History Headscratchers / FamilyMatters

** Stefan, at least the original, is just Steve under the influence of his "cool genes". As seen in season 6 two-parter "To Be or Not To Be", while fixing the transformation chamber, Stefan laments that "I may be cooler now, but I'm not as smart as I used to be", referring to Steve as himself. The whole lesson of the episode was Steve (as Stefan) realizing that he should be proud of who he is (Steve) and he shouldn't have to change himself to be like other people, thanks to the Carl Urkel mishap. The Steve/Stefan situation starts to get murky when Urkel clones himself in later seasons and turned the clone into a permanent Stefan, who is technically not the same Stefan that the real Steve turned into. Nevertheless, you can assume that the Steve clone and his Stefan counterpart share the same memories and experiences just like the original, though if the Steve clone is supposed to be a perfect copy, Stefan would have recognized his cousin OGD.

** Stefan, at least the original, is just Steve under the influence of his "cool genes". As seen in season 6 two-parter "To Be or Not To Be", while fixing the transformation chamber, Stefan laments that "I may be cooler now, but I'm not as smart as I used to be", referring to Steve as himself. The whole lesson of the episode was Steve (as Stefan) realizing that he should be proud of who he is (Steve) and he shouldn't have to change himself to be like other people. The Steve/Stefan situation starts to get murky when Urkel clones himself in later seasons and turned the clone into a permanent Stefan, who is technically not the same Stefan that the real Steve turned into. Nevertheless, you can assume that the Steve clone and his Stefan counterpart share the same memories and experiences just like the original, though if the Steve clone is supposed to be a perfect copy, Stefan would have recognized his cousin OGD.

** Stefan, at least the original, is just Steve under the influence of his "cool genes". As seen in season 6 two-parter "To Be or Not To Be", while fixing the transformation chamber, Stefan laments that "I may be cooler now, but I'm not as smart as I used to be", referring to Steve as himself. The whole lesson of the episode was Steve (as Stefan) realizing that he should be proud of who he is (Steve) and he shouldn't have to change himself to be like other people. The Steve/Stefan situation starts to get murky when Urkel clones himself in later seasons and turned the clone into a permanent Stefan, who is technically not the same Stefan that the real Steve turned into. Nevertheless, you can assume that the Steve clone and his Stefan counterpart share the same memories and experiences just like the original, though if teh Steve clone is supposed to be a perfect copy, Stefan would have recognized his cousin OGD.

** Stefan, at least the original, is just Steve under the influence of his "cool genes". As seen in season 6 two-parter "To Be or Not To Be", while fixing the transformation chamber, Stefan laments that "I may be cooler now, but I'm not as smart as I used to be", referring to Steve as himself. The whole lesson of the episode was Steve (as Stefan) realizing that he should be proud of who he is (Steve) and he shouldn't have to change himself to be like other people. The Steve/Stefan situation starts to get murky when Urkel clones himself in later seasons and turned the clone into a permanent Stefan, who is technically not the same Stefan that the real Steve turned into. Nevertheless, you can assume that the Steve clone and his Stefan counterpart share the same memories and experiences just like the original.

* What happens to Stephan when he turns back into Steve? Does he remain inside Steve's mind (being able to see what Steve sees), or does he disappear out of existence until Steve brings him back? Either way you look at it, it is Fridge Horror.

* Where does Stephan go when he turns back into Steve? Does he remain inside Steve's mind, or does he disappear out of existence until he next return?

** Well to be fair, Urkel waa just an annoying kid that didn't know any better and the Winslows are nice enough not to take serious action besides kicking him out of the house. By the time he got old enough that his actions would be considered creepy and harassment, he was already a friend of the family and Laura didn't mind him as much. It woulda been a totally different story had Urkel appeared when he was older and started his clingy behavior to Laura acting like she did in season 1.
** sitcom or not just HOW did the Winslows afford to constantly rebuild the house after Urkel would wreck huge portions of it every other week? It got to the point where he couldn't even come in and say 'hidey ho Winslows' without wrecking something.

** Well to be fair, Urkel waa just an annoying kid that didn't know any better and the Winslows are nice enough not to take serious action besides kicking him out of the house. By the time he got old enough that his actions would be considered creepy and harassment, he was already a friend of the family and Laura didn't mind him as much. It woulda been a totally different story had Urkel appeared when he was older and started his clingy behavior to Laura acting like she did in season 1.

** It's not like she didn't want to see him at all. She was fine with having him as a friend. She even appreciated him for everything that he would do for her. She just didn't want him as a boyfriend.

** It's similar to Screech's infatuation with Lisa in SavedByTheBell (though Lisa was nowhere nears as sarcastic). Basically a case of nerdy UnrequitedLove, with Steve being either too naive to realize that Laura wants nothing to do with him or feeling that she's simply playing hard to get. Nerdy guys trying to hook up with good-looking girls who treat them like dirt is a pretty standard Sitcom trope.

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** Steve mentioned meeting her in kindergarten and she got him to eat his Play-Doh or something and probably never got over his childhood crush. As he's an ExtrovertedNerd, his love was equal parts a matter of his own personal deifying of the object of his love as it was appreciating her for her actual qualities.

** Neither. The title of the show is "[[ReverseShazam Urkel]]". But it probably meant the former when they came up with it.

* Correct me if I'm wrong on my question, since I haven't seen the show in ages, but I'm still curious. What exactly did Steve like about Laura in the early seasons of the show? She seemed rather [[DeadpanSnarker cynical and sarcastic]], [[WhatDoesHeSeeInHer not somebody I would go out with]]. Or was that just a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, since [[CharacterDevelopment Laura did eventually mellow out as the show went on]]?

* This took me a while to think about this, but am I the only one who's annoyed at the fact that Steve and Laura hooked up or rather ''how'' they hooked up (and eventually become engaged)? I mean yeah, Myra was crazy (Especially in the final seasons), but at least she liked him for who he was and he didn't have to change himself. And let's not even talk about her CharacterDerailment [[DerailingLoveInterests all for the sake of said hookup]] in the first place.
** I don't know if I would call it "derailment," consider the fact that she had feelings for Stefan. It may help to imagine that they have significant problems in the long term. Steve has Laura up on such a high pedestal that she may have problems living up to his expectations, and her initial charm with Steve's enthusiasm is likely to wear off.
*** Actually, I was talking about Myra's CharacterDerailment (Her ClingyJealousGirl behavior being [[UpToEleven Upped to Eleven]]), but that's a good point. It would be a great storyline idea for a possible revival (Doubt it'll happen, better off for fanfic material).
*** I imagine part of that has to do with Myra's actress dying of stomach cancer at the time, so she got a very much reduced role on the show. But even then, I didn't mind it. It showed a certain amount of character development on Steve's part; there was a time when he treated Laura with more or less the same fervor that Myra treated him, allowing the audience to see the difference between old Steve's annoyance and new Steve's romantic pursuit.
** What annoyed me about Steve and Laura hooking up is that his behavior towards her often bordered on stalking. The overall message seems to be that no matter how many times your dream girl tells you "No, I'm not interested", keep pursuing her and one day, she'll be yours.
*** [[FridgeHorror Oh god...]] Could ''[[StalkingIsLove this]]'' be the possible inspiration for Literature/{{Twilight}}?
*** [[DidNotDoTheResearch Nope.]] Because both Edward and Bella want each other from the very moment they meet. At the very most you could compare Urcle to Jacob - who ends up NOT getting the girl he chased / stalked.
* Name one white person who ever showed up on the show who wasn't either a schmuck or an asshole. I dare you. Just one.
** YES. This irks me so much! This show portrayed blacks in a positive and negative light (for example, in the episode The Gun), but all the whites were exactly what you said above. Ugh.
** Having a hard enough time thinking of one white person, period. Right now the blond kid obsessed with getting TheBGrade framing Steve for blowing up the science lab is the only example that comes to mind.
** There were plenty but they were all one-episode characters. Lieutenant Murtagh could be a jerk or just a lovable ditz depending on the writer.
*** Who were they? I can't think of any.
*** Lieutenant Murtagh mentioned above was Carl's boss and actually a recurring character, and even dated Rachel once. He was still an idiot and a jackass, but had his comical moments.
*** Nobody is denying that a show which makes fun of/hates white people gives them comical moments. I don't remember Murtaguh being even the least bit of a sympathetic or likeable character.
** Some exceptions I can think of are the hosts of the [[ShowWithinAShow game shows within the show]], such as "Dudes" and "Tiffany", who appeared to have some patience. Any questions?
** I can name at least two. I'm surprised that nobody thought of the school custodian, Mr Looney(pronounced Loon-ay it's French) played by the late great Tom Poston. He was a bit weird(no more so than Urkel), but basically a good guy and he appeared in several episodes. There was also Urkel's teacher, whose name I can't remember. She was also white. She was a perfectly nice normal woman who's only problem was getting Urkel as a student in more than one episode. Urkel's antics nearly drive her to quit until he convinces her she's too a good a teacher to give up.
*** Haven't seen this show in ages but what about Big Guy's higher up's son (I know what I did there) he knew he wasn't good for the job so he gave it up to the best man for the position, white people weren't too prominent on the show, and most of them only appeared in only one episode (and in TV shows most 1 episode characters are jerks or loons) so I can also understand how it might seem to some people like all white people were bad on the show.

* Is anyone else bothered by Steve? Yeah, I know he's a nice guy, but his antics get really annoying to watch after a while.
** Not this troper. I'm used to his antics.
* I don't know about any of y'all, but I may be one of those who think that Carl is such a big baby. His attitude toward his peers, especially toward Steve, not to mention his ego, and his excessive punishments.
** You're not the only troper who thinks this.
** Remember, Family Matters was originally Harriet's show, being spun-off from Perfect Stranger's, where she had been a popular reoccurring character. Carl was supposed to be the bumbling dad/husband that Harriet had to put up with. When Urkel usurped her, she faded into the background, and so did that particular dynamic.
* I for one can't stand how almost everyone on the show seems to be prejudiced against the Urkel family, just because the most prime members of the family (Steve and Myrtle) are clumsy and seemingly annoying.
** [[NoSuchThingAsNotability When were people against other Urkels?]] Steve and Myrtle and Aunt Luna al Tuna were the only ones that were ever shown and his parents were offscreen.
** I do believe Carl attacked Steve's dad once. Or maybe just pushed him... anyway, it led to a fantasy sequence where everyone was in the old west and Carl had shot him, and everyone was happy about it.
*** Well in the dream sequence, Mr. Urkel was actually kind of evil-sounding. The way they talked, he seemed to have been doing something ''quite'' wrong.
** Steve's anecdotes about his parents make it seem like they have [[AbusiveParents nothing but contempt for him]]. Like trying to push him back into the womb, not owning a car because he was born in one, neglecting to feed him, or [[ParentalAbandonment moving to Russia without him]]. People like that don't seem like they'd be pleasant to be around.

** Steve mentioned meeting her in kindergarten and she got him to eat his Play-Doh or something and probably never got over his childhood crush. As he's TheUrkel, his love was equal parts a matter of his own personal deifying of the object of his love as it was appreciating her for her actual qualities.