Most of the Surviving Cast Reunites for Entertainment Weekly - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Adamantium · 09-28-2017, 01:42 PM

http://ew.com/tv/family-matters-reun...alflow_twitter

Title says it all. Take a look at the pics of the reunited "Family Matters" cast.

tlc38tlc38 · 09-28-2017, 02:32 PM

They all look amazing!

JamesG · 09-28-2017, 04:35 PM

"Family Matters" Mom Jo Marie Payton Addresses Early Exit: "I Don't Regret That I Left"
by Gerrard Hall
Sept. 28, 2017

When "Family Matters", which ran on ABC for eight seasons as part of TGIF, made the jump to CBS for its ninth, and ultimately final, season, it was a bittersweet moment.

“The last episode was really emotional, I think, for all of us,” Darius McCrary, who played Eddie Winslow, tells EW for the show’s recent cast reunion. “We pretty much knew that once the show had switched networks from ABC to CBS that it was a wrap. … If it was in today’s game, it would have been a different story because of social media. There was a voice that the audience just didn’t have back then.”

After 215 episodes, Jaleel White’s Steve Urkel finally got the girl he had been pining for all those years, Kellie Shanygne Williams’ Laura Winslow. Upon his return from outer space — where NASA sent him to test his anti-gravity invention, which throws a satellite off course, causing it to collide with the spaceship, the crew of which Urkel then has to save (DRAMA!) — he and Laura are finally engaged.

“I remember the last episode very vividly. Very vividly, actually,” White recalls. “What I remember most is I ‘one-taked’ the show. … It was like every scene I nailed it to the best of my ability. And then, I just remembered at the end of the show it was Kellie and Darius there and we’re about to go out to say bye to the audience and that’s when I broke. That’s when the tears started running.”

“I was there on intros,” Williams remembers. “I already knew that I would miss seeing you guys. I knew that my life would be different. … I just remember experiencing the tremendous loss. I spent probably 42 weeks a year at Telma [Hopkins’] house during the weekends. She was like my other mother, [and] Jo Marie. These people are family, and to not have that same amount of time and energy with them was difficult for a long time.”

“It feels like a divorce,” Jo Marie Payton explains.

Interestingly, Reginald VelJohnson used the same word to describe his experience of working with a new actress when Payton decided to leave the series halfway through the final season, making her final appearance in the Dec. 19, 1997 episode — her 200th. (Judyann Elder took over the role for the last nine episodes.)

“It was hard for me after nine years of doing something with one person. It’s like getting a divorce and then marrying somebody else,” VelJohnson, who played family patriarch Carl, says. “It was weird.”

“No disrespect to Judyann … but I felt like my mom was gone, you know? I did my job as an actor, but there were just so many things that had gone on behind the scenes that the audience wasn’t privy to that had kind of already shut it down,” McCrary explains of the unique situation.

If Payton had her way, though, she would’ve been gone a couple years earlier.

“I actually made the decision to leave the show two years before I left. I was unhappy about a lot of things; I was going through a divorce, I wasn’t happy on the show — it didn’t mean I did not want to perform as an actress or an artist,” Payton reveals. “The way I explain it is that, when you’re a baker, you don’t always want to bake cakes or cookies; you want to bake pies, you want to bake bread. I wanted to do something else.”

“I don’t regret that I left.”

http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/28/family-m...series-finale/

JO Sweet Heart · 09-30-2017, 07:26 PM

Thanks for the link! I know why Estelle and Myra are not in the picture, but Judy, Three Jay, and Maxine are also missing. What are they up to these days?

God bless you and them and the rest of the surviving cast always!!!

Holly

TMC · 09-30-2017, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JO Sweet Heart

Thanks for the link! I know why Estelle and Myra are not in the picture, but Judy, Three Jay, and Maxine are also missing. What are they up to these days?

God bless you and them and the rest of the surviving cast always!!!

Holly

Jaimee Foxworth was not asked to be apart of the shoot.

JO Sweet Heart · 09-30-2017, 08:50 PM

^^^ Thanks for the link. To me, that girl shouldn't have been cold shouldered especially when she has grown up now.

God bless you and her always!!!

Holly

Mr. Television · 09-30-2017, 09:17 PM

She should have been included.

RetroGuy2000 · 09-30-2017, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Jaimee Foxworth was not asked to be apart of the shoot.

No Judy? What a slap in the face. Shame on EW.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-01-2017, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

She should have been included.

Definitely. That was just rude.

king of comedy · 10-01-2017, 07:54 AM

They all look great.

Adamantium · 10-01-2017, 01:42 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu-P4RrgtLA

I found this 53 minute special using interviews from the recent reunion.

Not the best picture or audio quality, however.

At the end, Jo Marie Payton (of all people, haha) said that they would all love to do a reunion (either an updated series or one of those TV movie reunions). I don't know if it's such a great idea, although I know I'd watch it, but I love that they're all willing to do it as some actors tend not to want to go back to a previous role.

DJM77 · 10-01-2017, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu-P4RrgtLA

I found this 53 minute special using interviews from the recent reunion.

Not the best picture or audio quality, however.

At the end, Jo Marie Payton (of all people, haha) said that they would all love to do a reunion (either an updated series or one of those TV movie reunions). I don't know if it's such a great idea, although I know I'd watch it, but I love that they're all willing to do it as some actors tend not to want to go back to a previous role.

At the 45:41 mark the narrator said that "Midway through the 9th season the hit series lost its very first cast member." That was a pretty negligent statement.

DJM77 · 10-01-2017, 05:56 PM

And he said that Family Matters is the 3rd longest running African-American sitcom. What African-American sitcom has had a longer run than Family Matters besides The Jeffersons?

TMC · 10-01-2017, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM77

And he said that Family Matters is the 3rd longest running African-American sitcom. What African-American sitcom has had a longer run than Family Matters besides The Jeffersons?

Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

DJM77 · 10-01-2017, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

Okay. Thanks.

09-28-2017, 01:42 PM	#1
Adamantium TVAdam No More Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 11, 2002 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 7,839	Most of the Surviving Cast Reunites for Entertainment Weekly http://ew.com/tv/family-matters-reun...alflow_twitter Title says it all. Take a look at the pics of the reunited "Family Matters" cast.

09-28-2017, 02:32 PM	#2
tlc38tlc38 Every day’s a Dolly day! Forum Star Join Date: May 02, 2008 Location: I’m just travelin’ thru Posts: 19,269	They all look amazing!
	__________________ Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Deuteronomy 15:10 In loving memory of my best friend, my Mama.

09-30-2017, 07:26 PM	#4
JO Sweet Heart Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 11, 2012 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 7,887	Thanks for the link! I know why Estelle and Myra are not in the picture, but Judy, Three Jay, and Maxine are also missing. What are they up to these days? God bless you and them and the rest of the surviving cast always!!! Holly
	__________________ Go here to check out my most favorite singer, James Otto, when you can!

09-30-2017, 09:17 PM	#7
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	She should have been included.
	__________________ Sonny

09-28-2017, 04:35 PM	#3
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,175	*"Family Matters" Mom Jo Marie Payton Addresses Early Exit: "I Don't Regret That I Left"* by Gerrard Hall Sept. 28, 2017 When "Family Matters", which ran on ABC for eight seasons as part of TGIF, made the jump to CBS for its ninth, and ultimately final, season, it was a bittersweet moment. “The last episode was really emotional, I think, for all of us,” Darius McCrary, who played Eddie Winslow, tells EW for the show’s recent cast reunion. “We pretty much knew that once the show had switched networks from ABC to CBS that it was a wrap. … If it was in today’s game, it would have been a different story because of social media. There was a voice that the audience just didn’t have back then.” After 215 episodes, Jaleel White’s Steve Urkel finally got the girl he had been pining for all those years, Kellie Shanygne Williams’ Laura Winslow. Upon his return from outer space — where NASA sent him to test his anti-gravity invention, which throws a satellite off course, causing it to collide with the spaceship, the crew of which Urkel then has to save (DRAMA!) — he and Laura are finally engaged. “I remember the last episode very vividly. Very vividly, actually,” White recalls. “What I remember most is I ‘one-taked’ the show. … It was like every scene I nailed it to the best of my ability. And then, I just remembered at the end of the show it was Kellie and Darius there and we’re about to go out to say bye to the audience and that’s when I broke. That’s when the tears started running.” “I was there on intros,” Williams remembers. “I already knew that I would miss seeing you guys. I knew that my life would be different. … I just remember experiencing the tremendous loss. I spent probably 42 weeks a year at Telma [Hopkins’] house during the weekends. She was like my other mother, [and] Jo Marie. These people are family, and to not have that same amount of time and energy with them was difficult for a long time.” “It feels like a divorce,” Jo Marie Payton explains. Interestingly, Reginald VelJohnson used the same word to describe his experience of working with a new actress when Payton decided to leave the series halfway through the final season, making her final appearance in the Dec. 19, 1997 episode — her 200th. (Judyann Elder took over the role for the last nine episodes.) “It was hard for me after nine years of doing something with one person. It’s like getting a divorce and then marrying somebody else,” VelJohnson, who played family patriarch Carl, says. “It was weird.” “No disrespect to Judyann … but I felt like my mom was gone, you know? I did my job as an actor, but there were just so many things that had gone on behind the scenes that the audience wasn’t privy to that had kind of already shut it down,” McCrary explains of the unique situation. If Payton had her way, though, she would’ve been gone a couple years earlier. “I actually made the decision to leave the show two years before I left. I was unhappy about a lot of things; I was going through a divorce, I wasn’t happy on the show — it didn’t mean I did not want to perform as an actress or an artist,” Payton reveals. “The way I explain it is that, when you’re a baker, you don’t always want to bake cakes or cookies; you want to bake pies, you want to bake bread. I wanted to do something else.” “I don’t regret that I left.” http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/28/family-m...series-finale/

09-30-2017, 08:50 PM	#6
JO Sweet Heart Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 11, 2012 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 7,887	^^^ Thanks for the link. To me, that girl shouldn't have been cold shouldered especially when she has grown up now. God bless you and her always!!! Holly

10-01-2017, 07:54 AM	#10
king of comedy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 31, 2012 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,140	They all look great.

10-01-2017, 01:42 PM	#11
Adamantium TVAdam No More Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 11, 2002 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 7,839	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu-P4RrgtLA I found this 53 minute special using interviews from the recent reunion. Not the best picture or audio quality, however. At the end, Jo Marie Payton (of all people, haha) said that they would all love to do a reunion (either an updated series or one of those TV movie reunions). I don't know if it's such a great idea, although I know I'd watch it, but I love that they're all willing to do it as some actors tend not to want to go back to a previous role.

10-01-2017, 05:56 PM	#13
DJM77 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: May 15, 2001 Location: Missouri Posts: 5,566	And he said that Family Matters is the 3rd longest running African-American sitcom. What African-American sitcom has had a longer run than Family Matters besides The Jeffersons?