Do you think Steve Urkel RUINED Family Matters?

[RockyMountain]

Originally Posted by Furienna

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.

I bet you most people these days when asked about Family Matters couldn't even tell you the name of any of the other characters on the show aside from Urkel. Urkel is what people were watching the show for.

As far as the Myra/Laura debate it was a fitting conclusion to the show that Steve would wind up with the girl that he had been pining for his entire childhood. FM wasn't intended to be a serious show at all and the characters actions weren't intended to be overly dissected. If we were talking about a show that was meant to be a serious drama than I would agree with you. But not when we are talking about a show that was basically just thirty minutes of physical comedy.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by RockyMountain

I bet you most people these days when asked about Family Matters couldn't even tell you the name of any of the other characters on the show aside from Urkel.

No, regular Family Matters viewers remember the names of the characters. In fact, the #1 reason viewers give for the show jumping the shark is Urkel. When asked what made the show go off the rails, viewers overwhelmingly said Urkel.

[RockyMountain]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

No, regular Family Matters viewers remember the names of the characters. In fact, the #1 reason viewers give for the show jumping the shark is Urkel. When asked what made the show go off the rails, viewers overwhelmingly said Urkel.

Well that is not saying much considering there are only about 5 to 10 people who post in this forum. Page 11 of this very thread goes back about six months. The show is over twenty years old now and there aren't very many regular viewers of the show these days. As far as your poll there were fewer than 200 people that even voted for something that looks like has been around for almost a decade.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by RockyMountain

Well that is not saying much considering there are only about 5 to 10 people who post in this forum. Page 11 of this very thread goes back about six months. The show is over twenty years old now and there aren't very many regular viewers of the show these days. As far as your poll there were fewer than 200 people that even voted for something that looks like has been around for almost a decade.

As if thousands of people were needed for a poll. That's the point of a poll: it's a sample. You don't need every viewer to weigh in. It wouldn't matter, anyway. Polls with more than 200 people showed the same thing: viewers overwhelmingly felt like Urkel overexposure ruined the show.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by RockyMountain

I bet you most people these days when asked about Family Matters couldn't even tell you the name of any of the other characters on the show aside from Urkel. Urkel is what people were watching the show for.

I suppose that some people maybe didn't care more than that. But in that case, they were not real fans of the show.

As far as the Myra/Laura debate it was a fitting conclusion to the show that Steve would wind up with the girl that he had been pining for his entire childhood. FM wasn't intended to be a serious show at all and the characters actions weren't intended to be overly dissected. If we were talking about a show that was meant to be a serious drama than I would agree with you. But not when we are talking about a show that was basically just thirty minutes of physical comedy.

And who says that pining for someone makes that person automatically derserving of your love?
Laura was terrible to him in the beginning and didn't give him a chance until he changed himself for her.
Which he did despite the fact that he already had a girlfriend, who loved him for who he was!
Seriously, what kind of sick message was this show trying to pull on us?
Myra was prettier than Laura too, so it was not even that!
And I don't see why a sitcom should be excused from having believable character developments.

[RockyMountain]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

As if thousands of people were needed for a poll. That's the point of a poll: it's a sample. You don't need every viewer to weigh in. It wouldn't matter, anyway. Polls with more than 200 people showed the same thing: viewers overwhelmingly felt like Urkel overexposure ruined the show.

Oh a whopping 211 this time. And it was probably a lot of the same people that voted in the other poll you linked to. You are getting these polls from some stone-age sites anyways. THe first site you linked to wouldn't even let me go through all the comment pages as the site was so old.

[RockyMountain]

Originally Posted by Furienna

And who says that pining for someone makes that person derserving of your love?
Laura was terrible to him in the beginning and didn't give him a chance until he changed himself for her.
Which he did despite the fact that he already had a girlfriend, who loved him for who he was.
Seriously, what kind of message is that?
Myra was prettier than Laura too, so it was not even that!
And I don't see why a sitcom should be excused from having believable character developments.

Comedies in general aren't trying to be believable and they aren't really intended to be over-analyzed. Both Steve and Myra were absolutely ridiculous characters that were nothing but one big '90's stereotype. However it doesn't matter because the show was just trying to make people laugh. It's better to try to give in depth analysis of characters from shows that were trying to be taken seriously.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by RockyMountain

Oh a whopping 211 this time. And it was probably a lot of the same people that voted in the other poll you linked to. You are getting these polls from some stone-age sites anyways. THe first site you linked to wouldn't even let me go through all the comment pages as the site was so old.

Yes, you're right and hundreds of other people are wrong. The data collection stopped in 2014, so it's positively stone age.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

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

Harriette (Jo Marie Payton) chose to leave at the end of her contract during the middle of season nine. She was not happy. Plus, she had some issues with Jaleel White according to Jaleel when he was interviewed by Andy Cohen.

Mother Winslow was gradually phased out.
Richie was phased out.
Rachel (Telma Hopkins) left twice. The first time was because she had a sitcom with Cindy Williams. The second time was because she told me that things were not the same anymore.

Carl, Laura and Eddie were permanent fixtures.

[Superswiper]

Yeah, Estelle seemed to show up less and less every succeeding season. It culminated in her making only one appearance in Season 9.

Just compare the first and last episode. Carl, Laura and Eddie are the only characters who appeared in both. Harriette doesn't count. That woman in the final episodes just isn't Harriette.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Superswiper

Yeah, Estelle seemed to show up less and less every succeeding season. It culminated in her making only one appearance in Season 9.

Just compare the first and last episode. Carl, Laura and Eddie are the only characters who appeared in both. Harriette doesn't count. That woman in the final episodes just isn't Harriette.

I agree that's definitely not Harriette.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by Furienna

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

No not just Judy. Estelle, Richie, Waldo, Harriette

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by RockyMountain

Comedies in general aren't trying to be believable and they aren't really intended to be over-analyzed. Both Steve and Myra were absolutely ridiculous characters that were nothing but one big '90's stereotype. However it doesn't matter because the show was just trying to make people laugh. It's better to try to give in depth analysis of characters from shows that were trying to be taken seriously.

Yet again, I don't see why a sitcom should be more allowed to present a sick message than a drama series is.
This show did want to be taken seriously at times too and did some less light-hearted episodes about issues like racism and gang violence.
You were not meant to laugh at certain times, like when a criminal shot Laura's friend because she refused to give up her new shoes!
But what is most most important here is that they really did everything to make us feel that Steve ending up with Laura was a happy ending.
When we look back at their relationship though, it makes no sense at all that Steve would give up Myra for his supposed "real love".

[Spark Of Spirit]

What ruined the show was the last season. No one asked them to write out Waldo, for crying out loud!

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by Spark Of Spirit

What ruined the show was the last season. No one asked them to write out Waldo, for crying out loud!

He was written out in season 8 which was way worse than season 9 imo