It seems like only yesterday that we first met Steve Urkel, that zany and entirely lovable nerd that kept us all laughing on the hit television series, Family Matters. First arriving in 1989, as a spin-off series from Perfect Strangers, the show endeared itself to millions of fans, thanks to its quirky star. For weeks now, fans of the series have anticipating the release of the series on DVD, even starting a discussion in our Retrotalk discussion boards, and now we are happy to announce that today, June 8, 2010, you can finally go out and pick up your very own copy of Family Matters: The Complete First Season from Warner Home Video.
For old times’ sake, let’s go back to 1989 and take a look at the opening credits:
As you probably already know, America’s favorite nerd, Urkel, didn’t arrive until midway through the first season. He was never supposed to even be a main character. But audiences adored his goofy personality and antics, and it didn’t take long until the bespectacled, suspender-wearing Urkel (played by Jaleel White) became the star of the show.
Here’s the first episode that Steve Urkel appeared in. As you can see, he pretty much steals every scene he appears in:
Family Matters aired for 9 seasons, ending its run in 1998, and its popularity endures to this day. As we celebrate the arrival of this DVD collection, we invite you to share your memories and favorite Urkel moments from the classic sitcom with all of us at Retroland.
I am fond of this show even though I didn’t catch all the episodes. Towards the end, the plots grew rather weak, and the show jumped the shark twice with the disappearance of Waldo, and making the clone of Urkel, Stephan Urquelle, a regular character. I know Urkel came up with some pretty wild inventions, but having a clone in a family sitcom is just too far-fetched. Luckily, I peeked in some time later, and saw that Laura was finally falling for Urkel, and I was back on board.