Full House

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

Movie

Plot

A comedy/drama that ran in half hour segments from 1992 to 1997. The Winslow family takes in a few strays, including the next door neighbor's quirky and nerdy son, Urkel.

Starring

Reginald VelJohnson, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Darius McCrary, Jaleel White, JoMarie Payton, Rosetta LeNoire, Bryton James, Telma Hopkins, Shawn Harrison, and more.

Review

Even though I've watched countless reruns of Family Matters, it's been years since I've seen the episodes from season one. I was surprised to discover that Steve Urkel didn't appear in the series until midway through the first season as I always thought he was the reason the show even existed.

But as it turns out, the show is actually a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, in which Harriette Winslow was an elevator operator at the Chronicle. Harriette was married to Carl, a Chicago police officer, and together were raising three children: Eddie, Laura, and Judy.

When Harriette's younger sister, Rachel, loses her husband, Carl agrees to let Rachel and her infant son, Richie, move in. Shortly thereafter, Carl's mother, Mother Winslow, moves in.

With the house full, one would think things couldn't get any more chaotic—then enters Steve Urkel. Steve is a nerdy child with a huge crush on Laura and an uncanny ability to get under Carl's skin and into tons of comedic mishaps.

In its prime, Family Matters was a sensation—even if it was corny. But then again, I think that's what we loved about the show. We could come home from a hard day of work, have a nice meal with the family, then cuddle up with the kids and laugh. By the end of the show, whatever troubles were pressing on our minds were forgotten and we were enjoying the company of our loved ones.

The early years of the show made for great "family nights": loads of laughter and even some good lessons on morals and ethics. And then there was Urkel, the ultimate nerd who somehow managed to make being a nerd look cool.

The only thing that was disappointing about the show was that as the years progressed, the show seemed to lose its charm, especially with the over-the-top antics like giving Urkel a split personality and then introducing a machine that could separate the two personalities into two individual people.

Your Task

Put aside your preconceived notions of what comedy and family shows should be, based on today's standards, and watch the show for what it is. Enjoy the ups and downs of a normal family, laugh at the corny jokes, giggle over the cinematic goofs, and most importantly, enjoy time together as a family.

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