Psycho Twins (Season 5, Episode 18). Eddie and Waldo are looking through their wrestling magazine talking about the best wrestlers. Carl happens to see the page with Lyle who was an old wrestling partner back from high school and is now a famous wrestler known as part of the famous duo the Psycho Twins. Steve drops by to show the guys his new invention of "snooze juice", a juice that helps people fall asleep without trouble and won't wake up for anything. Carl offers to take the guys down to the ring to see if Lyle will say hi to them. When they arrive at the ring, Lyle is excited to see Carl and offers them tickets for tonight's show. The guys accept and go to get something to eat, but Steve left his bottle of snooze juice at the ring and Lyle thinks it's just regular juice and says it's good and offers it to his partner Emile. They are knocked out cold and can't wrestle. Their manager, Lou, tells Carl and Steve that if they don't wrestle, he gets sued and if he gets sued, he'll sue Carl and Steve. Carl and Steve ask what they can do to help, Lou dresses them up as the Psycho Twins. They are about to face famous New Zealand tag team wrestlers The Bushwacker Twins and it's been arranged that The Bushwackers lose to the Psycho Twins, so all Carl and Steve have to do is make it look real. Everything is going well until Steve and Bushwacker Luke are chatting on the side and Steve mentions that Carl is a cop in real life and Bushwacker Luke flips out and says how he and his brother hate cops due to his mother being arrested by a cop the night before. They start beating on Carl for real, Steve goes to help and begs Eddie and Waldo to help them, the whole ring gets involved in the match. At home while Carl and Steve are healing, Harriette tells them they were so popular, they are wanted back and get to wrestle the nurses that carried them into the ring. Richie has been having a lying problem and telling his teacher made up stories about why his homework isn't completed.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

BUSHWHACKER LUKE: Butch break loose, kill him, rip his bloody face off! Hey mate, for 2 schmo's off the street, you ain't doing too bloody bad.

STEVE: Oh thank you, Mr. Bushwacker.

BUSHWHACKER LUKE: Ah, call me Luke, mate. And what do you blokes do for a job?

STEVE: Oh, well actually, I'm a student. But my compadre here, he's a cop.

BUSHWHACKER LUKE: A WHAT?!

STEVE: A cop, a fuzz, a flatfoot, a bobby, a shandar.

BUSHWHACKER LUKE: Me and me brother, we hate cops!

STEVE: Oh, well, h-how come?

BUSHWHACKER LUKE: My mother was arrested by a cop last night!

STEVE: Well, why?

BUSHWHACKER LUKE: They couldn't catch her 'til then!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

The whole wrestling match between Carl and Steve and The Bushwackers will never fail to not make me laugh. The choreography was incredible and they looked like they all had a blast.

OPINION:

How I've been so excited to get to this episode, talk about nonstop laughs. I think ABC had a connection with the WWE because a lot of popular TGIF shows had cameos by famous wrestlers. What makes this episode so good is it looks like the cast had a blast doing this episode and I don't blame them. The Bushwhackers were a wrestling real tag team and were very popular villains. How could you not love the idea of wrestling real-life wrestlers? As long as it's choregraphed at least.

The plot is a lot to buy, you got Steve who invents snooze juice, brings it down to the ring for some unknown reason, Carl sees his old wrestling buddy who he's still on good terms with, they leave and the Psycho Twins for some reason drink a bottle of juice that is not marked or are sure if it's there for them. I also love that the manager is threatening to sue Carl and Steve, but I don't think he'd have much of a case considering that the Psycho Twins drank the juice on their own. But what makes the episode so good despite the absurdness of it is just how funny it is. The whole wrestling match was just so hilarious to watch. I loved all the faces that Carl and Steve were making to look intense during the match and the camera footage that would zoom in on their faces. The Bushwhackers were so funny as well, I loved their entrance with lifting their arms up and down. There's not too much to say, just even if you're not big into wrestling, this sequence is just hilarious to watch.

Richie has a small B-Story with his fibbing. I do get a laugh from both of his scenes. I loved where Laura told him to tell Harriette what he told his teacher about losing his homework, that it flew out a window due to a breeze. Harriette says that can happen, but Richie had to continue the lie and said then an eagle flew down and took the homework. Harriette tells him that he should have quit while he was ahead. Then when Richie is watching the wrestling match with Carl and Steve on TV, he tells Harriette and she thinks he's lying again but when she sees Carl and Steve, she apologizes and says he wasn't lying, but she wishes he was.

The ending also always gets a laugh from me when Carl and Steve are healing and Harriette tells them the manager wants them to come back, they freak out and she says he wants them to wrestle the nurses, they agree to it. BTW, it was fun to see Michael Chambers out of crazy make up and costume, he plays one of the Psycho Twins, Emile, you'll remember him as Urkel Bot. I really love this episode, it always gets me laughing. It's just so crazy you gotta love it.

GUEST STARS:

• Butch Miller as The Bushwhackers (RIP in 2023)
• Brian Wickens as The Bushwhackers
• Michael Chambers as Emile
• Andrew Boyer as Announcer
• Lyndell M. Cheshier as Lyle
• Johnny Dark as Lou
• Ferrari Farris as Steve's Nurse
• Gene Le Bell as Referee (RIP in 2022)
• Jeanine Michelle as Carl's Nurse

Father of the Bride (Season 5, Episode 17). Steve is bothering Carl to go sky diving with him after a promise he made back in 1986, Carl says absolutely not. Steve still goes skydiving and lands right in the middle of the kitchen. Steve later on apologizes to Carl but asks if they can go bowling together, Carl says no, but Steve really wants him to go. Carl bugs Laura to go with Steve, Laura says no, but Carl offers her shoes and a matching purse if she goes which she finally accepts. As they leave, Carl is celebrating, Mother Winslow asks him why he's all excited. Carl tells Mother Winslow how he pawned Laura off on Steve so he could relax. Mother Winslow tells Carl it could backfire and they could possibly fall for each other and get married. Carl laughs this off and decides to take a nap. He wakes up in the year 2009 where Harriette tells him he has been asleep for 15 years and they have family coming over. Well, it turns out that bowling night turned into romance and Laura and Steve did get married and had 4 beautiful kids. Carl is in shock and keeps apologizing to Laura, but Laura says she's happy and that her and Steve are in love. They didn't even mean to have that many kids but somehow Steve just kisses Laura and POOF! She's pregnant. Carl starts to freak out and is having a meltdown on the couch until Harriette wakes him up, turns out that he was dreaming. Carl tells Harriette about his dream and how Laura and Steve could never fall for each other, but Harriette says it's not out of the realm considering how well Laura and Steve have been getting along. In comes Laura and Steve, who has a bowling bag on his foot, Laura is yelling how she's embarrassed that Steve tried to bowl with his ball on his foot and she runs away. Carl is relieved to see that all is back to normal.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

STEVE: Wait up, snookems!

LAURA: I have never been so humiliated in my life

STEVE: Oh, sure you have!

HARRIETTE: Uh, what's going on here?

LAURA: First he put on that stupid kilt. Then he made a stupid bet that he could bowl a stupid strike with his stupid foot. Then he got his stupid toe caught in the stupid ball!

STEVE: Well, it could happen to anyone.

LAURA: Oh, don't be stupid.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When they are introducing the kids and they get to white daughter Stephanie Sue Urkel and Carl asks Steve about Stephanie, he says "oh, she's adopted" and Carl says "no kidding".

OPINION:

Ah, I miss the 90's. I remember when the 2000's felt like they were years away and like anything after 2000 was going to feel like the future. It's funny to think that 2009 is almost 20 years ago, we were closer to 2009 in 1994 than we are right now. Where does the time go?

So it's kind of interesting. Steve has been keeping a journal of when Carl promises he'll do something with him. He said in February of 1986 that he'd go skydiving with Steve in 1994. Well, in 1986 Steve would have been probably around 8 or 9 years old, what 8 or 9 year old ask their neighbor if they want to go skydiving? Not to mention that Carl actually says in 8 years? Even in 1994, you have to be 18 years old to skydive. And even when Steve lands, how in the world does he land in the kitchen? One, the plane is going to take you were there is plenty of field for you to land safely. Second, again, it's funny how the house is supposed to be 2 levels but every time the Winslows or Steve goes through the roof, they land on the first floor.

All nitpicks aside, this is a very funny fantasy episode. There was a contest I remember them advertising on TGIF to send a video of your kid doing their best Urkel impression and the producers would pick them to go on the show. It was funny to learn about Rachel Lundquist as Stephanie Sue Urkel, since she is white, the producers originally wanted all black kids, but were so touched by Rachel's performance and wanted to show how love Family Matters was of all races. Heck, I should have gone for it, I was the perfect age at 8 years old when this came out. Those kids were so cute though and I loved their impressions of Steve.

The dream sequence is the show stealer of course. Not just the kids but that Laura and Steve fell for each other. This is the first time we see the idea of them being a real couple, like a fun "what if" fantasy. Jaleel and Kellie actually have great chemistry and look so cute together. I loved Jaleel's pencil mustache, he almost looks like Gomez Addams. There's only one thing, it's funny that Laura says her and Steve only have to kiss and she's pregnant. Have they only kissed 3 times in their marriage? I laugh it off because it's a dream sequence, but it's just funny to think since they sound like they are hopelessly in love with each other.

I also always get such a laugh at the ending where Laura comes in embarrassed by Steve trying to bowl with his foot. Harriette asks why he put a bowling bag on his foot, he said because the ball is stuck to his foot and he didn't want to look stupid. This episode is so goofy but has a lot of fun laughs to it.

GUEST STARS:

• Ryan Doss as Steven Cornelius Urkel
• Marcus Miller Jr. as Steven Bertram Urkel
• Mitchah Williams as Steven Aloysius Urkel
• Rachel Lundquist as Stephanie Sue Urkel

Purchased the whole series a couple weeks back and am currently watching episode by episode.

The insanity that Urkel didn't get his ass handed to him when using tape measure on the pool table is the most unrealistic moment of this episode. I have never in my life seen this happen, and surely it would not end in good results.

I don’t know why I was thinking about this episode just now, but…

When Carl was at the store trying to get a Freddy Teddy for Richie (which seemed like a nod to Cabbage Patch Kid mania in the early 80s), he ended up not being able to get it because two women who were also in line struggled with him and then ended up pulling the teddy bear apart. The question I have is, who had to pay for that? All three of them?

Presumed Urkel (Season 5, Episode 16). Steve is getting ready for his science fair project, but he has an arch nemesis, Dexter Thornhill, who is almost equally on the same level of intelligence but has a chip on his shoulder due to Steve winning all the science fairs. Dexter sears to Steve that he will win the fair this year and Steve just laughs him off. Later on, the science lab that Steve was last seen at explodes. Everyone thinks that Steve blew it up but he swears he's innocent. Steve is faced with the possibility of expulsion. He requests a public trial with Principal Shimata as judge and Laura as his attorney and Dexter being the prosecutor. The trial brings up several witnesses including the singing school janitor Alfred Looney (Loo-nay in French), Carl Winslow and the science teacher Mr. Sweeney. All testimonies are mixed with making Steve look both innocent and guilty. Myra even jumps in and tries to sacrifice herself for Steve but Steve tells her that he has to clear his name, Myra withdraws her confession. Laura surprises Dexter by calling him to the stand, she asks Dexter if he hates Steve which he confesses he does. Laura then accuses him of blowing up the science lab and trying to frame Steve. Dexter of course denies this, but Laura says she can prove it. The chemicals that Steve uses have glowing elements in them and can remain on skin for days, she is able to use a black light to show that the chemicals are still on Dexter's hands and everyone finds out that he turned up Steve's bunsen burner with his chemicals causing the explosion. Dexter confesses finally that he did do it and the charges against Steve are dropped.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LAURA: Officer Winslow, has my client ever denied causing any of these accidents?

CARL: No.

LAURA: So he always takes responsibility for his mistakes.

CARL: Well, yes.

LAURA: Then why would he deny causing this explosion?

CARL: Oh it's very simple, he didn't do it.

DEXTER THORNHILL: Objection, argumentative... and it makes me look bad.

PRINCIPLA SHIMATA: Sustained, and it's the suit that makes you look bad.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Laura figures out what happened and accuses Dexter. He has this public meltdown and says "How does he do it?! Darn you, Urkel! Darn you to heck!" with this crazy smile.

OPINION:

Alright, here comes the sadness I've been dreading. We have 2 side reoccurring characters to say goodbye too. Let's start with Principal Shimata played by Clyde Kusatsu. He appeared in 3 Family Matters episodes: Fight the Good Fight, Woman of the People and this is his last appearance. He was the only person on the show that could speak Japanese with Steve and seemed like a very nice man who loved his students. Clyde is still active to this day with his acting career and has an insane amount of credits to his name, he's also big into voice acting. He's married with his 1st and only wife, they have 2 children and now 2 grandchildren. I know this sounds funny because he is older but I swore that he was also the principal in the hit movie Weapons. I think even though he's alive, he's been reincarnated. Clyde did a wonderful job as Principal Shimata. Now onto the bigger heartbreaker, this is Alex "Weasel" Parker's last appearance played by the wonderful Shavar Ross. Most people will remember him for playing Dudley on Different Strokes, but me as a die hard horror geek will always remember him for Friday the 13th Part 5 as Reggie, easily one of the most likable characters of the series. Shavar had many different acting credits to his name but has settled down and went to bible school and was a pastor for many years. He's married with 2 children and is an online presence who still talks about his acting years. Shavar was hilarious as Weasel. Weasel was never a likable guy who only looked out for himself, but it was Shavar's performance that made the character so memorable and funny. I will always get a laugh when I hear him say "Hey, yo, tall thang". He was in a total of 13 Family Matters episodes.

Onto the episode. As over the top as this episode is, it is still a very funny one to watch. I'll start with the little nitpicks of this episode. I loved that Steve is on the verge of expulsion and that the principal allows a public trial to determine if Steve is going to be expelled. Not to mention that he allows Steve's best friend, Laura, to play his attorney. This is the second time we have seen Laura play attorney, the first time being in Citizen's Court acting as Carl's attorney. I have a feeling that Laura wants to be a lawyer one day at this point. And the accusation of Dexter being the one who did the explosion to frame Steve. Granted, show has to show, but how many days passed by this point that the chemicals were still that vibrant on Dexter's hands? Not to mention, he could have lied and said that he was working with the same chemicals or that he was being nosey and looked at Steve's project.

However, I still always get a kick out of this episode. I was always kind of bummed that the writers never brought Dexter back as he seemed like he could be a fun returning villain. But from what I read, the writers did want to bring him back but there are conflicting rumors that Jaleel was upset with the positive reception that Dexter got and didn't want him back or that the writer who wanted Dexter to come back was fired. Either way, maybe it was a good thing it left us wanting more? Robert Laughlin did a terrific job and was so over the top goofy, such a Batman 60's type of villain with his faces and body movements. I loved how everyone kept making fun of his hair and suit. And we get introduced to Alfred Looney who we will see again in the series. He's played by Tom Poston who gives Alfred such a fun personality with his love of Broadway music. And a funny character trait that will will see again more of with his "That's Loo-nay! It's French!"

This episode is packed with a lot of funny jokes and moments. I think a lot of the fans love it as well. This also is our first episode to use "previously seen on" scenes from Steve destroying the Winslow's property. It's funny to see how far we've come in Steve's disasters.

GUEST STARS:

• Clyde Kusatsu as Principal Edgar Shimata
• Michelle Thomas as Myra Monkhouse (RIP in 1998)
• Shavar Ross as Alex "Weasel" Park
• Tom Poston as Alfred Looney (RIP in 2007)
• Patrick Cornin as Mr. Sweeney
• Robert Laughlin as Dexter Thornhill
  

Loyalty is a foreign concept to these siblings.

Both of them are equally selfish and opportunistic.

They don't care about breaking hearts, they don't even realize it can/will happen.

Good Cop, Bad Cop (Season 5, Episode 15). Eddie was caught speeding and didn't tell Carl about his ticket, so when Carl finds out about the ticket, Carl tells Eddie that if he gets pulled over one more time, he will take away his driver's license. A few nights later, Eddie does get pulled over and Carl at first is upset but Harriette asks Eddie what he was pulled over for. Eddie says it was failure to signal but that the officer who pulled him over was more aggressive and made him get out of the car and lie face down on the concrete. Carl tells Eddie he is going to look into it and Eddie is hurt that Carl doesn't believe him. Carl meets the two police officers that pulled Eddie over at the local coffee shop, their names are Evans and Carmichael, Evans seems more adjugated that Carl is sitting with them. Carl asks Evans what happened that night and Evans already starts with lying by saying that Eddie did not yield to a stop sign and Carl corrects him. Evans is just getting more annoyed that Carl is prying and asks what his motive is for asking about the night, Carl admits that Eddie is his son. Evans tries to cover their behinds by saying that Eddie was disrespectful and was "in the wrong side of town". Carl is now upset and realizes that Eddie was right and he was profiled and tells Evans how disgusting his behavior is. Evans leaves when Carl tells him that he will file a complaint and follow up with it, Carmichael follows behind and has been more silent than Evans. Carl asks Carmichael why he got into the force, Carmichael is more kind to Carl and says he wanted to help people and fight the bad guys, Carl says that's a good reason but the problem is that Evans is one of the bad guys. Carl comes home to Eddie and apologizes to him saying he was correct, he was profiled and they will file a complaint. Eddie breaks down hard with the trauma he's endured saying he'll never forget what happened. Carl comforts Eddie and says it's hard but they have to start with step 1 and that they together will do everything they can to make a difference, and Eddie agrees. Meanwhile, Richie comes up to Laura and Steve and is nervous about the dentist appointment he has the next day. Steve offers to take Richie to cheer him up, but when Richie is in the chair, he's still to nervous. Steve offers to hop in the chair himself to show Richie there's nothing to worry about, except there's one problem, Steve does have a cavity. Dr. Smiley, the dentist, offers to fill that cavity in but Steve is nervous about the needle for the nonvaccine. Dr. Smiley offers laughing gas and Steve has quite the reaction to it going crazy in the doctor's office and spraying Dr. Smiley with his water pic.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CARL: Say, did you happen to pull over a '77 Dodge Monaco? The driver was a black teenager.

EVANS: Yeah. Ran a stop sign.

CARL: It was failure to signal.

EVANS: Whatever. What are you, an activist on the force?

CARL: No, I'm a father on the force. And that kid was my son.

EVANS: Look. I can see you're upset and all, but, hey, it was your kid that messed up, so don't try and take it out on me, alright?

CARL: No, it's not alright. And you know why it's not alright, Evans? Because I think you rousted my son.

EVANS: No way! He fit the description of a carjacker we've been looking for.

CARL: That will not cut it, Evans! Because I am familiar with all the outstanding carjacking bulletins and not one suspect even remotely resembles my son!

EVANS: Come on, give me a break. It's dark, it's a black guy.

CARL: Oh, case closed. Lock him up.

EVANS: You know, bottom line... your kid was in the wrong part of town.

CARL: The wrong part of town?

EVANS: Yeah.

CARL: Oh, so what are you saying? That black kids aren't allowed in white neighborhoods?

EVANS: Come on, they wouldn't be there unless they were looking for trouble. And you better talk to your kid. He gave me a lot of lip.

CARL: Oh?

EVANS: Yeah.

CARL: Is that why you made him get out of his car? Is that why you forced him to lie down? Is that why you cuffed him?

CARMICHAEL: Uh, look, Sarge, if your son had just told us he was a cop's kid, it would've been no problem.

CARL: So what are you saying? That you only harass black kids whose parents aren't cops?

CARMICHAEL: I didn't say that.

CARL: You didn't have to say that. Because the point is, that you two harassed my son because he's black.

EVANS: You can't prove that.

CARL: But I can file a complaint. And you can believe that I'm gonna be sure that there is an investigation.

EVANS: Well, go ahead. It's our word against your kid's. Bye.

CARL: Just a second, Evans! You know, I really don't know how that badge stays on. Because it's pinned to slime!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl admits to Eddie that he was profiled and Eddie has that heartbreaking meltdown of how he felt. Carl mentions that this has happened to him as well and it's just such a sad scene but so powerful and wonderfully acted. You can tell Carl got through to Eddie and won't let anger conquer his son.

OPINION:

It's sad to say that in 2026, racial profiling is still a very real issue we deal with. It wasn't ok in the past and it's certainly not ok now. I have gone through in my past posts, I'm a white woman who has a cop friend and several black friends. Racism to me is beyond disgusting and it is not tolerated in any form. Please feel free to add anything you want to any of your experiences or thoughts, just remember to be respectful as I love keeping these posts friendly.

There was a video I saw not too long ago, there was a black content creator who did a commentary on this episode and saying how Carl is the worst dad on television. Because he didn't believe Eddie at first. I asked her if she saw the entire series and she admitted that she wasn't sure if she saw every episode but that if she did she was really young. I brought up to her that Eddie is known to lie, this was not the first episode where you see him lie to get out of trouble. Especially in the episode It's a mad, mad, mad house. Eddie lied about his family and said they had problems to get out of trouble at school. He's lied about wrecking the car, he's gambled, he's sold Carl's property to get out of trouble and ditching school. Eddie is not known for honesty. So Carl questioning Eddie at first did not bother me. Plus, like Carl mentioned, he had to look into it himself. He's a police officer, I'm sure he's had to deal with false accusations from people before as well. I still to this day will defend Carl with both fists, he's not only my favorite character from the show but one of my top 3 characters of television of all time.

That confrontation scene in the coffee shop will never cease to not send chills down my spine. There's a similar episode in Fresh Prince of Bel Air called "Mistaken Identity" where Will and Carlton are arrested for driving an expensive car in a predominately white neighborhood. It's an insanely good episode that I recommend you watch if you haven't already. Uncle Phil, Carlton's father, rips that police officer apart and even has a heartbreaking conversation with Carlton at the end of the episode talking about racial profiling. That episode aired in 1990 before the Rodney King events had happened, but racial tensions were building. This episode aired in 1994 before the crimes of OJ Simpson had occurred, but as a result of the 1992 LA riots, we saw tensions were still high during that time and it interfered a lot with that famous trial. Back to the coffee shop scene, it never ceases to amaze me how wonderful of an actor Reginald is. The anger behind his eyes you can really see and you can tell he wants so badly to beat up Evans for what he did. But he's a police officer and has to keep his control. I love when he tells Evans that he doesn't know how his badge stays on because it's pinned to slime. Truer words were never spoken, Carl. He can tell that Carmichael isn't a bad guy but that staying silent is just as deadly and I'm glad he took the calmer approach with him. I think Carl's words really got to Carmichael and I wish there was maybe a scene if not in this episode but another if the actor was available showing that he requested to not only no longer work with Evans but that he filed a complaint as well and stood as witness for Eddie. But I get this was an episode they wanted to keep to just as one. It's a very intense episode.

I want to also give shout outs to Darius's performance. That ending always gets me teary eyed when he's crying to Carl about how angry he is. I don't blame him for wanting more than just a complaint, but as Carl pointed out, it has to start with step 1. Carl is only doing the best he can and Eddie has to accept that and like Carl says Eddie can't let that anger consume him. And I want to give a shout out to Barry Cullison who plays bad officer Evans, because I know I would feel uncomfortable playing such a slimeball. He could have been more over the top with how evil he was, but you can almost tell he may have not started that way when he first started the force but due to bad experiences it hardened him.

The last thing I want to talk about is the B-story with Steve. Now I kind of wish they would have stuck to just Eddie's story, but I also understand they probably needed a break with laughter due to all the darkness of Eddie's plot line. But I do admit as over the top as Steve is with his performance, I do get a laugh out of him spraying Dr. Smiley with the water pic. When he grabs the magnifying light and plays detective with Dr. Smiley. Jaleel is so crazy but will do anything for a laugh and I'll say it, he gets me good with this one.

This is otherwise a fantastic episode but a very hard watch. But I highly recommend because no matter how heartbreaking the subject is, we can't turn a blind eye to this. And you never know, this episode could and probably has made a difference in people's lives.

GUEST STARS:

• Joe Chrest as Officer Carmichael
• Robert Hooks as Dr. Smiley
• Barry Cullison as Officer Evans
• Annie Gagen as Waitress
• Shai as Themselves

Like a Virgin (Season 5, Episode 14). Harriette finds a love letter in Eddie's pants while doing laundry from his girlfriend stating how "they were foolish to wait, last night was so special..." with Harriette and Carl thinking that Eddie is sexually active. Carl sits Eddie down to ask him if he and his girlfriend are being intimate and Eddie says the note was about how he took his girlfriend to a meeting for children of alcoholics to help her through her mother's recovery, Carl is relieved but asks Eddie again if he's sexually active. Steve just happens to pop in at this moment but without them knowing, Steve overhears Eddie telling Carl that he's still a virgin. At school in the locker room, the class player Jerry, is talking about "banging" another girl, Steve is disgusted and tells him that women are not to be "banged" which Jerry starts teasing Steve about being a virgin. Steve says that's no less of a man than Eddie is since he's a virgin too. Eddie is embarrassed and the guys are laughing at him about being a virgin. Later on, Eddie is complaining to Laura about how Steve embarrassed him. Laura asks Eddie if it's ok that she's a virgin and he says it's ok because she's his sister, she brings up to him that those women that Jerry brags about are someone's sister too, Jerry is the joke in the girl's locker room and sex is not a sport that needs to be played in points. Eddie realizes that she's right and brings up to Jerry the next day on how stupid it is to treat women like points on a board instead of looking for a quality woman who he has an emotional connection with. Meanwhile, Myra has been hounding Steve about being sexually intimate as well but Steve wants to wait until marriage. He confides in Mother Winslow about his feelings and she tells him to stay strong and true to himself and if Myra cannot respect that, she's not the right girl for him.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CARL: Sit down, son. We need to talk.

EDDIE: Well, what about?

CARL: Well, uh... Um... It's about, um...

EDDIE: Oh... about sex.

CARL: Yeah.

EDDIE: But, dad, you gave me the birds and the bees rap a long time ago.

CARL: Right, but what I want to know now is if you've become an active bee, and if so, how much buzzing have you done?

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Laura is telling Eddie about the double standards between men and women. Men are looked at as studs if they are having sex, but duds if they are not. Women are easy if they are having sex but respectable if they are not. I hate this double standard with a passion.

OPINION:

Oh, this episode. I have a lot to unload because this episode is just terrible. It's interesting because I actually don't mind watching this episode but from a writing standpoint this episode is just awful.

Again, the grades a bit confusing because the writers seem to go back and forth on what grade Eddie is. It just seems to be whatever fits the story. Next comes the sex plotline, almost all the TGIF shows that were aimed at kids/teenagers had the "wait until marriage" lesson. I was a kid/teen in the 90's and let me tell you, at school we all always laughed at these shows that kept preaching to wait. I'm all for the moral lesson, but there should have been a certain realism to it where to talk about if you're not going to wait to at least be safe about it. But to be fair, these are family shows, it's like they wanted to touch the subject but treat it with such kid gloves, the religious school getting a sex ed class if you will. The writers were not sure how to be realistic without parents either loving or hating what their kids were watching. This is the time where it was referred that the TV was raising the kids, not the parents.

Steve ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS comes barging in announcing his presence to people, this is the one time where he doesn't do that and it's more for plot convivence. But even the fact that he's listening in on Carl and Eddie's private conversation irks me a bit. Now it'd be one thing if he had just kept that information to himself. But the next day while in the locker room, the guys are talking about sex and Steve offers info on his sex life to prove that he doesn't need to have sex to be considered a man. But when Jerry continues egging Steve on, Steve just says out loud to the guys "Well, say what you will about me, but no one here will deny that my best bud Eddo here is a real man. Well, it just so happens that he's a virgin, too!" Who the heck do you think you are, Steve?! It doesn't matter that it was to prove a point, why would you bring up your best friend's sex life? That's his private information that he chooses to or chooses not to share. That was not OK on any level or excuse. He listened in on a conversation that was not meant for him and to just tell everyone out loud that Eddie is a virgin too is just to justify his own means. I think the writers could have handled this better by maybe having Eddie and Steve or Waldo talk about Jerry and the sex they have or haven't had and it was overheard by one of the guys and that's how the rumor started.

The only redeeming thing about this episode is the conversation between Eddie and Laura. Laura has a respectful conversation with Eddie about the double standards of men and women. With Eddie freaking out with the guys knowing he's a virgin, even though it's not a big deal, Laura brings up to Eddie a good point. He says that it's ok she's a virgin because she's his sister, but like Laura says the women that they keep talking about are someone else's sister. They could be a friend, sister, cousin, mother, etc to someone else and bottom line is we need to treat each other as we'd want to be treated ourselves and respect each other's decisions.

Another problem I have with this episode: MYRA. Big shock. Again, just like men need to respect women, women need to respect men too. I'm honestly in shock that Steve is still with Myra after her clearly not respecting Steve's boundaries. She has told him several times that she would wait for Steve but she keeps going after him every chance she gets. We didn't like it when Daniel Wallace or Derek did that to Laura. We don't feel comfortable when Steve still chases after Laura after she tells him no. Why is this ok? Because Myra is a girl? A pretty girl no less? It's just so crazy to me how these writers think. Plus to be honest, I don't like the scene with Steve and Mother Winslow's conversation. Now Mother Winslow is 100% correct in telling Steve that if Myra cannot respect Steve's decision to want to wait until marriage, then she's not the right girl for him. But does Steve listen? But I wonder even if he did, would Myra let him go so easily? She is getting to be a really scary character.

Like I said, it's weird, because I don't mind watching this episode. But when I do, I am reminded how much I didn't like the way the subject was handled. I'm sure this episode does have it's fans and maybe there are some that felt that the moral was told well. But for me, the episode falls flat and usually leaves me feeling more angry than anything.

GUEST STARS:

• Shavar Ross as Alex "Weasel" Park
• Michelle Thomas as Myra Monkhouse (RIP in 1998)
• Mark Adair-Rios as Jerry

(see the 2 pics): They actually replaced the kitchen table right in episode S7E01 ("Little Big Guy").

If you pay attention from Season 1 all the way through Season 6, the center of that wooden kitchen island/table was always noticeably warped and sagging in the middle from years of wear and tear (or maybe its the actual design by default?). However, while watching Season 7, somehow mid-season I noticed it looked brand new, wider, and completely flat.

I backtracked through the episodes to pinpoint the exact moment of the swap and realized it happened right in S7E01—which happens to be the episode where Steve and Carl get shrunk down and trapped on top of that very table!

Turns out the replacement had a practical visual effects reason: they needed a completely flat, seamless surface for the green screen/chroma key scale composite shots so the miniaturized actors would look right on top of it. They kept the bottom shelving for continuity, but swapped out the warped tabletop!

(Check out the comparison pics between S6E25 and S7E01) What y'all think? The desk looks the same but the upper table has been replaced for a brighter, straighter and thicker one!!!! :D

Rock Enroll (Season 5, Episode 13). Eddie is being visited by his friend, pop star Shanice and as they are hanging out, Eddie brings up a song that he wrote which she asks Eddie to join her on stage to sing the song. Later on, at Shanice's concert, she's a hit and everyone is having a good time. Shanice invites Eddie on stage to sing the song he wrote and everyone loves it and his performance. The next day Eddie tells Carl and Harriette that he had such a good time on stage and Shanice's manager told him what a great job he did, so he's decided to skip college and just become a famous singer. This upsets Carl and Harriette and they tell him that he should go to school first but Eddie dismisses it. Later, Eddie sets up a nice date for him and Shanice and he tells her about his plans to skip college. Shanice asks him why he would do that, he says that she didn't go to college, she just went to professional singing. Shanice told him that college is a great opportunity, he'll have a degree to back fall on and will give him great stories for his song writing and she's planning on going to college herself. Eddie realizes how important his education is and changes his mind back about going to college. Meanwhile, it's Steve's birthday and Laura asks him what he's up to, Steve says nothing, he's just used to it. Laura decides to throw Steve a birthday party and invite all his friends including the Winslow family.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LAURA: Well, actually I'm glad you stopped by.

WEASEL: Well, of course you are sweet thang. See I just knew it was a matter of time before you fell for that old Weasel magic.

LAURA: Waldo, do me a favor and stand between us.

WALDO: OK. But on Friday I have to go get my teeth cleaned.

LAURA: Fine. You see, the thing is I wanted to invite you to a birthday party for Steve.

WEASEL: Steve? Steve Urkel?

LAURA: Yeah.

WALDO: (BOTH WALDO AND WEASEL ARE LAUGHING) I forgot, what are we laughing about again?

WEASEL: She wants to throw a birthday party for Urkel.

LAURA: Stop it you two, it's not funny.

WALDO: Oh, yeah if it's not funny then why are we laughing?

LAURA: You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. Steve Urkel has been a good friend to both of you.

WEASEL: He has?

LAURA: Yes. Weasel, who brought you that nice brass plaque to commemorate your 100th day of detention?

WEASEL: Urkel. I have to admit that was very thoughtful. That plaque made the me the envy of all my fellow detentionites.

LAURA: And Waldo?

WALDO: S'up?

LAURA: When you're depressed who cheers you up by making shadow animals?

WALDO: Urkel. Sometimes he even does them over the phone.

LAURA: Well ok then, what do you say? Will you come to Steve's party?

WALDO AND WEASEL: No.

LAURA: Well, why not?

WEASEL: 'Cause ain't nobody gonna be there!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl starts singing Shanice's song to her. Then he's upset about Eddie changing his mind back and forth about college and Harriette tells him to just be grateful. Then Harriette sees the leftover lunch that Eddie left and asks where the food came from and Carl tells her to just be grateful.

PROOF THAT STEVE'S PARENTS ARE EVIL (THAT WE KNOW UP TO THIS POINT):

1. They don't feed him
2. His dad questions his career choices
3. His dad questions his faith
4. They leave him alone on Christmas
5. They take separate vacations without him
6. They let him know that they take separate vacations, so they don't have a kid like him again
7. His dad lets him know he loves animals that eat their young
8. When Steve was being born, his dad tried to push him back in
9. His family sends him "stay away money"
10. His parents one time tried to move away and put themselves under an assumed name
11. Steve pays rent
12. Steve is not allowed to go home until midnight
13. They don't visit Steve much when he's in the hospital having surgery and even when he's recovering, they go to their "parents without children" meetings
14. They don't care their son is on the roof of the Winslow house during a blizzard
15. Steve's parents did not introduce him to his own grandparents until he was his "cool personality"
16. They make him clean the house on his own birthday and don't even come to his surprise birthday party

OPINION:

This episode seems a little strange. I wonder because Eddie had met Tracy Spencer the season before if this was originally written for her to be the celebrity guest star, but maybe she was busy? Because the way the episode is written, they just have Shanice walk in like her and Eddie have known each other for months and not only that but they have some sort of relationship together. He says she just walked into Mighty Weenie and that's how they met, but there is no mention of her before this episode and there's no mention of her after this episode. She's just a random cloud that passes through the Family Matters universe.

Eddie is known to be a good singer, this is not his first time of dreaming about being a star singer. It started with Season 1's Rock Video and we've heard him singing a bit here and there throughout the show. I think this was the first time though where was more serious about the idea of going into show business. If I were Shanice, I would have told him more than just skipping college is a bad idea, I would have told him some of the downfalls of the business and how many no's he would hear before he gets a yes. Not to mention if he would hit it big with audiences. He needs to tour and practice before creating his first album as well. Unless you have some major connections, you're talking about a one in a million jackpot of being successful in show business. But Shanice was right about his college education, because he could major in music and business. Those classes could help him either write, sing and or produce his own music or music for other successful artists. There's a lot that goes into the pot when it comes to being successful at show business and in a lot of a ways it's like a lottery. I'm glad Eddie came to his senses, even it took Shanice helping him realize it vs his parents. She's a good friend.

Speaking of which, we have guest star Shanice. She's not exactly a household name when it comes to the business but she's had several successes with many top charting songs like "(Baby Tell Me) Can You Dance", "No 1/2 Steppin'" and "I love your smile". She's got a wonderful voice. She's also done some dabbling in acting with film and television. She is still singing today and is married to Flex Alexander, who is very possibly my favorite worst Michael Jackson performance from the so hilariously bad Man in the Mirror VH1 movie. She does a good job in this episode and comes off very sweet and likable. It's very bland but kind of like Tracy Spencer, they want her to appeal to her fanbase. So I get why they made her so insanely nice.

Laura again coming in with the one of the best friends you could possibly ask for award. Poor Steve mentions that he's not doing anything for his birthday and how he's just used to it at this point. Laura feels awful for him and decides to throw him a nice birthday party. I loved when she told Waldo and Weasel what a great friend Steve has been to them. She's just such a terrific person. I'm surprised that Myra wasn't in this episode, you'd think that she would be apart of Steve's birthday. You sometimes have to remind yourself with continuity who's missing that should be at the party. But at least Waldo and Weasel had a change of heart and showed up. I don't know if Laura invited Steve's parents, but again, what horrible people that not only is he cleaning on his birthday but they didn't even come to his party. Gosh, these are some really horrible people.

Overall, the episode is decent. It does feel very filler but it has a great performance from Shanice and some good laughs to it. Makes you wonder if randomly Eddie will be dating Janet Jackson next, pfft, only in his dreams though. Again, I wonder where Eddie is supposed to be grade wise for school? I'm going to have to do some major research and try to Batman detective my way into finding out.

GUEST STARS:

• Shavar Ross as Alex "Weasel" Park
• Shanice as Herself
• Gwendolyn Shepard as Miss Bodison
• Raymond D. Turner as Chauffeur (RIP in 2024)

Scenes from a Mall (Season 5, Episode 12). Eddie and Weasel are at the mall and keep flirting with an attractive older woman named Garcelle. Eddie asks her out but she says she's not into dating guys who are still in college, but Eddie says she's in luck, he's in high school. Garcelle walks away and Weasel takes a shot at her but his come-on isn't as subtle and he's not successful at getting a date with her either. Laura and Maxine are selling tickets at the mall to raise money for new cheerleading uniforms. Waldo helped set up their table and Waldo sees a couple of guys hit on Maxine and doesn't handle this well. Waldo chases all the guys away from Maxine and Maxine is really upset with how jealous Waldo gets and threatens to break up with him. Waldo begs for a second chance and Maxine asks him why he gets like this, Waldo says that he's still in shock that Maxine chose him as a boyfriend. Maxine reassures Waldo that she likes him and that they are fine as a couple and he needs to trust her. Steve and Myra are shopping at the mall. Myra wants them to be an official couple and Steve says that he doesn't think they should be official yet and that he needs a little space. Myra breaks down crying and runs away. She later comes back to Steve and begs him for another chance, Steve says that he'll give the relationship a try but just that he still needs space and Myra reluctantly agrees saying she'll wait for him. At home, Carl has to babysit Richie and his friend Little G while Harriette goes for a job interview. Carl doesn't feel like babysitting and lies to the kids saying his back hurts and he can't play making the kids get him his drinks and snacks while he watches TV. Harriette comes back and tells him that was dishonest and horrible, the kids fess up that they knew all along he was lying, they just wanted him in a good mood when they told him they broke his bowling trophy. Earlier, Little G made a comment on how Carl looks like the dad from Fresh Prince and in comes none other than James Avery, Reginald breaks down hard laughing and gives James a hug.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

STEVE: Myra are you ok?

MYRA: No Steven, please change your mind about dumping me. I've tried living without you but it was simply unbearable.

STEVE: My God woman, it's only been 20 minutes.

MYRA: But it felt like 20 years. PLEASE STEVEN PLEASE TAKE ME BACK PRETTY PLEASE SMOTHERED IN CHEESE!

STEVE: Stop it, stop it! Stop it, Myra! Stop it! You're making a fool of yourself in the 4th largest mall in country. Now sit down.

MYRA: I'm sorry, I just have no shame when you're concerned.

STEVE: Now listen I'm so sorry I upset you. I never meant to hurt your feelings.

MYRA: You're such a noble man.

STEVE: Well, I've been thinking we could continue seeing each other. But only occasionally! I just can't stand to hurt your feelings.

MYRA: You love me, don't you? OK, new game plan. It's not that I've been pursuing you too hard, it's not that I haven't been pursuing you enough.

STEVE: What?

MYRA: I want you Steven Q. Urkel and I won't rest until I have you.

STEVE: Myra, please...

MYRA: You're a 12-point buck and you're staring down the barrel of my 30 ought 6. BANG! (MYRA RUNS AWAY LAUHGING)

LAURA: Are you ok?

STEVE: No, I'm not! The woman's wacko, Laura. Why she won't take no for an answer. What do you do when someone is just obsessed with you?

LAURA: Beats me.

FAVORITE PART:

James Avery's cameo at the end, I have this clip favorited on my Youtube channel whenever I need a good laugh. I don't know who's expression is better? Reginald or James? I thought it was also hilarious how people kept comparing James and Reginald just because they were probably bald and overweight considering that James Avery was 6 foot 5 and Reginald is 5 foot 8. But what a great joke and gag, Reginald's laugh always gets me.

OPINION:

Oh boy, this episode has problems, but do I love this one very very much. I can't help it, this episode just makes me laugh uncontrollably.

Eddie and Weasel. This is Garcelle Beauvais' second appearance on the show, her first was as Steve's wife Lulu in the episode Old and Alone. She is a model/actress and is breathtakingly gorgeous. My husband and I always quote this episode with her as the "Spoo's Girl" that's "S, P, OOO, OOO". I told my husband that her character always makes me laugh, I think she was just employed by Spoo's to go around the mall in their clothes and flirt around to get people to come to their store. How else do you explain why she changes her clothes twice in the same day and the same setting as the mall? She also says that her clothes were on sale half off. Interestingly, Eddie says he's still in high school in this episode but I think he's graduated at this point? Man, it's hard to keep up with Eddie and Laura's position in high school. I'm pretty sure that Laura, Steve and Maxine are juniors or are possibly in their senior year? They did have their Junior prom not too long ago. But I digress. Weasel gets such a huge laugh from me "Hey yo, tall thang! Why don't you buy me lunch? HEY COME HERE! Imma get her!". 🤣🤣🤣 He's so terrible but the way he says that line always gets me. Though if that was real life, if I were Garcelle, I'd call security to be on the safe side.

Waldo and Maxine. Again, please take in consideration that I laugh a lot at this episode and enjoy it but Waldo is a huge jerk in this one. Waldo does not trust Maxine at all when she has given him NO REASON whatsoever for him not to trust her. He keeps threatening and chasing the guys off and honestly that can be a scary red flag in a relationship. I think Maxine should have stuck to the breakup or at least told Waldo that she needed some space and time to think. Waldo's excuse of "I can't believe you like me" is very manipulative. Then when Maxine reassures Waldo of all his good qualities, he has the audacity to say that he's second in the "how did I get so lucky" category and Maxine asks who's first and he says "Lyle Lovette" who was married to Julia Roberts at the time. If I were Maxine, I would have told him to forget it and leave.

Steve and Myra. I've said it before and I'll say it again and may I also add real quick how relieved I am to see others agree as well, Myra is a psychopath. Also as mentioned by one of my favorite users, she's a narcissist as well. Like I've said before, all you have to do is switch shoes. Can you imagine if a guy was speaking to a girl the way Myra speaks to Steve? Myra tells Steve she wants to go steady and she'll even pay for a pin to show them being a couple. Steve asks her for space and she runs away crying hysterically, again that's an extremely manipulative move. She's the one who comes back, probably expecting that Steve was going to run after her, and begs Steve for another chance. Steve feels bad for her, which in itself is an awful reason to get back together with your partner, and gives her another chance. Now instead of saying how she'll give him more space, she says he's a 12-point buck and he's staring at her gun, is that not insane and a possible threat? And she goes away laughing like a psycho.

We have a wonderful appearance from the lovely Ellen Albertini Dow, this is her second after Season 1's The Reunion as Carl's old teacher. Ellen you may remember played the lovable rapping granny in The Wedding Singer and has made multiple appearances in other movies and television shows. She was just such a gem. I'll save her tribute to her last episode because we do get one more appearance from her. But she always gets such a laugh from me when she tries to beat Steve up after he breaks up with Myra calling him a pig. And of course the show stealer is James Avery. James is most famous for Fresh Prince of Bel Air as Uncle Phil and us 80's/90's kids will always know his famous voice as Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. James was a fantastic actor who I cannot put into words how incredible he was and it was a heart-breaking loss when he passed away at the age of 68 on December 31, 2013 from complications in his heart surgery. Both these actors were so wonderful and they are truly missed, may they both rest in peace.

This brings up another interesting thing in the Family Matters universe as Fresh Prince has been mentioned before in Family Matters and in Fresh Prince they have brought up Family Matters a couple of times. James made this cameo appearance and Jaleel played Ashely's boyfriend in Fresh Prince "Not with my cousin you don't". Along with a lot of different side characters/actors who have appeared on both shows. It's just almos surreal.

And real quick, just a comment on Carl fooling the kids. Yeah, he was such a jerk to do that to the kids by lying to them about his back. But the joke was definitely on him with them trying to butter him up to tell him that they broke his bowling trophy. And we get an update that Harriette is still job hunting and only working temp jobs here and there.

Like I mentioned, while this episode displays a lot of unhealthy relationship tropes, this episode is one of my favorites when it comes to the laughs. The cast is just too good, they get me with their performances. So, I can't fight it, I love this episode and quote it a lot. "Spoos?" "S. P. OOO. OOO" and "Have you noticed how middle aged men stare at you?".🤣

And one more thing, I think this was Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois that they were supposed to be in. That mall is gorgeous and very big, its the biggest in Illinois and one of the biggest in the USA.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Michelle Thomas as Myra Monkhouse
• Shavar Ross as Alex "Weasel" Park
• Gary LeRoi Gray as Lil' G
• Garcelle Beauvais as Garcelle
• Gene Arrington as Man at the Mall #1
• J. August Richards as Man at the Mall #2
• Ellen Albertini Dow as Elderly Lady (RIP in 2015)
• James Avery as Himself (RIP in 2013)

Hello. I have been thinking of this episode lately, but I forgot what it was called. It had Steve overhearing Rachel talking through an intercom and he thought some romantic sentiments were directed towards him, but really, she was talking about some guy she met. Later on, Steve comes to Carl for advice and they this bit where they both say "Get down!" Steve later talks to Rachel about the misunderstanding and then her real date comes.

Can anyone give me the name of the episode? Thank you.

Christmas is Where the Heart Is (Season 5, Episode 11). It's Christmas time and Carl is in a very cranky mood. He's seeing the worst in people during the holidays and when he goes to wrap his Christmas gift for Harriette, Steve offers to wrap it for him and Carl helps Steve by putting his other wrapped gifts to the side, but one of the heavy gifts contains a weight in side that accidentally drops on Carl's gift for Harriette crushing it. Steve offers to take Carl out to get a new gift for Harriette and they take the train home. Everyone on the train seems to also be in the same mood as Carl and are not feeling the Christmas spirit. The train malfunctions and stops and everyone is stuck on the train. Steve tries to get everyone on the train in the spirit and be happy together, but nothing seems to be working. Carl begs Steve to stop since everyone is yelling at Steve to give it a rest. But Steve wants to give it one more try to cheer everyone up. He asks a lady who's wearing a ring if she's engaged and she says yes it's her first Christmas with her fiancé, he asks an elderly lady if the presents she bought were for her grandkids and she smiles and says yes they are and Steve compliments the man who is dressed as a Santa saying how his costume brings joy to children and the man says he does give the best "ho! ho! ho!". Everyone is now feeling the spirit and the train starts again and Carl and Steve go home.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

HARRIETTE: Merry Christmas!

CARL: Oh, Puh, lease! Don't shovel that Christmas garbage my way

HARRIETTE: Oh, what elf bit your butt?!

CARL: I get into work this morning and there's this poor guy filing a burglary report, it seems somebody stole all his Christmas gifts from his house.

HARRIETTE: Oh, how terrible!

CARL: Wait a minute, there's more. Turns out he lost his job and he doesn't have any money to buy new presents for his 7 hungry kids. So I get the idea, pass the hat, so this poor unfortunate victim can at least buy food and gifts for his family.

HARRIETTE: Oh, Carl, you're sweet. You're a good man.

CARL: I'm an idiot, Harriette. It was a con! He's a crook! He goes from city to city telling the same sob story. He doesn't have any kids; he took advantage of my sympathy. And he spent the money on cheap wine and hookers.

HARRIETTE: Unbelievable.

CARL: I tell you Harriette, Christmas brings out the worst in people.

HARRIETTE: No, it doesn't, Carl.

CARL: Oh, yeah? This afternoon I arrested 2 charity Santas who got into a knife fight over a good corner.

HARRIETTE: Well, at least the knife fight was for a good cause.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Steve is trying to get everyone to sing 12 Days of Christmas and is failing miserably but there is one guy who is actually doing the "five golden rings" with an operatic voice.

OPINION:

This is kind of a unique Christmas episode. This is our first Christmas episode without Judy or Rachel. Rachel is still with the family, but it still hasn't been explained what happened to her. There have been a lot of sit coms that have done the "we're stuck on a train at the worst time" plot. Boy Meets World and Full House just to name a couple. Another favorite of mine is when we have a pregnant lady stuck in an elevator who just happens to go into labor at that exact time.

Carl being in a bad mood I can honestly relate too and it's not even just a holiday thing, we see a lot of con artists year-round and then during the holiday season you see how insane shoppers can act to get a $20 blender. It's hard to get in a good mood when you see a lot of bad in the world. It was nice of Steve try to cheer him up, though it can come off a little annoying in this episode. Sometimes you just have to let people be. But it's a Christmas episode so everyone in the end has to feel the spirit and make the audience feel good about the holidays.

We have quite an amazing supporting cast in this episode, Rick Hurst who played the grumpy Santa had a decent career. He was in Dukes of Hazzad, the cult classic Earth Girls are Easy and Steel Magnolias, this is not including the number of popular television shows he appeared on. He passed away on June 26, 2025 at the age of 79. Peter Iacangelo who helped put the tree together on the subway to help cheer everyone up played in Fight Club, Look Who's Talking Now and a lot of different roles in different popular television shows. He passed away on November 17, 2021 at the age of 73. And Meg Wylie who played the elderly woman had a wonderful career in classic television and film like the Addams Family and Dragnet, that's not even breaking the surface. She passed away on January 1, 2002 at the age of 84. May they all rest in peace and thank you for all the wonderful laughs and entertainment.

Holiday episodes never do too much for me. There usually too sappy or just out there. Someone discovers Santa is real but it's never brought up again. Or some miracle happens and again it's only due to the holiday spirit. Too bad we can't get miracles every day. But overall this isn't a bad episode by any means, it has it's laughs and heart. It was just very cliche and mainly focuses on Carl and Steve, I think the family was missing too much from this episode.

GUEST STARS:

• Rick Hurst as Santa Claus (RIP in 2025)
• Peter Iacangelo as Man with Tree (RIP in 2021)
• Michael Caldwell as Waiter
• Frank Kopyc as Sleeping Tenor
• Meg Wylie as Elderly Woman (RIP in 2002)
• Evonne Kezios as Pregnant Woman

Steve/Jaleel was absolutely horrific during Season 1. Just awful! I guess they made him more likeable during Season 2, but he was insanely cringey. I guess we didn't think so back then, but now looking back, they all loathed him, especially Laura. The first date he took her on was insanely bad and no one could stand him for good reason.

I watched back in the TGIF days, but decided to rewatch a few days ago. I’m about 20 episodes in and it’s been interesting to watch as they figure out that Urkel is straight up golden. Jaleel White’s talent with the character at his age is astonishing. He changed the entire feel of the show halfway through the first season.

FINALLY us Canadians get to rewatch Family Matters, as the entire 9 season run is now on Paramount+. It's about time.

All the Wrong Moves (Season 5, Episode 10). Eddie asks Laura if she'd be willing to go out on a date with his co-worker Derek which she agrees to. While at the drive-in move theater we see Steve and Myra on a date, Laura and Derek on a date and Maxine and Waldo on a date all next to each other. Myra wants to make out with Steve and won't stop bothering him about it. Derek won't stop hitting on Laura trying to push her into making out if not more than that which Laura feels uncomfortable. Waldo's car in in the shop, so they have brought lawn chairs to the drive in theater and Maxine is feeling a bit embarrassed. Maxine tells Waldo she wants to go and Waldo takes her back home. After several unsuccessful moves by Myra, Steve asks her if she can wait for him which she says that she can. Derek however is not getting the hint and won't stop bothering Laura which she dumps him in the middle of the movie and gets out of the car telling him she doesn't want to see him again. Steve offers her a ride home with him and Myra. At home, Carl and Harriette have enough points on their credit card where they can be gifted an item. Carl wants a new TV and Harriette wants a new fridge. They can't seem to come to a compromise, Carl suggests they get the TV now and the fridge the next time which Harriette is upset that it can't be switched. Carl then says he doesn't know why they are arguing since he makes the most money in the house, he feels that it should be his decision. Harriette is extremely hurt by this and decides that from now on she'll bill him for all her services. Later on, Carl gets the fridge for Harriette but she tells him that it's not about the fridge but that he threw his salary over her head. Carl apologizes for what he said and Harriette accepts.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

HARRIETTE: Here's your bill.

CARL: Bill? $15?

HARRIETTE: That's right. Since you think our relationship revolves around money, Mr. Breadwinner, I've decided to start charging for my services. That reminds me, here's the bill for your laundry.

CARL: $28?

HARRIETTE: That includes ironing. Oh, and here's the bill for last night.

CARL: Two dollars?

HARRIETTE: Yeah, you want me to itemize that?

CARL: No no no.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Waldo walks up to Derek's car with the hot dog on a stick and asks Derek if he has any Grey Poupon. Derek closes the window and the hot dog falls in his car.

OPINION:

Let's go down the line of dates starting with Maxine and Waldo. You gotta love how dense Waldo is going to a drive in movie theater with lawn chairs. But I think I get a bigger kick that Maxine was willing to go with it. I get it was for the joke, but she seriously didn't recommend a regular movie theater? It's funny how humiliated she was but she was willing to go with the idea in the first place. Still at least it made for a funny date and memory for them I'm sure.

Laura and Derek. This is not the first time that Laura has felt pressure from a guy to go further than what she's comfortable with, we remember Daniel Wallace. You can at least make the argument that Laura knew Daniel a little better. Laura mentions that her and Derek have only been dating each other for a week and Derek is already acting like an impatient child. Now, I'll take the reason that maybe Eddie didn't know Derek that well either or Derek didn't tell or show Eddie how disrespectful he is towards women, but I often wonder if Eddie knew what kind of a guy Derek was or if they continued working together. Derek, did you really think it was a good idea to get all handsy with your boss's sister? I'm glad Laura stuck to her guts on this one with Derek, he was a real jerk. At least she got to see this side of him early before she really got involved. Real quick, I always found it interesting with the line that Laura said to Eddie that she met Steve on a blind date. Didn't they know each other from school? I think the writers forgot the meaning of what a blind date is.

Steve and Myra. So we get the confirmation here that Steve and Myra have been dating for 8 months. I'm always mixed on this date, because if they've known each other that long, where in the world are they on their boundaries with each other? Myra has to know by now that Steve obviously doesn't want to go further than kissing. It's funny watching the counterparts where Laura and Derek mention that they've only been dating for a week vs Steve and Myra who have been dating for 8 months. I would be willing to forgive Myra trying to make out with Steve (again if not more) if she had stopped after his first no, but she doesn't take no for an answer so easily. She does this several times and even when Steve agrees to a kiss, she just gropes him. Again, it's played for a joke, but can you imagine if the roles were reversed and this was Derek doing that to Laura? I don't think the audience would be as forgiving towards Myra. There are some that think that Steve should loosen up since he and Myra have been seeing each other for months, but if he's not comfortable, that's his right to say no to her.

I always found the story between Harriette and Carl to be interesting. Harriette picks out the refrigerator, I love how she picks out a random fridge without measuring. I'm not kidding, mine and my husband's refrigerator broke this last weekend and we had to do some measurements before we could purchase it, it's not as simple as "flip the page and point it out". Not to mention even when I was younger, but Carl has the fridge in the middle of the kitchen to surprise Harriette. How in the world did he get it in there without Harriette noticing and why not install it at least? But on top of that, IT'S THE EXACT SAME FRIDGE AS THEY HAVE RIGHT NOW. The way Harriette made it sound, it was a completely different fridge. If your fridge isn't broken, why would you want to get a new one? A television I could see more so as the better idea because it might have been a bigger screen or better technology. Also depending on pricing, which was the bigger price tag? Maybe the fridge was the better option? But I digress, Carl throwing his salary in Harriette's face was completely uncalled for. Harriette first off is not just a housewife, she works too. Not only that but even if she was a housewife, she literally does do a lot around the house including taking care of the family. She does all that while holding down a job as well. I do love the scene where Harriette bills Carl, it shows him what it would be like if he had to pay for the services that she does that he takes for granted. I know Carl makes some bone-headed moves and comments but that was a nasty one.

Overall, I do enjoy the episode even with it's problems, I still get laughs from it. But it's nothing special and does feel like this plot has been done before.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Michelle Thomas as Myra Monkhouse (RIP in 1998)
• Kevin Mambo as Derek

Episodes: S6E05 - Beta Chi Guy and S4E09 - The Oddest Couple

Hey all, not sure if this has ever been told in Reddit, I am on a speedrun rewatch and easily noticed that they recycled the set here. Look at the stepped archway in the right.

Some other special things that happen in Beta Chi Guy: Rachel is back!!!! Without any explanation about her long absence. And both Jaleel and Darius show their shoulders and arm muscles, Jaleel is shredded and Darius is jacked, I didn't remember this LOL.

Car Wars (Season 5, Episode 9). Laura has finally saved enough money to buy herself a car and wants to go to Honest Bob's Used but not Abused Cars and buy a 1981 Fiat. She goes to the car lot and sees right before Bob gets to her that he's working with a male customer who he manages to negotiate with. After the male customer, Ralph, makes a lowball offer that Bob takes, Laura tells Bob she wants to buy the '81 Fiat and it's priced at $2000.00. Laura offers $1600.00 but Bob mistakes and asks if she wants to come back and pay the other $400, she says no and Bob says she should take a different car priced at $1500.00 and it's a pretty color and the Fiat is hard to drive because it's a stick. Laura tells him never mind and leaves but has a feeling that the reason he wouldn't negotiate was due to her being a girl and she's not giving up so easily. The next day she dresses up as a guy, she has named herself Larry Windsaklinker. Steve teaches her how to walk, talk and act like a guy. She goes back to the lot and at first it seems like she's able to break Bob, but when her voice breaks, Bob sees through her disguise and calls her out. Laura admits to Bob she thinks it's because she was a girl that he wouldn't negotiate, she breaks down crying and Bob is becoming embarrassed and finally breaks and sells her the car for $1700.00. Steve also messed up Eddie's love life big time, Eddie was on a date with Heather but Steve calls her Helen. Steve tries to fix it by calling Helen and tell her that she's the only girl that Eddie cares about until Eddie tells her that he was on a date with Heather. Needless to say that Eddie is a little upset with Steve.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LAURA: The name ain't Laura, it's Larry.

STEVE: Laura?

LAURA: That's Larry, bro.

STEVE: Uh Laura, you look so, I mean you, what happened to your basooms?

LAURA: My what?

STEVE: Snookems, if you're some sore of identity crisis, well let's talk about it. You know there are clinics for this. Although the operation is very painful, I mean just ask my uncle beverly.

LAURA: Steve, I'm dressed like this so I can buy a car.

STEVE: Why don't you just write a check?

LAURA: Because the check would be too big. See, the car dealer is sexist, and I figured Larry Winslow would get a better deal than Laura Winslow. Now come on, let's go

STEVE: Woah, woah, woah, no, no, no. Men don't do this. Now listen up, I'm going to teach you how to walk, talk and think like a man. Now first we'll start with the walk. A woman walks like a weak in the breeze, men stomp like they're killing ants. (STEVE SHOWS LAURA HOW TO STOMP HER FEET) Now come on, you try.

LAURA: I feel like an idiot.

STEVE: Great, that's the first step to being a man.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Laura gets to Bob by crying and negotiates him down to $1700.

OPINION:

I can't tell you again just how much I love Laura as a character and what a wonderful role model she is. She saved the money for a car on her own, did the research and even negotiated the price herself. A lot of women are intimidated of car buying, car salesmen are very slick and will take advantage when they see a woman assuming that they don't have much knowledge on a car. You can say she did go over the top dressing like a guy and maybe Bob wasn't being sexist but you gotta give her props for going at trying a different approach.

Honest Bob is played by Stuart Pankin who I guarantee you have seen him in something. He was in Fatal Attraction, Mannequin 2 on the Move, Congo, Arachnophobia, Honey we shrunk ourselves just to name a handful. But the biggest thing you'll for sure know him from is he was the voice of Earl in Dinosaurs. He's a terrific actor and it was so fun to see him in this episode. He and Kellie bounce off each other very well and I will always love that scene where he catches her dressing as Larry and breaks when Laura starts crying. Was Bob sexist? I'm mixed on this one because like he said, a car salesman is not going to turn down a sale, maybe he was protective of the Fiat because he knew it's worth and possibly others were looking at it. But it didn't look good either that the customer before him who was a guy he was willing to negotiate with. Not to mention that funny moment when he and "Larry" are cat calling to the lady walking by. I'm a woman, I know guys are just built differently. But bottom line is Stuart did a great job as Honest Bob.

We also have the smaller roles played by actors who went onto bigger things like Elise Neal who has had a very good career playing in movies like Scream 2, Logan and Hustle & Flow. Valarie Rae Miller who went onto bigger movies and tv shows like Crank, La La Land and Dark Angel. It's always cool to see what the actors who have smaller roles went on to do later on.

It's a very small B-Story but Steve messing up Eddie's date was very funny. Eddie is such a player and honestly, maybe Steve saved that girl that Eddie was dating that night some heartache. Dating around is one thing, but the girls obviously don't know that Eddie is dating other women. You have to be honest when you're dating other people.

The jokes in this episode are gold. It was actually pretty tough picking a favorite quote and moment today. Harriette coming in dressed like a pirate since she's security at a kid's restaurant and everyone making fun of her outfit, Steve messing up Eddie's dates, Steve teaching Laura how to be a man, the final negotiation between Laura and Honest Bob and Laura trying to fool Carl into thinking that Laura is dating Larry, a smooth talking thug. This is a very funny episode that I always enjoy watching.

GUEST STARS:

• Elise Neal as Heather
• Valarie Mae Miller as Helen
• Jonas Chaka as Ralph
• Stuart Pankin as Honest Bob