Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Characters / FamilyMatters

Go To

1These are the characters that appear in ''Series/FamilyMatters''.
2
3[[foldercontrol]]
4
5!Main Cast
6!!Winslow Family (in order of billing)
7[[folder:Carl Winslow]]
8!!Carl Otis Winslow
9!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/ReginaldVelJohnson
10[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carl_3.jpg]]
11
12The patriarch of the Winslow family and an officer for the Chicago Police Department.
13----
14* {{Acrofatic}}: Carl's remarkably fast, despite his spare tire. Just look at any occasion when he chases Steve.
15* ActionDad: Justified since he's a cop. He has taken down crooks and has verbally defended his family (and Steve) several times and helped to defuse a bomb.
16* AdaptedOut: He along with the rest of the Winslows don't appear in ''WesternAnimation/UrkelSavesSantaTheMovie''.
17* {{Angrish}}: More than once, usually because of Steve's latest disaster.
18* BerserkButton: Steve, mostly. More specifically, whenever Steve's clumsiness ends up wrecking his property or physically injuring him.
19* BigEater: His mother often makes fun of him for it.
20* BumblingDad: Zigzagged. While he's very good at his job and is a loving and attentive father, nine times out of ten, his attempts at home maintenance turn out to be a disaster even when Steve isn't involved.
21* ButtMonkey:
22** He's often on the receiving ends of Steve's antics.
23** His mother, Estelle, makes more than a few sarcastic comments about her son's weight.
24* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: His general view of Steve. For all the times that Steve's damaged his person or his property, and otherwise driven him nuts, Carl realizes that Steve still looks up to him as a father figure, and has also helped the Winslows out multiple times.
25* CharacterCatchphrase:
26** "OH, WOULD YOU (come on/hurry up/get on with it/etc.)!"
27** "C'mere!" to Steve whenever he's about to chase after him.
28* CursedWithAwesome: When Myra messed with the transformation chamber that turned Steve into Stefan, she ended up turning Carl into a nerdy "Urkelized" version of himself. Stefan tries to fix the chamber, but he's having trouble since he's not as smart as he is when he's Steve. Fortunately, being turned into a nerd made Carl a scientific genius, and so he fixed the chamber himself before being turned back to normal.
29* DeadpanSnarker: He usually does this when he's around Steve.
30* {{Deuteragonist}}: Though he and Harriette were originally the show's protagonists, due to Steve's BreakoutCharacter status, Carl becomes the deuteragonist and is still important to the show thanks to his regular interactions with Steve. Even when he is not part of the A-Plot along with Steve, he tends to be the main focus of the B-Plot. He is also the only character to appear in all the episodes.
31* DoomItYourself: Carl's a top notch police officer. Unfortunately, when he starts trying to build or repair things around the house, things don't go so well. This is occasionally subverted when he's paired up with Steve, as his attempt at building a shelf turns out just fine while Steve's attempt looks more like a post-modern art project.
32* DramaticIrony: He is technically responsible for Steve entering the Winslows' lives, as he was the one who tried setting Steve up with Laura for a school dance. Ever since then, Steve has been a constant visitor of the Winslow Household and a massive headache to Carl.
33* EmbarrassingInitials: The first letters of his full name, Carl Otis Winslow, is this.
34* AFatherToHisMen: Carl's leadership positions at the precinct show that he's an attentive, caring boss that genuinely wants the best for the cops who work in his department.
35* FollowInMyFootsteps: Played with. When Eddie tells Carl he wants to become a cop, Carl takes him to a bar the police frequent and makes the risks of the profession very clear. After Eddie makes it clear he still wants to become a cop, Carl [[SoProudOfYou proudly calls for a toast and declares his son is following in his footsteps]] to the cheers of the other officers.
36* GetOut: He often yells this when he's suffered yet another Urkel-related mishap. If he's ''really mad'', he'll chase Steve out of the house.
37* GoodParents: He loves his children, and Steve, very much.
38* HairTriggerTemper: He gets angry very easily, especially when Steve is around.
39* HappilyMarried: To Harriette.
40* HypercompetentSidekick: To his dimwitted superior Lieutenant Murtaugh.
41* IronButtMonkey: Carl's suffered everything from falling off the roof of his house to having Steve's inventions repeatedly blow up in his face.
42* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As gruff and short-tempered as he is, Carl means well and is still a kind and loving FamilyMan. To be fair, being a cop in Chicago ''and'' having Steve Urkel as a neighbor would try anyone's patience.
43* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Carl is this when it comes to repairing things and going on camping trips.
44* LikeASonToMe: He eventually comes to realize that Steve is truly part of the Winslow family and loves him like his own child. It's also hinted he sees Waldo as such too, given how they sometimes do get along like going to basket ball games, plus as soon as he hears that Waldo got arrested in some Mexican village, he immediately makes plans to get him out, even paying for his release (though the price of his release was very low).
45* NoIndoorVoice: When he gets especially angry, he screams at the top of his lungs.
46* OddNameOut: In his high school band, the Darnells. He was the only one of the band whose first name wasn't Darnell.
47* PapaWolf: To his own kids, obviously, but he even gets like this for Steve, too.
48* ParentalHypocrisy: He scolds Eddie for his poor grades at school, but it's stated more than once (both by himself and his mother) that he used to be a poor student when he was younger. His mother uses this to prank him in one episode. He gets angry when he looks at Judy's apparently bad report card until it's revealed that it's actually one of his old report cards.
49* ParentalSubstitute: Seen this way by Steve. He eventually accepts this role, despite his initial misgivings.
50* PoliceAreUseless: Subverted. Carl is very competent at his job.
51* RankUp: Carl begins the series with the rank of police sergeant. He's twice promoted over the course of the series, first to lieutenant and then to captain.
52* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Due to the fact that he's a cop.
53* ScaryBlackMan: Whenever one of Steve's mishaps pushes him too far, he ends up chasing after Steve while bellowing like a rogue elephant but this is purely comedic. See his TranquilFury entry below for when he really gets serious, however.
54* StoutStrength: More than one crook has learned the hard way that Carl's pretty strong underneath his fat.
55* StraightMan: Carl becomes the Oliver Hardy to Steve's Stan Laurel as the series progresses.
56* TrademarkFavoriteFood: According to his mother, it's donuts. [[DonutMessWithACop Then again]], he ''is'' a cop.
57* TranquilFury: When Carl yells and shouts, it's usually at Steve for comically destroying his house. However, when he is calm while angry, run. Especially if someone [[PapaWolf hurts his kids, including Steve]].
58* TwitchyEye: Carl has one in "What's Up Doc" when Harriette takes the Winslows to a family therapist. The therapist suggests that Carl is stressed out from his police job. Carl denies this, saying that dealing with muggers and killers is easy for him. The twitch is caused by his irritation with Steve's antics.
59* VitriolicBestBuds: With Steve. Steve drives Carl absolutely insane, but the two do bond over the course of the series. At first, he thought Laura was nuts for wanting to marry Steve, but once she lists all the things she loves about him, Carl's love for his family does extend to Steve as well.
60* WhatYouAreInTheDark: There are several instances on the show where Carl is faced with ethical conundrums, such as accepting a bribe or getting revenge on the man who received a promotion he thought he was sure to get and taunted him about it. Every time, he proves that his moral center is unmoving, and always chooses to do the right thing.
61* WouldHurtAChild: Subverted. He frequently chases Steve out of the house when the latter's disasters push him too far. Carl has even threatens to hurt or even ''kill'' Steve, but he never does.
62* YouAreFat: He gets a lot of this, most notably from Steve, Harriette, and Estelle.
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Harriette Winslow]]
66!!Harriette Winslow
67!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/JoMariePayton (Seasons 1-9), Judyann Elder (Season 9)
68
69[[quoteright:276:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harriette.jpg]]
70
71Carl's strong-willed wife and the mother of Eddie, Laura, and Judy.
72----
73* AdaptedOut: She along with the rest of the Winslows don't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
74* TheArtifact: After Steve became the undisputed main character, more and more members of the Winslow family got phased out. Unlike Laura, Eddie, and Carl, Harriette lacked any dynamic and comedic relationship with Steve leaving her as the odd man out.
75* AscendedExtra: Prior to being one of the main characters of this series, she was a recurring character in ''Series/PerfectStrangers''.
76* BewareTheNiceOnes: While Harriette is a nice person, she has no problem telling somebody off, that includes family too.
77* DeadpanSnarker: Sometimes, she snarks at Carl to put him in his place.
78* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling:
79** She's the serious, responsible sibling, while her sister Rachel is a playful man-chaser.
80** Inverted when she helps Rachel out at the latter's restaurant. Not only is she abrasive to the customers (getting less than five dollars in tips compared to the hundreds Laura gets) but she upsets Rachel's chef and completely reorganizes the pantry. Rachel doesn't take it well, particularly since one of the reasons she started the restaurant was to prove to herself that she could be responsible and didn't always need to rely on Harriette.
81* GoodParents: Along with Carl.
82* HappilyMarried: To Carl. They occasionally get into arguments but they clearly adore each other.
83* MamaBear: For her children, Richie, 3J, and Steve.
84* NotSoAboveItAll: Usually the voice of reason, but even she has her irrational moments, like being abrasive to the customers at Rachel's restaurant, or dressing herself in ridiculously youthful clothes in order to feel young in another episode. In the Christmas special, had Laura been the nerdy neighbor instead of Steve, Harriette would have been in Carl's shoes and it's a sight to behold.
85* OnlySaneWoman: One of the most levelheaded characters. When another family member screws up, she's usually the one who convinces them to do the right thing.
86* OutOfFocus: Originally the character ''for whom the series was developed for in the first place'', Harriette was [[SpotlightStealingSquad completely eclipsed by Steve's shadow]].
87* ParentalSubstitute: Just as Carl is a (reluctant) father figure to Steve, Harriette is a mother figure to him. She generally has more patience for Steve's antics than any of the other Winslows except for Estelle. Notably, when his parents left him alone at home, she let him stay with the Winslows while the rest of the family was begging her not to. She also defended him when they went to see a therapist to deal with their Steve-related stress.
88* PetTheDog: She is just behind Estelle Winslow in treating Steve with the most respect. When the family was verbally thrashing Steve at the therapy session, Harriette stood up for him to the rest of the family, mainly because for all the negative Steve has unintentionally brought to the family, the positives more than outweigh them, mainly how he's saved Carl's live twice.
89* RankUp: She goes from [[Series/PerfectStrangers being an elevator operator]] to department store clerk to head of security.
90* SassyBlackWoman: Whenever she is upset or is telling someone off.
91* ShowingUpChauvinists: Her husband can be a bit chauvinistic at times, and whenever that side of him comes out, she’s usually the first one to shut him down. A notable moment happens in Season 1 when Carl talks about a woman’s “lack of upper body strength” while struggling to open a jar; Harriette is able to open it instantly, thus proving him wrong.
92* {{Tsundere}}: Often argues with her husband and has no problem calling him out when he says or does something stupid. She also shows her love for him regularly.
93* WomenAreWiser: She tends to win most of her arguments with Carl.
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:Estelle Winslow]]
97!!Estelle "Mother" Winslow
98!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Rosetta [=LeNoire=]
99
100[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/estelle_1.jpg]]
101
102Carl's mother who is a wise CoolOldLady.
103----
104* AdaptedOut: She along with the rest of the Winslows don't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
105* AdvertisedExtra: In the later seasons, she's entirely absent in many episodes and is rarely important to the plot, despite being the third billed character in the opening for most of the show.
106* BewareTheNiceOnes: Estelle may be a kind old lady, but she is more than capable of taking care of herself. For example, in "Stake-Out", she throws a criminal on the ground when he tries to attack her.
107* CharacterCatchphrase: [[SarcasmMode "Way to go, Carl!"]]
108* CommutingOnABus: Made occasional appearances during the last two seasons.
109* CoolOldLady: Estelle is a very active old lady.
110* DeadpanSnarker: In addition to berating her son whenever he screws up, Estelle could always be counted on to make cracks about Carl's weight and fondness for donuts.
111* DecemberDecemberRomance: With Fletcher.
112* {{Determinator}}: As a little girl, she went to a whites only library in hopes of being given a library card every day for ''six months'' before the librarian finally relented and the library became integrated.
113* DirtyOldWoman: In "Walk on the Wild Side", the waiters and dancers of Club Buff, a male strip club, greet her cheerfully as if they're good friends, indicating that she's a regular customer. She's also a huge fan of ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' and loves ogling the handsome young musclemen in skintight outfits.
114* FanOfTheUnderdog: She's the only one who genuinely liked Steve from the beginning.
115* IWasQuiteALooker: Estelle showed a picture of what she looked like during World War II in the middle of a presentation in Eddie's history class.
116* NeverMessWithGranny: Estelle is a badass. She plays tennis, practices karate, is said to own a motorcycle and snowmobile, and is proud of all of the above.
117* ObnoxiousInLaws: Played straight initially, then inverted. In the pilot, Mother Winslow, while not doing it on purpose, manages to alienate Harriette through complaints about her cooking. She also causes friction between Eddie and Carl by giving Eddie permission to go to a party that Carl told him that couldn't go to earlier. After the pilot, she gets better as she gets along well with Harriette, including sticking up for her at times. If anything, she directs more of her sarcasm towards Carl.
118* ParentalSubstitute: Estelle is a Grandparental Substitute to everyone from Steve to Richie. Notably, she was the first Winslow to truly accept Steve.
119* SassyBlackWoman: Estelle isn't afraid to tell it like it is.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder:Eddie Winslow]]
123!!Eddie Winslow
124!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/DariusMcCrary
125[[quoteright:276:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eddie_3.jpg]]
126
127The oldest child, he's an athletic and rebellious teenager.
128----
129* AdaptedOut: He along with the rest of the Winslows don't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
130* BerserkButton: Degrading sex jokes about women and guys bragging about who they scored with, both make Eddie really mad. That goes double for anyone who brags about having sex with his little sister.
131* BigBrotherInstinct:
132** He occasionally has this relationship with Laura. When Ted, one of her boyfriends, started a rumor that they slept together, Eddie angrily grabbed him and pinned him to the wall.
133** This can describe his friendship with Steve. As much as Steve annoys him, Eddie will always be there for him when push comes to shove. Even when a frat house, that he really wanted to be apart of, told him that either he stops being friends with Steve or lose his chance at being accepted, Eddie chose Steve in a heartbeat.
134* BookDumb: In contrast to his hard-working studious sister, he's not a particularly bright student.
135* ButtMonkey: To Laura, who often teases and belittles him. In "Dudes", she's excited just at the idea of Eddie making a fool of himself.
136* TheCasanova: Is known for being something of a ladies' man.
137* CharacterDevelopment: He becomes more responsible in the later seasons.
138* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Early Season 1 Eddie is, for lack of a better word, [[TheDitz a complete moron]].[[note]] Laura successfully uses a literal "Heads I Win, Tails You Lose" on him in an early episode, among other moments. [[/note]] He evolves into BookDumb, while his friend Waldo takes over the idiocy in later seasons.
139* ChildishOlderSibling: He's far more immature than his younger sister Laura.
140* DisappointingOlderSibling: As seen in ButtMonkey, he doesn't get much respect from Laura, who mocks him for being BookDumb and overconfident. Even his parents often find his behavior disappointing, especially compared to his responsible younger sister.
141* DumbassTeenageSon: He starts as this in Season 1, but grows out of it, though he occasionally has his dumb moments even in the later seasons and he's constantly portrayed as being BookDumb.
142* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Foolish to Laura's Responsible. He's an unrepentant skirt chaser and underachiever.
143* GentleGiant: He's a big and tall guy, and while not flawless, he's generally a nice person.
144* GoldDigger: Implied to be this when Myrtle decides to move on from him meaning he can't get any gifts from her anymore.
145* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Waldo, starting in Season 3. He eventually becomes this with Steve as well, though during the early years, he thought of him as being annoying like Laura and Carl did.
146* HormoneAddledTeenager: Girl chasing is a hobby of his.
147* JerkassBall:
148** In one episode after he's of legal age, he starts drinking and proves to be an irresponsible, mean drunk. It's so bad that ''Waldo'' condemns this behavior, telling Eddie that he won't be welcome in his house if Carl kicks him out.
149** In another episode when he's training to become a policeman like his dad, he somehow gets it into his head that ''it's not a big deal if he shoots bystanders while trying to shoot criminals''. He's training with pop-up cardboard cutouts, so Carl gets through to him by making a cardboard cutout of Laura, which Eddie shoots. He immediately breaks down and the episode ends with him asking to stay at the range so he can practice more.
150* LadyKillerInLove: When he starts dating Greta in the later seasons, he stops chasing other girls.
151* LovableJock: He's into sports but he's not a jerk, despite his occasional selfishness and immaturity.
152* MySisterIsOffLimits: Subverted in that Eddie doesn't typically care who Laura dates. The sole exception is when one of Laura's dates lies about sleeping with her, which pisses him off.
153* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: He is named after English kings.
154* NeverMyFault: Does this a lot with the problems he starts. He does often get called out for it, though.
155* NiceGuy: He's a BrattyTeenageSon but all his selfish moments are usually unintentional, and is one of the friendliest and most easygoing members of the family, especially compared to [[HairTriggerTemper Carl]], [[SassyBlackWoman Harriette]], and [[DeadpanSnarker Laura]].
156* OddFriendship: Despite being the athletic cool kid at school, he accepts the nerdy Steve and the idiotic Waldo as his best friends, though he's reluctant with the former.
157* OverlyLongName: Edward Arthur James Winslow.
158* ScaryBlackMan: Eddie's generally an easygoing NiceGuy, but he's also a very big man. Anyone who pushes one of his {{Berserk Button}}s quickly comes to regret it.
159* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan:
160** Manly Man (the athletic womanizer) to Waldo's Sensitive Guy (he likes cooking and is always in love with the same girl). The contrast is made evident in "Till Death Do Us Apartment".
161** He serves as the big, muscular Manly Man to Steve's skinny, geeky Sensitive Guy.
162* TheSlacker: Shown to be in terms of his education.
163* SmallNameBigEgo: At his worst, like in "Rock Video", where everyone is disgusted by his narcissism.
164* StraightMan: When he is with Waldo, because the latter is so stupid that would make everyone look like a StraightMan.
165* VitriolicBestBuds: With Steve.
166* WhamLine: He delivers a pretty big one to his father in Season 9, which initiates the final major chapter of his character arc:
167-->'''Eddie:''' Dad, I want to do something that makes a difference. I want to work with people I respect and admire. I want a job that's different and exciting every day.\
168'''Carl:''' And what kind of fairy tale job is that? Hm?\
169'''Eddie:''' It's ''your'' job, Dad. I want to be a cop!
170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Laura Winslow]]
173!!Laura Winslow
174!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/KellieShanygneWilliams
175[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laura_3.png]]
176
177The older daughter, she's smart, popular, and the dream girl of Steve Urkel.
178----
179* TheAce: In the first season, she's just a brilliant student. As the show goes on, she becomes a DudeMagnet, head cheerleader, and SchoolIdol, while still being a brilliant student.
180* AdaptedOut: She along with the rest of the Winslows don't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
181* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Played with. Almost all of her potential suitors who serve as {{Romantic False Lead}}s are unlikable jerks but this mostly happens because she's a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter. When she realizes that they are jerks, she loses interest in them. She also turns down the advances of bad boys and bullies several times (like Willie or Weasel).
182* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Laura is a cheerleader and an insanely popular DudeMagnet.
183* TheBGrade: In "Straight A's", Laura finds out on her progress report, not even her final grade for the semester, is going to be a B in one course. She instantly declares herself grounded from everything until she can bring it back up.
184* BettyAndVeronica:
185** She can be seen as the Veronica (the unattainable popular girl, who will not date Steve until he gives himself a make-over) to Myra's Betty (a nerdy girl like Steve who loves him no matter what). Alternatively, she can also be seen as the Betty (the GirlNextDoor, who has been Steve's "big love" since Kindergarten) to Myra's Veronica (a more sexually aggressive newcomer, who is there to mess with Steve's emotions). But anyhow, Steve chooses Laura in the end.
186** She's ''always'' the Archie to Steve's Betty and her admirer/boyfriend of the week's Veronica. Over and over and over again.
187* BookSmart: Unlike her brother [[BookDumb Eddie]], she's a straight-A student.
188* BoyishShortHair: In Seasons 7 and 8, she keeps her hair very short, though she's never boyish.
189* ButtMonkey: After [[TheKlutz Steve]] and [[TheChewToy Carl]], she's probably the character who gets the most slapstick. She has been hit with pies, covered in milkshakes, and splattered with mashed potatoes. She's suffered everything from embarrassment to being CoveredInGunge due to Steve's infatuation with her.
190* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: Anytime Steve focuses his attention on another girl, she shows shades of this to various degrees.
191* CharacterizationMarchesOn: She wasn't a popular student in Season 1. In fact, in "Laura's First Dance", she's sad because no one asked her to a school dance. This changes once Steve becomes the show's BreakoutCharacter. In order to give Steve competition for her heart, Laura suddenly becomes the most popular girl in her school, with boys fighting over her and hitting on her in every episode and she's considered to be a paragon of beauty by everyone.
192* ClingyJealousGirl: As time went on, Laura began feeling this way whenever Steve showed interest in another girl, much to her own shock.
193* DeadpanSnarker: Usually the biggest one in the family. She's especially snarky towards her brother or [[AbhorrentAdmirer Steve]].
194* DudeMagnet: {{Exaggerated|Trope}}. She's the dream girl of Steve and...all the teenage boys in town, apparently. Although most of her suitors are {{One Shot Character}}s who are introduced in different episodes.
195* EveryoneHasStandards: As vexing as she finds Steve, it's due to finding him an AbhorrentAdmirer and she's quick to defend him against others who are blatantly mistreating him ''just'' for finding him irritating. Eddie's been called out for not being the greatest friend to Steve more than once.
196* FirstGirlWins: Becomes Steve's fiancée.
197* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Responsible to Eddie's Foolish.
198* GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak: She's a popular, boy-crazy cheerleader who always fawns over hot guys, and in the Seasons 4-6 opening credits, she's seen trying on some of her clothes in front of the mirror. She's also very ambitious, sarcastic, and outspoken. When tough gang leader Toni wants to steal Laura's leather jacket and threatens her with violence, Laura actually ''tries'' to fight back, refusing to give up, until she's outnumbered by the gang. Laura also wants to become a lawyer and is strongly against her friend Maxine's wish to go to cosmetology school and become a hairdresser.
199* GiveGeeksAChance: In the last season, she eventually learns to love Steve and agrees to marry him.
200* GoGetterGirl: A very ambitious girl who always gets straight A's and takes both school and job seriously. She eventually gains admittance to Harvard but sadly her parents can't afford it.
201* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Maxine.
202* HormoneAddledTeenager: She has ''a lot'' of boyfriends, and then there's the way she fawns over Stefan, Steve's SexierAlterEgo.
203* HypocriticalHeartwarming: She blasts anyone who dares to badmouth Steve, despite the fact that she herself can't stand him most of the time.
204* InformedAttractiveness: Steve regards her as the most beautiful girl in the world, as do several of the other boys who show interest in her. She ''is'' pretty, but not that much more so than other girls in the series.
205* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Subverted. She gains admittance, but her parents can't afford it.
206* LittleMissSnarker: In Season 1, the pre-Steve days, Laura serves mainly as this.
207* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Until the last season, she has a thing for handsome and popular boys who, most of the time, turn out to be bad for her or bad people in general (and many of them are also bullies to Steve).
208* LovableAlphaBitch: A cheerleader who only wants to date popular jocks and in one episode she refuses to go to the dance with anyone but the BigManOnCampus. She can be rude to Steve, as lampshaded once when even ''Steve'' call her out on her SpoiledBrat behavior. But she still admits Steve's good qualities, tries to be a good friend and stands up for him when he needs it, and loves her family.
209* LovesMyAlterEgo: She loved and fawned over Stefan, Steve's SexierAlterEgo.
210* PomPomGirl: She's a cheerleader who has some LovableAlphaBitch traits but is still a good person and a good student who doesn't fit most of the cheerleader stereotypes.
211* ProudBeauty: She doesn't brag about her looks, but is still fully aware of how attractive she is. As seen in "Life in the Fast Lane", she doesn't take well criticism about her appearance.
212* SassyBlackWoman: Almost as much as her mother.
213* ShipperOnDeck: For Waldo and Maxine, since she's genuinely supportive in the episode where they start dating.
214* ShipperWithAnAgenda: For most of the show, she encourages Steve to date Myra and hopes things work out between them, but that's only because she is tired of being stalked by Steve, and Myra is the only girl who is interested in him and could distract him from his love for Laura... in theory.
215* SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy: Pretty much applies to all the guys she likes throughout the show, many, ''many'' times. However, she's the most popular girl herself, so all of them will like her back instantly.
216* TomboyishPonytail: Her default hairstyle in Season 1 is a low ponytail. From Season 2 onwards, she is seen with different hairstyles and often wears hair down.
217* TookALevelInKindness: Especially towards Steve. She wasn't very nice to him in the early seasons.
218* {{Tsundere}}: To Steve. Initially a type A, then evolving into a type B.
219* VitriolicBestBuds: With Steve for most of the series and, eventually with Myra too (until the last season).
220[[/folder]]
221
222[[folder:Judy Winslow]]
223!!Judy Winslow
224!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Valerie Jones (pilot), Jaimee Foxworth (episode 2 onward)
225[[quoteright:332:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judy.jpg]]
226
227The youngest cute and sassy daughter of the Winslows who disappears after Season 4.
228----
229* AdvertisedExtra: As a member of the main family, she's credited as a main character in the first four seasons. While she’s in nearly every episode of Seasons 1 and 2, she's usually used as a background character who is lucky if she gets a line in nearly every episode by Season 3. In her final season, before her unexplained disappearance, she doesn't even ''appear'' in most episodes, despite still being in the opening credits.
230* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: One of the most infamous examples of this. She disappears after Season 4, without explanation. Afterwards, the other characters act as if she never existed and Harriette and Carl only had two kids (Eddie and Laura).
231* ADayInTheLimelight: {{Downplayed|Trope}} as Judy never really gets a day in the limelight, only a few subplots:
232** In "Fast Eddie Winslow", she must write a book report about ''Swiss Family Robinson'' after she doesn't read the book.
233** In "Ice Station Winslow", she feels ignored by her family because of her younger cousin Richie.
234** In "A Thought in the Dark", she ruins Harriette's dress and begs Carl to cover for her.[[note]]And despite being one of the few Judy subplots, she only appears in one scene.[[/note]]
235** In "Taking Credit", she's in the FramingDevice along with Rachel and Richie.
236* DeadpanSnarker: Mainly toward Eddie and Richie, the former whenever he does and/or says something stupid and the latter when he annoys her.
237* FlatCharacter: Her character never really had much to do. Season 1, the pre-Steve days, was her most prominent season: she provided comic relief by saying cute things, and was Laura's sidekick in several episodes. In Seasons 2 and 3, she's often paired with Richie, and aside from a few subplots, she usually has one or two lines, or sometimes none at all. In Season 4, her character appears in only 9 out of 24 episodes.
238* GirlishPigtails: Judy wears her hair in braided pigtails in Seasons 1 through 3. In her final season, she wears her hair down, including in her opening title credit.
239* KidsHateVegetables: Mentions Brussels sprouts make her wanna puke when Harriette encourages her to finish them. Later she asks Harriette what the capital of Belgium is and Harriette gives her a hint by asking what her least favorite vegetable is.
240* LethalChef: She and Richie bake a cake using horseradish.
241* OutOfFocus: After Steve is introduced, she becomes a background character; in Seasons 3 and 4, she is given very few lines, usually in scenes involving the entire family, until her character is completely eliminated in Season 5.
242* SassyBlackGirl: Mainly in Season 1, as her character would give sass mainly to her older siblings. She sasses Richie a lot in Seasons 2-4.
243[[/folder]]
244
245[[folder:Richie Crawford]]
246!!Richie Crawford
247!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Joseph & Julius Wright (Season 1), [[Creator/BrytonJames Bryton [=McClure=]]] (Seasons 2-9)
248
249[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/richie_1.jpg]]
250
251The youngest member of the family and Rachel's only son.
252----
253* AdaptedOut: He along with the rest of the Winslows don't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
254* AdvertisedExtra: Despite being a member of the family and credited as a main character in Seasons 1-7, he is entirely absent in many episodes, especially from Season 4 onwards, and rarely important to the plot, save for the occasional ADayInTheLimelight. That said, he gets much more focus than Judy and unlike her, he keeps appearing sporadically until the end of the series.
255* TheBabyOfTheBunch: The youngest of the family who's literally a baby in Season 1.
256* BigBrotherWorship: He worships Steve as another brother, making him the only other Winslow besides Estelle who enjoys Urkel's company.
257* TheBusCameBack: In some episodes, after being PutOnABus.
258* CheerfulChild: Most of the time, he's a friendly and happy kid.
259* ChildrenAreInnocent: He's a normal, naive child in contrast to the more morally ambiguous 3J.
260* DeadpanSnarker: Richie grew into this, though his role was smaller by that point.
261* DisappearedDad: He lives with his mother, Rachel, and her family. His father is a PosthumousCharacter.
262* DivergentCharacterEvolution: For most of Seasons 2 and 3, Judy and Richie were [[ThoseTwoGuys those two kids]]. When Judy was written out of the show, Richie received his own CharacterDevelopment and storylines.
263* PutOnABus: After Season 7, he's no longer part of the main cast, although he appears several times in Seasons 8 and 9.
264* SacredHospitality: Will take in strangers without a second thought. Maybe he's paying Carl's kindness forward.
265* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: In Season 2, he was recast as a four-year-old kid.
266* TookALevelInBadass: In "Karate Kids".
267[[/folder]]
268
269[[folder:Rachel Crawford]]
270!!Rachel Crawford
271!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/TelmaHopkins
272[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rachel_1.jpg]]
273
274Harriette's attractive and widowed younger sister.
275----
276* AdaptedOut: She along with the rest of the Winslows don't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
277* AndStarring: "And Telma Hopkins as Rachel".
278* CommutingOnABus: She makes occasional guest appearances in Season 6 and one final appearance in Season 9.
279* CoolAunt: For the Winslow kids.
280* DudeMagnet: She's a widow woman who has attracted more than a few guys. Among them, there's Alan (season 1), Jeff (season 1), her AbhorrentAdmirer Lieutenant Murtaugh, Steve Webster, and even Steve Urkel himself in one episode where he genuinely thinks [[LikesOlderWomen he has a chance with Rachel]].
281* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling:
282** She's more flighty, while Harriette is more serious and responsible.
283** It's inverted when Harriette helps Rachel out at the latter's restaurant. Not only she's abrasive to the customers (getting less than five dollars in tips compared to the hundreds Laura got) but she upsets Rachel's chef and completely reorganizes the pantry. Rachel doesn't take it well, particularly since one of the reasons she started the restaurant was to prove to herself that she could be responsible and didn't always need to rely on Harriette.
284* JerkassBall: In Season 3's "Choir Trouble". Getting promoted to choir director quickly gets to Rachel's head, and she becomes so strict and selfish that the entire choir (including her own family members) quits after one bad rehearsal. Some wise words from Mother Winslow allow Rachel to see the error of her ways, and she eventually apologizes for her behavior.
285* MostWritersAreWriters: Was an aspiring writer in the first season.
286* NeverASelfMadeWoman: Averted. While she got a loan from Carl and Harriette to start Rachel's Place, it was as much Harriette's decision as Carl's and she got a second loan from Estelle. While Steve suggested she buy the restaurant and got his accountant uncle to run the numbers on its profitability, Rachel is the one who made all the decisions in actually running the place.
287* OutOfFocus: From Season 4 onwards, her role is much smaller compared to the first three seasons and is eventually PutOnABus. She is the first family member to be removed from the opening credits, even before Judy.
288* PutOnABus: After Season 4. Ironically, her son Richie apparently still lived with the Winslows.
289* StacysMom: In "Torn Between Two Lovers", Steve wrongly assumes that [[ItMakesSenseInContext Rachel has a crush on him]]. He's excited about the whole thing and admits he finds Rachel very attractive, although he eventually changes his mind because he's still devoted to Laura.
290* TookALevelInBadass: In "Life of the Party", she tightrope walked on a clothesline several stories in the air (in heels) to save a drunk Steve from plummeting to his death.
291* WrenchWench: She is surprisingly good at repairing cosmetic damages on vehicles. When she and Harriette damaged a vintage cop car Carl was gonna drive during a parade a night before, she managed to repair it to near perfection. When Carl finds out she did it, he ask her to do it again due to him causing some damages too.
292[[/folder]]
293
294!!Later Additions
295[[folder:Steve Urkel]]
296!!Steven Quincy Urkel
297!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/JaleelWhite
298[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steve_urkel_posing.jpg]]
299
300The show's BreakoutCharacter, he's the smart, clumsy, and nerdy neighbor of the Winslows.
301----
302* AbhorrentAdmirer: His undying devotion to Laura is not received well at all. But that has just as much (or more) to do with his outrageously weird personality than the way he looks.
303* AbusiveParents: [[TheGhost His parents]] are often implied to be this. Examples include trying to push him back into the womb, not owning a car because he was born in one, giving him a curfew that doesn't dictate when he ''must'' come home, but when he's ''allowed'' to, neglecting to feed him, making him pay rent even as a child, and finally [[ParentalAbandonment moving to Russia without him]]. Of course, with his parents gone, Steve moves in with the Winslows, whom he likes better. By his own admission:
304--> '''Steve:''' Big Guy, I love you like a father, and my father like... a neighbor.
305* AcademicAthlete: Downplayed. He's a brilliant student and [[HiddenDepths can play basketball]], but he's not so good at other athletic activities.
306* AccidentalPervert: Walks in on Laura in the shower by mistake when both planned to take one at the same time.
307* AllMenArePerverts: Steve's feelings for Laura borders on obsession. For example, in "Rumor Has It...", it's revealed that his locker combination correspond to her measurements.
308* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: How he is seen and treated for most of the series. He's hated by his classmates, the teachers, including Principal Shimata, and his own family. The Winslows are the closest thing he has to real friends and most of them can't stand him most of the time.
309* AndStarring: He was always credited last in the opening (only before Rachel who gets the AndStarring treatment in the first four seasons), but it wasn't until Season 6 that he finally gets the full "Jaleel White as Steve Urkel" credit.
310* AnnoyingLaugh: "Ah heh-heh-heh *snort**snort*!"
311* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Steve annoys the hell out of the Winslows, especially Carl and Laura, mainly because he's extremely awkward and clumsy, and quite annoying. But while it appears that the Winslows can barely stand him, it's clear that despite Steve's flaws, they do love him and consider him a part of their family, even if they have a hard time showing it. This was shown more in the later seasons, especially with Carl and Laura, whose negative feelings towards Steve gradually softened after he moved in with them. This came to a head in the last season, where Steve and Laura start to date, and in the third-to-last episode, Steve and Laura get engaged, and in the final episode, the Winslows officially welcome Steve into the family.
312* TheBGrade: In "Food, Lies, and Videotape," Steve learns to cope with getting a C in home economics.
313* BadassBookworm: As Bruce Lee Urkel, an alter ego created by Steve via a celebrity sample potion called Bruce Juice.
314* BeautifulAllAlong: Steve's "Stefan Urquelle" persona shows us that all he has to do to be attractive is [[TheGlassesGottaGo get some contacts]], flattering clothes, and stand up straight. Toning down the voice and not breaking stuff all the time doesn't hurt either. Furthermore, late in the series, he starts a vigorous self-improvement regime that tones down some of his unflattering Nerd traits into more flattering [[NerdsAreSexy Geek chic]] ones while remaining true to himself. Had Season 10 happened, we would in fact learn that Stefan is Steve's cool and suave half of himself, and his essence would have merged back into Steve.
315* BettyAndVeronica:
316** The Archie in his LoveTriangle with Myra and Laura. Either you can see Myra as the Betty (she's a fellow nerd, who loves him no matter what) and Laura as the Veronica (the unattainable popular girl, who will not date him until he gives himself a make-over), or you can see Laura as the Betty (the GirlNextDoor, who has been Steve's "big love" since Kindergarten) and Myra as the Veronica (the more sexually aggressive newcomer, who is there to mess with Steve's emotions). But anyhow, Steve chooses Laura in the end.
317** He's ''always'' the Betty to Laura's admirer/boyfriend of the week's Veronica. Over and over and over again.
318* BerserkButton: Steve rarely goes off on people, but dealing with Waldo's stupidity can make him explode.
319* BewareTheNiceOnes: Steve is a nice, easygoing person. If you push him too far though, he'll either tell you off, embarrass you, or give you a beatdown as Bruce Lee.
320* BlackAndNerdy: Steve is probably the most iconic example of this trope in Western media. He dresses in multicolored striped and plaid shirts, suspenders, rolled up pants, saddle shoes and Coke-bottle glasses, his hobbies include polka and raising exotic insects, and he's smart enough to create everything from a teleportation pad to a transformation chamber to a cloning machine to a "cool elixir" to a fully-sentient robot and even a ''time machine''.
321* BlackSheep: Most of Steve's relatives can't stand him any more than anyone else. In fact, Steve mentions that they pay him a lot of money to keep him from visiting.
322* BookSmart: Unsurprisingly, he's frequently stated to be the best student in the class. He especially excels at scientific subjects, but he also knows a lot about literature, and [[SmartPeopleKnowLatin can speak Latin]].
323* BreakoutCharacter: The irksome Steve was introduced as a single gag character in the episode "Laura's First Date". He was meant to highlight just how bad an idea it was for the well-meaning Carl to find his dateless daughter Laura a date for a junior high dance at the last minute. By the end of Season 1, Steve was appearing in every episode. When the first episode of Season 2, "Rachel's Place", aired, Jaleel White was given billing alongside the rest of the cast. Eventually, he would end up as the real star of the show, with the Winslows becoming supporting characters.
324* BullyMagnet: The episodes where he is antagonized by the JerkJock or school bully of the week (who is different in every episode) are too many to count. And when he is asked to supervise an English class for his absent teacher, he is bullied by the entire class.
325* BunglingInventor: Some of his inventions work just fine. Others, not so much.
326* ButtMonkey: As a result of his nerdy and clumsy behavior, and being an easy target for bullies.
327* CharacterCatchphrase:
328** "Did I do that?"
329** "Got any cheese?"
330** "You love me, don't you?"
331** "I'm wearing you down, baby! I'm wearing you ''down''!"
332** "No sweat, my pet."
333** "But last week you said, 'drop dead, nerd boy'."
334** "Look what you did."
335** "Shhhhhhh. Not while I'm [whatever Steve's current activity is]."
336** "I don't have to take this. I'm going home."
337** "At least nobody was hurt."[[note]]This is followed up with someone else, usually Carl, replying with "Not yet!"[[/note]]
338* CharacterDevelopment:
339** Later episodes portray him as less physically weak (he plays basketball), and less socially oblivious. He also becomes less obsessed with Laura and more respectful of her decisions. The final season puts him through a ton of this, with him making concerned efforts to be less annoying and dress better while still being himself. It works.
340** The early seasons portray him as a [[DreadfulMusician terrible singer]] (it's even a plot point in the episode "Choir Trouble"). His voice greatly improves over time though, to the point where he's able to sing backup for Eddie.
341* CharacterSignatureSong: Has an affinity for the song "Camptown Races", and is often heard humming it to himself.
342* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In his first spotlight episode, "The Big Fix," he's quite devious, manipulating Eddie into getting him a date with Laura and then manipulating Laura into getting caught on camera giving him a kiss. When he becomes a regular in the second season, he's [[TookALevelInKindness much nicer]] and willing to help all the Winslows while asking nothing in return.
343* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Ultimately achieves this with Laura.
344* CostumeEvolution: One that epitomizes his growth as a character: after spending eight seasons wearing plaid or striped shirts with suspenders, Season 9 has Steve toning down his wardrobe to plain dress shirts. This is all part of his ongoing journey towards self-improvement.
345* CowardlyLion: Steve tends to jump at the first sign of trouble, but when the situation turns serious, he'll gladly put his safety on the line to help. Shining examples include "Requiem For An Urkel" and "Born to be Mild".
346* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass:
347** PlayedForLaughs. He's just so incompetent, inept, and prone to disaster that the amount of destruction he causes occasionally borders on the epic. In "The Science Project", Laura has a nightmare sequence where Steve builds a fully-fuctioning atomic bomb and inadvertently detonates it by uttering the code word "buttercup", blowing half of Chicago completely off the map and killing millions. As always, all Steve can say in light of his actions is "Did I do that?"
348** Played straight when he used his invention to grant him the fighting skills of Creator/BruceLee, becoming Bruce Lee Urkel. When this happens, he'll open a can of whoop-ass on offending parties. On separate times, Carl, Richie, and 3J have also join in on the action.
349* DeadpanSnarker: Sometimes, especially in the later seasons. The dumber somebody interacting with Steve is, the more likely it is to get him going. Needless to say, Waldo is guaranteed to bring it out of him during any interaction between the two.
350* {{Determinator}}: Nothing will stop Steve from achieving a goal.
351* DidYouThinkICantFeel: Steve adores the Winslows and takes their aggravation with him in stride, but there is a line for him and he has let them know when they've gone too far, reaching the point of genuinely hurting his feelings. Carl's gotten called out a few times and he once spectacularly called out Laura on being nothing but demanding and ungrateful when he was trying to help her and they had run into a streak of bad luck that was partly due to Laura's shortsighted hastiness.
352* DitzyGenius: Despite being a brilliant scientist and TeenGenius, he's clumsy, has NoSocialSkills and is a general nuisance and walking disaster.
353* DoggedNiceGuy: Towards Laura. Steve {{invoke|dTrope}}s it at times (to questionable effect) when he points out moments where Laura uncharacteristically treats him like a human being:
354--> '''Steve:''' I'm wearing you down, baby! I'm wearing you ''down''!
355* DropInCharacter: A weird nerdy kid from next door who exhibits zany behavior and drives Mr. Winslow nuts. Although he takes over the show, episodes tend to feature the Winslow household primarily, and Mr. Winslow (a police officer) tries to get him tossed out multiple times, instead of locking his door. Steve eventually moves in with the Winslows.
356* EnragedByIdiocy: Steve is normally even tempered but having to put up with outright moronic rhetoric can quickly drive him around the bend. Interactions with Waldo are a good example of this.
357* EvenTheLovingHeroHasHatedOnes:
358** He's naturally kind and willing to help everyone (including his bullies), but he's occasionally dismissive towards some people, particularly the ones who who antagonize Laura and the Winslows. An example is [[AlphaBitch Cassie Lynn]], once described by Steve as "the poster child for useless people".
359** He's normally welcoming toward family, but he physically tries to block his cousin from Detroit from entering the Winslow's house for being a hoodlum.
360** Downplayed with Waldo. While Steve can't stand Waldo's stupidity and can be [[JerkassToOne quite mean to him]], he still seems to [[VitriolicBestBuds consider him a friend]]. Whenever Waldo is in trouble ("An Officer and a Waldo", "South of the Border"), Steve is as concerned as Eddie, and in the season 6 finale, he refers to both Eddie and Waldo as "my best buds".
361* EveryoneHasStandards:
362** In "The Science Project", Laura has a bad dream where Steve goes overboard to help her with a school project by building a functional atomic bomb that he accidentally detonates. When Steve learns of the dream, he notes that while he's perfectly capable of building such a thing, he would never go so overboard as to actually do so.
363** While he's usually a doormat to Laura and idolizes her as the perfect girl, he has his limits. For example, in "It Didn't Happen One Night", when she's being [[UngratefulBitch particularly mean to him]], even though Steve was just trying to help her, he finally tells her off and gives her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
364** While he is unhealthily obsessed with Laura, he refuses to date Laura while under the influence of an aphrodisiac.
365** Even though he is friends with Waldo, even Steve can’t stand him because of Waldo’s stupidity.
366** In "Requiem for an Urkel," Willie the school bully is getting revenge on Laura by scaring off other boys from asking her to the dance and leaving her with no choice but to go with Steve. When Steve finds out, he's horrified and immediately challenges Willie to a fight, establishing that despite being an AbhorrentAdmirer to Laura, he would never take advantage of her or stop her from dating anyone she wants.
367** Despite his obsession with Laura, he is extremely mortified after walking in on Laura while she's in the shower.
368** Though "Look what you did" is one of his most well-known catchphrases, Steve isn't really prone to a NeverMyFault attitude. Whenever he says it, someone else is genuinely partly at fault by fighting with him over a particular object or some such. When he alone is responsible for some kind of accident or disaster, he immediately apologizes and offers to fix whatever he broke. This really works in his favor in "Presumed Urkel" when he denies responsibility for a lab explosion. Carl (the one who has to bear the brunt of Steve's antics more than anyone else) points out Steve always owns up to his messes, which is why he thinks Steve's innocent this time.
369* ExtremeDoormat: Steve pines for Laura throughout most of the series and gets taken advantage of quite often. Eventually he sees this and even accepts that this is his role. But only for Laura.
370--> '''Steve:''' ''[to Eddie]'' Well, that's gonna stop right now! I'm not your personal doormat. ''[pointing to Laura]'' I'm ''her'' doormat!
371* {{Flanderization}}:
372** He goes from being a bright but mundane high school nerd to a full MadScientist who can wrap the laws of physics around his little finger.
373** Slightly {{inverted|Trope}} in season 9. While his intelligence remained the same, his more extreme personality traits diminished as part of a season long arc of self-improvement.
374* FreudianExcuse: Steve's attachment to the Winslows (especially Carl) stems from his parents' rather frigid treatment, eventually all but abandoning him for an extended research project. The Winslows act as a stable surrogate family for him.
375* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Among the Winslows, only Estelle and Richie like Steve, while the others try to tolerate him. He's also this whenever he hangs out with Laura or Eddie's friends. This is justified due to his poor social skills and mishaps.
376* FriendToAllChildren: While he's disliked by most people, kids like Richie and 3J seem to love him.
377* FriendToBugs: A typical nerd who adores insects. It provides the plot of episode "Citizens' Court".
378* GadgeteerGenius: His {{Flanderization}} in later seasons takes this up to eleven. He becomes a MadScientist able to create a time traveling machine and many other crazy inventions in which he can clone, teleport, and shrink himself.
379* GeekPhysique: Only in the earlier seasons where he was short and skinny. In the later seasons, Jaleel White develops a well-built physique, despite still playing a nerd.
380* GracefulInTheirElement: Steve is usually TheFriendNobodyLikes to the Winslows and their friends, but the late series episode "Polkapalooza" shows him as a highly regarded figure among Polka fans, having done things that even Laura is openly impressed by. A few episodes imply that his social troubles don't crop up as much in things relating to his more "out there" interests. Laura even goes along with his quirk of dressing to match the food he eats in one of the final episodes and actually has a good time with him.
381* HiddenDepths: He's a good basketball player, which especially stands out against his poor track record with other athletic activities.
382* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: How he describes his parents treating him is always played for laughs, but it actually paints a picture of regular emotional abuse that justify why he gravitates towards the Winslows. His stories about his parents range from "not wanting to be around him" to "trying to push him back into the womb."
383* HonoraryUncle: To Richie. Richie grows out of calling him "Uncle Steve", but keeps looking up to him.
384* HopelessSuitor: For most of the series, he was this for Laura.
385* HumbleHero: Steve's not the boastful sort. If he does prop himself up it's usually in a "yeah I can do that" sort of manner with just a slight bit of self assured swagger. If he does heroic or impressive things, he's quick to play it off and note he's not looking for accolades. Actually being praised seems to make him a bit shy honestly.
386* HypocriticalHumor: At the end of "Scenes from a Mall", he complains about Myra to Laura. He says he doesn't know what to do with Myra because she won't take "no" for an answer and is obsessed with him. Then in the same scene, he starts asking Laura out multiple times, and keeps insisting, despite Laura saying "No!" every time.
387* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Something that keeps his StalkerWithACrush tendencies from getting as bad as Myra or Myrtle. He gets jealous if Laura dates someone else, but will accept it and support her doing so. And while he's quick to jump on the opportunity if he discovers said dates are just slimeballs, it's more because of how they're bad for Laura than because he looking to benefit. He's actually called Myrtle out on not doing this with Eddie. This is best shown in the Season 4 episode "Dance to the Music"; Steve, despite his feelings for Laura, sets her up with popular jock Ted Curran, one of Laura few dates who is not a jerk. When Ted asks why, because he knows of his feelings for Laura, Steve tells him that Laura wants to go with him and all he cares about is her happiness.
388* JerkassBall: While mostly a very good-natured person, he has his moments where he's not so nice:
389** He keeps hitting on Laura even while he's dating Myra. In "Hell Toupee", he outright tells Myra this:
390---> "As soon as I get a feeling that Laura wants me, I'm done with you."
391** He can be pretty mean to [[TheDitz Waldo]]. While Eddie can also get annoyed by Waldo's stupidity, he's not as rude to him as Steve is.
392* KarmaHoudini: Some of Steve's action rarely get him some much deserve consequences, even if they were accidents. The biggest mishap is when he literally burned down a restaurant because he wanted to impress Laura. However, at the end of the episode, it's treated as an opportunity for Rachel to start her own business. The few times he does get the rightful punishment, it usually doesn't last, if only because he more than makes up for it by the end of it, like getting banned from the Winslows' home, only to be allowed back and even invited for dinner when he saves Carl's life.
393* {{Keet}}: Being so upbeat and flamboyant, he has more energy than anyone in the cast besides [[GenkiGirl Myra]].
394* TheKlutz: Bordering on LethalKlutz, since he is infamous for causing disasters everywhere and destroying Carl's property as a result of his outright clumsiness.
395* LastNameBasis: The other students occasionally refer to him as Urkel, though his close friends usually call him Steve.
396* LethalChef: Is a complete disaster in the kitchen. When he fails home economics and Waldo excels at it, he has a HeroicBSOD.
397* LethallyStupid: He often causes disasters without meaning to, much to Carl's dismay.
398* LovableNerd: He has a kind heart and is willing to help anyone.
399* MadScientist: He occasionally even laughs like one.
400* TheMillstone: Especially in the early seasons, thanks to his never-ending clumsiness. The Winslows' never-ending exasperation with Steve breaking things was expanded upon in several episodes.
401* MoreHypnotizableThanHeThinks: Steve claims he can't be hypnotized, but a hypnotist entrances him ''just by dropping the watch in front of his eyes''.
402* MultiformBalance: His three main "alter egos" correspond to your basic FighterMageThief trio. [[BruceLeeClone Bruce Lee Urkel]] kicks ass, [[TeenGenius Steve Urkel]] is dorky and frail but brilliant, and [[TheCharmer Stefan Urquelle]] has almost inhuman charisma.
403* NerdGlasses: He wears a pair.
404* NerdsAreSexy: Usually averted considering how his nerdiness makes him extremely unpopular. However, he manages to attract at least four women on the show: fellow nerdy Susie, a very attractive woman on the dating show ''Dudes'', his StalkerWithACrush Myra, and eventually Laura in the final season.
405* NerdyNasalness: Steve has a very distinctive nasal voice, right down to the trademark AnnoyingLaugh.
406* NiceGuy: He'll help anyone even if they bullied him beforehand and he would do anything for the Winslow family.
407* TheNicknamer: He gives them out freely to almost every character. On top of the myriad of lovey nicknames he gives Laura, especially "My Pet", he calls Carl "Big Guy", Eddie is "Eddo", always greets Estelle as "My Belle", and even calls Lt. Murtaugh "Lou".
408* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup:
409** Subverted in that many of Steve's inventions ''are'' the prototypes, and he hasn't worked all the bugs out yet. HilarityEnsues.
410** Averted with the "cool elixir" that turns Steve into Stefan. When Stefan turns out to be a {{Jerkass}} after the first time Steve turns into him, Steve reworks the formula to make Stefan a nicer person the next time he transforms.
411** Also averted with Urkelbot. The first time Steve builds him, Urkelbot goes crazy and tries to kidnap Laura. When Steve rebuilds Urkelbot, he fixes Urkelbot's defective microchips so that he acts normally as a crimefighter. When Urkelbot decides police work is too dangerous, Steve builds Urkelbot his own DistaffCounterpart Laurabot and the two go off together to become dancers.
412* OddFriendship: Steve has a knack for forming these. Besides bonding with the Winslows, he's befriended everyone from Laura's friend Maxine to Carl's boss Lt. Murtaugh.
413* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Steve is skilled at everything from genetic engineering (creating the "cool elixir" that turns him into Stefan) to robotic engineering (building Urkelbot and Laurabot) and quantum physics (inventing a teleportation pad and a time machine).
414* ParentalNeglect: The reason for his attachment to the Winslows.
415* PersonaNonGrata: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fRL7gEfBW7c In the beginning of "Scenes from a Mall".]]
416* PhraseCatcher:
417-->"Go home, Steve!"\
418"But..."\
419"Go home, go home, go home!"\
420"[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I don't have to take this. I'm going home.]]
421* PolkaDork: He loves to polka and play the accordion.
422* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In Season 2. He already had began figuring heavily into the plots late in Season 1, and given his instant popularity, it naturally made sense to promote him.
423* ProudToBeAGeek: Ultimately, this is how Steve feels, except when they wanted to give AnAesop about being happy with who you are. Most of the time, however, he seemingly didn't give a rat's ass that everyone referred to him as a nerd, especially since he was probably the coolest person in the school despite his labeling. Despite the thick glasses, nasal voice, quirky hobbies [[note]]e.g., he loves polka music[[/note]] and ''interesting'' wardrobe, Steve would say he's a smooth, hip [[TheCasanova ladies man]]. He ''is'' incredibly upbeat and flamboyant, though, and wouldn't know embarrassment if it bit him...[[TheKlutz for better or worse]].
424* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Steve Urkel rivals ComicBook/MisterFantastic in the sheer amount of world changing things he's invented, none of which he's ever sold to to the public. It's occasionally justified InUniverse with moral or ethical objections, such as when he withdrew the transformation chamber from a contest fearing what society would do with it.
425* RejectionAffection: Steve spends the entire run of this sitcom aggressively trying to win Laura's affections even though she is repulsed by him. [[spoiler:His perseverance pays off in the end.]]
426* ScienceHero: He becomes this as the series goes on.
427* SexierAlterEgo: Stefan Urquelle.
428* ShowStopper: He would often evoke this response upon entering the scene.
429* SingleTargetSexuality: He is a Laura-sexual for most of the series. This is downplayed in the later seasons after he starts dating Myra. In "Bugged", he even fantasizes about kissing a girl named Agnes Pritzker.
430* SmartPeopleKnowLatin: In "The Gun", he's able to speak Latin fluently in a random scene, to confirm even more his TeenGenius status.
431* SpotlightStealingSquad: Due to the fact that he's the breakout character. The problems began when the focus slowly but surely shifted from the Winslow family and Steve to just Steve, his annoying habits, and his bizarre inventions.
432* StalkerWithACrush:
433** He finds himself on both sides of this: for years he has been Laura's stalker with a crush, then eventually finds his own stalker in Myra Monkhouse. Unfortunately for poor Myra, Steve was a more successful stalker than she was.
434** In the middle of Season 6, he starts a serious relationship with Myra, and leaves Laura alone until the end of Season 8... ''most'' of the time. He never fully grows out of his stalkerish tendencencies, as seen in the Season 6 episode "Cheers Looking at You, Kid", where he spies on Laura during her trip to a cheerleading convention.
435* StereotypicalNerd: Steve is the poster child for the BlackAndNerdy version of this. He wears NerdGlasses, speaks with NerdyNasalness, has an obnoxious laugh, wears plaid shirts tucked into slacks with suspenders, is a TVGenius, a BullyMagnet, and is considered in-universe to be unattractive and annoying. That's not even mentioning his qualities of thinking he's a smooth [[CasanovaWannabe ladies man]].
436* TeenGenius: Steve creates a lot of inventions in the series.
437* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: Just ask the Winslows. The last of Steve's intro [=IDs=] has the family trying to hold the front door shut in order to keep Steve from entering the house.
438* ThrowTheDogABone: Unlike most examples of "dorky AbhorrentAdmirer in love with a pretty girl who can't stand him", he actually gets the girl at the end, but only after being rejected by the aforementioned girl for eight seasons.
439* TookALevelInBadass:
440** . Subverted in "Dog Day Halloween", where Steve ''imagines'' himself fighting a robber one-on-one. When he tries doing it in real life, however, he isn't as lucky.
441** Happens every time Steve goes into his transformation chamber to gain the personality, fighting skills and even the accent and hairstyle of Bruce Lee.
442* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Cheese.
443* UnwantedAssistance: One of the triggers for the aforementioned PhraseCatcher is Steve trying (and failing) to help the Winslows with a project despite their protests.
444* VitriolicBestBuds: With most of the Winslows. They find him annoying but ultimately care about him.
445* VocalEvolution: Jaleel White had been playing the character since he was a young teen, so this is to be expected. He just had a nasally voice in the early seasons, but as he grew older, his voice grew ''higher'', frequently shifting into falsetto tones.
446* WolverinePublicity: The ubiquity was, and still is, amazing.
447[[/folder]]
448
449[[folder:Waldo Geraldo Faldo]]
450!!Waldo Geraldo Faldo
451!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Shawn Harrison
452[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/waldo_6.jpg]]
453
454Eddie's best friend, known for not being the brightest bulb.
455----
456* AdaptedOut: He doesn't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
457* AscendedExtra: Shawn Harrison first appeared in the Season 1 episode "The Party", credited as "Guy in Towel." Season 2 was when Waldo got his first proper appearance, portrayed as a sidekick to a bully, playing this role in two episodes. Eventually, Waldo returned, and was re-written as Eddie's best friend, and joined the main cast by Season 4.
458* BetaCouple: With Maxine.
459* BumblingSidekick: Initially, he was this to Willie, the school bully and a minor villain. Starting in Season 3, he becomes this to Eddie.
460* BunnyEarsLawyer: He goes from being an idiot who can't do anything right to being an idiot who also happens to be the best SupremeChef in town.
461* CharacterCatchphrase:
462** "Cool".
463** "No prob, Bob!"
464** "Sup".
465* CharacterDevelopment: He eventually becomes a SupremeChef who goes off to culinary school.
466* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's so weird that he makes Steve look like a StraightMan.
467* CrazyJealousGuy: In "Scenes From a Mall", he gets insanely jealous towards Maxine, but it's hardly ever an issue in other episodes.
468* TheDitz: Sometimes you have to wonder just how Waldo made to high school.
469* DumbIsGood: Invoked when Eddie and Laura set Laura's friend, Maxine, up with him. She's initially put off by his stupidity, but in the end, she finds him at the same time to be a charming and sweet guy.
470* DumbassHasAPoint: In "Whose Kid Is It Anyway?", Eddie lets Waldo take Richie trick or treating. Waldo manages to take home the wrong kid and Eddie lambastes him for it:
471-->'''Eddie:''' This is the dumbest thing you have ever done!
472-->'''Waldo:''' You left a little kid with me and you calling ''me'' dumb?
473* TheDutifulSon: Implied in "Best Friends." He notes that his entire family counts on his paychecks.
474* EasilyForgiven: In the Season 2 episode "Life of the Party", he's involved in a cruel prank that almost kills Steve and is even arrested for it. Starting in Season 3, Steve and the rest of the cast seem to have forgotten about it and they all think of Waldo as a nice (if stupid) person. His transition from enemy to friend was made without explanation.
475* EpicFail: His tenure at Mighty Weenie was one disaster after another (culminating in an explosion) until Eddie made him a chef.
476* {{Foil}}: To Steve. While Steve's comedy revolves around how smart and nerdy he is, Waldo's comedy comes from his incessant stupidity and [[LiteralMinded literal-mindedness]].
477-->'''Steve:''' ''(referring to his pet stickbug)'' Pablo's bilingual!\
478'''Waldo:''' Excuse me, but I don't wanna hear about a bug's sex life.
479* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Not as much as Steve, but his stupidity frequently irritates the Winslows and other people, including his closest friends like Eddie, Weasel, and Maxine. He's also the only character who manages to annoy ''Steve'' instead of being annoyed by him.
480* GeniusDitz: He's an excellent cook. In "Food, Lies and Videotape", he surprises everyone when he takes a home economics course and proves a natural genius as a chef. His talent is so good that in one episode, he reveals that he was trading recipes with Wolfgang Puck. His mom is a lousy cook, so he had to fend for himself.
481* GracefulInTheirElement: His tenure at Mighty Weenie was so bad that he somehow blew up a section of the restaurant. The second he's put in charge of the kitchen, though, he's a true master and the place is subsequently raking in cash.
482* HeelFaceTurn: Sort of. He was originally the sidekick of Willie, the school bully who picked on Steve, until he presumably stopped hanging out with him after they got arrested. Afterwards, he was rewritten as a [[DumbIsGood good guy]] and one of Eddie and Steve's best friends.
483* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Eddie.
484* HiddenDepths: Besides his talent for cooking, he's also revealed to be good at tap dancing in "Twinkle Toes Faldo". Also, despite being generally an idiot, he has shown a strong sense of morality in more than one episode.
485* HonorBeforeReason: He would rather fail a test than cheat to get a good grade.
486-->'''Waldo:''' I may get Fs, but by God, I earn them!
487* IconicSequelCharacter: He doesn't appear until the middle of Season 2, but becomes one of the main characters.
488* InsecureLoveInterest: In "Scenes From a Mall", he reveals that Maxine is the first girl who ever likes him back, and can't understand what she likes about someone like him.
489* JerkassBall: After befriending Eddie, he's usually a KindheartedSimpleton, except when he hangs out with [[{{Jerkass}} Weasel]], sometimes to make them both look like bad friends. We see both Waldo and Weasel ditching Eddie when he's in trouble, badmouthing Eddie's girlfriend Melissa Robbins, and laughing at the idea of a party for Steve.
490* KindheartedSimpleton: Despite his stupidity, he's one of the most innocent and good-natured characters, except when he's around Willie or Weasel, due to their ToxicFriendInfluence on him. But in most episodes, he only hangs out with good people like Eddie, Steve, Laura, or Maxine, so he's mostly nice.
491* {{Malaproper}}:
492--> "If you cut me, do I not sneeze?"
493--> "Wake up and smell Juan Valdez!"
494* NiceGuy: After he becomes Eddie and Steve's friend. Unlike most people, he actually doesn't mind Steve.
495* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In Season 4. He's the second non-Winslow to be added to the opening after Steve.
496* PutOnABus: After Season 7. A Season 8 episode reveals that he had been accepted into a cooking school in New York.
497* RhymingNames: Waldo Geraldo Faldo.
498* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Sensitive Guy to Eddie's Manly Man.
499* StrawLoser:
500** [[BookDumb Eddie]] isn't the smartest person in the world, but next to Waldo, he looks like a genius.
501** Waldo is there to show that Steve isn't Eddie's only friend who is a loser. Eddie's friendship with Steve makes more sense because all his bad qualities can be seen as not that bad when you consider that his other best friend is kind of dumb.
502* SupremeChef: After he discovers his talent for cooking. He's so good that he can turn ordinary ketchup into a hearty marinara sauce.
503* TheTeetotaler: Waldo swore off drinking and acts as the designated driver when and Eddie go out partying. He explains to Carl that [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} booze gives him a British accent]].
504[[/folder]]
505
506[[folder:Myra Monkhouse]]
507!!Myra Boutros Boutros Monkhouse
508!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/MichelleThomas
509[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/myra.jpg]]
510
511A pretty and bubbly girl who is madly in love with Steve.
512----
513* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zigzagged. Steve is attracted to Myra because of her beauty and intelligence, but at the same time, he's creeped out [[HypocriticalHumor by her stalkerish and possessive ways]]. This is mostly prominent in season 5, when Steve still has feelings for Laura, and he doesn't know what to do with Myra's obsession with him. She grows out of it in seasons 6-8, when she has a real relationship with Steve, but then it's brought back in the final season after their break-up, even worse than before.
514* AdaptedOut: She doesn't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
515* AlliterativeName: '''M'''yra '''M'''onkhouse.
516* AscendedExtra: She's introduced as a cousin of Ted, Laura's boyfriend at the time. Like Steve, she was supposed to be a one shot character but eventually becomes part of the main cast and gets a PromotionToOpeningTitles, even if her cousin Ted disappears after a few episodes.
517* AxCrazy: In the last season.
518* BettyAndVeronica: She can be seen as the Betty (a nerdy girl like Steve who loves him no matter what) to Laura's Veronica (the unattainable popular girl, who will not date Steve until he gives himself a make-over). Alternatively, she can also be seen as the Veronica (the sexually aggressive newcomer, who is there to mess with Steve's emotions) to Laura's Betty (the GirlNextDoor, who has been Steve's "big love" since kindergarten). But anyhow, Steve chooses Laura in the end.
519* BigBad: In the later seasons, she causes most of the trouble for Steve and Laura.
520* BlackAndNerdy: She shares a lot of common interests with Steve. She's attracted to brainy guys because she's quite nerdy herself, as seen in her first meeting with Steve:
521-->'''Steve:''' I'm sure you're aware that Myra was a seaport in ancient Lycia.\
522'''Myra:''' Oh, yes, and I'm sure that you're aware that Steve derives from the Greek, Stephanos, i.e. crown.
523* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Upon her introduction, Myra is simply [[NiceGuy a nice gal]] who just so happens to [[GiveGeeksAChance really like Steve]]. By Season 5, Myra, now a main character, becomes something of a SeeminglyWholesome50sGirl who starts taking a shared interest in Steve's hobbies and is [[ClingyJealousGirl jealous of Laura]]. By season 9, [[DerailingLoveInterests she goes completely off the rails]] by having her room into a shrine of Steve where [[StalkerWithACrush she monitors his every move]].
524* ClingyJealousGirl: Especially in Seasons 5 and 9.
525* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Even before she turned her bedroom into a StalkerShrine to Steve, she did everything from try to take the blame for him when he was WronglyAccused of blowing up the school science lab to randomly use German and French in her speech to dress in a Robin Hood-like outfit for her archery class.
526* CuteAndPsycho: Myra ''is'' batshit insane. Stefan summed it up best:
527-->'''Stefan:''' [looks around the Urkel themed bedroom] Did you ever see the movie ''Film/FatalAttraction''?\
528'''Myra:''' No.\
529'''Stefan:''' Rent it, it's about '''''you'''''.
530* DerailingLoveInterests: Myra's ClingyJealousGirl behavior towards Steve is turned up to eleven in the final season, even after they breakup, to the point where she installs a spy cam in his glasses so she can watch him through a monitor in her bedroom. This so Steve, who'd been happily in a relationship with Myra for years, can be paired with Laura.
531* DistaffCounterpart: Was originally supposed to be one for Steve, just less clumsy and more attractive.
532* FaceHeelTurn: In the seasons where she and Steve are a steady couple, Myra's on friendly terms with the main cast and she even forms an OddFriendship with Laura. By the last season, after her breakup with Steve, she becomes a villain and an AxCrazy PsychoExGirlfriend trying to destroy Steve's relationship with Laura.
533* {{Flanderization}}: She goes from being a perky girl who has a crush on Steve to being a borderline AxCrazy {{Yandere}}.
534* GenkiGirl: She can be very perky.
535* IconicSequelCharacter: She doesn't appear until the middle of season 4, but becomes one of the main characters, due to being part of the iconic LoveTriangle with Steve and Laura.
536* IrrationalHatred: Towards Laura, who is usually nice to her (until Myra starts provoking her), and is also the biggest ShipperOnDeck for Steve and Myra for most of the show. While Myra has a reason to be angry when Steve treats her as a second choice, while still pining for Laura, she blames ''Laura'' instead of Steve.
537* JerkassToOne: She's mostly bitchy and antagonistic to Laura because she sees her as a rival for Steve's love, though they have their bonding moments in the middle seasons.
538* LoveMakesYouCrazy: She takes this to rather frightening extremes, going so far as to blame Steve's infatuation with Laura on Laura herself.
539* MadScientist: A very subtle example, but Myra is shown to be nearly as science smart as Steve and uses her intellect as part of her {{Yandere}} obsession with him. She does everything from sabotaging the transformation chamber so Stefan stays Steve permanently to creating creates a miniature tracking device and spy camera that she puts in his eyeglasses.
540* NerdsAreSexy: Definitely. While not a DudeMagnet like Laura, she's considered beautiful in-universe and out.
541* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Becomes a semi-regular in Season 6 and is added to the opening credits.
542* ProudBeauty: She refers to herself as "gorgeous" and has the looks to back up that claim. Ironically, it's one of the things she has in common with Laura:
543--> '''Curtis:''' How is the prettiest girl in the school?
544--> '''Laura and Myra:''' Fine.
545* PsychoExGirlfriend: In the last season, after her break up with Steve, and especially after he starts dating Laura, she becomes increasingly antagonistic and insane, and an even worse ClingyJealousGirl than she was initially.
546* RomanticFalseLead: Before the last season, she's treated like a legitimate love interest. But Steve was meant to be with his first love Laura.
547* SecondLove: After his long-time crush on Laura, she's the second serious LoveInterest to Steve... [[DerailingLoveInterests until the final season]].
548* SingleTargetSexuality: Totally and absolutely Steve-sexual.
549* StalkerWithACrush: At one point, Steve finds out that she's painted a portrait of him. He notices that the background has his computer and other details of his bedroom that, to his knowledge, Myra has never been in. And most disturbing of all:
550--> '''Steve:''' That's me [[{{Beat}} ...]] As naked as a jaybird.
551* TeenGenius: The reason why she starts liking Steve is because she's an intellectual herself and is implied to be almost as smart as him. She also proves to be an EvilGenius in the last season, going so far as to install a special device in Steve's eyeglasses that allows her to track his every move.
552* VitriolicBestBuds: Eventually, she becomes this with Laura until the final season.
553* VillainousCrush: For Steve in the final season. After evolving into a genuinely loving girlfriend to Steve and a good friend to the rest of the cast, season 9 reverts all the CharacterDevelopment she's gotten over the years and turns her into an AxCrazy antagonist to Steve and Laura who uses questionable methods to break them apart.
554* WastedBeauty: She's stated to be beautiful quite a few times, but we never see anyone attracted to her on the show, aside from Steve, who only treats her as a second choice because DudeMagnet Laura doesn't want him. While Steve finds her attractive and charming, he's also turned off by her clinginess and possessiveness, which eventually end up ruining their relationship. Lampshaded by Laura, when Myra wonders why she's not as appreciated as her, Laura tells her that Myra's strange quirks and intense personality can be very hard to handle.
555* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Many have wondered how a hot girl like Myra can be attracted to Steve.
556* {{Yandere}}: Especially in the last season where she secretly puts a camera in Steve's glasses so she can see what he's doing at all times.
557[[/folder]]
558
559[[folder:Jerry Jamal "3J" Jameson]]
560!!Jerry Jamal "3J" Jameson
561!!!'''Portrayed by''' Creator/OrlandoBrown
562[[quoteright:211:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3j.jpg]]
563
564A young orphan adopted by Carl and Harriette in the last few seasons.
565----
566* AdaptedOut: He along with the Winslows don't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
567* AlliterativeName: Jerry Jamal Jameson.
568* CousinOliver: He's introduced in Season 7. Ironically, Richie's still around when this occurs.
569* {{Foil}}: 3J finds some of Richie's pastimes to be boring, and is more morally ambiguous than he, but the two ultimately become best friends.
570* HappilyAdopted: The Winslows adopt him.
571%%* {{Kidanova}}
572* MaliciousMisnaming: 3J calls Steve "Urkie" until he realizes that Steve actually cares about him.
573* NeverLearnedToRead: He's much younger than most other examples of this, but is old enough for it to be a problem.
574* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Is almost always referred to as 3J.
575* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In Season 8.
576* StickyFingers: His first episode, "My Big Brother", depicts him picking several people's pockets, although in the last instance, he does it to get some bullies off of Steve's back.
577%%* TagalongKid
578* TookALevelInBadass: In "Karate Kids".
579* WillTheyOrWontThey: In a different sense; the functional difference between fostering 3J and adopting him outright is that [[spoiler:the former leaves open the possibility that 3J's biological mother, to whom he unknowingly spoke, will come back for him and take him home. Carl finds 3J's mother more than a year after the Winslows welcome him into their home, but she asks Carl not to tell 3J why she can't take care of him. Instead, [[LiesToChildren Carl tells 3J that he couldn't find her.]] The two discuss the prospect of 3J being adopted by the Winslows, and 3J happily accepts.]]
580* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Due to his street smarts.
581[[/folder]]
582
583!Recurring Characters
584[[folder:Rodney Beckett]]
585!!Rodney Beckett
586!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Randy Josselyn
587
588Eddie's best friend in the first two seasons.
589----
590* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He is last seen in "Fast Eddie Winslow", then is mentioned once again by Eddie in "Taking Credit". It's not clear what happened to him from Season 3 onwards.
591* EveryoneHasStandards: He dislikes Steve, but he supports Eddie when the latter protects Steve from a bully in "In a Jam".
592* OutOfFocus: Most of his appearances are in the first season. In Season 2, he only appears in two episodes.
593* ThePrankster: As seen in his first episode, he likes practical jokes.
594* TokenWhite: One of the few recurring white characters.
595* ToxicFriendInfluence: He tends to get Eddie in trouble, and even tries to convince him to ditch Steve.
596[[/folder]]
597
598[[folder:Maxine Johnson]]
599!!Maxine Johnson
600!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/CherieJohnson
601[[quoteright:244:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxine.png]]
602
603Laura's best friend.
604----
605* AdaptedOut: She doesn't appear in ''Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!''.
606* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Before Waldo, she dated several jerks in the early seasons.
607* BetaCouple: With Waldo for most of the series.
608* BookDumb: Unlike Laura, she gets poor grades.
609* ClingyJealousGirl: Towards Waldo. As he says to another girl:
610--> "She's a sweetie pie, but if she saw us together, she'd rip your arm off and beat me with it."
611* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite a very firm opposition to Laura dating Steve, Maxine does chastise her in "Polkapalooza" for being all take and no give. As she says, Steve does whatever activity Laura wants to do without hesitation, so he's owed time to show off his own interests and hobbies.
612* FakeGuestStar: Despite appearing from Season 2 to Season 9, she never receives a PromotionToOpeningTitles. She actually appears in more episodes than Myra, who becomes a main character from Season 6 onwards.
613* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Laura.
614* HypocriticalHumor: In the last season, she makes fun of Laura when the latter starts liking Steve as a potential love interest. This is coming from the girl who dated ''Waldo'' for many years.
615* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Like Laura, she's a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter when it comes to choosing boys to date. They usually turn out to be opportunistic or unfaithful. It's the reason why she ends up accepting [[KindheartedSimpleton Waldo]] so easily, despite his stupidity.
616* NiceGirl: For most of the show, she seems more sweet and accepting than Laura.
617* OddFriendship: She gets along quite well with Steve, likely due to the fact that they both have neglectful parents.
618* ParentalNeglect: It's revealed that she has neglectful parents who don't care about her at all.
619* PomPomGirl: She's a cheerleader like Laura. While BookDumb and boy-crazy, she's a nice, likable girl.
620* PopularIsDumb: She's almost as popular as her friend Laura. And unlike Laura, she's a poor student.
621* SatelliteCharacter: Most of her character revolves around the fact that she's Laura's friend and rarely has significant interaction with anyone else, Waldo included.
622* ShipperOnDeck: If she's supportive of Laura's relationships, it depends on the episode or the guy, but in season 9 she seems to support Laura/Stefan over Laura/Steve.
623* ShipTease: For some reason, she often ends up dating Laura's ex-boyfriends for a while, like Daniel Wallace, Ted, and Curtis. Even Waldo went on a date with Laura before starting to date Maxine.
624* TookALevelInJerkass: While she rarely interacts with Steve, she's mostly neutral towards him and shares a nice moment with him at the end of "Muskrat Love". In season 9, she becomes more dismissive of Steve, is disgusted when she learns Laura has feelings for him, even telling her that Steve is nothing compared to a handsome guy like Stefan. Maxine also used to like a loser like Waldo for his kindness, so her WhatDoesSheSeeInHim about Laura and Steve in the last season makes her more shallow than before.
625[[/folder]]
626
627[[folder:Lieutenant Murtaugh]]
628!!Lieutenant Murtaugh
629!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/BarryJenner
630
631Carl's obnoxious boss in early seasons.
632----
633* AbhorrentAdmirer: To Rachel, who's repulsed by him just as much as Laura is repulsed by Steve. He and Steve even bond over their shared dilemma in one episode.
634* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He disappears without a mention and is never heard from again after his last appearance.
635* TheComicallySerious: Whenever he isn't playing the {{Jerkass}}, particularly in his first few appearances. He often says ridiculous things with a serious face.
636* CommonalityConnection: He bonds with Steve over AllLoveIsUnrequited.
637* DemotedToExtra: Despite being a recurring character in Seasons 2 and 3, he only appears in one episode of Season 4. After that, he's never seen again. This is justified as Carl's promotion to Lieutenant and later Captain meant Murtaugh was no longer his superior on the force.
638* {{Foil}}: To Carl; when it comes to the badge, Carl is a humble expert while Murtaugh is an incompetent jerkass. Their differences are crystal clear any time they’re shown working together.
639* HeyYou: He frequently addresses Steve with everything from "kid" to "nerd". Steve gives as good as he gets, frequently calling Murtaugh "flatfoot" and "copper".
640* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: He's so proud of his rank, he has his name legally changed to whatever it is.
641* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
642** While he's normally a complete boor and sometimes a bit of an asshole, he is given enough PetTheDog moments to show that he's not really such a bad guy. He forms an OddFriendship with Steve, and in the episodes where he's antagonistic, it usually end with him apologizing and offering an olive branch in some way.
643** In "Jailhouse Blues", Murtaugh talks the owner of the car that Eddie, Steve and Eddie's cousin Clarence went joyriding in out of pressing charges.
644** While it’s a subtle moment, he’s shown comforting Carl when the latter finds out that his daughter is being held hostage by a bank robber.
645* LargeHam: Whenever he isn't comically serious, he's over-the-top pompous.
646* OddFriendship: With Steve. They sometimes engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat.
647* PointyHairedBoss: To Carl. Carl serves as the StraightMan to his moronic boss.
648* SmallNameBigEgo: He thinks highly of himself despite his total incompetence. He does have his moments of competence, such as in "Robo-Nerd II" when his belief that Urkelbot can help the police catch an armed robber turns out to be correct despite Carl thinking it's a crazy idea.
649* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: He insists that his first name is Lieutenant. He goes on to say, completely deadpan, that whenever he attains a new rank, he legally changes his name to match his rank. When Carl asked him what his name was before, he enthusiastically replies, "SERGEANT!"
650* TokenWhite: One of the few recurring white characters.
651* YouOweMe: He says this to Carl when he talks the owner of the car that Eddie and Clarence took for a joyride out of pressing charges.
652[[/folder]]
653
654[[folder:Ted Curran]]
655!!Ted Curran
656!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Patrick J. Dancy
657
658Laura's boyfriend in Season 4.
659----
660* TheAce: He's described as a "good-looking, popular jock [[AcademicAthlete with straight A's]]".
661* BigManOnCampus: He's as popular as Laura, and it's the reason why she has a crush on him.
662* LovableJock: Despite his mistakes, he is one of Laurs's nicer love interests.
663* NotSoAboveItAll: His friends spread fake rumors about him and Laura sleeping together, and he does nothing to stop the rumors, causing Laura, Eddie, and Steve to be mad at him. He later feels guilty.
664* PutOnABus: In "Heart Strings", Laura mentions she broke up with him.
665* SmallRoleBigImpact: Only appears in a few episodes, but he's the one who introduces his cousin Myra to Steve and the rest is history.
666[[/folder]]
667
668[[folder:Alex "Weasel" Park]]
669!!Alex "Weasel" Park
670!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/ShavarRoss
671
672Another of Eddie's friends from high school.
673----
674* AbhorrentAdmirer: He flirts with Laura in more than one episode. She doesn't take it well.
675* AnimalMotifs: A weasel, obviously. He's a smug, preening {{Jerkass}} who isn't nearly as smart as he thinks he is.
676* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Like Waldo, he was originally a crony of an antagonistic character in his debut episode before being retooled into being one of Eddie's friends. In this case, he was one of Ted's friends.
677* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: After being a recurring character in Seasons 4 and 5, he disappears for the rest of the series.
678* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Except in his debut episode, when he's referred to as his first name Alex, he's only known as "Weasel".
679* PetTheDog: In "Rock Enroll", he initially laughs when Laura wants to plan a birthday party for Steve, but at the end of the episode, he shows up at the party. He and Waldo were the only people at Steve's party besides the Winslows (Myra is oddly absent in that episode).
680* {{Schemer}}: In several episodes, he involves Eddie in his schemes.
681* ThoseTwoGuys: He's paired with Waldo, Eddie's other friend, in most of his appearances.
682* ToxicFriendInfluence: Eddie's parents (correctly) believe that he's a bad influence on Eddie. Even Waldo, normally a KindheartedSimpleton, is slightly meaner than usual when he hangs out with Weasel.
683* WickedWeasel: Not a literal weasel, but he lives up to his nickname.
684[[/folder]]
685
686[[folder:Greta [=McClure=]]]
687!!Greta [=McClure=]
688!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Tammy Townsend
689
690Eddie's girlfriend in later seasons.
691----
692* CallingTheOldManOut: She reproaches her father Dave for his overprotectiveness, saying that it's pushing her away. This is initially enough for Dave to relent and let her date Eddie, but his overprotectiveness makes Greta estranged from him.
693* DatingWhatDaddyHates:
694** Her overprotective father doesn't like Eddie. It gets to the point where her father threatens to financially cut her off unless she quits dating Eddie. She refuses and has to find her own income.
695** When Greta and Eddie use Steve as a ringer to pick Greta up for their date, her father actually approves of him. When Greta asks why, her father points out that she could probably beat the crap out of Steve if he actually tried anything.
696* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: She debuts in the B-plot of "My Bodyguard", whose main focus is on Carl protecting Steve from a vengeful criminal. She becomes Eddie's permanent love interest.
697* LoveInterest: Eddie's longest lasting love interest.
698* PublicExposure: When her father cuts her off financially because she refused to stop dating Eddie, she's forced to find her own income. One of the jobs she takes involves being a nude model for an art class. Eddie is furious about it until Laura explains just why Greta was actually doing it.
699* SitcomArchNemesis: To Myrtle Urkel, her romantic rival who is obsessed with Eddie.
700* SpoiledSweet: Her father is the wealthy owner of the Mighty Weenie franchise that Eddie and Steve work for. She's a total sweetheart.
701* SwappedRoles: Her father Dave threatens to fire Eddie, who works for his Mighty Weenie restaurant chain, if he puts the moves on Greta. Eddie is normally TheCasanova, but he keeps a respectful distance from Greta during their date. Finally, Greta becomes impatient and starts coming on to Eddie herself. When Dave catches them and fires Eddie, Greta points out that she was the one who put the moves on Eddie. This is enough for Dave to give Eddie his job back and (temporarily) let them date.
702[[/folder]]
703
704[[folder:Curtis Williams]]
705!!Curtis Williams
706!!!'''Portrayed by:''' J. Lamont Pope
707
708Laura's boyfriend in Seasons 7 and 8.
709----
710* DidNotGetTheGirl: Ends up losing Laura to Stefan in one of his final appearances.
711* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: More of a jerk in his first episode, but becomes more likable in later appearances.
712* LoveInterest: To Laura, and later to Maxine after Laura breaks up with him.
713* TroubledButCute: A tough, reckless car driver with a "bad boy" appeal, and Laura finds him attractive.
714[[/folder]]
715
716[[folder:Stefan Urquelle]]
717!!Stefan Urquelle
718!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Jaleel White
719 [[quoteright:273:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stefan_1.jpg]]
720
721Steve's charismatic SexierAlterEgo.
722----
723* TheAce: He's talented and good at everything. Unlike Steve, he also has social skills and is loved by everyone.
724* AscendedExtra: He makes a single appearance in the Season 5 episode "Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool", when Steve changes his DNA as a plan to become cool. Later, he turns into Stefan several times and in Season 7, thanks to Steve's cloning machine, Steve and Stefan become two different characters.
725* BlessedWithSuck: His talents and charms come with the drawback that his intellect is not on the same genius level as Steve's. Thus, when Myra messes with the transformation chamber and ends up turning Carl into a nerdy "Urkelized" version of himself, Stefan has trouble fixing the machine.
726* BornAsAnAdult: Well, he's Steve's clone (originally alter ego).
727* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In his first appearance, Stefan was actually an unrepentant narcissist who despises Steve. In his second appearance, Steve actually fine tuned the formula used to create Stefan [[InvokedTrope in order to tone down these negative aspects of his personality]] and he became TheCharmer.
728* TheCharmer: His personality is apparently irresistible.
729* ChickMagnet: He's very popular with the ladies.
730* DidNotGetTheGirl: Laura chose Steve over him in the final season.
731* GadgeteerGenius: He retains most of Steve's smarts. While not as smart as Steve, he is still highly intelligent.
732* ItsAllAboutMe: Originally, in his very first appearance. He's a nicer person later on after Steve revises the formula for the "cool elixir" that turns him into Stefan.
733* LiteralSplitPersonality: Originally, he was Steve's SexierAlterEgo that he would transform into before reverting back to himself. However, after Steve clones himself and everyone realizes that having two of him is too much trouble, Laura comes up with the idea of Steve's clone permanently transforming himself into Stefan so both of them can co-exist.
734* MundaneMadeAwesome: Physically, he's just Creator/JaleelWhite looking and talking the way he did in RealLife.
735-->'''Jaleel White:''' [[https://ew.com/article/2010/06/08/jaleel-white-family-matters-dvd-interview/ Until this day,]] that’s one of the biggest reactions I’ve ever received from any audience, doing anything. In my mind, what you can’t see is my astonishment, like “Are you kidding? This is how I come to work every day!”
736* SexierAlterEgo: He's this for Steve.
737[[/folder]]
738
739[[folder:Myrtle Urkel]]
740!!Myrtle Urkel
741!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Jaleel White
742 [[quoteright:161:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/myrtle_3.jpg]]
743
744Steve's cousin who is madly in love with Eddie.
745----
746* AbhorrentAdmirer: To Eddie.
747* AscendedExtra: She first appears in the Season 2 episode "Cousin Urkel". After several years, she comes back as a recurring character.
748* CharacterDevelopment: After one too many times of rejection, Myrtle has had enough and actually gives up on Eddie and moves on.
749* ConsistentClothingStyle: She usually wears old-fashioned, Southern-style dresses. She also has an affinity for the color yellow.
750* CrossCastRole: She's played by Jaleel White in drag.
751* ClingyJealousGirl: She does ''not'' take kindly to other women being around her beloved Eddie.
752* DistaffCounterpart: To Steve.
753* {{Foil}}: She has a lot of similarities with Greta. They’re both daughters of wealthy men who don’t approve of Eddie. Greta’s father goes as far as to cut her off financially when she refuses to break up with Eddie, while Myrtle’s father does no such thing but once tries to bribe Eddie into leaving Myrtle at her debutante ball. In [[Recap/FamilyMattersS8E8NightmareAtUrkelOaks "Nightmare at Urkel Oaks"]], he successfully bribes Eddie into marrying Myrtle but the whole episode was AllJustADream.
754* {{Hypocrite}}: She constantly insults Greta with SlutShaming and considers her ugly. This coming from the same person who constantly makes perverted advances towards Greta’s boyfriend, Eddie. Practically everyone winces at Myrtle’s appearance [[GeekPhysique due to her strong resemblance to]] [[CrossCastRole Steve]]. Greta’s always responds by throwing back those same insults, greatly offending Myrtle.
755* ReplacementFlatCharacter: Around Season 6, when Steve is in a stable relationship with Myra and no longer an obnoxious AbhorrentAdmirer, his cousin Myrtle comes back to fill this role to Eddie and she's even more obsessive than Steve was in the beginning.
756* RichBitch: Her father, Big Daddy Urkel, is a wealthy peanut tycoon.
757* SitcomArchNemesis: To Eddie's eventual girlfriend Greta. They frequently get into a CatFight over Eddie.
758* SouthernBelle: She's from Biloxi, Mississippi, and speaks with a distinct Southern drawl.
759* StalkerWithACrush: Is one for Eddie.
760* TookALevelInJerkass: While teenage Myrtle was obsessive and a LittleMissSnarker, she was relatively harmless compared to her adult self, who became much more conniving and confrontational after meeting Greta.
761[[/folder]]
762
763[[folder:Mr. Looney]]
764!!Alfred Looney
765!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/TomPoston
766
767The meek and slightly eccentric janitor at Vanderbilt High. He's good friends with Steve Urkel.
768----
769* AscendedExtra: He first appears in "Presumed Urkel" in a minor role, but would later become a prominent character in two more episodes.
770* CharacterCatchphrase: "It's pronounced Loo-NAY, it's French!"
771* ADayInTheLimelight: "Wedding Bell Blues" gives him a lot of focus, since it's about his big (and soon to be failed) wedding day.
772* DrivenToSuicide: After his [[RunawayBride bride-to-be abandons him at the altar]], a grief-stricken Looney climbs to the top of the church and nearly hurls himself over the edge. Thankfully, Steve and Carl are able to intervene.
773* EarnYourHappyEnding: The man's bride left him for the organist ''on his wedding day'', and he nearly took his own life afterwards. Thankfully, and against all odds, he's able to find love again when he reunites with an old friend, who just so happens to be one of the cops that was called in to save him.
774* HiddenDepths: He's very much a theatre kid at heart. He breaks out into song, is familiar with Creator/StephenSondheim, and was even cast in the school's production of ''Theatre/{{Carousel}}''.
775* MeaningfulName: His name is Looney (pronounced "Loo-NAY") and he's quite spacey.
776* RunningGag: Whenever someone says his name wrong, he'll always be there to correct them.
777* LargeHam: While rather meek, he's just as hammy as Steve. Just listen to the man sing!
778* PronouncingMyNameForYou: His name is pronounced "Loo-NAY" (it's French), not "Loo-NEE". He'll bring this up whenever someone inevitably mispronounces his name.

Top