Is it me or does the whole Laura loving Steve thing ruin the show?

[BewitchedFan]

What made "Family Matters" such a great and funny show was that fact that a nerd like Steve would be madly in love with a beautiful, smart girl like Laura and Laura had absolutely no interest in Steve. And you can't blame her. Steve was annoying and very clumsy. Steve always constantly went after Laura even though there was no chance in the two of them together. But in Season 9, that all changed. Laura suddenly falls in love with Steve and gets engaged with him!! What's up with that?? It just seemed like a weird and a disturbing way to end the series.

I've always loved Family Matters, but Season 9 ruined it for me with the sudden Laura falling in love with Steve thing. Why did the writers feel the need to go that route??

[WonderYearsfan]

Tbh I always wished the show would have just ended with "a pirates life for me" the finale of season 8. Even tho it wasn't a true finale so much could have been avoided. The move to CBS, Steve losing the suspenders, replacing jo Marie's harriette with an actress who's personality didn't match at all. The disappearance of Richie and Mother Winslow, and of course the whole Laura having feelings for Steve. The whole unrequited love thing with Steve and Laura is what made the first 5 and a half seasons funny. But then in the middle of season 6 Steve moved on. And that was great. Had there not been a season 9 Steve would have stayed moved on and that wacky season 9 would have never happened.

[BewitchedFan]

The thing is, Laura was always irritated by Steve, but I get it, she cared about him. That is why she stands up for him in many episodes. She knows that deep down, Steve is a caring guy. But never was she ever attracted to him. It's the kind of thing that made the show fun to watch. Steve was always chasing what he could and never will have. But Season 9 ruins all that by making Laura suddenly fall in love with Steve.

Maybe fans wanted that ending and that's why the writers ended the show that way, but it just seems all wrong for all those reason I mentioned. I'd rather see Steve end up with Myra and Laura with Stefan. But that's just me...

[LiveByTheSea]

The whole Laura finally falling for Steve in Season 9 felt so forced and weird, like it just came out of nowhere. Watching the show as a kid, I thought, "Yes!! Steve finally gets the girl of his dreams!" As an adult, there's something off about it now. Although, there were some hints before that Laura started to have feelings for Steve after he ditched the suspenders and became less clumsy. It was nice to see and Steve and Laura together, though.

[Superswiper]

I see it as they knew the show was coming to an end, so they decided to make Laura warm up to Steve, and "throw him the bone," so to speak. Even though I do agree that it was weird.

[JO Sweet Heart]

What I hated is that his suspenders had to go in order for Laura to fall for him. If she couldn't love him the way that he already came, then in my opinion, that was her problem and it never once should've been dumped on Steve's plate because it ended up being at Myra's expense when she never once asked that any adjustments be made.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

[RockyMountain]

I just started watching Family Matters again off of Hulu and having fond memories of the type of humor they had in the show. I watched it regularly during the middle of its run but didn't really watch the later seasons and only know bits and pieces of story threads such as what has been mentioned in this thread.

I could be wrong but I always felt that Laura and Steve getting together was due in large part because of Michelle Thomas's illness and her role having to be cut back because of it to the point that she had to flat out leave the show towards the very end.

Is that true or would Steve and Laura of still gotten together even if Michelle had stayed healthy and they were able to keep on using Myra's character? Or did Michelle's illness not have much to do with the Steve and Laura romance being put into the show?

[mets82]

I, too, felt weird when Laura and Steve dated and got married. I mean all these years she couldn't care less and then all of a sudden they were together.

[RockyMountain]

Finished watching the Steve/Laura/Myra love triangle episodes through the end of the entire series. Prior to watching that storyline through to its entirety I thought Michelle Thomas's health may have contributed to Steve and Laura getting together. However Myra plays just as big of role in season 9 as she did in earlier seasons and the actress was still healthy enough after FM ended to land a role on Young and the Restless. So Michelle Thomas likely wasn't the reason Steve and Laura happened.

I now have the opinion that they always planned on Steve and Laura getting together by the end of the series. I feel it was rushed though in season 9 because they weren't sure if the show would get renewed for another season so they needed to get that ending in by the time season 9 was over.

[Furienna]

I have always hated that Steve ended up with Laura instead of with Myra. Yes, I know. It is meant to be a happy ending for him, where the nerdy guy finally gets the hot girl of his dreams. But it seems like they could only make this happen through (1) making Steve drop his suspendors and change his style to please the shallow Laura, and (2) making Myra an insane stalker. Sure, there were hints even in earlier seasons that Laura cared about Steve more than she would admit, even if she would just friendzone him, while Myra showed signs of being a bit crazy. So it was obvious in retrospect where the writers were going with this love triangle, but I don't have to like it. And even to this day, this just irks me more than it probably should. But I just hate how they destroyed my two favorite characters of an otherwise terrific show, when they let Steve become a stupid jerk and exaggerated all of Myra's flaws to make her seem unsympathetic. And I don't believe that many fans at the time would have really minded either if Steve had stayed with Myra. After all, they had been dating for four years and mostly been happy together! So even though I get what they were doing, they should have simply never gone that route...

[RockyMountain]

Originally Posted by Furienna

I have always hated that Steve ended up with Laura instead of with Myra. Yes, I know. It is meant to be a happy ending for him, where the nerdy guy finally gets the hot girl of his dreams. But it seems like they could only make this happen through (1) making Steve drop his suspendors and change his style to please the shallow Laura, and (2) making Myra an insane stalker. Sure, there were hints even in earlier seasons that Laura cared about Steve more than she would admit, even if she would normally just friendzone him, while Myra showed signs of being a bit crazy. So it was obvious in retrospect where the writers were going with this love triangle, but I don't have to like it. And even to this day, this just irks me more than it probably should. But I just hate how they destroyed my two favorite characters of an otherwise very terrific show, when they let Steve become a stupid jerk and exaggerated all of Myra's flaws to make her seem unsympathetic. And I don't believe that many fans at the time would have minded either if Steve had stayed with Myra. After all, they had been dating for four years and mostly been happy together! So even though I get what they were trying to do, they should have simply never gone that route...

@Furienna Myra is my favorite character on the show as well so I am not about ready to say this because I didn't like the character. If Steve ended up marrying one of the two gals he would probably have a better chance of having a happier marriage with Laura than he would Myra. Laura was the much more stable character (even prior to season 9). Even though they really focused on Myra's obsessive jealousy towards Steve in the last season it was there really from the start. Until season 9 though they made her behavior come off more as a joke because the love triangle wasn't in anyway meant to be taken seriously until that final season.

If Steve had ended up marrying Myra she would probably have him locked up in the house so he couldn't talk to anyone but her.

[RockyMountain]

I think the Steve/Laura pairing could have worked if it had an extra year of development. But even with it being rushed I am glad the show ended on a semi realistic note of which pairing would have been best in the long run.

[JO Sweet Heart]

Originally Posted by RockyMountain

If Steve had ended up marrying Myra she would probably have him locked up in the house so he couldn't talk to anyone but her.

I wouldn't go that far. When Steve told Myra that he fantasized about kissing his female bug collecting friend, she didn't go off on him because she knew that can't control another person's thoughts. I believe that Steve would've been too much of a gentlemen to cross the unfaithful line if him and Myra had gotten married. Because Stephan was still in the picture, how Laura could drop him for Steve after so many years is what I will never get.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by RockyMountain

@Furienna Myra is my favorite character on the show as well so I am not about ready to say this because I didn't like the character. If Steve ended up marrying one of the two gals he would probably have a better chance of having a happier marriage with Laura than he would Myra. Laura was the much more stable character (even prior to season 9). Even though they really focused on Myra's obsessive jealousy towards Steve in the last season it was there really from the start. Until season 9 though they made her behavior come off more as a joke because the love triangle wasn't in anyway meant to be taken seriously until that final season.

If Steve had ended up marrying Myra she would probably have him locked up in the house so he couldn't talk to anyone but her.

That is what the writers of the show wanted you to think, because they did their best to crap all over Myra's character to make Laura look better. But I never bought it. As a matter of fact, Laura probably got bored with Steve after a few years and divorced him.

[RockyMountain]

Originally Posted by Furienna

That is what the writers of the show wanted you to thnk, because they did their best to crap all over Myra's character to make Laura look better. But I never bought it. As a matter of fact, Laura probably got bored with Steve after a few years and divorced him.

There is no doubt that the Steve/Laura romance was rushed and I think with an extra season of development it would have flowed a lot better. I think they were in a spot though during season 9 in which they knew the show likely wasn't going to last much longer and they wanted to have Steve and Laura end up together before it ended so they were forced to rush it in season 9.