Do you think Steve Urkel RUINED Family Matters?

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

It just ruins the show for me

But why? Even if you feel that they treated Jaimee Foxworth badly, there was nothing interesting about her character.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by Furienna

But why? Even if you feel that they treated Jaimee Foxworth badly, there was nothing interesting about her character.

I liked her character, she gave great one liners and was adorable. Its just too sad to see them ignoring her existence.

[RetroGuy2000]

Like Lorimar, I liked Judy: she had some funny one-liners and she was so cute. Urkel ruined the show.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Like Lorimar, I liked Judy: she had some funny one-liners and she was so cute. Urkel ruined the show.

I wouldnt say he ruined it, just that his char took too much screentime after a while leaving little for certain members of the family.

[TMC]

(LANGUAGE WARNING)

Steve Urkel is a character you either love or hate... and I was firmly in the middle somewhere.
Urkel revitalized Family Matters but it became a show centered around him.
I personally preferred the show when it was about Carl and Harriette with Steve somewhere in the background or in a supporting role.
Earlier Family Matters is often forgotten in the larger spectrum of the show.
The more zany and outlandish parts of the show are what's remembered.
Urkel's shrink ray, the transformation machine, the ventriloquist dummy.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I wouldnt say he ruined it, just that his char took too much screentime after a while leaving little for certain members of the family.

Are you thinking about Judy? Because I repeat that her disappearance has nothing to do with Steve and his popularity.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by TMC

(LANGUAGE WARNING)

For being a person who claims to be in the middle, he does a lot of complaining.

Maybe there's a reason why people remember the zany parts the best?
If it had only been a run-of-the-mill realistic domcom about Carl and Harriette, what would have been special about it?
You have to admit that Steve made people notice that this show existed.
I have to agree that he treated Myra like crap though.

[rcbrad]

Generally I not mind a nerdy character, but sometimes the way it is played comes across as extremely annoying and irritating.

Such as Urkel saying: Did I do that? Awful, just awful.

[PracTz]

Yes, I know the show lasted a long time and the character had lots of fans but IMO, Urkel DID ruin the show by totally overwhelming the original concept of a family interacting with each other despite their individual quirks, foibles and mishaps! I especially think that the developments of Judy and even Harriette's characters got shortchanged because they HAD to have Urkel hog the spotlight all the time!

P.S. He ALSO ruined 'Boy Meets World' via his existence because they mistakenly thought that that show's Minkus was too similar to keep for more than the First Season. One of the very few positive things 'Girl Meets World' did was have Minkus back and give him a happy ending but 'Boy Meets World' would have been a much more interesting show had they kept Minkus throughout. But, no, they had to get rid of him ALL because they stupidly thought he was too Urkel-like!

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by PracTz

Yes, I know the show lasted a long time and the character had lots of fans but IMO, Urkel DID ruin the show by totally overwhelming the original concept of a family interacting with each other despite their individual quirks, foibles and mishaps! I especially think that the developments of Judy and even Harriette's characters got shortchanged because they HAD to have Urkel hog the spotlight all the time!

P.S. He ALSO ruined 'Boy Meets World' via his existence because they mistakenly thought that that show's Minkus was too similar to keep for more than the First Season. One of the very few positive things 'Girl Meets World' did was have Minkus back and give him a happy ending but 'Boy Meets World' would have been a much more interesting show had they kept Minkus throughout. But, no, they had to get rid of him ALL because they stupidly thought he was too Urkel-like!

Oy, such hatred...

I seriously have no idea how many times I have said this, but I repeat:

1: Most of the time, Steve would be in one sub-plot and other characters would be in another sub-plot. So he didn't take over as much as some people claim that he did.
2: Judy was brother chucked because the writers didn't know what to do with the character, and the actress's mother seems to have annoyed the wrong people. So it had nothing to do with Steve.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by Furienna

Oy, such hatred...

I seriously have no idea how many times I have said this, but I repeat:

1: Most of the time, Steve would be in one sub-plot and other characters would be in another sub-plot. So he didn't take over as much as some people claim that he did.
2: Judy was brother chucked because the writers didn't know what to do with the character, and the actress's mother seems to have annoyed the wrong people. So it had nothing to do with Steve.

Furienna,

The question posted was 'Do YOU think Steve Urkel RUINED Family Matters'- and I had to be honest and answer, yes I think he did. You don't have to agree with me or like my answer but you do need to accept that I personally DO think he ruined the show even if you and others like the character and/or disagree with the assessments of those who dislike the character and believe he ruined the show!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by PracTz

Yes, I know the show lasted a long time and the character had lots of fans but IMO, Urkel DID ruin the show by totally overwhelming the original concept of a family interacting with each other despite their individual quirks, foibles and mishaps! I especially think that the developments of Judy and even Harriette's characters got shortchanged because they HAD to have Urkel hog the spotlight all the time!

Yep. Judy and Harriet (actually the entire cast except for maybe Carl and Laura) got shafted.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Yep. Judy and Harriet (actually the entire cast except for maybe Carl and Laura) got shafted.

Sigh...

Again, whatever happened to Judy had nothing to do with Steve.

Eddie had interesting plotlines throughout the show's run. Even during the horrible last season, one of the few saving graces was his arc about becoming a police officer.

[Superswiper]

Originally Posted by Furienna

Oy, such hatred...

I seriously have no idea how many times I have said this, but I repeat:

1: Most of the time, Steve would be in one sub-plot and other characters would be in another sub-plot. So he didn't take over as much as some people claim that he did.
2: Judy was brother chucked because the writers didn't know what to do with the character, and the actress's mother seems to have annoyed the wrong people. So it had nothing to do with Steve.

I think what people are trying to say is that later on in the show Steve was one of the main focuses of virtually every episode. No other character got such treatment. And that's a problem, because Family Matters was meant to be about the Winslow family.

I know why it was done like that, because Steve was far more popular than any other character. And the more Steve wasn't in center stage, the more people tuned out. So, the show was in a sticky situation.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by Superswiper

I think what people are trying to say is that later on in the show Steve was one of the main focuses of virtually every episode. No other character got such treatment. And that's a problem, because Family Matters was meant to be about the Winslow family.

I know why it was done like that, because Steve was far more popular than any other character. And the more Steve wasn't in center stage, the more people tuned out. So, the show was in a sticky situation.

But I can't see it that way. Because the Winslows (especially Carl) were there in every episode and did have their own arcs, even during the terrible last season.

Actually, I believe that this comes down to whether you liked Steve or not. So if you just found him annoying and obnoxious, you would of course feel that too much focus was on him. However, I happened to really like him (until the moron decided to change himself and dump Myra for Laura). So that is probably why I can't agree with the popular opinion on this.