This would have a great show, if it hadn't been for two things. - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Furienna · 04-22-2010, 07:46 AM

This is one of the classic 90s sitcoms, and I've been watching it whenever a TV channel here in my country (Sweden) has shown it ever since I first discovered it back in 1997. But during the show's nine-year-long run, the people behind this show made two mistakes, for which I will never forgive them.

1: The (mis)treatment of Judy
When this show first started, Carl and Harriette had a third child, Eddy's and Laura's younger sister Judy Winslow. But after the 1rst season, they gave her less and less spotlight, until they let her go completely after the 4th season, cruelly firing the only 13-year-old actress Jaimee Foxworth, who would turn to drugs and porn a few years later. Except for two sub-plots, they had never given her much to do after the 1rst season, to the point that in a 4th season episode, they had all the cast members climb out of Steve's Isetta during a closing sequence, all of them except for Jaimee Foxworth. As a matter of fact, you hardly miss her during the latter half of the show's run, because she never was that interesting. But the thing is, they should have given her something to do, so she could become interesting! And if Jaimee Foxworth didn't work out for them for some reason, they could have looked for another girl to play the role. What about Valerie Jones, who played Judy in the pilot, for example? The character of Judy Winslow sure was a missed opportunity. She was becoming a teenager, which could have given us a lot of interesting plotlines for her, far more interesting than the numerous Stephan and Myrthle plotlines, that they kept bringing out during the last few seasons. But instead of working a little on the character, they decided to trash it completely and have the other characters pretend like Judy never had existed. And that was a bad choice from beginning to end.

2: Steve choosing Laura over Myra
This is another thing, that always has annoyed me about this show. Laura kept treating Steve like he was some dirt, that had gotten stuck under her shoe. And still, he kept proclaiming his undying love for her. Later on, Laura was willing to see Steve as a friend, but even then, she had no romantic interest in him. Or if she did, she didn't want to admit that even to herself, as he was a nerd and she just couldn't take the risk of damaging her precious reputation as a popular girl. But still, Steve kept drooling over this girl, who was so wrong for him at every level. Maybe you can't choose who you fall in love with. But there's also such a thing as realising when you've hit a dead end and move on. After all, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. And in the 4th season, they also found the perfect girl for Steve: Myra Mounkhouse. At last, Steve had found a girl, who wasn't afraid of loving a nerd, who loved him for who he was. But even now, Steve couldn't let go off his misguided affection for that shallow bitch Laura. Even after he decided to go steady with Myra and officially was devoted to her, far too many episodes still showed him drooling over Laura. And in the 9th and last season, they suddenly had to, in the most forced manner possible, have Laura suddenly fall for Steve, and of course, poor Myra was cruelly jilted, which was just what she had been afraid of for years. Why did they have to end the show this way? I know the Laura fans will answer "But she was the love of Steve's life". Oh yeah? So what had she ever done to deserve his love? Nothing at all, that's what! The people behind this show even tried to make Laura look like the perfect girl, who was every guy's wet dream, while they made Myra look like a crazy unsympathetic stalker. But they never fooled me, because I still say Myra, and not Laura, was the right girl for Steve. She even was prettier than Laura!

Lorimar Television · 04-26-2010, 02:31 PM

I have to agree, especially about the disappearance of Judy, that was so stupid. Another part of the show I dislike is that it started focusing too much on Urkel's inventions in the later seasons. At least they were somewhat realistic in the earlier seasons. I also wish that they would have explained where Rachel was during season five and after. In season six she just reappears as if she was never gone and dissapears just as quickly. They try to say she was helping a sick aunt in season nine, but are we really suppose to believe she was there for five years and didn't even bring her son?

Jessica · 04-27-2010, 06:57 PM

Yeah, they've could have kept Judy. She could have been great.

I did not like the transformation chamber, the time machine, and that teleportation machine that brought them to Paris. Way too much Science Fiction. The Urkel-bot was actually ok.

I didn't like Stefan either. And not that Steve became him or that he became an own person.

If they had to bring Stefan to the show, they could've introduced him as an unknown relative to Steve or something.

DSfan · 04-28-2010, 01:02 AM

I also didn't really like all the sci-fi stuff although the episode where Urkel, 3J, and Richie turned into Bruce Lee martial arts characters and fought the bullies in the park was pretty hilarious!

Furienna · 04-30-2010, 08:53 PM

You know, I don't mind the sci-fi stuff too much. I can agree, that it turned the show into something quite different than what it was in the beginning. But I could have taken a new wacky invention from Steve in every episode, if he only had been smart enough to stay with Myra and forget about Laura.

Cliff Barnes · 05-01-2010, 09:09 PM

I am in general not the biggest fan of this show, for whatever reason it didn't appeal to me as much as Full House, Step By Step, and even Boy Meets World. I did enjoy some aspects of it, and I did feel the Urkel stuff obviously went way over the top as did the whole tone of the show. Eliminating a character with no explanation always sucks, but Judy was really under used, the producers seemed to just have no need for her. I think she was dead weight and had to go but they should have at least come up with a reason as to where she was, at boarding school or living with relatives overseas or anything. As for the romance thing, I was happy Steve finally got the original girl he was in love with to fall in love with him, that was touching. It's true that it hurt the Myra character, but that is simply how these things go, especially in a love triangle. Somebody gets hurt and no matter what some fan faction will end up unhappy, but I think they made the best decision possible since the show started with Steve in love with Laura and it was fitting then that he would finally get her.

Furienna · 05-02-2010, 11:58 PM

But like I said, it wasn't fitting at all. Laura had never been worth Steve's infatuation for her. And him suddenly getting her in the end, just because she was supposed to be "the love of his life", no matter how wrong she was for him and no matter how much it hurt poor Myra, was just bad writing.

I'm glad you agree about Judy though.

04-22-2010, 07:46 AM	#1
Furienna Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Oct 22, 2006 Location: Örnsköldsvik, Sweden Posts: 6,280	This would have a great show, if it hadn't been for two things. This is one of the classic 90s sitcoms, and I've been watching it whenever a TV channel here in my country (Sweden) has shown it ever since I first discovered it back in 1997. But during the show's nine-year-long run, the people behind this show made two mistakes, for which I will never forgive them. 1: The (mis)treatment of Judy When this show first started, Carl and Harriette had a third child, Eddy's and Laura's younger sister Judy Winslow. But after the 1rst season, they gave her less and less spotlight, until they let her go completely after the 4th season, cruelly firing the only 13-year-old actress Jaimee Foxworth, who would turn to drugs and porn a few years later. Except for two sub-plots, they had never given her much to do after the 1rst season, to the point that in a 4th season episode, they had all the cast members climb out of Steve's Isetta during a closing sequence, all of them except for Jaimee Foxworth. As a matter of fact, you hardly miss her during the latter half of the show's run, because she never was that interesting. But the thing is, they should have given her something to do, so she could become interesting! And if Jaimee Foxworth didn't work out for them for some reason, they could have looked for another girl to play the role. What about Valerie Jones, who played Judy in the pilot, for example? The character of Judy Winslow sure was a missed opportunity. She was becoming a teenager, which could have given us a lot of interesting plotlines for her, far more interesting than the numerous Stephan and Myrthle plotlines, that they kept bringing out during the last few seasons. But instead of working a little on the character, they decided to trash it completely and have the other characters pretend like Judy never had existed. And that was a bad choice from beginning to end. 2: Steve choosing Laura over Myra This is another thing, that always has annoyed me about this show. Laura kept treating Steve like he was some dirt, that had gotten stuck under her shoe. And still, he kept proclaiming his undying love for her. Later on, Laura was willing to see Steve as a friend, but even then, she had no romantic interest in him. Or if she did, she didn't want to admit that even to herself, as he was a nerd and she just couldn't take the risk of damaging her precious reputation as a popular girl. But still, Steve kept drooling over this girl, who was so wrong for him at every level. Maybe you can't choose who you fall in love with. But there's also such a thing as realising when you've hit a dead end and move on. After all, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. And in the 4th season, they also found the perfect girl for Steve: Myra Mounkhouse. At last, Steve had found a girl, who wasn't afraid of loving a nerd, who loved him for who he was. But even now, Steve couldn't let go off his misguided affection for that shallow bitch Laura. Even after he decided to go steady with Myra and officially was devoted to her, far too many episodes still showed him drooling over Laura. And in the 9th and last season, they suddenly had to, in the most forced manner possible, have Laura suddenly fall for Steve, and of course, poor Myra was cruelly jilted, which was just what she had been afraid of for years. Why did they have to end the show this way? I know the Laura fans will answer "But she was the love of Steve's life". Oh yeah? So what had she ever done to deserve his love? Nothing at all, that's what! The people behind this show even tried to make Laura look like the perfect girl, who was every guy's wet dream, while they made Myra look like a crazy unsympathetic stalker. But they never fooled me, because I still say Myra, and not Laura, was the right girl for Steve. She even was prettier than Laura!

04-26-2010, 02:31 PM	#2
Lorimar Television Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 06, 2007 Posts: 7,034	I have to agree, especially about the disappearance of Judy, that was so stupid. Another part of the show I dislike is that it started focusing too much on Urkel's inventions in the later seasons. At least they were somewhat realistic in the earlier seasons. I also wish that they would have explained where Rachel was during season five and after. In season six she just reappears as if she was never gone and dissapears just as quickly. They try to say she was helping a sick aunt in season nine, but are we really suppose to believe she was there for five years and didn't even bring her son?
	__________________ Some of my favorite theme songs: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-e...89CsiJpV_irnNw

04-27-2010, 06:57 PM	#3
Jessica Retro fan Forum Fanatic Join Date: Oct 09, 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 9,034	Yeah, they've could have kept Judy. She could have been great. I did not like the transformation chamber, the time machine, and that teleportation machine that brought them to Paris. Way too much Science Fiction. The Urkel-bot was actually ok. I didn't like Stefan either. And not that Steve became him or that he became an own person. If they had to bring Stefan to the show, they could've introduced him as an unknown relative to Steve or something.

04-28-2010, 01:02 AM	#4
DSfan Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 15, 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 1,204	I also didn't really like all the sci-fi stuff although the episode where Urkel, 3J, and Richie turned into Bruce Lee martial arts characters and fought the bullies in the park was pretty hilarious!

04-30-2010, 08:53 PM	#5
Furienna Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Oct 22, 2006 Location: Örnsköldsvik, Sweden Posts: 6,280	You know, I don't mind the sci-fi stuff too much. I can agree, that it turned the show into something quite different than what it was in the beginning. But I could have taken a new wacky invention from Steve in every episode, if he only had been smart enough to stay with Myra and forget about Laura.

05-01-2010, 09:09 PM	#6
Cliff Barnes Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 09, 2005 Posts: 163	I am in general not the biggest fan of this show, for whatever reason it didn't appeal to me as much as Full House, Step By Step, and even Boy Meets World. I did enjoy some aspects of it, and I did feel the Urkel stuff obviously went way over the top as did the whole tone of the show. Eliminating a character with no explanation always sucks, but Judy was really under used, the producers seemed to just have no need for her. I think she was dead weight and had to go but they should have at least come up with a reason as to where she was, at boarding school or living with relatives overseas or anything. As for the romance thing, I was happy Steve finally got the original girl he was in love with to fall in love with him, that was touching. It's true that it hurt the Myra character, but that is simply how these things go, especially in a love triangle. Somebody gets hurt and no matter what some fan faction will end up unhappy, but I think they made the best decision possible since the show started with Steve in love with Laura and it was fitting then that he would finally get her.

05-02-2010, 11:58 PM	#7
Furienna Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Oct 22, 2006 Location: Örnsköldsvik, Sweden Posts: 6,280	But like I said, it wasn't fitting at all. Laura had never been worth Steve's infatuation for her. And him suddenly getting her in the end, just because she was supposed to be "the love of his life", no matter how wrong she was for him and no matter how much it hurt poor Myra, was just bad writing. I'm glad you agree about Judy though.