I'm sure that the Generation Y'ers coming of age can recite what they consider to be the most memorable episode of "Family Matters." Was it when Urkel became Stephan for the first time? Or was it when Urkel infiltrated the gang members' hideout? Or what about when Lt. Murtaugh unsuccessfully wooed Rachel? This show is classic kitsch, just as "The Beverly Hillbillies" was for '60s audiences and "Welcome Back, Kotter" was for '70s audiences. Neither show was very good, but boy do they bring back memories! "Family Matters" serves the same purpose to now grown-up Gen Y youth. Urkel was arguably TV's biggest pop icon during the '90s, right up their with Kramer, Homer Simpson, and that fat guy from "NYPD Blue." Perhaps the show's run is memorable for its strange metamorphosis, as it went from a bland sitcom about an average middle-class family to a bizarre fantasy involving killer robots, possessed puppets, and time travel. Through it all, we had Carl Otis Winslow and Steven Q. Urkel to fight off bad guys and riff with each other like Abbot and Costello. It wasn't that good of a show, but boy, you can't feel chagrined about having seen it because we ALL did.
"Go home, Steve! Go home! Go home! GO HOME!!!"
"Go home, Steve! Go home! Go home! GO HOME!!!"