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*''[[Perfect Strangers (TV series)|Perfect Strangers]]'' — Before ''Family Matters'', Harriette Winslow was originally the elevator operator at the ''Chicago Chronicle'' newspaper office in the third and fourth seasons of ''Perfect Strangers''. ''Family Matters'' was a spin-off series given to this character in 1989. In the second episode of ''Family Matters'', Harriette was fired as elevator operator at the ''Chronicle'', but was soon re-hired as "Chief of Security", which explained her absence from dealings with the ''Perfect Strangers'' cast.
*''[[Perfect Strangers (TV series)|Perfect Strangers]]'' — Before ''Family Matters'', Harriette Winslow was originally the elevator operator at the ''Chicago Chronicle'' newspaper office in the third and fourth seasons of ''Perfect Strangers''. ''Family Matters'' was a spin-off series given to this character in 1989. In the second episode of ''Family Matters'', Harriette was fired as elevator operator at the ''Chronicle'', but was soon re-hired as "Chief of Security", which explained her absence from dealings with the ''Perfect Strangers'' cast.
*''[[Full House]]'' — In the 1991 episode "[[Full House episodes (Season 4)#Stephanie Gets Framed|Stephanie Gets Framed]]", Steve Urkel helps [[Stephanie Tanner]] ([[Jodie Sweetin]]) deal with her anxiety after she has to wear [[eyeglasses]].
*''[[Full House]]'' — In the 1991 episode "[[Full House episodes (Season 4)#Stephanie Gets Framed|Stephanie Gets Framed]]", Steve Urkel helps [[Stephanie Tanner]] ([[Jodie Sweetin]]) deal with her anxiety after she has to wear [[eyeglasses]].
*''[[Boy Meets World]]'' — In the episode "[[List of Family Matters episodes#Season 8: 1996–1997|Beauty and the Beast]]" Urkel sent a [[chain letter]] to his friend [[List of Boy Meets World characters|Cory Matthews]], ([[Ben Savage]]) who lived in [[Philadelphia]]. The two never actually appeared together on either show.
*''[[Boy Meets World]]'' — In the episode "[[List of Family Matters episodes#Season 8: 1996–1997|Beauty and the Beast]]" Urkel sent a [[chain letter]] to his friend [[List of Boy Meets World characters|Cory Matthews]], ([[Ben Savage]]) who lived in [[Philadelphia]]. In an episode of Boy Meets World, Cory says he recieves a chain letter from his friend Steve. The two never actually appeared together on either show.
*''[[Step by Step (TV series)|Step by Step]]'' — In the original [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] broadcast, the ending gag of ''Family Matters' '' third season episode "[[List of Family Matters episodes#Season 3: 1991–1992|Brains Over Brawn]]" is crossed over with the opening of the second episode of ''Step By Step'', "[[List of Step by Step episodes#Season 1: 1991–1992|The Dance]]". Urkel's jet-propelled flight pack causes him to fly through the Winslows' roof as one show ends, and crash-land in [[Port Washington, Wisconsin]], where the Lambert-Foster family is enjoying a barbecue as the other show opens. Urkel goes on to help his science-fair [[pen pal]], Mark Foster ([[Christopher Castile]]), and lifts Al Lambert's ([[Christine Lakin]]) spirits after her potential date dumps her just before a school dance. He reprises his "[[Steve Urkel#The Urkel Dance|Do the Urkel]]" dance in the scene where Al gives the guy who dumped her his [[wikt:comeuppance|comeuppance]]. Urkel also makes a brief cameo in the 1997 episode "[[List of Step by Step episodes#Season 7: 1997–1998|A Star Is Born]]", snapping a [[clapperboard]] on the set of the movie that Al was cast in over her two sisters.
*''[[Step by Step (TV series)|Step by Step]]'' — In the original [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] broadcast, the ending gag of ''Family Matters' '' third season episode "[[List of Family Matters episodes#Season 3: 1991–1992|Brains Over Brawn]]" is crossed over with the opening of the second episode of ''Step By Step'', "[[List of Step by Step episodes#Season 1: 1991–1992|The Dance]]". Urkel's jet-propelled flight pack causes him to fly through the Winslows' roof as one show ends, and crash-land in [[Port Washington, Wisconsin]], where the Lambert-Foster family is enjoying a barbecue as the other show opens. Urkel goes on to help his science-fair [[pen pal]], Mark Foster ([[Christopher Castile]]), and lifts Al Lambert's ([[Christine Lakin]]) spirits after her potential date dumps her just before a school dance. He reprises his "[[Steve Urkel#The Urkel Dance|Do the Urkel]]" dance in the scene where Al gives the guy who dumped her his [[wikt:comeuppance|comeuppance]]. Urkel also makes a brief cameo in the 1997 episode "[[List of Step by Step episodes#Season 7: 1997–1998|A Star Is Born]]", snapping a [[clapperboard]] on the set of the movie that Al was cast in over her two sisters.


Revision as of 05:16, 7 August 2010

This article is about the U.S. television series. For other uses, see Family Matters (disambiguation).
Family Matters
Main title screen
GenreSitcom
Created byWilliam Bickley
Michael Warren
Developed byRobert L. Boyett
Thomas L. Miller
StarringReginald VelJohnson
Jo Marie Payton
Rosetta LeNoire
Darius McCrary
Kellie Shanygne Williams
Jaimee Foxworth
Joseph and Julius Wright
Telma Hopkins
Jaleel White
Bryton McClure
Shawn Harrison
Michelle Thomas
Orlando Brown
Judyann Elder
Valerie Jones
Theme music composerJesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay
& Scott Roeme
(episodes 1–3: Bob Thiele, George David Weiss & George Douglas)
Opening theme"As Days Go By",
performed by Jesse Frederick
(episodes 1–3: "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong)
Ending themeInstrumental theme,
composed by Jesse Frederick & Bennett Salvay (seasons 1–4)
Gary Boren (seasons 5–9)
ComposersJesse Frederick &
Bennett Salvay (both; seasons 1–2)
Gary Boren (seasons 3–5 and 8)
Steven Chesne (seasons 4–7)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes215 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersThomas L. Miller
Robert L. Boyett
William Bickley
Michael Warren (seasons 2–7)
David W. Duclon (seasons 3–8)
Camera setupFilm; Multi-camera
Running timeapprox. 22–25 minutes
Production companiesMiller-Boyett Productions
Bickley-Warren Productions (seasons 2–9)
Lorimar Television (seasons 1–3)
Warner Bros. Television (seasons 4–9)
Original release
NetworkABC (1989–1997)
CBS (1997–1998)
ReleaseSeptember 22, 1989 (1989-09-22) –
July 17, 1998 (1998-07-17)
Related
Perfect Strangers (1986–1993)

Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class African-American family living in Chicago. The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers and revolves around the Winslow family.[1] Midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows' nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White), who quickly became its breakout character and eventually a main character.[2] Family Matters aired from September 22, 1989 to September 19, 1997 on ABC, and on CBS from September 19, 1997 to July 17, 1998.

With 215 episodes, Family Matters is the second-longest-running U.S. sitcom with a predominantly Black-American cast, surpassed only by The Jeffersons, also a spinoff (of All in the Family) which lasted longer than its parent series.[3]

History

Family Matters originally focused on the character of Carl Winslow and his family: wife Harriette Winslow, son Eddie Winslow, intelligent daughter Laura Winslow, youngest child Judy Winslow (until Season 4), and (later) let his sister-in-law Rachel Crawford and son Richie Crawford live in his house.

In the series opener, the family had also opened their home to Carl's street-wise mother, Estelle Winslow (usually known as "Mother Winslow"), as well as Harriette's sister, Rachel Crawford, and her son, Richie Crawford, after the death of Rachel's husband prior to the start of the series.

The Winslows' nerdy next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel, was introduced midway through the first season and quickly became the focus of the show. The popular sitcom was part of ABC's TGIF from 1989 until 1997, before it became part of the CBS Block Party lineup from 1997 until 1998. Family Matters was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions and Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television (1989–1993), and later Warner Bros. Television (1993–1998).

As the show progressed, episodes began to center more and more on Urkel (and occasionally his alter-ego, Stefan), and other original characters also played by Jaleel White.

Network change

In early 1997, CBS bought Family Matters and Step by Step for $40 million from ABC. ABC then promised to pay Miller-Boyett Productions $1.5 million per episode for a ninth and tenth season of Family Matters. However, tensions had risen between Miller-Boyett Productions and ABC's parent company, Disney. Miller-Boyett thought that they would not be big players on ABC after recently being bought up by Disney. So in turn Miller-Boyett Productions signed in the $40 million offer from CBS for both Family Matters and Step By Step to be renewed for a 22-episode season on CBS. CBS put Family Matters, along with Step By Step as a part of their new Friday line-up they called the "CBS Block Party". They put up the "CBS Block Party" against ABC's TGIF lineup, where the two series previously originated. CBS cancelled Family Matters and Step By Step after one season, along with the rest of the "Block Party" lineup.

Cast

Main article: List of Family Matters characters

Main cast

Recurring cast

Notable guest stars

Episodes

Main article: List of Family Matters episodes
Season Episodes First airdate Last airdate
Season 1 22 September 22, 1989 April 30, 1990
Season 2 25 September 21, 1990 April 26, 1991
Season 3 25 September 20, 1991 May 8, 1992
Season 4 24 September 18, 1992 May 14, 1993
Season 5 24 September 24, 1993 May 20, 1994
Season 6 25 September 23, 1994 May 19, 1995
Season 7 24 September 22, 1995 May 17, 1996
Season 8 24 September 20, 1996 May 9, 1997
Season 9 22 September 19, 1997 July 17, 1998

DVD release

On June 8, 2010, Warner Home Video released the complete first season of Family Matters on DVD for the very first time.[4]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete 1st Season 22 June 8, 2010

Ratings

Family Matters was a top 50 hit for its first eight seasons, and ranked in the top 20 for the second season, and the top 30 for the third and fourth seasons.

Production notes

Family Matters was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren (who also wrote for, and were producers of parent series Perfect Strangers) and developed by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett (also producers of Perfect Strangers), it was also executive produced by Bickley, Warren, Miller and Boyett. The series was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television who co-produced the show until 1993, when Warner Bros. Television absorbed Lorimar (a sister company under the Time Warner banner) in 1993). Starting with season three, the series was also produced by Bickley-Warren Productions.

The series was filmed in front of a live studio audience at WB studios in Burbank, California.

Theme song and opening credits

Theme song

The show's original theme was the Louis Armstrong classic "What a Wonderful World"; it was scrapped after three episodes, though it was heard only in the pilot episode in syndicated reruns. The second theme "As Days Go By", written by Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay, and Scott Roeme, and performed by Frederick, was the theme for the majority of the series until 1995 (this was heard in season one episodes in ABC Family and syndicated airings). A longer version of "As Days Go By" can be heard in the first three seasons, though in syndicated reruns the short version is heard (in ABC Family airings, the long theme was used for all of the season one through three episodes).

Opening credits

The opening sequence begins with a shot of the Chicago Lakefront (the John Hancock Center can be seen in the center), then a shot of the Winslow home. In the opening titles, the main characters were shown around the Winslow home (though in some shots featured some characters in other places as well, such as Rachel at the Rachel's Place restaurant during the season two through four version, or Eddie as a bag boy at a grocery store during the season one version). The opening credits during the first three seasons feature a scene showing the Winslow family riding their bicycles across a bridge over the Chicago River; an allusion to parent series Perfect Strangers, which featured a scene of Larry and Balki (played by Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker) riding a tour boat underneath the same bridge in its own opening credits from season three until the end of that series. Clips of episodes were shown after the bike scene and before the house shot in the season one through three versions. The house shown at the beginning and the end of the opening credits (as well as in establishing shots for scenes set at the Winslow house) is located at 1516 W. Wrightwood Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The closing shot at the end of the credits with the Winslow family at the piano (which also was shown during the closing credits when there was no tag scene), in which the shot pans outside the house and the camera zooms out showing neighborhoods and the Chicago skyline in the background, was originally used in the pilot episode "The Mama Who Came to Dinner" (though the scene featuring the Winslows before the pan was redone twice in seasons two and five). In season seven, the opening theme song and credits were dropped. The names of cast members and some producers were shown in the opening teaser for season seven and eight.

The role of Richie as a baby was credited as being played by "Joseph Julius Wright" in season 1 (the duo was credited this way because the show's producers did not want audiences to know that Richie was then played by twins). Julius' name was made to appear as Joseph's middle name in the titles (the role of Richie as a baby was played by two children because California state law regulates the number of work hours for a young child, therefore it is common for the role of one baby in a TV or film production to be played by twins). Another Miller-Boyett production, Full House credited Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in the same manner in its opening credits until its seventh season. In season five after Telma Hopkins left the show, Jaleel White was now given special billing in response to the popularity he earned as Steve Urkel. Appearing last in the credits, he was credited as "[and] Jaleel White as Steve Urkel" (Hopkins was credited similarly as "And Telma Hopkins as Rachel" prior to season five).

Crossovers with other TGIF shows

Family Matters is set in the same "TV universe" as several other TV series related to ABC's TGIF:

  • Perfect Strangers — Before Family Matters, Harriette Winslow was originally the elevator operator at the Chicago Chronicle newspaper office in the third and fourth seasons of Perfect Strangers. Family Matters was a spin-off series given to this character in 1989. In the second episode of Family Matters, Harriette was fired as elevator operator at the Chronicle, but was soon re-hired as "Chief of Security", which explained her absence from dealings with the Perfect Strangers cast.
  • Full House — In the 1991 episode "Stephanie Gets Framed", Steve Urkel helps Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweetin) deal with her anxiety after she has to wear eyeglasses.
  • Boy Meets World — In the episode "Beauty and the Beast" Urkel sent a chain letter to his friend Cory Matthews, (Ben Savage) who lived in Philadelphia. In an episode of Boy Meets World, Cory says he recieves a chain letter from his friend Steve. The two never actually appeared together on either show.
  • Step by Step — In the original ABC broadcast, the ending gag of Family Matters' third season episode "Brains Over Brawn" is crossed over with the opening of the second episode of Step By Step, "The Dance". Urkel's jet-propelled flight pack causes him to fly through the Winslows' roof as one show ends, and crash-land in Port Washington, Wisconsin, where the Lambert-Foster family is enjoying a barbecue as the other show opens. Urkel goes on to help his science-fair pen pal, Mark Foster (Christopher Castile), and lifts Al Lambert's (Christine Lakin) spirits after her potential date dumps her just before a school dance. He reprises his "Do the Urkel" dance in the scene where Al gives the guy who dumped her his comeuppance. Urkel also makes a brief cameo in the 1997 episode "A Star Is Born", snapping a clapperboard on the set of the movie that Al was cast in over her two sisters.

Syndication

In September 1993, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution began distributing Family Matters for broadcast in off-network syndication; most television stations stopped carrying the show by around 2002, though some stations in larger markets continued to air Family Matters until as recently as 2006. In 1995, reruns of the series began airing on TBS Superstation, where it ran until 2003.

From 1997 to 2002, reruns of the series aired on WGN America. In 2003, ABC Family picked up the series and aired it for five years until March 2008, when ABC Family removed the show from their line-up. BET aired reruns briefly in December 2009. The show currently airs on Nick at Nite, a U.S. cable network, and has aired since June 28, 2008. ABC Family and Nick at Nite airings cut the tag scenes at the end of all episodes, despite the fact that many episodes during the series have tag scenes during the closing credits.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Result Category Recipient
1991 BMI Film & TV Awards Won BMI TV Music Award Bennett Salvay
1992 BMI TV Music Award Bennett Salvay
1996 Emmy Award Nominated Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects Kelly Sandefur
(For episode "Send In The Clone")
1994 NAACP Image Awards Won Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress Jaleel White
1995 Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress Jaleel White
1996 Nominated Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Jaleel White
1997 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Jaleel White
1996 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Nominated Favorite Television Show
-
Favorite Television Actor Jaleel White
2008 TV Land Awards Nominated Jaimee Foxworth
1990 Young Artist Award Nominated Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series Darius McCrary
Best New Television Series
-
Won Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series Randy Josselyn
1991 Nominated Best Young Actress Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series Jaimee Foxworth
Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series Kellie Shanygne Williams
Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series Darius McCrary
Won Outstanding Young Comedian in a Television Series Jaleel White
1992 Nominated Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series Kellie Shanygne Williams
1993 Nominated Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series Kellie Shanygne Williams
Outstanding Young Comedian in a Television Series Darius McCrary
Best Young Actress Recurring in a Television Series Cherie Johnson
Best Young Actor Recurring in a Television Series Patrick J. Dancy
Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series Shawn Harrison
Won Best Young Actor Recurring in a Television Series Bumper Robinson
(Tied with Aeryk Egan for Brooklyn Bridge)

Notes

  1. ^ Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (2006). Historical Dictionary of African-American Television. Vol. 7. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 135. ISBN 0-8108-5335-3.
  2. ^ Fisherkeller, JoEllen (2002). Growing Up With Television: Everyday Learning Among Young Adolescents. Temple University Press. p. 178. ISBN 1-566-39953-X.
  3. ^ Bryant, Jennings (2001). Television and the American Family (2 ed.). Routledge. p. 216. ISBN 0-805-83422-2.
  4. ^ http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Family-Matters-Season-1/13355
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