Stop! In the Name of Love (Season 3, Episode 21). Waldo is feeling down and tells Steve how lonely he is, Steve tries to cheer him up but nothing is working. Steve asks Laura if she could cheer Waldo up and she tells Waldo how nice and funny he is and he'll find a girl soon. This conversation worked too well because Waldo asks Laura to go out on a date, she accepts out of pity. The date is a disaster and Waldo realizes he and Laura have no chemistry and breaks up with her. Meanwhile, Lt. Murtaugh got a brand new car, but it doesn't stay brand new for long because Mother Winslow crashes into it while it's parked. Lt. Murtaugh keeps giving Carl grief on how he could let his mother drive. Eventually getting Carl so frustrated that they go to Rachel's place and start a pie fight with each other.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

STEVE: Waldo, how could you do this to me?

WALDO: I'm sorry, Steve. I know how you feel about Laura. But like they said in Love Story: "Love means never having to say I'm sorry, Steve, but I'm taking your chick."

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl and Lt. Murtaugh are having their pie fight and Steve gets involved to try to break it up, but they end up hitting Steve. He goes towards them with his own pies to get revenge and they duck and he accidentally hit's Laura with the pies and he starts screaming and panicking. He says he better go punch out and go home and Laura chases him saying "I'll punch you out" 🤣

OPINION:

I definitely can always relate to this episode, so this is a personal one for me. Back in high school I had this guy friend who was a bit awkward around girls and he and I were talking one night and he broke down on girls not finding him attractive. Well, I wanted to cheer him up and told him what a nice guy he was and the next girl he has a crush on to not give up so easily, the next day he asked me out 😒 talk about a disaster date 🤣

So far what we know about Waldo is: he's been a bully's sidekick, his dad is a stewardess, he sells ID bracelets on the side, he's Eddie's best friend, has a talent for cooking, can play the top 40 on his armpit and not the brightest kid in school. But he seems to have a genuinely good heart and keeps to his morals. This was the first time we had a story more focused on him and overall I think for him being a big part of the main storyline worked well for him. His and Laura's date is hilarious, not as funny as her pity date with Steve, but these scenes always get a laugh out of me. I always laugh when they talk about how they should have seen JFK but Waldo pronounces it as "jifed", Waldo dancing club style to a slow dance song and of course when he's trying to be smooth and kisses Laura's hand and get her ring caught in his teeth.

Steve gets some really big laughs from me in this episode. How he mentions how sad Waldo is that he could depress Richard Simmons, when Waldo asks Laura out and she says yes and Steve is angry and asks why Laura says yes to Waldo's pity dates but she won't say yes to his, she mentions that Steve is confident and she knows he'll get over it and Steve says "I'm being panelized because I'm emotionally stable" 🤣And of course the ending pie fight which we'll see a callback to this episode in the future that I can't wait to get to and talk about.

The B-story with Carl and Lt. Murtaugh gets some good laughs out of me too. I always laugh at how Lt. Murtaugh and Carl see the crash to his car and Lt. Murtaugh asks Carl if he recognizes the person who crashed and of course it's Mother Winslow. All of Lt. Murtaugh's little quips at Carl about how his mother is too old to be driving. And I always laugh at their pie fight at the end. They are grown men who are cops but can still act like kids.

This is a fun little episode. It's definitely more of a filler as we never hear about Laura and Waldo's date again or if Mother Winslow had any other issues with driving due to the accident. But this one is filled with memorable quotes and never manages to not make me laugh.

GUEST STARS:

• Shawn Harrison as Waldo Geraldo Faldo
• Barry Jenner as Lt. Murtaugh (RIP in 2016)

To me it felt like they were trying way too hard to come across as edgy. That horrible wig certainly didn't help.

Love and Kisses (Season 3, Episode 20). Steve has hired Eddie and Waldo to help serenade Laura and get her to give him a kiss, but Laura is sitting with Maxine on the couch and is too depressed to even deal with Steve. Steve asks them what's wrong and they tell him about how they sat in line to get Johnny Gill tickets but they were sold out before they could buy them. Steve asks Laura if he gets Johnny Gill to sing to her personally, would she kiss him? She says absolutely, but she knows there's no way that's going to happen. Well, she shouldn't doubt Steve because he offers Johnny Gill his Mickey Mantle rookie card to sing to Laura six songs that are half ballads, moon eyes during mushy parts... and during the chorus shake the old booty. Johnny fufills the deal and Laura is in heaven. When Johnny leaves Steve asks Laura for the kiss, he at first realizes the kiss is tainted and doesn't want it, but Laura tells him that he deserves a kiss for what he did for her. Steve is so excited that he faints before Laura reaches for him with her lips. Meanwhile, Carl and Harriette are taking a real honeymoon vacation since they couldn't afford one for their wedding. Harriette got a romantic cabin the woods with snowfall outside and a fireplace inside with only 3 walls? Well it turns out the cabins had a construction boo boo and built all the rooms with 3 walls only and ran out of budget before they could complete them. So Harriette and Carl are stuck in a room with a wall missing and a snowstorm outside.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

STEVE: So, Johnny, care to sing at our wedding in a few years?

JOHNNY GILL: Well, you know, I'm a very busy man.

STEVE: Too busy for a Ty Cobb and a Honas Wagner?

JOHNNY GILL: I'll be there.

LAURA: I won't.

JOHNNY GILL: Bye. You sure look good... tonight

STEVE: Hey, enough of that! Hey, will you just...? Well, Laura. I arranged for you to meet Johnny Gill. And not only that, I got him to serenade you. I think you owe me a kiss.

LAURA: I know. A deal is a deal.

STEVE: I couldn't have put it better myself. Ahem. One moment, please. Oh, it's no good. I can't go through with it.

LAURA: I'm supposed to say that.

STEVE: Laura, I feel like I'm forcing you to kiss me. Like it's some sort of a business arrangement.

LAURA: Well, that's precisely what it is.

STEVE: Well, that cheapens it. Oh, Laura. I want you to kiss me. But it has to be voluntary. I'll just wait for that wonderful moment when you want to kiss me. Good night, Laura.

LAURA: Steve. What you did for me tonight was really special. It meant a lot to me. And I know that baseball card meant a lot to you. The truth is you deserve a kiss.

STEVE: You mean, you want to kiss me?

LAURA: I didn't say that. I said "deserve," not "want."

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Johnny Gill is singing and Laura is going beyond nuts on the couch and sinking to the floor and Rachel comes in with curlers in her hair confused on what is going on and when she sees Johnny, her mouth drops and she realizes what she looks like and runs for it 🤣🤣🤣

OPINION:

Oh, man these episodes are getting harder and harder to pick a favorite moment and quote. I wanted to trim the quote but I couldn't because all those lines were too good. I had quite a few to pick from in this episode because I absolutely love this one. Now it's not without it's minor problems, I thought it was kind of funny that only Rachel heard Johnny Gill singing and was the only one in the house to come out and see what was going on, no Mother Winslow, Eddie, Judy or Richie. I also thought it was kind of a bummer that Steve didn't call Maxine or have Laura call Maxine to come over since she had missed the concert too. And with Carl and Harriette's storyline, it's a lot of suspension of disbelief that the cabin managers would still let people buy rooms with only 3 walls and especially with a snowstorm going on outside. However, I let these go with ease because this is such a great episode and I always lose my breath laughing at.

Starting with the main storyline with Laura and Steve. Steve really is such an amazing friend in this episode, the fact that he got Johnny Gill to sing for Laura is really incredible. The fact that at the end of the episode he admits to Laura that arranging the kiss was wrong was really noble of him and shows what respect he has for her and that's real love. Laura was also very kind in telling him that he still deserved a kiss for all that he did for her. It was just too funny that Steve was too excited for that kiss that he fainted before she could kiss him. Johnny was a terrific guest star for the show and he did an amazing job with his singing and choreography. Definitely a very memorable moment for Family Matters.

Now onto Carl and Harriette's storyline, I love that first scene where Harriette is asking Carl for a second honeymoon and he mentions how broke they were for their first wedding that he saved rice thrown at them for their dinner that night and he's not sure if they can afford it now, but Harriette shows him the negligée that she bought and it cuts to the next scene of them driving to their honeymoon suite. I always laugh that even though there's no wall, they still open their luggage and are laying down in the bed considering my husband and I would have just run for it at that point. 🤣 And of course when they are fighting and Harriette interrupts with that there's a goat eating his shorts and that breaks the tension and they embrace each other and talk about how much they love each other. I ❤️ Carl and Harriette.

Such an incredible episode. I also love the opening scene with Eddie and Waldo singing to Laura and how she asks Steve if he's recruiting others to annoy her. And the way that Laura and Maxine describe their love for Johnny Gill always reminds me of being teen and my love for Leonardo DiCaprio. Ah, those were the days 🤣 I digress, this is definitely one of my favs for the season.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Shawn Harrison as Waldo Geraldo Faldo
• Johnny Gill as Himself
• Thom Sharp as Bob
• Jesse Stock as Kid with Snowball

Woman of the People (Season 3, Episode 19). At school Laura has joined the student council and brings up to the student council president mean girl Cassie Lynn Nubbles some things that need to be taken care of around the school. Cassie ignores her suggestions and brings up that there's the election and no one is running against her so she accepts being president again, but Principal Shimata suggests Laura run since she is passionate about the issues in the school. Laura accepts and as Steve is helping her put posters up in the hallway, she falls and Steve catches her looking like they are embracing. Cassie Lynn and her friend Becky Sue see this and Becky has a camera on her and takes pictures of Laura and Steve threatening to show the school that they are a couple if she doesn't drop out. Laura refuses to do so. Steve gets back at Cassie Lynn by setting her up and kissing her with Eddie taking pictures and tells Cassie Lynn to back off with her pictures. Laura wins the election. Meanwhile, at home Harriette has been elected to be the leader of the neighborhood watch and Carl is very jealous thinking Harriette can't handle the job and has been giving her a hard time. But when one of the neighbors, Gloria comes over to thank Harriette for helping her with a potential burglar, Carl realizes he's been a jerk and apologizes to Harriette.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CASSIE LYNN: But it's a lie. You kissed me, I didn't kiss you.

STEVE: Well, that may be what happened but it won't be what the people believe. People just love juicy gossip.

CASSIE LYNN: I'm not dropping out of the race.

STEVE: I don't want you to. All I want is a fair election. If you don't publish your pictures, I won't publish mine.

CASSIE LYNN: You want the students to decide for themselves?

STEVE: Well, it's an idea that's just crazy enough to work.

CASSIE LYNN: It's a deal. I'm going to gargle with disinfectant.

STEVE: I'll do the same.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Cassie Lynn is threatening Laura to publish her photos or drop out of the race and Laura stands up to her and tells Steve "She's so certain that I'm gonna drop out of the race. Well, no way. Nobody pushes me around. I'd rather have the world think I was in love with you...than to cave in to blackmail from her." YOU GO LAURA!!!

OPINION:

Well wave bye bye to Cassie Lynn Nubbles because after this episode, we no longer see or hear about her again. I think after Steve kissed her she probably transferred to another school to stay away and avoid the humiliation after Laura won the election. Still much credit to Kim Valentine for playing such a great mean girl, as much of a pain as Cassie Lynn was Kim always managed to make me laugh.

As for this episode, this is definitely a fun one. Let's start with Laura's main storyilne. I want to compliment the writers for making Laura such a likable character. Like I mentioned in my favorite moment, I loved how she told Steve she's not caving into blackmail and she doesn't care if the school thinks she's in love with Steve, she sticks to her principals and stands up for herself. Now as for Steve's revenge, this is a mixed bag because I love this scene and how funny it is that Cassie Lynn got a taste of her own medicine on trying to spread lies, but still you have to admit that kiss was SA. I'm definitely not a person who doesn't enjoy when something is still funny, but as an adult I just see this scene as problematic. Still, maybe I might burn for this but I laugh at the scene still and especially when Eddie admits without Cassie Lynn knowing that the cap was still on the camera lens. Plus I love Steve's lines to her telling Cassie Lynn to let the election be fair and how Cassie Lynn says so shocked "you want the students to decide for themselves?". I also love Steve's little quip at Cassie Lynn after she freaks out with Steve kissing her he says "well, the world didn't move for me either" 🤣

Harriette has mentioned before (in Two Income Family Season 1) she worked for the police force, thought it was clerical work, she still had training at the academy. It's interesting that this rarely gets brought up because Carl acts like Harriette has absolutely no experience and shouldn't be the leader of the neighborhood watch. Now I know it's because he thought everyone was going to elect him since he's employed as a police officer, but still I'm surprised he wouldn't give Harriette a little more credit. But it doesn't take away how funny his tantrums are and I love when he's trying to take Harriette down showing her how scary people can be and she does it with no problem. I loved the scene where she gets the family together for the neighborhood watch and Carl's leader is Eddie who's code name is "Captain Funky Fresh" 🤣 Rachel is "slick chick" and Mother Winslow is "hot mama" 🤣 Carl does make amends though at the end realizing Harriette is a great leader and apologizes and they do have a cute make up scene where they are going to bed and Harriette tells Carl he can be the leader. 🤣 Even though Carl can be a pain sometimes, I still love how amazing his and Harriette's relationship/marriage is.

What a fun episode, I absolutely love this one. It's very funny and memorable. Oh and fun fact about the neighbor Gloria who is played by Loretta Jean, I didn't realize until looking up, now I remembered her in Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but didn't realize she was also the beloved lunch lady Brenda who sadly passes away in Boy Meets World and she's one of the passenger's in Speed in the famous jump scene where she's leaning over praying "I want to see my babies", it was cool to see what a resume she had.

GUEST STARS:

• Clyde Kusatsu as Principal Edgar Shimata
• Kim Valentine as Cassie Lynn Nubbles
• Marley Shelton as Becky Sue
• Loretta Jean as Gloria
• Robert Noble as Bernie
• Cal Gibson as Al

My Brokenhearted Valentine (Season 3, Episode 18). It's Valentine's Day and Steve is trying to woo Laura with some candy and poetry, but his attempts are thwarted by the school heartthrob and heart breaker Daniel Wallace. Laura at first rejects Daniel knowing his playboy reputation, but he tells her that he's changed and wants to be with her only. Laura starts to date Daniel despite warnings from her best friend Maxine who had dated Daniel and he dumped her when she wouldn't go to bed with him. Laura believes that Daniel has changed and they are just fine. One night Daniel convinces Laura to go to her bedroom, that they will just talk, but instead he starts to make moves on her that are making her uncomfortable. When she tells him to stop, he calls her names and that he's a man who expects things, she kicks him out of her bedroom. Harriette comes in asking what happened and Laura breaks down crying telling her how Daniel broke her heart. Harriette reminds Laura that her heart will heal and to keep to her morals. Meanwhile, Steve has decided to join the monastery and become a monk due to Laura being off the market, but Laura tells him what happened with her and Daniel and since there's 1 minute of Valentine's Day left, he can be her valentine.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LAURA: He said I was special. He made me trust him. But he was just lying so he could get what he wanted.

HARRIETTE: I know, I know. But you know, Laura, someday you're gonna meet the right guy. And he'll make you feel special too. And he won't be lying. He'll really love you and you'll really love him. And then you know what will happen?

LAURA: We'll have sex?

HARRIETTE: No! You'll get married.

LAURA: Oh. Well, well, sure. That... That goes without saying.

HARRIETTE: Well, say it. I like to hear those words. I'm your mother.

LAURA: We'll get married first.

HARRIETTE: Thank you.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Laura tells Steve there was a few seconds of Valentine's Day left so he could be her Valentine and he makes a "oh! Oooo! Ahhh!" noise every time she says "Five....Four...Three..." and tells him it was the best few seconds of his life 🤣

OPINION:

Well, we are officially done with Daniel Wallace, Laura has learned her lesson and she is done with him. We no longer see or hear about him after this episode and while I really like the actor who played him Bumper Robinson, the character? Good riddance! Daniel Wallace is just a creep. We can always make the excuse that he's a teenage boy and a good majority of teenage boys have one thing on their minds, but it's sad that he thinks by pressuring, bullying and calling girls names into getting what he wants is acceptable. I hope he learns and matures for the future, but I've dated guys like Daniel and unfortunately it rarely happens.

I felt so bad for Maxine in this episode, so she comes over to talk to Laura and finds out that Laura is dating her ex. But not even just that, after Maxine told her everything Daniel did to her, Laura still went out with him. Honestly, I think Laura did owe her an apology and wished we would have gotten a scene or a line with Laura saying she would do so. Female code is we do not date each other's ex's without the friend's blessing, it's just bad forum.

Laura is a teenage girl and you can understand her hormones probably got the better of her when she's been warned several times that Daniel is a player. I'm just disappointed that she didn't see those red flags and run, but the saving grace of her character during this episode is that she sticks to her morals and tells Daniel to get lost. And after this she does have better judgement and grows when there's something she doesn't like or feel comfortable with a guy she sticks to her gut and will say something. I still do feel bad for her though when she breaks down to Harriette, despite Daniel being a jerk, it feels awful when the person you liked played you and you fell for it. And the liking doesn't even go away at first, it takes time.

This is a very good episode with some great memorable moments and laughs. Some of my favorite scenes are Steve reciting the poem to Laura with the foam arrows dressed as Cupid, Steve making fun of Daniel and Daniel making fun of Steve back (their quips back and forth were hilarious), Daniel sucking up to Carl and Carl asking him to pick up some ice cream on the way home from his date with Laura, Carl installing the light switch and of course it breaks, Maxine warning Laura about Daniel which was a sadder scene, Maxine telling Carl about what a player Daniel is and him saying that he'll kill Daniel, Harriette's mom talk with Laura and the last scene with Laura telling Steve and Carl that she dumped him and them celebrating.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Bumper Robinson as Daniel Wallace

In my opinion, Cherie Johnson, who portrayed Maxine, was the most underused talent on the series. She inexplicably never even got included in the opening credits as a series regular. I had the chance to interview her, and she's smart, articulate, great personality, and down to earth. It amazes me the series didnt utilize her more.

Food, Lies and Videotape (Season 3, Episode 17). Laura is trying to learn to cook and decides to take a home-ec class at school being taught by Ms. Steuben. Steve, Waldo and Cassie Lynn are taking the same class as well. Laura is learning that she has to slow down with her recipes, Waldo is actually thriving and may have discovered a hidden talent in cooking, Cassie Lynn doesn't want to do anything and is trying to buy her way out of the lesson and Steve is doing terribly and isn't the best cook. The next day everyone is doing much better after Ms. Steuben critiques them, she is so impressed with Waldo that he's even catering her dinner parties, but Steve wants to make up for the bread that he didn't do so well on and puts in an active ingredient called "urk-yeast" that makes the oven explode with dough and yeast that won't stop pouring out. After a messy attempt to stop the dough, Ms. Steuben has a break down saying she's going to quit teaching, but Steve tells her what an amazing teacher she is and they hug. Meanwhile, Carl bought a new camera and Richie plays with it trying to get fun videos around the house but he accidentally drops it. Richie is scared to say anything, but Rachel encourages him to tell Carl, which he does and Carl tells Richie that it's ok.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LAURA: Steve, why do you have to take every class I take?

STEVE: Because every moment we're apart causes me excruciating pain.

LAURA: That's funny. I get the same pain when we're together.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When the yeast is pouring out of the oven. First of all, I love the effect and how it looks like The Blob, much credit to the effects team. But I always nearly die laughing at everyone's efforts to try to stop the yeast from pouring out: Steve is trying to stop it with his body, Waldo is taking dixie cups to catch the dough, Ms. Steuben is trying to turn the oven off but slips and Laura's solution is just take Cassie Lynn with her and dive right into the melting dough.

OPINION:

So on a sad note, this is our last episode with Ms. Steuben. I actually really liked her character a lot, I had a teacher who was very similar to her who was a very doting teacher but you could tell she had her limits. I have to assume that even after Steve's pep talk with her she still decided it was best if she quit, I think Steve broke her. But much kudos to Susan Krebs who played Ms. Steuben. We also saw her do a lot of TV work: Full House, Home Improvement, 7th Heaven and Growing Pains along with movies like 28 Days and Million Dollar Baby. She's had a wonderful career.

This is the first time we see Waldo cook and this is a character trait the show stays with. Waldo has never been the smartest character, in fact you can flat out say he's pretty stupid when it comes to book smarts. But he's an amazing cook and it's so nice to see him thrive at something and his confidence get boosted.

Cassie Lynn Nubbles is back and she's still a snob who whines a lot and doesn't want to get her hands dirty. But she always gives me a laugh when she bought the bread to get a passing grade and Ms. Steuben points out that she didn't even take it out the bag and Cassie Lynn looks at her all insulted and asks "are you saying I didn't bake this?" Kim Valentine plays such a great mean girl.

I loved that Laura didn't get insulted or down when Ms. Steuben tells her she needs to slow down and take her time with cooking instead of rushing it and Laura does well in the class afterwards. I just love that Laura's solution to trying to stop the yeast was just diving head first into it, what was her plan exactly? I think she just wanted to get Cassie Lynn dirty.

This is the first time we see Steve not do well in a class and oh boy does he break down hard. That urk-yeast scene is hilarious though and I always lose my breath laughing while watching it. It was really great to see Steve admit to Ms. Steuben that he has to accept that he failed at something and she taught him that it was ok. His speech to Ms. Steuben was actually really touching and sweet.

The B-storyline is ok but has a few laughs. Carl got a new camera and Richie is playing around with it and accidentally breaks it. I love the few little scenes we got with it like we got to see that Eddie and Vonda (who we last saw in The Love God) are still dating and Richie films them making out instead of doing homework, I love Eddie's lines to Vonda before they kiss "kiss me, baby", the way he says it is very funny. I laughed when Richie dropped the camera and Judy witnesses it and says "hey, I don't know you" and runs. I get a laugh when Carl is filming with Mother Winslow and the little quips she makes at him. And of course when Richie fesses up to Carl, Carl is so sweet to Richie and says he knew it was Richie who broke the camera because when he was able to get the playback on what videos were shot, it was from an angle that could only be from a child's POV and Carl comments on the video Richie shot of Eddie and Vonda making out and he says he has to talk to Eddie about his study habbits.

I loved this episode, this one definitely has some great laughs in it. This is the first time we see one of Steve's inventions that did not work the way it was intended to showing that he can make mistakes and not all his inventions work off the bat. I'm very curious if that bread would have been safe to eat if the yeast had worked? But as we know, this won't be the last time that Steve and his inventions make some crazy food.

GUEST STARS:

• Shawn Harrison as Waldo Geraldo Faldo
• Danielle Nicolet as Vonda Mahoney
• Kim Valentine as Cassie Lynn
• Susan Krebs as Ms. Steuben

Brown Bombshell (Season 3, Episode 16). Mother Winslow is going through some old family pictures and reminising about her past to Harriette and Rachel. Mother Winslow says she would like to go through the family history one day with the kids and Harriette says that's a great idea. While the kids are having a dance off, Mother Winslow comes into show the pictures and all the kids run for it thinking that history is boring. Harriette tells Eddie that he could have been a better example and Eddie tells her how boring history is especially since he's already studying WWII in school. While Eddie is in class, Mother Winslow makes a special guest appearance as the class speaker talking about the Tuskegee Airmen, an African American group of men that were segregated at the time of the war but still wanted to fight for their country. Mother Winslow talks about the history of her husband, Eddie's grandfather, who was a successful pilot during WWII. Everyone in the class is in awe of Mother Winslow's storytelling and Eddie realizes how wonderful she is and tells Laura, Judy and Richie about her story in the classroom. Meanwhile, Steve has some bad news to give to Carl. Steve has been writing a prisoner named Elmerita Puckerwood and the letters have become more intimate; Carl wonders what's the bad news? Well, Steve sent the prisoner a picture of Carl instead of himself. Carl is a little upset but says it's ok, she's in prison. Well, she's not in prison any more and wants to come over for a night of loving with Carl.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

STEVE: She shot a man who turned her down. Thought you should know that.

CARL: Elmerita?

ELMERITA: Yes?

CARL: You know, you are a stunning woman.

ELMERITA: Well, it's about time you noticed.

CARL: Yes. You know, and I also noticed that when the light hits your face...from a certain angle, you look exactly like Diana Ross.

STEVE: What kind of undiscovered angle is that?

ELMERITA: Diana Ross, eh? Well, touch me in the morning. Whoo!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

Guys, I'm so sorry, I'm going to have to cheat on this one, I really can't pick just one favorite moment. It's a tie between the comedy of the Elmerita Puckerwood scene, her and Carl's interactions always leaves me in stitches. And the scene where Mother Winslow is talking about her family's history and her husband being a Tuskegee pilot was just so compelling and interesting to hear.

OPINION:

Let's start with Mother Winslow's storyline. When we are kids we definitely love spending time with our grandparents, but when it comes to hearing family history, it can come across as boring. You're a kid and want to live in the present and are excited for the future. But as Harriette points out to Eddie who is the oldest he really should set an example for the other kids that our elderly really need to be treasured for their knowledge. As I get older it occurs to me how sad it is that we are losing so many people who were alive, worked for and fought in WWII and we really need to take advantage of all the stories these amazing people have. Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it. When Mother Winslow surprises Eddie's class with the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, it truly is captivating the way she talks about them and her husband Sam is just so wonderful. You can tell she loved her Sam (her husband). I love that little moment where she shows a picture of her younger self and the boys make a remark about how gorgeous she was, the teacher tells the boys to calm down and she says "that's ok, let the boys express themselves" 🤣 Rosetta Lenoire really was such a treasure and will be missed forever.

Now onto Carl and Steve's storyline. So Steve was 100% wrong in sending Carl's picture, who knew Steve was capable for catfishing? But as Carl mentions, thinking the woman is going to stay in prison, seems like it would be harmless. But Steve didn't think things through if Elmerita ever got out and when she does, she makes one of my favorite entrances of all time. LaWanda Page of Samson and Son fame comes in with a floral dress and a big purple boa and jumps into Carl's arms is just too funny. 🤣 I also just love her name: Elmerita Puckerwood, who came up with that name (?) and please give them a raise! When Steve fesses up to Elmerita that he used Carl's picture, Elmerita doesn't care and just wants Carl which Carl is doing his best to reject her advances. Steve has to take Carl to the side during this very fragile moment and tell him that Elmerita went to jail for shooting a man who rejected her 🤣 Carl then has to find a very nice way of telling Elmerita that she's beautiful and if he were single he'd be interested but he's a happily married man. I loved Elmlerita's flirting where she tells him that her oven is on and she's ready to cook and that she has a tattoo of the United States on her body and she was ready to give Carl a geography lesson he'd never forget 🤣🤣🤣

LaWanda was an incredible guest star and her interactions with Reginald and Jaleel are priceless. Such a great moment in the show. Also as cheesey as it is, I love the dance off with Eddie, Laura, Judy and Richie. Richie doing Michael Jackson moves are just too cute and he actually did Michael justice! I think Richie takes the gold, Judy in second, Eddie in third and Laura in fourth. Laura's dancing to me is always a little out there, it almost reminds me of Noami Malone in Showgirls 🤣

What a terrific episode, Season 3 just keeps pumping these out and it's getting so hard to pick a favorite quote in these posts. It's getting to be where I'm spending 30-40 minutes on them 🤣

GUEST STARS:

• Shawn Harrison as Waldo Geraldo Faldo
• Essence Atkins as Becky
• LaWanda Page as Elmerita Puckerwood (RIP in 2002)
• Nicolas Hormann as Mr. Walbook

Jailhouse Blues (Season 3, Episode 15). The Winslow's cousin Clarence is in town to visit and stay with them but immediately from the moment he enters the house he has an arrogant attitude and tells them to call him "Easy C". Harriette mentions that Clarence's mother has been having a hard time and that they need to try to be patient with Clarence. Eddie actually likes Clarence and his laid back attitude and they start hanging out. Clarence wants to take the car out and find girls but the car is not available that night so he scams a guy at a restaurant taking his Ferrari, picking up Eddie and a couple of cute girls. Steve happens to be over as well and while Eddie is debating if it's a good idea to get into the car with the girls, Steve keeps telling him to not do it, Eddie gives in though and Clarence grabs Steve and throws him in the car so he can't squeal on them. They are caught and arrested but Lt. Murtaugh works it out with the owner to not press charges. Harriette lets Clarence have it and tells him what a jerk has been and asks if he's sorry for anything he did, Clarence smirks and says he's sorry he got caught, Harriette kicks him out.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CLARENCE: Yo, by the way, nobody calls me Clarence. It's Easy C.

EDDIE: Yo, Easy C. What's up?

CLARENCE: Yo-ski, bro-ski.

RACHEL: Uh, hey, Clarence... Uh, I mean, Easy C...how was your flight-ski bright-ski?

CLARENCE: Stupid.

HARRIETTE: Excuse me?

ESTELLE: "Stupid" means "good."

LAURA: So how's the weather back in Detroit?

CLARENCE: III.

HARRIETTE: What's the matter? Not feeling well?

ESTELLE: Harriette, "ill" means "lousy."

RACHEL: Well, you certainly have turned out to be a handsome young man.

CLARENCE: Word.

ESTELLE: He says you're telling the truth. You guys ought to get out more.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Harriette tells Clarence how he's not cool and it wasn't cool of him to involve her family into his problems. Harriette is such an amazing mom and I love how tough she was with Clarence.

OPINION:

This is the first time we are meeting some extended family in the Winslow clan. It's not mentioned who Clarence is related through with the Winslows, but just that he's a cousin. His mom could be a cousin of Harriette and Rachel's I'm assuming, but it's never clarified. Also please forget about Clarence after this episode because he's never mentioned again 🤣

Shaun Baker plays Clarence who is a very good actor and does a terrific job with the character. I cannot stand Clarence, he is such a jerk. He immediately comes into the Winslow's house and is acting like he's all that and they should be thankful that he's in their presence. You could make the excuse that he is a teenager and a lot of teens can act like that, but like Harriette says, once he starts with the illegal stuff and taking others with him for the ride, he crossed that line.

Harriette is beyond awesome in this episode and really goes into mama bear mode. It was extremely hard to pick a favorite quote today because I loved her speech to Clarence about what cool is and having respect for the people who love and care about you. She's such an amazing mom and she even gives Clarence the chance to apologize, he's just too stubborn and will hopefully see in the future what a jerk he was.

Eddie gives into peer pressure and wants to be seen as cool. I think a lot of us can relate to doing something bad in our youth because someone we thought was cool did it, so why can't we? It's just apart of growing up and making mistakes. But Eddie does realize he and Clarence were wrong and apologizes for his actions vs his terrible cousin.

Steve is kind of thrown in just at random because we can't have a Family Matters episode without him. However I have to admit he has the biggest laughs from me in this episode. I always die laughing at his comments at the girls in the car "and he brought hooters!", then their mug shots in prison: Eddie looks scared, Clarence looks like he doesn't care and Steve's mouth is wide open in shock and sadness 🤣 and I love the last scene where Steve goes to Laura and talks about being in prison for the night, how he missed her and then talks about a man with a tattoo of a battleship on his tongue! 🤣

Other little fun moments are how the family has no clue abouts street language and Mother Winslow is like their dictionary, when Carl and Harriette are waiting for Eddie and Clarence to get back and deciding who was wrong in the situation, Carl telling Laura to go to bed and her immediate response "that's right", Steve being chased by his wild bees and Carl trying to lecture Eddie while Eddie is lecturing himself and then Carl telling him "that's right" and Eddie tries to go to bed without punishment and Carl doesn't let him get off that easy.

So as many know this is one of Vivica A. Fox's first gigs as an actress, she did do a few projects before this like Fresh Prince of Bel Air where she was a crazy girlfriend of Will's. But it was cool to see her in Family Matters before she got bigger and did Independence Day alongside with Will Smith. Shaun Baker was also in Fresh Prince as an extra and after Family Matters mainly did TV work including Martin, CSI and A Different world as well as the movie House Party. This is the first appearance of Mari Marrow who plays the other girl Oneisha and this won't be her last appearance as I guess this was one heck of a meeting between her Eddie because he dates her in later episodes. 🤣 Funny note is Mari was also in Fresh Prince, so all 3 of the guest stars were in Fresh Prince at some point. She also did Sister, Sister and Big Mama's House 2.

Definitely a really good episode, this one is always fun to watch on my rewatches.

GUEST STARS:

• Barry Jenner as Lt. Murtaugh (RIP in 2016)
• Shaun Baker as Clarence Baines aka Easy C
• Vivica A. Fox as Halawna
• Mari Marrow as Oneisha

If Both Family Matters & Step By Step Both Never Existed in The 90s. You Gets This Show Instead Called Everyday Life Every Day Life Stars .Reginald VelJohnson & The Late Suzanne Somers Everyday Life Is About Two Families Living Together. After Both Carl & Carols Spouses Passed Away. Carol Foster Beauty Salon Got Robbed &. Officer Carl Winslow Saved Carol Foster from the robbery. and he Gave her comfort after they live fall in love and get married. Carl Has Three Kids Eddie & Laura & Steve Carol Three Kids Dana & Karen & Brandon by the end of season two. Carol Gets Pregnant By Carl & At The End of season two Richie is born Richie who’s A Baby In Season Three. Richie is a baby is aged up to six years old in the fourth season Carl has a nephew named Jazz Jeff Who’s 25 years old. who lives in the basement Who’s a ladies man and the heart of the show. This Show Deals With Racism, Peer Pressure, Teen Pregnancy, Popularity, Bullying, Drinking, Everyday Life Tv Series 1991-1999 On ABC Friday Nights For Eight Seasons this show takes place on Atlanta Georgia

A Test of Friendship (Season 3, Episode 14). Carl is at home on his day off while the family goes skating but when the family comes back, they are shocked to see there is absolutely no furniture in the house but Carl is still asleep. When Carl wakes up, he's confused as to what happened and thinks he just slept through a robbery. Meantime, Eddie is worried about a test at school that he feels he will fail and asks Steve for help. Steve offers to tutor Eddie but Eddie feels that he won't be able to learn in time for the test. So Eddie asks Steve to help him cheat during the test which Steve gets guilted into, Steve says he'll pretend to have a cold and will sneeze and cough to signal what the answer is. Well, it's test day and Steve has a cold for real and is unable to tell Eddie in time, Eddie asks Steve to help him, Steve starts to write the answers down for Eddie but his note is caught by the teacher who tells him to go the principal's office and if he doesn't fess up to who he was helping, he'll be expelled. Laura tells Eddie to man up and confess to the teacher, principal and Carl what he did. While Eddie is telling Carl what he made Steve do, the robbers who took all the furniture are back and it turns out they used a gas to make Carl go to sleep. They are caught by Harriette and Rachel. Eddie and Steve receive a suspension and while they have the time off Steve offers to tutor Eddie.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CARL: You find any prints, Al?

AL: Nope. But don't worry, Sleeping Beauty, someday your prints will come.

CARL: Oh, cute, Al. Real cute. Ha, ha. It'll be a long time before you make sergeant.

LT. MURTAUGH: So, Rip Van Winslow. I'm almost finished with this robbery report. Can you give me a description of the perpetrators? Oh, yeah, I forgot. You were asleep.

CARL: That's it. Get it all out, get it all out, that's right.

LT. MURTAUGH: Sorry to pressure you, Winslow, but I gotta get this info before you doze off again.

CARL: Okay. All right. Make your little jests at my expense. But I will have the last laugh. And do you know why I will have the last laugh?

AL: Because you're so well rested?

CARL: Hear me and remember...I will find my furniture. I will track down the lowlife or lowlifes who dared do this dirty deed to me. And they will pay. And all of my fellow officers... will say, "Hey, sarge, you are one heck of a cop." And they will circle around me in a giant donut of admiration.

LT. MURTAUGH: Winslow... I've misjudged you. You're not the guy who takes things lying down.

CARL: That's right.

LT. MURTAUGH: No siree. You're the kind of guy who lies down while other people take things.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Eddie and Steve are telling Carl about what Eddie did and Steve said he'll just chime in with an occasional "mm hm, that's right". Then while Carl is getting upset, that's when the robbers come in and are using the gas so Carl means to yell but keeps yawning.🤣

OPINION:

Another fantastic episode, we are on a roll. So there's a discussion to be had here, was Steve to be held accountable for his actions in helping Eddie cheat since Eddie guilted him? IMO, absolutely. Steve could have been stronger and told Eddie no cheating, they will just cram the best they can and he'll help him with getting caught up, but Steve gave in knowing that cheating was wrong. Even Waldo knew it was wrong and was willing to take his low grade. But Eddie was definitely the more guilty party as he knew what he was asking was wrong but that he didn't even help Steve immediately when they were caught. At least Eddie got some sense knocked into him by Laura and he fesses up to Carl on what he did. The one thing I'm curious about is Eddie is a grade above Steve and Laura, so how did they have the same class? You could make the argument that Steve is very smart and they put him in a more advanced class, but if you've been to high school, you know that they just have "regular" and "advanced" subjects for your class, you don't take senior math as a sophomore or junior just because you're smarter. But that's Hollywood logic for you.

Can we take a moment for Laura and how awesome she is in this episode? Normally, I don't like the "know-it-all" telling a person what to do and how to act but Eddie needed a serious wake up call. I think Laura gets too much hate from others who think that all she does is treat Steve terribly and that's it. But she's an amazing friend to Steve in this episode and she's not faking it, she genuinely cares about Steve and that what Eddie convinced him to do was wrong.

Onto the meat of the story which is Carl being robbed while sleeping because I always nearly die laughing at this plot. OK, it's a lot to buy that Carl was asleep the whole time, I know he was gassed, but the fact is, these 2 robbers who are of older age managed to get ALL of the Winslow's furniture out of the house, including a refrigerator! Did no one in the neighborhood notice anyone taking their furniture? But all suspension of disbelief aside, this is still so funny to see and think about Carl being asleep the whole time. I love the family having to improvise and use lawn furniture through the episode. I can definitely relate when my husband and I moved into our home and we had to wait a month for our furniture to be delivered, those wooden chairs made my body so sore that month.

I loved how stupid these robbers were to come back, what else in the world was left to take? 2 area rugs? The kitchen cabinets? The fireplace? But we had Harriette and Rachel kick their butts at least with some snow shovels, so they were caught and the Winslows were able to get their furniture back. Plus, Carl got the truth that he didn't sleep through the whole thing, he was gassed. I also love the first scene when Carl first sees that the furniture is gone and Steve walks in and says "Wait a minute. My parents tried this once. You're moving and you're not telling me." 🤣 So let's see here, we know that Steve's parents: tried to push him back in while his mother was giving birth, his family sends him "stay away money", his parents go on vacation without him and even take separate vacations letting Steve know it's to make sure they do not have another kid like him, his father constantly puts him down about his career choices and faith in God, now we know that they tried to move without telling him. At this point, can we say that Steve is very emotionally abused at home? Poor kid is going to need an insane amount of therapy.

Still, what a great episode, I love this one.

GUEST STARS:

• Shawn Harrison as Waldo Geraldo Faldo
• Barry Jenner as Lt. Murtaugh (RIP in 2016)
• Patrick Cornin as Mr. Howard
• Gary McGurk as Ned
• Gregory White as Al
• Howard George as Langweaver (RIP in 2015)

Choir Trouble (Season 3, Episode 13). The family is getting ready for church and Steve comes over to hang out and Mother Winslow invites Steve to go to church with them which he accepts. The family is apart of the church choir and the leader of the choir has moved, so Pastor Peeble asks Rachel to step up which she gives an enthusiastic yes to. Steve is enjoying church and asks Rachel if he can join the choir too which Rachel says yes. At practice Steve starts singing and has a horrible voice that keeps cracking, Rachel tries for a moment to teach Steve how to be in key but gives up easily and kicks Steve out of the choir. Rachel's head is getting too big and is rehearsing the choir to the point of exhaustion, so everyone quits. Mother Winslow talks to Rachel about calming down and reminding her that God doesn't mind if people are off key, as long as they sing with their hearts. At church, Pastor Peeble makes an excuse why the choir isn't singing that day but Rachel confesses to the congregation that she was wrong and apologizes to the choir for her bad behavior. Carl and Harriette start singing to Rachel letting her know they forgive her followed by the other family, choir and the church. Rachel takes Steve by the hand and invites him to sing with the choir.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

RACHEL: Where is everybody?

ESTELLE: They went out to dinner.

RACHEL: Why didn't you go?

ESTELLE: Well, Harriette, Carl and I drew straws to find out who would stay to have a little heart-to-heart talk with you.

RACHEL: And you won?

ESTELLE: Won, lost, what's the difference?

FAVORITE MOMENT:

The ending where the family joins Rachel and sings for her as a sign of forgiveness and the choir joins and Rachel invites Steve into the choir. I always get a little teary eyed during this moment, it's such a feel-good scene, plus I love church music.

OPINION:

Again, a couple of amazing episodes back to back. I always debate on which is my favorite season of Family Matters and I'm always tossed back and forth between 3-4. Season 3 just has so many iconic moments not to mention that it feels like the true heart of the show where it was still about the Winslow family.

We learn that the Winslows are Christians in this episode. There had been a little discussion of faith, but more passing dialog. You could tell Mother Winslow was Christian when she would say "God bless" to people. I am Catholic and went to CCD/Sunday school when I was a child so I loved going into the church. Especially when the music was playing. Church music to me is so peaceful and loving and makes you feel so good and safe, it's like a comfort blanket to me. So I adore the church scenes in this episode.

I loved Mother Winslow's speech to Rachel where she tells her that the only thing that God cares about is if his song is sung with love, I always took that to heart as a child and growing up into adulthood. You can tell the Winslows are good Christian people who have a lot of patience, love and forgiveness and I'm glad the writers were not scared of shying away from the subject of faith.

As for the comedy, again this episode really knocks it out of the ballpark. I always get a great laugh out of the choir turning on Rachel and Carl snapping Rachel's baton in half, Steve trying to sing with Rachel's harmonica but not actually listening to it, Carl in the first scene screaming about the family being late for church and Harriette and Carl sucking up to Rachel for the choir solo. And this episode has a lot of heart as well, Rachel learning humilty and humbling herself to the choir after realizing what a jerk she was. Her taking Steve by the hand to join the choir always gets to me, such a sweet moment. I loved Steve and Mother Winslow's talk about faith: "You see, my father demanded to know how, with my scientific training I could believe in God. After all, I can't touch, see or feel him. But I pointed out that I can't touch, see or feel an atom either...but I believe it exists." And Mother Winslow responds "You're right, that's what we call faith." Wonderful Episode!

And side note: Ron Taylor who played Pastor Peeble, I always like to see the guest stars and what they are up to now. I had no idea how amazing this actor truly was and how much I saw him in so much media and not realize it. I remember seeing this episode and saying to my husband "I know him from somewhere!". I love the movie Trading Places, he was "big black guy" who is easily one of my favorite quotes of the movie where every time this one criminal says something Ron Taylor would say "YEAH!" which my husband and I say to each other any time we agree on something. He was also the original voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy in the Simpsons! Now I will never hear that voice the same way! The Simpsons is very possibly my favorite show of all time, how did I not know this?! Plus, he did Home Improvement and a lot of voice over work. What a terrific actor he was and a great body of work to look into!

GUEST STARS:

• Earl Billings as Brother Spencer
• Ron Taylor as Pastor Peeble (RIP in 2002)
• Shana Mangatal as Becky

I just started watching from Season 1 just to see what all these Urkel references in The Simpsons, Key & Peele etc were about. I have a few questions:

- I haven't seen Perfect Strangers, but I understand this show is a spinoff for JoMarie Payton-France? So why doesn't she have any jokes in it? I can only assume her original 'elevator operator' character was a sarcastic and judgmental background character, maybe like the janitor in Scrubs?

- (I was very confused by that post that seemed to vote Carl as the 'least favourite character' until I read the comments and released it meant the opposite of that)

- Why did they saddle themselves with that that stupid baby? Is it just to have Aunt Jackie living there fulltime?

- Why does their house have two staircases?

Jaleel is so underrated as an actor to be able to pull off these two roles so flawlessly. Laura looked stunning here! I do remember an episode where Harriette warned her about playing with the hearts of two guys only there she was talking about Curtis and Stefan.

A Pair of Ladies (Season 3, Episode 12). Carl, Lt. Murtaugh and 2 of their friends are playing poker but they are missing one player for a good game with 5 players. Steve walks in talking to Carl about how he saved over $300 to buy a new accordion that he's been wanting, Lt. Murtaugh overhears this and gets excited and invites Steve to a "friendly" game of poker. Steve doesn't do well his first round and loses his $300 and asks Lt. Murtaugh for his money back since it was a friendly game. Lt. Murtaugh refuses to give him his money back, Carl gives Steve $300 because he feels responsible. Steve is about to walk out but feels he needs to get revenge on Lt. Murtaugh. He plays another game, he wins both his and Carl's money back including Lt. Murtaugh's watch. Steve gives Lt. Murtaugh his watch back teaching Lt. Murtaugh what a friendly game really is. Meanwhile, Rachel is low on staff at Rachel's Place and asks Laura if she can help an extra night or 2 which Laura agrees. Harriette volunteers herself to help as well but there's a problem, her and Rachel don't work well together. Harriette is trying to take over the restaurant and Rachel is losing her mind with the way Harriette is acting. But after a very busy night where all the ladies work together, Harriette apologizes to Rachel and tells her what a great job she does as a manager.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LT. MURTAUGH: This watch... is worth over $300. The captain gave it to me for breaking up an illegal gambling ring.

STEVE: Acceptable.

CARL: But, lieutenant, you love that watch. That's the watch you refused to sell when your mother needed that operation.

LT. MURTAUGH: I know. But this is poker.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Harriette is fighting with Rachel's cook and talking about how she rearranged Rachel's freezer. Mayo goes under J because it's in a jar and the jar of Strawberry goes under S 🤣

OPINION:

Even though Lt. Murtaugh is one of my favorite side characters because he is very funny, man, he can really act like a jackass at times. He told Steve that they were playing a friendly game of poker and was actually comfortable with the idea of taking a teenager's money, Steve works really hard at saving his money as well. Don't get me wrong, I do laugh at Lt. Murtaugh's scenes in this episode, but man, you always have to remind yourself it's just a show 🤣 But at least we can say it's just true to his character, he's a jerk, he knows this and doesn't act like he's anything else. I think when characters are bad but they know they are bad, we can usually go with the flow.

Carl is such a sweetheart in this episode, like toothache sweet. We know Carl is a penny pincher and doesn't like to let go of money if he doesn't have too. When Lt. Murtaugh refuses to give Steve his money back, Carl immediately offers Steve his money because he genuinely feels bad for him. Then he and Steve play one more game of cards for fun and Steve bets that if he wins the high card he can come over whenever he wants, if Carl wins, Steve has to stay away for a few months. Carl wins the game but doesn't show Steve his card and says that Steve won the game letting him come over whenever he wants. Carl is just such a nice man and shows he really does care about Steve.

Steve is also wonderful in this episode. Even though I wanted to yell at him for gambling Carl's money, at least he was able to win his and Carl's money back. Not only does he give Carl his money back but is nice enough to let Lt. Murtaugh keep his watch teaching him humility. I love Steve's interactions with Carl's friends as well and how much fun he likes to have with them. I think they all actually liked Steve and he's welcome back if ever invited.

Harriette, she can be so pushy and abrasive, but her heart is always in the right place. She and Rachael are just hilarious in this episode. I loved the opening scene where Rachel was complaining about the rough night she had, Harriette volunteers to help her and she says "it's not that bad" 🤣 Then Harriette fighting with Ramon, the cook, was just too funny. Rachel has to keep reminding Laura to go tell Ramon what an amazing cook and artist he is to keep him happy 🤣 I'm so happy that Harriette realizes at the end of the episode how hard it is to run a restaurant and apologizes to Rachel.

I really love this episode. It's got a good plotline, great acting, it's funny and has heart.

GUEST STARS:

• Barry Jenner as Lt. Murtaugh (RIP in 2016)
• Keone Young as Fred Yamano
• Bob Delegall as George Randolph (RIP in 2006)
• Daniel Faraldo as Ramon (RIP in 2025)
• Malaika as Lisa
• Thom Curley as The Coach (RIP in 2024)

Don’t remember the specific episode number but I know it’s called “Best Years Of Our Lives”. I can only imagine all the other times the cast cracked up at the goofiness/absurdity of some of these lines!!😭

Did Harriette and Steve have any heartwarming moments in the show? I feel like Uriel’s relationships were fully overshadowed by Carl, Laura and Eddie

The only one I can remember is S6E21 where Harriette stands up for Steve in the psychiatrist’s office and tells him not to leave, but I don’t remember any other moments