insane and this unbelievably stupid, especially if it happened suddenly with no kind of acknowledgement in the ads or in the show itself! "Jump the shark" has officially lost all meaning, a new phrase needs to be coined for this mess. I'm sure it can be found in one of these episodes but I'm nowhere near strong enough to sit through any more of them. :confused:

Well I guess it had some progression. When Urkel was introduced in season one he was just a nerd. Then in season two we start to see his intelligence. He built a miniature rocket for a science project. Season three he built a robot and jet-pack. Season four he had some inventions like a glue that was so powerful he couldn't remove his hand from Laura's shoulder. He had minor inventions like a musical toothbrush, and then in one episode we see his growing a "lawn chair". Season five was when it started to get bizarre with his DNA altering machine that turned him int Stephan Urquelle. But that wasn't the biggest jump the shark moment, that had to be when The Winslow's forget the existence of their youngest daughter/ sister Judy Winslow. That just ruins the show for me so I rarely watch after season four. I know there were more inventions in later seasons as well. I plan to buy seasons 1- 4 on DVD but then I'm done. (I already have 1- 3 so I just need one more season to complete my collection)

I don't mind those "unrealistic" plots, which so many people hate. And while the Judy thing was just wrong, the poor girl was hardly missed, and the show went on without her. What I do hate about this show though is how Steve never got over his stupid crush on Laura, when Myra was so much better for him.

Yeah Steve had a major lust over laura he could not control his urges thats what made him creepy, but the funny thing is both of the girls myra and laura were both out of his league, i wonder why myra never had a crush on Stefan every girl in the universe wanted to sleep with the dude lol

Stefan was so boring! I can't understand what everybody saw in him. At least one person didn't immedately fall for his "coolness".

I definitely do not think that it was the worst decline of all time but I do think that by the seventh season it was certainly unwatchable at least for me. I mean I do agree with you that I never really found the show all that funny. The only period of Family Matters that I was actually really amused would have to be the second season. That season has the best balance of Steve Urkel and the Winslows and it is certainly a breath of fresh air from watching the last eighty episodes of the show. What really brought it down for me was when they got rid of the youngest daughter, Judy. That just made it simply hard to watch. As a kid, I started watching just the fifth season and I had no idea that they even had another child. Then I got curious of the show's start and begin to watch the first season through the fourth, and let me tell you that it certainly drained my spirit of viewing the show to see that character just diminish quickly and to never be seen or heard of again.

the decline of the simpsons from seasons 10 to season 12 was like a basketball player scoring 30 points per game to scoring 2 points per game

While its true Judy was hardly missed I just can't get over the aspect that they don't even acknowledge her. It's sort of depressing to me, and the show is called family matters, so why didn't Judy matter to the family? Even earlier episodes they would leave her out for no reason, but atleast she was acknowledged. The show is dead for me after season 4. I will watch the later eps in reruns sometimes but they just aren't as enjoyable for me. __

I agree with you that what they did was really wrong. But still, I can't say it destroyed the show or made it less enjoyable. As much as they should have done more with Judy, they still had several other characters to work with.

Yeah they could have had a last episode where we the viewers see a goodby episode of judy, it could be where judy goes away to stay with her family members in Florida for a few years, then they bring her back on the show for the last episode.

http://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/475586/hated-seasons-family-matters

Just like the later seasons of Boy Meets World, and based on other threads I am obviously not alone. In its later seasons Family Matters jumped the shark in so many ways that it really killed the enjoyment of the show. Granted, the show had long since jumped the shark in certain ways, such as having Urkel start dating a girl other than Laura or having Judy go to her room and vanish completely off the face of the earth. But I would say things officially went downhill from the point Urkel start living with the Winslows.

To start with the obvious, the later seasons were less of a sitcom and more of a straight up sci-fi show. Urkel coming out with wacky inventions had been used plenty of times, and in earlier seasons it worked as a way to add some variety. The time he invented a robot? A personal favorite. When he invented a jet pack? Memorable, and served as a great way to do a crossover with another show. Even the first time he used a potion to turn into another person worked, and you could tell Jaleel White loved being able to hang up Urkel for most of an episode. By the time he started using a porta-potty to turn himself into a new person every single week it got to be a bit much.

Which leads into another issue I had; the wacky situations. Hey, its a staple of sitcoms and some of my favorite episodes were about Urkel and the Winslows getting into all kinds of shenanigans. The one where Carl taught Urkel to drive is one I still love. The one with the Bushwhackers will live in the memory of every wrestling fan. But when they started ripping off Child's Play with a talking dummy you could tell the writers were out of ideas.

The role of Urkel was also a big problem; by the late seasons he had officially become the main character of the show and everyone else had been pushed to the background. While Urkel was always the iconic character of the show he worked a lot better as a guest who was just part of the overall cast, and I suspect part of why the writing got so weird was because the focus purely on him limited the potential diversity of the storylines. You could also tell the other actors resented being pushed out of the spotlight-most of them sleepwalked through the final few seasons, as I recall the woman who played Hariette actually quit before the very last one even filmed, forcing them go with a last minute replacement. And what's more, you could tell that Jaleel White himself was tired of playing Urkel.

Which leads me to my last point: by the time of the last few seasons Jaleel was no longer physically right for Urkel anymore. As a scrawny kid those oversized glasses and awkward clothes worked a lot better, and before that magical experience called puberty it was easier for him to do that high pitched voice. By the time he turned 20 he had grown into a tall young man, he had started working out and filled out his body a bit, and his voice had gotten noticeably deeper and you could tell how much of a struggle he was having to keep doing the Urkel voice. I shudder to imagine how hard it must have been to try to sit down in those over-tight pants he had to wear.

Anyone got anything else to add?

Whoever wrote that, I have to disagree with a lot of things there. For example, in what universe was it wrong for Steve to date another girl than that conceited Laura?

The Worst Decline for Family Matters was season 5 it had some good and weak episodes, the first 4 seasons were raw and entertaining, i am thinking the producers were running out of ideas for episodes so the show started to suck a little bit by later seasons, i did find the Disneyworld episodes the winslow family took a breath of fresh air in season 6 in my theory.

Furienna i agree with you it was never wrong for steve urkel to date other girls besides chasing his dream girl laura and threatening all of laura's boyfriends, myra never tried to change steve she loved him for being a nerd, now laura on the other hand did not like steve being a nerd and a scientist she wanted him to turn into stephan, the sad thing is laura was pushy aka bossy and she would most likely make steve urkel give up the scientist life and make him dress up like a normal guy.

I don't think Laura had anything against Steve being a scientist or an inventor. After all, she too was school-smart with straight A grades and plans to become a lawyer. As shallow as she could be, she never complained about his love for science and technology. What she didn't like was the geeky side of his personality. But like you said, Myra loved everything about him (except that he couldn't get over Laura, of course).

The notable thing is that the only thing people remember about Judy was that she was written out of the show. There were no Judy-tastic episodes, at least none that I can remember.

I do agree that the over-saturation of Urkel and his inventions was a bit much in the later years. Most people remember Urkel taking over the show and Judy being kicked out, but other characters suffered as well. One poster mentioned that the original Harriet left. There were others. Aunt Rachel seemed to just disappear. So did Richie. And Mother Winslow. It eventually got to the point where it was mostly just Urkel, Carl, Laura and Eddie, with occasional appearances by Myra. Heck, most people didn't even call this show Family Matters, it was referred to by most people I knew as "Urkel" or "The Urkel show"

Heck, look at those DVD covers at the top of this page. Urkel is front and center. If you squint, you might see the family.

The notable thing is that the only thing people remember about Judy was that she was written out of the show. There were no Judy-tastic episodes, at least none that I can remember.
She had two sub-plots after season 1. The first one was about her flunking English, because she couldn't get interested in reading books. The second one was about her being jealous at Richie. But other than that, yeah, she only had one scene here and there.

I do agree that the over-saturation of Urkel and his inventions was a bit much in the later years. Most people remember Urkel taking over the show and Judy being kicked out, but other characters suffered as well. One poster mentioned that the original Harriet left. There were others. Aunt Rachel seemed to just disappear. So did Richie. And Mother Winslow. It eventually got to the point where it was mostly just Urkel, Carl, Laura and Eddie, with occasional appearances by Myra. Heck, most people didn't even call this show Family Matters, it was referred to by most people I knew as "Urkel" or "The Urkel show"

Heck, look at those DVD covers at the top of this page. Urkel is front and center. If you squint, you might see the family.
Thelma Hopkins (Aunt Rachel) chose to switch to another show. Rosetta LeNoire (Mother Winslow) chose to cut down on her acting, since she was old and her health was getting worse. So their disappearances don't necessarily have anything to do with Steve. Then again, he sure was the star. I call the show "Steve" though, not "Urkel".

The last season was by far the worst with missing most of the characters. Family Matters was never the perfect sitcom or anything, but that last season is pretty close to unwatchable for me.

The way characters just seemed to disappear was another annoyance as well.

She had two sub-plots after season 1. The first one was about her flunking English, because she couldn't get interested in reading books. The second one was about her being jealous at Richie. But other than that, yeah, she only had one scene here and there.


Thelma Hopkins (Aunt Rachel) chose to switch to another show. Rosetta LeNoire (Mother Winslow) chose to cut down on her acting, since she was old and her health was getting worse. So their disappearances don't necessarily have anything to do with Steve. Then again, he sure was the star. I call the show "Steve" though, not "Urkel".

Ah, ok. But one of them was about her being jealous of the attention others were getting, which mirrored the real life situation, so I think that says something.

Well I guess it had some progression. When Urkel was introduced in season one he was just a nerd. Then in season two we start to see his intelligence. He built a miniature rocket for a science project. Season three he built a robot and jet-pack. Season four he had some inventions like a glue that was so powerful he couldn't remove his hand from Laura's shoulder. He had minor inventions like a musical toothbrush, and then in one episode we see his growing a "lawn chair". Season five was when it started to get bizarre with his DNA altering machine that turned him int Stephan Urquelle. But that wasn't the biggest jump the shark moment, that had to be when The Winslow's forget the existence of their youngest daughter/ sister Judy Winslow. That just ruins the show for me so I rarely watch after season four. I know there were more inventions in later seasons as well. I plan to buy seasons 1- 4 on DVD but then I'm done. (I already have 1- 3 so I just need one more season to complete my collection)


I agree them getting rid of Judy really did it for me. But The producers were planning on a tenth season where they planned on bringing back Judy even going as far as hiring an actress to play her only to find you CBS destroyed the set and props.

I agree them getting rid of Judy really did it for me. But The producers were planning on a tenth season where they planned on bringing back Judy even going as far as hiring an actress to play her only to find you CBS destroyed the set and props.

True...when "Family Matters" went to CBS, the show was just dull. Even Jaleel White who played Urkel felt uncomfortable with his role of Urkel by then.

She had two sub-plots after season 1. The first one was about her flunking English, because she couldn't get interested in reading books. The second one was about her being jealous at Richie. But other than that, yeah, she only had one scene here and there.

Correct, though I would say she was involved in the plots in most season one episodes, like helping the family stuff envelopes for extra money, helping Laura teach Rachel a lesson about sisters fighting, distracting Rachel's date, distracting Carl when Rachel was trying to fix the car, her and her siblings hiding the dog from Carl, help the family baking tarts, taking pictures of Eddie's party as blackmail, building a diorama, and helping Laura with her babysitting service. She was a part of the plot in season twos Taking Credit also, when Richie wouldn't share credit with her for baking a cake together prompting Rachel to tell them stories about sharing credit, and in season four when she ruined Harriette's dress and Carl covered for her, after he had been getting mad at Harriette for covering up for Eddie.

You're right. But still, it was like she always got the short end of the stick. I guess we'll never know why the writers were so reluctant to put her in the spotlight.

I remember some of the episodes getting stupider as the show went on but I just accepted it as is because of Steve Urkel, I stopped watching it when it moved to CBS so I can't comment on how the series ended all I remember was that a different actress played Harriet Winslow.

You're right. But still, it was like she always got the short end of the stick. I guess we'll never know why the writers were so reluctant to put her in the spotlight.
Oh she was given the short end of the stick for sure! I don't like the show after she leaves.

Yeah judy was the ignored character for the 4 seasons while she was on the show, the producers kept her on for the wrong reasons like being bossed around by her older sister laura or giving richie more lines on the show since he was just a little kid the producers thought it would be cute to see him and judy argue during some scenes

I wouldn't be surprised if so many characters being written out was a big part of the decline.

God bless you always!!! :) :) :)

Holly

P.S. Another actress having to play Harriette I am sure did not help either.

I wouldn't be surprised if so many characters being written out was a big part of the decline.

God bless you always!!! :) :) :)

Holly

P.S. Another actress having to play Harriette I am sure did not help either.


me, I always thought the most unkindest cut of all was replacing Harriette in the middle of a freaking season. When I first saw it, i was like "Who in the world is this woman calling herself Harriette?" Total turn-off for me. no wonder the first story with the new Harriette was her finding out that carl was going to propose to another woman before her. That was WAY telling!

We got a new Harriette in the middle of the season because JoMarie Payton got out of her contract by then. But yeah, I bet a lot of people were just confused by it.

The show was most definitely not the same anymore when Waldo suddenly disappeared.

God bless you and the actor who brought him to life always!!! :) :) :)

Holly

The show was most definitely not the same anymore when Waldo suddenly disappeared.

God bless you and the actor who brought him to life always!!! :) :) :)
Yeah, you gotta love Waldo!

I never will understand why a nice kid like Waldo Haraldo Faldo ever got to be friends with a bully like Willy lol

Well, we all know that Waldo wasn't the sharpest knife in the box. I guess Willy just let him hang out with him, and he simply was okay with it.

Willy was also a coward he could talk a good game with his attitude but he was a scaredy cat why would he let steve urkel beat him up with boxing gloves infront of the entire school, it seemed like steve could have won the boxing fight if he was not trying to show off by doing those goofy dance moves lol.

http://www.wewantinsanity.com/am2/publish/Peter_Dawson/When_Good_Shows_Go_Bad_Family_Matters.shtml

It was probably this show that featured (to my memory) the first African-Americans I ever saw. First person I met who was black was from Trinidad, and that was when I was eight (about two years after I first saw this show), as the city in which I grew up mostly had European and Asian immigrants. This was the show that introduced me to racial diversity... Sometimes I feel very naive because of this fact, but it still gives me a certain amount of affection for the show despite that. - See more at: http://www.wewantinsanity.com/am2/publish/Peter_Dawson/When_Good_Shows_Go_Bad_Family_Matters.shtml#sthash.ShuOmGvR.dpuf

Again with blaming Steve for Judy's disappearance! While he more and more became the break-out star of the show, they always found room for other characters as well. Lieutenant Murtaugh, Waldo and Maxine are three good examples. Heck, they even could find room to introduce 3J! But it was like the writers couldn't be bothered to do anything with poor Judy, and it wasn't Steve's fault.

I liked the show in the early seasons, when the show was called "Family Matters" and it FELT like the family mattered. Mother Winslow would gather Eddie, Laura, and Judy around and talk to them about her childhood, or Aunt Rachel and Harriet would share a moment. The show had heart. Sappy, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Somehow, it became the Urkel Show. Miller-Boyett, always known for dumping characters randomly in all of their sitcoms, fired anyone who they thought wasn't bringing in the laughs. First it was Judy. Then Mother Winslow and Aunt Rachel. Near the end, even Harriet was gone. Family Matters became ironically-named: the family totally didn't matter. It was all about Urkel.

Yes, I'd say it was probably the worst decline of a sitcom of all time. I haven't watched it in years, and I certainly won't watch any episode where little Judy Winslow isn't in the opening credits. That's the point at which the show went from silly to unwatchable.

Thelma Hopkins (Rachel), Rosetta LeNoire (Estelle) and JoMarie Payton (Harriet) all left the show by their own choice. Poor little Jaimee Foxworth was the only one, who actually was fired.

They saw the writing on the wall, of course. It was a mass exodus of actors. They saw their storylines and roles being reduced further and further as the years went on, Urkel stealing more and more of the scenes. When half of the cast has left, it's clear there are issues.

Thelma Hopkins was offered to do another show. I have no idea if she felt that her character ws being reduced, but when that other show flopped, she occassionally came back to "Family Matters" for an episode here and there.

Rosetta LeNoire was getting old, and she cut down on her working hours for health reasons. She still made a few guest appearances though after she had stopped being a regular.

JoMarie Peyton was the only one, who we know quit because she felt like Steve was taking over the show.

Yes, I'd say it was probably the worst decline of a sitcom of all time. I haven't watched it in years, and I certainly won't watch any episode where little Judy Winslow isn't in the opening credits. That's the point at which the show went from silly to unwatchable.
I completely agree! That's why I'm done buying the show on DVD after season four because it wasn't as good after that.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DorkAge/LiveactionTV

Because of its very long tenure (late 1980s until late 1990s), it was inevitable that the ABC network's two-hour (8:00-10:00 p.m.) "TGIF" (short for "Thank Goodness It's Friday") sitcom lineup would hit a few speed bumps. The real decline started in the early '90s, when Full House and Perfect Strangers, the mainstays of the lineup since the beginning, went off the air, leaving Family Matters (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FamilyMatters) as the block's flagship program. Numerous new shows were test-run, a few of which (Step by Step and Boy Meets World most notably) became huge favorites but most of which were gone within a year or so. Even Family Matters itself began to suffer, as Steve Urkel went from being the sitcom's Breakout Character to being practically the sole reason for the show's existence, with plots tailored around his various "wacky" inventions. And then Toilet Humor started creeping in, and then ethnic humor... and it was all downhill from there. By the mid-'90s, TGIF was little more than a random generator of broad farces, often with ridiculous fantasy themes (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Teen Angel...), that would have been more appropriate for the '60s than the '90s. A "crossover" arc late in the lineup's run only served to demonstrate how blandly interchangeable the shows had become.

I primarily remember TGIF as Family Matters, Boy Meets World, and Step By Step, so I'm not sure how it went downhill before they came on. Especially since I don't think Full House or Perfect Strangers are all that good.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DorkAge/LiveactionTV

I couldn't agree more. They raise a lot of good points.

Exactly.

Yeah after season four the show was terrible.

To me, the last really good season of the show was season seven. I hated to see Waldo disappear. :( :( :(

God bless you always!!! :) :) :)

Holly

Yeah, Waldo was a great character!

Jo Marie Payton didn't leave because of Urkel. She left because she was "bored" due to the fact that the writers weren't doing anything with her character. After season eight was when her contract was up and she would have left immediately after season eight but the producers of the show asked to stay for eight episodes of season nine to help the viewers get used to the move to CBS and after that, she left and never looked back.

Yeah, when I loved Waldo. When he left, that was when the show's transition from good, well-intentioned, entertaining sitcom to sci-fi, love triangle-filled teen show was complete.

The show going from an ensemble to being the Urkel show killed the show for me. I couldn't stand the character and therefore i stopped watching.

After he cloned himself I sadly lost interest.

Contrary to what many other people think, I say it always was an ensamble show. Of course, Steve became the big star. But there would typically also be a plotline, that had nothing to do with him.