Family Matters/YMMV

• Anvilicious: The anti-bullying episode morphs into an anti-gun episode... somehow. All we know is that it involved a teenage gun dealer with a trunk full of Hand Cannons. They go so far as to have a "Save a life - turn in your gun" campaign -- as if legally owned guns will cause someone' to die unless you dispose of them.
  • Accidential shootings do happen. That's part of why the episode was produced in the first place.
    • But they didn't say "be careful and follow guidelines", they said "the only way guns will not kill innocent people is if they are destroyed."
• Creator's Pet: Some fans believed Urkel was this over time since he has taken up most of the show and leaving the other Winslows out of the spotlight.
• Crowning Moment of Awesome: See here.
• Crowning Music of Awesome: The second Ending Theme.
• Ensemble Darkhorse --> Breakout Character: Urkel was initially meant to be in the show for one episode, but his popularity led to him becoming a recurring character. Eventually, he would end up the star of the show. During the first season, completed episode scripts were rewritten just to include Urkel.
  • Eddie's friend Waldo was hugely popular, only to just never show up once they made the Channel Hop to CBS.
    • Also worth noting is Waldo started out as a Delinquent before becoming one of Eddie's best friends.
• Family-Unfriendly Aesop: For many, Urkel's relentless pursuit of Laura and eventually getting engaged to her sounded like "Stalk your dream girl long enough, and she'll one day give in."
  • Definitely a case of Strangled by the Red String.
  • At least three episodes of the show dealt with the evils of gambling. Two of them did so quite reasonably. In one, Steve and Eddie got cleaned out by a pool shark, and threatened ("Gambling can leave you broke, and even lead to threats of bodily harm."). In another, Steve won a watch with great sentimental value from Carl's boss in a poker game, but then gave it back to him, explaining that he played for fun, and didn't want to take something that meant so much to him ("You can destroy other people by gambling, but in moderation its ok"). In the final one, though, Steve and Eddie went to an illegal casino in which they won $32,000, which the casino was clearly both capable, and perfectly willing, to pay...but then the casino was raided by the police ("Things are immoral not because they harm you or someone else, but because the state says so"),
• Funny Aneurysm Moment: Any time Myra (post breakup with Steve) makes any comment about not wanting to live without him. Michelle Thomas (the actress who played Myra) died at the age of 29 from a rare form of stomach cancer.
• Ho Yay: Urkel's relationships with Carl and Eddie verge on this; he and Eddie even lived together at one point. Eddie and Waldo's relationship also has hints of it.
  • Les Yay: Laura and Myra's first Cat Fight had elements of this, albeit in a Foe Yay way. At least the Jello-down-the-blouse bit did.
• Hypocritical Humor: In one episode, Harriette recruits the girls for a beauty contest and they initially refuse because of the thought of there being a bathing suit competition but join when they're assured there isn't one or anything like it. Come the actual contest, Maxine wears a pretty skanky outfit during the talent showcase.
• Iconic Character, Forgotten Title: You may remember this as simply "The Urkel Show".
• Jerkass Woobie: Steve Urkel. He spends every episode harassing Laura and destroying Carl's property, but whenever they yell at him for it, the Studio Audience goes "awwww" in sympathy for him.
• Jump the Shark: Many fans feel this happened when the show became less about the Winslows and more about Steve's antics. Jo Marie Payton (Harriet, the show's original star) reportedly left the show for this exact reason.
• Memetic Mutation: Urkel himself became something of a meme in the early '90s, thanks to recurring references in popular culture. David Letterman in particular made a lot of jokes about "That Urkel kid," which spread to other shows like Animaniacs and The Simpsons.
• Moral Event Horizon: These bullies spike Urkel's drink, and he almost falls off the ledge of a building. It was brought on by Steve humiliating them. They were later arrested.
• Recycled Script: As with all Miller-Boyett sitcoms, the producers weren't shy about recycling ideas from other sitcoms. The season 2 opener, where Urkel burns down the Local Hangout and it's rebuilt as the cooler "Rachel's Place," was virtually identical to a story involving Arnold's on Happy Days, which several of the writers had worked on.
• So Uncool It's A Cool Car: Urkel's Isetta.
• Toy Ship: Richie and Gwendolyn.
  • Girls Have Cooties
• Unfortunate Implications: Almost without exception, every white character on the show was a jerk, an idiot, or a racist - and sometimes all three.
• Unpopular Popular Character: Steve Urkel, natch.
• What an Idiot!: Most nerdy guys would have killed to have had Myra throw herself at them, but instead, Steve continued to woo stuck-up and uninterested Laura who only agreed to date him in the last season. But then again, Myra was rather batshit-insane.
• The Woobie: Steve, even as annoying as he can be, doesn't deserve half of the crap he goes through.