Do you think Steve Urkel RUINED Family Matters?

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by julian bozo

What daughter was that? Which episode?

On "Step by Step", Cody started out with having a crush om his step-cousin Dana.

I know I am off topic. Anyway, Urkel was great.
He did not ruin the show. He added to it.

Yep.

Stefan was silly.
That was silly having Urkel chance into another person.

Not that I liked Stephan either, but he was an opportunity for Jaleel White to get some rest from the strain of being Steve Urkel.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by TMC

It's pretty save to say that towards the end (after switching networks for its final season) the series was simply a setup for the actors to feed Jaleel White’s Urkel character funny lines.

Actually, that is not true. Even in the last season, there would be two storylines in most episodes: One with Jaleel White and one without him.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by TMC

It's pretty save to say that towards the end (after switching networks for its final season) the series was simply a setup for the actors to feed Jaleel White’s Urkel character funny lines.

Absolutely. But the producers had forgotten the show was called Family Matters, and most of the audience had tuned out by then. By the seventh season, the show had dropped out of the top 40; the following year, it had dropped to #50. The final season, the show wasn't even in the top 100. They had wrecked the show, and everyone knew it.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Absolutely. But the producers had forgotten the show was called Family Matters, and most of the audience had tuned out by then. By the seventh season, the show had dropped out of the top 40; the following year, it had dropped to #50. The final season, the show wasn't even in the top 100. They had wrecked the show, and everyone knew it.

And I can see that you still haven't read my last post in this thread, where I actually explained that the family still was around and did matter through the otherwise awful last season.

[MA]

Here's an interesting piece of information:

Jo Marie Payton, who played Harriette Winslow, admitted that she felt the Urkel character had hogged much of the show's attention and disrupted the close family relationship she had formed with the rest of the cast. She experienced increasing burnout over the course of the show and felt that the overbearing focus on Urkel had made the show jump the shark; she very nearly quit when the show moved to CBS but agreed to stay for the first several episodes while a new actress, Judyann Elder, was cast as Harriet. White is one of the few living members of the cast with whom Payton no longer speaks regularly. She nevertheless speaks well of her experiences and appreciates the effect that the Urkel had on the show's popularity and thus the residuals everyone receives from the show.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by MA

Here's an interesting piece of information:

Jo Marie Payton, who played Harriette Winslow, admitted that she felt the Urkel character had hogged much of the show's attention and disrupted the close family relationship she had formed with the rest of the cast. She experienced increasing burnout over the course of the show and felt that the overbearing focus on Urkel had made the show jump the shark; she very nearly quit when the show moved to CBS but agreed to stay for the first several episodes while a new actress, Judyann Elder, was cast as Harriet. White is one of the few living members of the cast with whom Payton no longer speaks regularly. She nevertheless speaks well of her experiences and appreciates the effect that the Urkel had on the show's popularity and thus the residuals everyone receives from the show.

Thanks, MA. I like how Jo Marie softens her blows while she confirms that Urkel caused the show to Jump the Shark. She's such a classy lady. The wiki article links to this interview as a source.

Originally Posted by Jo Marie

Well, you know, I think it probably was because the show was kind of running out of air, what they call “jumping the shark,” you know what I mean?

I know that prior to that, a year prior to that, I didn’t want to do it anymore. I had been offered an opportunity to do the Mahalia Jackson story and I wanted to do something else.

[…] Jaleel came in and it was fun to have him there and all, but of course it did the same thing Happy Days did [with the Fonz character]. You know what I tell people? He “jumped” out of Family Matters, but I “jumped” out of Perfect Strangers, you know? It was just a different kind of “jump.”

[MA]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Thanks, MA. I like how Jo Marie softens her blows while she confirms that Urkel caused the show to Jump the Shark. She's such a classy lady. The wiki article links to this interview as a source.

You're welcome RetroGuy2000.

[OH Nuts!]

He needed his own spinoff! Urkel was overshadowing everyone else.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Superswiper

Steve Urkel himself didn't ruin the show. His overexposure did. They could have just changed the name of the show to Urkel Matters later on, because it was clear he became the main star, and wasn't part of the Winslow family.

Urkel's increased focus was the main reason characters like Judy and Rachel were written out. By the end, the only original characters left were Carl, Laura and Eddie. Harriette doesn't count. I like to think of the new Harriette as Carl being divorced from the old one, and marrying another woman also named Harriette.

Urkel was one of those characters that you'll from time to time see on sitcoms, where there's this weird, quirky, obnoxious kid who for whatever the reasons, always hangs around the house and is somehow "near and dear" to the family. Miller-Boyett Productions also did this with Kimmie Gibbler on Full House, except that Kimmie didn't exactly overtake that show like Urkel did with Full House. Skippy on Family Ties kind of served as a precursor to Steve Urkel (but again, he didn't really threaten to overtake the like say Mallory's Fonzie/Sylvester Stallone wannabe boyfriend Nick).

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Thanks, MA. I like how Jo Marie softens her blows while she confirms that Urkel caused the show to Jump the Shark. She's such a classy lady. The wiki article links to this interview as a source.

This is a great article. Thanks for posting it. I get where she’s coming from too; I think many actors don’t want to do one thing endlessly. She states her feelings with candor and class.

[Lorimar Television]

I'd say Judy disappearing was just the beginning of jumping the shark but it was the moment that upset me most

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I'd say Judy disappearing was just the beginning of jumping the shark but it was the moment that upset me most

That's a weird thing to say though, because Judy was totally unimportant to the show before she was finally removed from it entirely.

[chris jacob]

meeither heisthe reson whythe show got Better

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by Furienna

That's a weird thing to say though, because Judy was totally unimportant to the show before she was finally removed from it entirely.

It just ruins the show for me

[TMC]

Family Matters like Good Times from a decade or so prior, was one of those shows started out with the best of intentions but got caught up in the breakout popularity of the one character (Urkel/J.J.) that some people deep down inside didn't want to be showcased. The crazy thing is that even though Urkel like J.J. also came across as buffonish and obnoxious, Urkel was none the less, smart and into science and math.