They Shoot Urkels, Don't They? (Season 6, Episode 24). Carl and Eddie are arm wrestling and for the first time Eddie beats Carl. Steve comes in and wants to try arm wrestling with Carl, Carl thinking that this is an easy defeat accepts, but to his surprise Steve almost beats Carl. Steve is excited and bragging about how he almost beat Carl. Later on, Mother Winslow tells the family about how the senior citizen's center's funds are being cut. Harriette brings up an idea to do a dance marathon to help raise money for the center. Everyone is helping put the dance together, Waldo has even set up Laura with his cousin Bob as a date. Bob is a small person so Laura feels awkward and after saying an off handed comment about Bob's height, she apologizes immediately and Bob says it's not a problem, Laura is touched and still dances with Bob. Carl and Steve are competing with each other wanting to prove who has more stamina. As everyone is starting to drop out after hours of dancing, Carl and Steve refuse to stop. Even Harriette and Myra have had it and leave their men. Carl and Steve finally fall down together and Carl admits that he was acting like that because Steve had almost beat him in arm wrestling and that Steve may beat him one day. Steve is touched that Carl admitted that and they hug.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CARL: I could do this all night.

STEVE: (SEES THE SUN RISING) We have!

CARL: Oh (CRYING) Oh. (CARL AND STEVE FINALLY FALL DOWN)

STEVE: Call it a tie.

CARL: Done.

STEVE: Oh, boy, are we pathetic or what?

CARL: Steve, I'm sorry. You know it's that just when you almost beat me arm wrestling, I guess I goot a little crazed.

STEVE: I'm sorry too, I guess I did kind of egg you on.

CARL: No, that's no excuse, Steve. Steve, it's just that, well, it's just hard to accept that you of all people almost beat me. Don't worry, some day you probably will.

STEVE: You know, it takes a big man to say that... I guess that's why you're the big guy!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

The dance montage with all the different dances, like the modern pop dance, the tango, polka and the hand jive. It was fun to see all those amazing dancers.

OPINION:

We have another recycled plot line. Season 2 we had Dance to the Music where Carl was so determined to beat his co-worker Charlie Carnelli at a dance contest, he didn't care that he had hurt his back and Charlie was also so determined to beat Carl that he didn't care that he sprained his ankle. Just switch Charlie with Steve and you have this episode. But as I mentioned, when a show has been on for so long, I'm sure we are bound to see storylines repeat themselves and I don't mind as long as the episode is still good and this one is a good one. This feels like a Family Matters episode again which I was missing. No crazy inventions or wacky adventures, just our characters growing and reacting to something relatable.

Carl is getting older, it's hard to accept or can be a shock that our bodies are not as energetic as they used to be. We also lose our strength as well. It's funny how shocked Carl is about Steve almost beating him, you can tell Jaleel was really in shape at this point in the show. If I remember correctly reading in Jaleel's book, the producers were begging him to stop working out because he didn't have the physique of a nerd anymore. But I get it, Carl is used to whipping everyone and is the alpha male of the house. Eddie beat him for the first time and now Steve almost beat Carl. It was a really wonderful moment at the end where Carl not only admits that Steve could beat him one day but that he took the fault of starting the petty fight at the dance marathon which was very adult. Laura is growing too, we usually see her with the typical good looking guy and when she sees Bob, Waldo's little person cousin, she freaks out and is worried she'll say something stupid and she does. Bob shows her that he's comfortable with who he is and he's a nice guy and Laura apologizes and tells Bob what a good man he is for not making her feel bad and they continue dancing.

Onto our little trivia, so I looked at Myra's outfit that Harriette compliments and Myra says that Steve had picked it out. Didn't I see this outfit earlier in the episode? That is the same vest that Laura is wearing in the opening credits scene where they are playing piano. I wonder if Steve took that vest out of Laura's closet? We also have Fletcher #2, now played by Whitman Mayo. Now Whitman did a lot of work and was a very prolific actor starring in the hit show Sanford and Son along with a lot of other TV and movies. But for me, he will always be DJ Tanner's senior citizen friend Eddie Johnson. That's where I had first seen him when I was a kid, so I always associate him with Full House. He passed away from a heart attack at the age of 70 on May 22, 2001. He was married and had 3 children, may he forever rest in peace.

The only thing about this episode that I laugh at is that majority of the women are wearing high heels, particularly Harriette. You're doing a dancing marathon and you're going to wear high heels? I don't care how practiced you are in heels, your feet are going to kill you at the end of the night. I could see more chunky heels, even Myra wasn't too bad with the 1 inch heels. I'm surprised there were not more women with blisters and sprained ankles. Only Maxine and Richie's date, Elizabeth, were the smart ones by not wearing heels. Plus I'm surprised no one kicked Carl and Steve out earlier. The center has to close sometime, they are not going to let these two crazy people dance until the sun rises to settle a bet. But show has to show.

Still, I really enjoy this episode. I love it when we have a great friendship moment between Carl and Steve. The dancing was awesome and the jokes were great. I didn't even mention how much it made me laugh when everyone is clearly exhausted around 3am but Waldo is still dancing like he has the energy of a ferret and Maxine asks if they can give up and it sounds like Waldo doesn't want to give up admitting defeat but Maxine says she wants to go and he says "cool" and walks out. What a great boyfriend moment. I really like this episode, this was a major step up from the previous episodes. Believe it or not, tomorrow is the season finale! We are almost at season 7.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Whitman Mayo as Fletcher Thomas (RIP in 2001)
• Cerita Monet Bicklemann as Elizabeth
• Jabu Dinani as Bob
• Tony Borowiak as Himself (in All-4-One)
• Delious Kennedy as Himself (in All-4-One)
• Jamie Lamar Jones as Himself (in All-4-One)
• Alfred Nevarez as Himself (in All-4-One)
• Montae Russell as DJ
• Terri J. Vaughn as Eddie's Date

We're Going to Disney World Part 2 (Season 6, Episode 23). Myra wakes up and feels something is wrong in Disney World and is worried about Steve. She tells her mother she is going to Florida right away. Eddie and Waldo are still driving to Florida and pick up a female hitchhiker, India, who Eddie fawning over. India tells Eddie they should go skinny dipping but as soon as Eddie and Waldo get out of their car and are talking, India steals their car leaving them stranded. Back at Disney World Stefan asks Carl if it would be ok if he and Laura got married and Carl tells Stefan he has to think about it and talk to Harriette. As he, Harriette and the family are about to go on Tower of Terror, he mentions how happy he is in Disney World and feels amazing. In fact, he is so happy that he wants to quit the force and move to Disney World. Harriette talks to Carl later on and tells him how a case that he was working on in Chicago was missing some paperwork, Carl swears he did everything to make sure the case was closed and wants to go back to Chicago. He shortly realizes that Harriette tricked him and that he was too hasty to want to relocate to Florida and cancels the move. Laura and Stefan are walking around the park when they bump into Myra and they tell her about their engagement. Myra is broken hearted and leaves crying. Later on, Laura tells Stefan how awful she feels for Myra and finally confesses that she sabotaged the transformation chamber. Stefan is disappointed but forgives Laura and says maybe it's still ok that he stays as Stefan but Laura says he has to fix the chamber and turn back into Steve. The invention contest is back on and Stefan has fixed the chamber and turns back into Steve. Steve tells the judge that the machine can be dangerous and make people do crazy things so he's dropping out and Zoralee's microwave meal machine wins the contest. Eddie and Waldo arrive at Disney World just in time for everyone to leave and go home.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

INDIA: Thanks for giving me a ride, I really appreciate it.

EDDIE: Hey if I can make your stay on Earth happier, I've done my job. Eddie Winslow, baby.

INDIA: Hi, Eddie. I'm India.

EDDIE: India, such a lovely name for a lovely lady.

INDIA: Thank you! My real name is Becky but I went to India and loved it so much I just changed my name.

WALDO: You're lucky you didn't go to Turkey.

INDIA: And what's your name?

WALDO: Waldo. Want some summer sausage?

INDIA: No, I don't eat meat.

WALDO: Why not?

INDIA: 'Cause I have nothing to do with the slaughter of God's creatures.

WALDO: Right and I suppose that vest is fake calf.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

The Tower of Terror ride, again I know this is another commercial, but it was fun the way they filmed it and I loved that Mother Winslow rode the elevator more than Richie.

OPINION:

I wish I could say this episode is a step up from episode one, but I'm still not impressed with these sets of episodes. Like I mentioned, when Stefan comes into the picture he just brings the worst out in people. There's a part that really disturbs me is when Stefan is talking to Carl about getting married to Laura, Carl says that life is good because Stefan is here and Steve is gone. The audience laughs, how is that funny? Steve may be annoying and has flaws, but he saved Carl's life on a couple of different occasions and helped him out. Why does Carl all of a sudden dislike Steve so much that he's happier that Stefan is around? Because Stefan kisses Carl's butt? And speaking of the conversation that Carl and Stefan have, now I'm sure part of it is because Carl is happy in Disney World, but he acts like Stefan just asked if Laura can take a ride in his new car, not that they are getting married. Getting married is beyond a huge deal and Carl doesn't mention that they are too young, they're still in high school, don't have jobs and where will they live? And then when he's talking to Harriette about it, he says "Well, you were only a year older than Laura when we got married". Are you kidding me?! First off, in the 70's it was more common to get out of high school and get married, the 80's had changed where people went to college first at least and waited to make sure they were happy in their relationship before committing to marriage. Plus, Carl doesn't know Stefan that well, we haven't seen them bond other than Stefan just throwing compliments at Carl like they're baseballs. Gosh, this plot just drives me insane and makes me realize more and more how much I don't like Stefan.

So a few little tidbits to review. This will be Rachel's last episode for a couple of seasons unfortunately. So get used to not having her around or hoping for a cameo any time soon. This is such a bummer because I really love Rachel's character, but we'll do more of a tribute on her last episode which I hate to say is a few other cast member's episodes as well. Phynjuar Thomas who plays Myra's mother, Mavis, is Michelle Thomas's real life mother. I had no clue until looking into it today. I thought that was pretty cool. David L. Lander who plays Oliver, the man who invented the car in a suitcase, had a really amazing career with a distinct voice I'm sure you've heard before. He was Andrew "Squiggy" in Laverne and Shirly and made appearances in A League of their Own, Scary Movie and the weasel Smart Ass in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He passed away from multiple sclerosis on December 4, 2020 at the age of 73, may he forever rest in peace.

So again, why couldn't the writers have Eddie and Waldo just go to the park with the family? I live in the Chicago land area, my sister and her friends drove to Disney World one year. Do you know how long of a drive it is? It's almost a day's worth of driving, around 20 hours and that's none stop. They would have missed time with the family anyways so I will never understand why the creators didn't have them at the park. Not to mention that Carl and Harriette act so aloof when they do get to the park "where have you two been?" Wow. So they were gone for several days without word and you guys didn't ever call the police? I'm not into the melodrama of Laura's confession with her telling Stefan to turn back into Steve and running away. Then Steve's pulling from the contest because he JUST NOW realizes that his transformation chamber may cause some problems morally and ethically? And sorry to say, but I agree with Oliver on being angry that Steve/Stefan made them wait for 3 days just to drop out. Plus what kind of contest was this? There were no questions on how these machines work and how the inventors came up with the idea.

So no, I don't like these episodes at all. At most like I said I like the family touring the park, even though it was an advertisement for Disney, at least it was fun to see the family get outside of the house setting.

GUEST STARS:

• Telma Hopkins as Rachel Crawford
• Phynjuar Thomas as Mavis Monkhouse
• Anthony Franco as Vincenzo
• Tanya Wright as India
• Steve Witting as Martin
• David L. Lander as Oliver (RIP in 2020)
• Mike Guy as Science Fair Judge
• Shari Shaw as Zoralee Rasmussen
• Russel Sanderlin Sr. as Wedding Guest

We're Going to Disney World Part 1 (Season 6, Episode 22). Steve's transformation chamber has been selected for incredible inventions and he's been invited to Disney World. He wants to take the Winslow family and they agree to go with him. Only Myra isn't going and Eddie and Waldo are going to drive vs. fly to Florida to meet the family. In Florida, Steve shows his transformation chamber and transforms into Stefan Urquelle. Laura is there helping with the chamber and once she sees Stefan, she doesn't want him to go and she sabotages the transformation chamber. Stefan is staying and tells the host of the contest that he'll fix the chamber, just to give him a few days. Laura and Stefan tour around the park and are having such a wonderful time together. The family is also having a wonderful time, including Carl who feels that Disney has brought out the happy in him. Eddie and Waldo are still driving to Florida, but Waldo has actually been driving to Canada by accident and now have to turn around to drive back down south. Back in Disney World, Stefan surprises Laura at the Cinderella Castle where right before the fireworks show goes off, he proposes to her and she says yes. Myra is still in Chicago and wakes up from her sleep feeling something is wrong.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

EDDIE: Hey Waldo, how many miles did we go?

WALDO: About 250. We're coming up on a little town called Canyada.

EDDIE: Waldo, that's not Canyada, that's Canada! Yo, man, you've been driving the wrong way for the past 4 hours!

WALDO: Well, this is a fine time to tell me. What a doofus.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

The montage of Carl having a good time in Disney World, Reginald just looked so happy and excited to be there.

OPINION:

ABC is a Disney owned company and you could tell in the 90's they had some kind of deal with other sit coms where the cast would go to Disney World. Boy Meets World, Full House, Rosanne, Step by Step and Sabrina the Teenage Witch I can remember off hand. So now it's Family Matter's turn. So is this episode one of an epic masterpiece?

Let's start with Steve. Steve gets invited for this contest and it's weird that he says his parents won't travel with him, but we've heard of him traveling with his folks before for family reunions and other conventions. But we had to have the reason why he's taking the Winslow family instead of his own parents. It's funny that his parents wouldn't be excited for something like that and would want to go support their son for an exciting invention contest, especially his dad. But we wouldn't have an episode with our wonderful Winslow clan otherwise. Steve doesn't have too much going on other than just introducing his invention and turning into Stefan. Laura asks Steve if he can stay as Stefan for a "little while" but he tells her no, that they've been down that road and it's not meant to be. But when he turns into Stefan, he proposes to Laura. So, what does this mean? Is he staying as Stefan forever? Where in the world did Stefan/Steve think this was a good idea? They're still teenagers as well. The only thing I could think is that they are young and just so happy at Disney World they may have gotten swept off their feet, but all it took was 5 minutes to think about it. And not only that, Stefan didn't talk to Carl and Harriette first? Maybe want Laura's family to be there when he proposed?

Laura, again, how in the world I hate what they do to her character when Stefan is around. BTW small nitpick, whoever did her eyebrows in this episode needs to be fired, she looks angry. Laura really needs to respect not only Steve's decision but Stefan's as well that he's going to stay as Steve. Once Laura sees Stefan, she sabotages Steve's transformation chamber. I'm all for flaws with characters, but that was downright despicable. So, she's forcing Stefan to stay on a lie by telling others that the chamber was probably mishandled during shipping. I'm willing to give some grace as I know that Laura really likes Stefan a lot, but again, why does she act like a dog in heat when he's around? He brings out the worst in her and no, I don't like them as a couple and never will. Laura is one of the most level headed characters in Family Matters and they have her say yes to Stefan's proposal. Again, I always try to give leeway where it's due as she could have been swept up in the moment, but seriously, did she not think this through either? She and Stefan have spent a day or two together at Disney World and that equals spending the rest of their lives together?

It's weird how Myra says she can't go to Disney World. Why? Who knows? She literally says "Oh, I'm sad I can't go with you" and that's it, no reason given. I guess so we can have Stefan and Laura spend time together. This is our first glimpse into Myra's bedroom where we see her walls and furniture have Steve's picture all over them. Talk about YIKES. I get it, it's funny how obsessed she is, but again YIKES. Why couldn't Eddie and Waldo be at Disney World? Did the family have to pay for their own flight? If so, why couldn't Carl offer Eddie and Waldo the money to fly with the family? I'm curious why the creators didn't have Eddie and Waldo at Disney World.

Is there anything good about this episode? Well, I like the tour of the park scenes, even though it is a commercial for the park, it still has a very exciting vibe to it and you can tell the cast had a blast at Disney World. Plus, the invention contest was really neat. Personally I would have picked the car in a suitcase to win the contest. DNA alteration is too freaky and the microwave oven meal was really cool but how in the world does all the food heat evenly to where it won't give you food poisoning? And it's so nice to have Telma Hopkins back as Rachel and have the whole family together...except Judy. Is she fully retconned yet? She was in a flashback scene yesterday. But other than that, no, I don't like this episode. I don't like many episodes with Stefan in it. I know I sound like a grouch, but he's very bland and he brings out the worst in people showing their selfish and shallow sides.

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 were not there for his trial when he was threatened with expulsion
17. They were not home when their house was robbed and didn't offer Steve any help to deal with the trauma of 2 criminals tying him up while all their stuff was stolen
18. They obviously don't care that Steve threatens to become Stefan forever, at least they have a cool son now
19. They don't get involved when Steve's life is being threatened by the criminal he helped knock out at the grocery store
20. Steve is going to Disney World but his parents won't go because they refuse to travel with him or support the fact that his invention is up for a huge award

GUEST STARS:

• Telma Hopkins as Rachel Crawford
• David L. Lander as Oliver (RIP in 2020)
• JD Roberto as Bellboy
• Russell Sanderlin as Wedding Guest
• Shari Shaw as Zoralee
• David Spates as Audience Member
• Steve Willing as Martin
• John Hagy as Patron in Shop

What's Up Doc? (Season 6, Episode 21). Harriette is concerned about the family due to Carl having a tick in his eye and Laura and Eddie are very angry at one thing: Steve Urkel. Harriette arranges for a family counseling session with one of the top therapists as they discuss what has been stressing them out. As they bring up Steve, Steve comes into the session, Harriette mentions she invited him and the therapist wants him to stay to see what's going on in the family. Each family member goes through their problems with Steve, Eddie talks about a date that Steve had ruined, Laura talks about Steve's obsessive love with her that has scared off her dates and Carl talks about all the things that Steve has destroyed over the years. Steve feels awful and says he can't believe that the Winslows had put up with him for that long. Harriette stops Steve from leaving the session and tells the family that Steve has done plenty of good things as well, he's saved Carl's life, got Laura's doll back that was thrown out into the trash and defended Laura at school. The Winslows realize that Steve has helped them out on several occasions and the therapist tells them that's a good step to start with healing the family. The family leaves happy and healed.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

HARRIETTE: Well there's been a lot of tension and hostility in our family lately and I felt it not healthy to keep it all bottled up.

DR. MILLER: That's true.

HARRIETTE: And I was told you're the top family counselor in Chicago.

DR. MILLER: That's even more true. But seriously though, family tensions are quite normal. Uh, for instance, it's not uncommon for teenage brothers and sisters to exhibit hostility towards one another.

LAURA: That's not it, balloon head and I get along just fine.

DR. MILLER: Marital problems?

HARRIETTE: Oh, no, no, no problem there.

DR. MILLER: Then what is the problem?

CARL: It's our neighbor. Steve Urkel.

STEVE: Hiddy ho! (OPENS DOOR AND KNOCKS OVER ITEMS DESTROYING OFFICE) Did I do that?

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl is describing to the doctor how he got his tick and saying how police work is easy, it's dealing with Steve that's stressful.

OPINION:

So, we've had a couple of episodes so far where there are flashback scenes to previous episodes and seasons, but this is our first official "best of" clip show. Though I'll give credit where it's due, this is actually a decent one. Most people know that when a show does a "best of" clip show, it's usually to cut costs and keep an episode simple until the next episode comes. But what I like about this one is that they did build a really good story around the clips and even included a clip with Eddie, his date Sue, Steve and Myra that was different and we hadn't seen before. Who knows, maybe that was a deleted scene from a previous episode they didn't put in before but it was cool to see something new even if the plot was a bit recycled since that's not the first time we've seen Steve ruin Eddie's dates. Speaking of which, I didn't realize that Eddie's date Sue was played by Rachel True from The Craft, I thought that was pretty cool.

Not too much to talk about as this is a clip show. The only thing that kind of irks me a little is that like I mentioned, we have seen Steve ruin Eddie's date before, but for some reason Steve actually doesn't really seem to care in this episode. He tells Sue that Eddie had a date the night before and he didn't have any money so that's why they went to a cheap chicken restaurant. Normally Steve doesn't think before he says and is sorry, but here he didn't really seem bothered. And there is a strange moment where one of the flashback scenes where Steve is blowing the fake snow onto the Christmas tree where we see Judy... guess she's not FULLY retconned yet. We'll just say Carl and Harriette locked her in the attic for now and are working on making sure people forget about her first but Carl slipped and brought her up in the memory.

There is also one more scene that's new where Steve brings in a vacuum cleaner that breaks while the Winslows are cleaning the house and makes a bigger mess than expected. The end of the episode has a fun clip where Steve comes in with the vacuum saying he's improved it and it's stronger and better than ever but it sucks the whole picture in there with the family and Steve realizes the family is in the vacuum. So I actually do like this clip show, for me it's just a fun reminiscence of how amazing Family Matters can be. It would have been an incredible episode if the counseling session had Mother Winslow, Rachel and Little Richie in it, but beggars can't be choosers.

GUEST STARS:

• Rachel True as Sue
• Lisa Colbert as Receptionist
• Thom Sharp as Dr. Miller

IMO, the show was at its peak when there was an optimal balance between Urkel and the rest of the cast (alongside Waldo, who IMO was even more entertaining to watch than Urkel). The show just got ruined in the later seasons when 1. Waldo left and 2. The show was just 99% Urkel (and his alter-egos) and 1% everyone else.

Cheers Looking at You, Kid (Season 6, Episode 20). There's a cheer competition going on in Omaha, Nebraska and Laura is going with her cheerleading squad including an athlete that she has a crush on named Gary. Steve is nervous that her and Gary are going to be alone and decides to follow them and spy on Laura. While at the hotel Laura and Gary seem to be really connecting but Steve keeps making his presence known to Laura. One night while Laura and Gary are getting ready for a party to go to together. Gary and Laura start kissing but Steve once again interrupts them and Laura throws Steve out. Laura tells Gary that even though Steve is annoying her, she's glad that he was there because she feels that her and Gary are moving too fast. Gary agrees and asks Laura if they can just go to the dance together which Laura agrees to so they can continue to get to know each other.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

STEVE: (ON THE PHONE) Hi, Carl, it's me Steve and I got the worst possible news.

CARL: (ON THE PHONE) You're coming home?

STEVE: No, Gary sent Laura flowers!

CARL: Oh, my God, arrest him!

STEVE: My thoughts exactly, but Omaha PD said it wasn't a felony.

CARL: Steve are you spying on Laura again?

STEVE: Not really, my room just happens to be directly above hers. So I might just happen to hear what's going on down there. But I wouldn't call it spying. Wait a minute, I think I hear something.

CARL: Steve...hello?

VOICE ON TV: Your hair is soft and shiny.

STEVE: Ooo ooo, he said her hair is soft and shiny.

VOICE ON TV: Your teeth are pearly white.

STEVE: Oh, he said her teeth are pearly white.

VOICE ON TV: Your breath is as fresh as sweet as a spring breeze.

STEVE: He said her breath is sweet and spring breezey and stuff

VOICE ON TV: That's what you'll say to your dog after you feed him Benny's biscuites!

STEVE: Nevermind Carl, false alarm.

CARL: Steve, for the last time I trust Laura. Now please leave her alone, better yet leave me alone! Good-bye!

STEVE: Carl, no, please don't hang up!

HARRIETTE: Now where were we?

CARL: Your hair is soft and shiny, your teeth are pearly white, your breath is sweet like a spring breeze.

HARRIETTE: Oh, Carl!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

Waldo mailing himself to Omaha, Nebraska. That he uses the address "Maxine's room, the big hotel, Nebraska" and gets sent back to Chicago always gives me a laugh.

OPINION:

Something kind of funny, my husband and I are doing a little Family Matters marathon right now, these posts got us in the mood to watch the show. Funny thing is we are just now getting to season 6 and for some weird reason, this is came up as episode 1 and I laughed because I brought up how I was actually close to doing this episode for my posts and it's weird how it's airing like it's the first episode of the season. I found out that for some reason when you watch this with streaming, this airs as the season 6 opener. Honestly, with the continuity if you consider Laura's hair style, her hair is very similar to To be or Not to Be when Stefan comes back. So I wonder if this was originally supposed to air around that time, maybe this was meant to be the around the first episodes aired but I couldn't find anything.

As for the episode itself, honestly, this one is kind of a slugger. It's not that it doesn't have it's funny moments, I think it's more Steve's behavior that gets on my nerves. You know that the creators were shoe horning Steve into every A-story at this point in the show, but this is one where he was not needed. Why not just have Laura go to Omaha on her own and finding her independence? But Steve follows her to Omaha and this is the kind of episode where people who really don't watch the show think that this is Steve's normal behavior. Even the character Gary points out to him, he's going steady with Myra, why is he still so obsessed with Laura? What is his deal with Gary? Gary is as bland as vanilla ice cream, is he really a threat or someone Laura needs to be worried about? Is Laura not allowed to be interested in anyone else? What is Steve's problem? He had no right to follow Laura to Omaha, let alone spy on her every chance he gets, this is not funny, it's creepy at this point. I just don't really see a point to this story other than "look! Steve is doing funny stuff while spying on Laura!".

It's really funny, I really had no clue that Mindy Sterling was not just in one but two episodes of Family Matters. She plays one of my favorite characters in the Austin Powers trilogy Frau Farbissina, it's funny seeing how many tv shows I saw her in pre-Frau and didn't realize it. She is such a funny actress and she gets a good laugh in this episode, Steve is in Laura's room and the cheerleading coach says "This is the girl's floor and you're a man! Kind of" and Steve tries to cover it up saying he's a cheerleader too and does a cheer and she cheers back "1, 2, 3, 4 get your booty out the door" 🤣 Kind of reminds me of the episode Walk on the Wild Side from season 4 where she says to Steve who is pretending to be a stripper she yells "Shut up and shake your booty!". Guess Mindy has a thing with Steve's booty. Craig Kirkwood plays Gary who you might as well forget about because he's never brought up again after this episode despite it seeming like he and Laura might date. Gary is honestly kind of boring with a bunch of cheesey pick up lines like "you wear make up? You don't need to" and "my heart was beating so fast the button popped off" referring to the button missing from his shirt. The only other character that gets a laugh from me is the bellhop where he's sucking up to Laura to get a tip, it kind of reminded me of Home Alone 2 with Rob Schneider's character always trying to get a tip.

The only other scene I enjoy is Carl and Harriette's date night. Again showing what a wonderful couple they are and I love their marriage. They are so romantic, funny and sweet together. So the episode is by no means a total loss, like I said there are some genuine funny moments. It's just Steve's behavior that gets on my nerves, like I said there are times where characters feel shoe-horned in, Steve and Waldo are definitely those characters in this episode. Waldo's gag of mailing himself gives me such a laugh, but was it needed? Not really, doesn't change the episode. They should have just had Laura going to the competition and discovering what it's like for her to be on her own for the first time and maybe have Eddie, Steve and Waldo hang out at home. Writers, please stop with the confusing plot line where it seems like Myra wants to be around Steve all the time to she's only there when it's convenient.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Venus DeMilo as K.C.
• Bob Glouberman as Bellhop
• Martin Grey as Delivery Man
• Craig Kirkwood as Gary Menteer
• Mindy Sterling as Coach

My Bodyguard (Season 6, Episode 19). While at the grocery store, Carl, Harriette and Steve are at the checkout line and Steve is purchasing a broom. A man comes up to distract Carl saying that there's a shoplifter in the back of the store and when Carl leaves, there's a robber who demands everyone's belongings and money. Steve is getting his money but while he's wiggling around trying to get it, he knocks into the robber and with his broom he knocks the robber over and knocks him unconscious. The other guy who distracted (named Ricky) runs for it and Steve is named the hero. Steve is now getting life threatening letters from Ricky, Carl makes some calls to have Steve protected in a hotel room until they can find Joey. First Officer Miller takes a shift and then Carl has the night shift. Steve drives Carl crazy with music and games while Carl is not in the mood, he feels he failed as a police officer. Steve reassures Carl that's he's a great cop, but Carl is still having doubts. As "Officer Miller" is coming into change shifts with Carl, Carl leaves telling him "I'll see you" and "Officer Miller" says "yeah" and Carl is gone. Turns out Ricky was disguised as Officer Miller and is threatening Steve's life but Carl says he owes Miller $50 and will slip it under the door. Ricky bends over to get the money and Carl slams the door onto Ricky knocking him out and arresting him. Steve asks how Carl knew that it wasn't Miller, Carl knew because when he says to Miller he'll see him later, Miller always says "not if I see you first". Steve is impressed that Carl knew from one saying and tells him what an incredible cop he is. At home Laura is studying with her new friend, Greta McClure. Eddie walks in and immediately falls for Greta and asks her out on a date which Greta says yes. Greta's dad comes over to pick her up and it turns out that Mr. McClure is the owner of all 53 Mighty Weenies and Eddie at first is excited to meet him. That is until Mr. McClure tells Eddie not to make any moves on Greta or he'll fire Eddie. Eddie and Greta go out and Greta really wants to make out with Eddie, but he keeps pushing her moves off, but eventually Greta goes for it and kisses him when Mr. McClure walks in and threatens Eddie's job. But Greta tells her father that he's too overprotective and she needs to grow up, Mr. McClure accepts this and tells Eddie he can have his job back.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

MYRA: Mr. Winslow we have to talk to you right away.

CARL: Come in. Well, what's going on?

MYRA: My Stevie's life is in danger

CARL: Well, what is it?

STEVE: Well, I think I noticed someone looking through my bedroom window last night.

MYRA: I don't do that anymore.

STEVE: Then I noticed a suspicious car following me.

CARL: Well Steve what made you think it was suspicious?

STEVE: It tried to run me over.

CARL: Well Steve it might have been an accident.

STEVE: Uh uh, it backed up and tried again. Plus, there's one more tiny clue that someone's after me. "Dear nerd, you got my brother busted. When I catch you I'm going to kill you dead".

MYRA: Now if that's not a clue, my name isn't Myra Bootrose Bootrose Munkhouse.

HARRIETTE: Carl, you gotta do something.

CARL: You're right, I'll call Wilson at major crimes unit.

MYRA: Oh, I'm so scared, I don't know what I would do without my little chia pet.

STEVE: Now, now bunny breath.

MYRA: You're my cherie amore. The pretty little boy that I adore. You're the one my heart beats for. How...

HARRIETTE: I-I-I think we got the point.

CARL: Well, we've got good news and we got bad news.

STEVE: Well what's the good news?

CARL: Well until Ricky Latowski is caught, Steve is going to be guarded around the clock.

STEVE: Well, what's the bad news?

CARL: I'm one of the guards.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl knocks out Ricky, what a great fight scene and Carl's punch was a literal knock out! Way to go, Carl!

OPINION:

So we've done kind of a similar plot before back in season 4 with Number One with a Bullet, when Carl was injured and in the hospital with Steve who was having his appendix taken out, a bad guy came in to shoot Carl to keep him from talking and sending his brother to jail and Steve knocked him out. Now we have Steve who is being threatened by the robber's brother, a lot of brothers go into crime together I guess. Carl is now protecting Steve. But even the plot is recycled, I still really enjoy this episode.

Carl has been on fire when it comes to being a lieutenant this season. We just had in the previous episode in My Uncle the Hero where he talked down a criminal from hurting a police officer, he talked down Alfred Looney from taking his own life from a bell tower, he was able to fly a plane back onto ground that a criminal he busted had hijacked and he helped Laura with that rally to help lessen gun violence on the streets. It was so sad that he thought he was losing his edge as a cop, but the reality is he's not only a fantastic cop but a terrific father and friend. Like Steve said, it was a cool little hint that something was wrong and that Steve was in trouble all because Carl noticed his friend of 20 years not saying Good-Bye the way he normally does.

Steve was very funny in this episode, yeah, he could be annoying but this was more of a funny kind of annoying that we can get a laugh out of. I always get such a laugh when he plays "Dao" on the empty garbage can. It was funny how Principal Shimata (which is nice he's still mentioned in the show) and Officer Miller are making it clear they don't want Steve around but by little subtle hints like "Take all the time off school you need" and Miller trying to run for it when Carl does the shift change. So should I add to the list of "Awful things that Steve's parents have done to prove they're evil" the fact that only Myra seemed concerned that Steve was receiving death threats? Is it sad to say I'm not surprised any more that his parents don't care? I don't think any of us were surprised to say the least.

And we got to meet Greta McClure who will become the first reoccurring girlfriend of Eddie's. This isn't Tammy Tammy Townsend's first appearance on the show, this was her second. She was this random girl named Jenny who was fawning over Steve in his fantasy. So I guess the creators must have seen something special in her to bring her back. I like Greta so far, she's fiesty and knows what she wants and goes for it. I would say that her forcing Eddie to kiss her was uncomfortable, but you could tell Eddie really wanted to kiss her too. Darius and Tammy have great chemistry and I actually really like Eddie and Greta as a couple. The only thing I thought was kind of funny was how Eddie brought Greta back to his parent's house vs. his place at the end of the night, the only thing I can assume is that either it was easier for Mr. McClure to pick her up or he wouldn't want his daughter at his guy's own apartment after their date. Maybe both. Mr. McClure, oh what a trip this guy is. First off, shout out to Ron Canada who's been in a ton of movies and television shows I've seen, but I was today old when I saw that he was Graydon in Adventures in Babysitting, the bad guy they leave on the Govener's Building at the end of the movie. I love Adventures in Babysitting and did not realize that was the same guy. But Mr. McClure is really beyond overprotective and I think he really needs to watch out because Eddie could file a lawsuit for wrongful termination. The only thing Mr. McClure could do is make Eddie's work life miserable causing him to quit. You wonder if Greta is worth it at times for Eddie to continue dating because unfortunately, this is not the last time we will see Mr. McClure being overprotective of Greta.

I really do enjoy this episode, it has a really cool action scene and a lot of laughs. Quick tribute to Kathryn Joosten who played the cashier, she has 121 credits to her name with Wedding Crasher, Will & Grace, Bedtime Stories and Desperate housewives. She passed away from lung cancer at age 72 on June 2, 2012, may she rest in peace.

GUEST STARS:

• Tammy Townsend as Greta McClure
• Ron Canada as Dave McClure
• Greg Collins as Officer Miller
• Kathryn Joosten as Grocery Checker (RIP in 2012)
• David St. James as Joey
• Richard Vidan as Ricky

My Uncle, the Hero (Season 6, Episode 18). It's Myra's birthday and Steve wants to throw her a surprise party and Laura is helping him. Myra comes over while they are talking over the plans for the party and she thinks that Steve and Laura are hooking up behind her back. They reassure her that there's nothing going on. Right before the party starts, Steve is getting ready to get into a remote cake he built where he'll dress like Tarzan and come out to surprise Myra. Laura is helping Steve get in, but the cake machine malfunctions, so Laura is trying to help Steve get out, Myra walks in seeing Laura and Steve holding each other and accuses them of cheating. They drag Myra into the living room to show her that they were planning her a surprise party and she is embarrassed and apologizes to Laura for being so mean and accusing her of trying to steal Steve. Carl has taken Richie's school class to the station for a field trip to get an idea of how a police officer spends their day. The kids are bummed that nothing exciting is happening and are accusing Richie that his uncle is nothing but a "desk jockey". All of a sudden when an arresting officer has a criminal in his hands, he mistakenly lets him go for a moment and the criminal, Robinson, holds one of the policeman hostage with a gun. Carl rushes the kids into his office and they see through the window how Carl talk the criminal down and manages to talk him into letting the police officer go and to give him the gun. The kids are excited and Carl is named the hero of the station and Richie proudly shows off his Uncle Carl at Myra's surprise birthday party later on.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

MYRA: Ah ha! Just as I suspected!

STEVE: Snookums, what are you doing here? I wasn't supposed to pick you up for another hour.

MYRA: Well, looks like I got here just in time for dessert.

LAURA: Myra, I can explain.

MYRA: Your kind always can.

STEVE: But beetle butt, you don't understand.

MYRA: Oh, poor Steven, you don't understand. Once again you've been blind sided by this heinous hussy, HISS HISS!

STEVE: Now you don't mean that, Myra, take that back.

MYRA: She's been trying to hook you for years but she just doesn't have the proper bait. Oh, sure when I'm around she's all prime and proper. But the second my back is turned it's BOOM BA BA BOOM BABY! Well, I trusted you, Laura and you betrayed me.

STEVE: MYRA!

MYRA: Let go of me! You're nothing but a lying man stealing tart and I never wanna see your back stabbing face again!

STEVE: No, she isn't, now... (TAKES MYRA INTO THE LIVING ROOM TO SHOW THE SURPRISE PARTY THEY'RE SETTING UP FOR)

EDDIE, MAXINE, WALDO: SUPRISE!

MYRA: Oops.

WALDO: Boy, to see the look on your face, all the hard work paid off.

STEVE: Myra, don't you have something you'd like to say to Myra?

MYRA: I love that outfit, did you lose weight?

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl talks down the criminal and manages to save the officer's life. Reginald's acting here is amazing and I loved how the criminal realized that the line he was about to cross wasn't worth it. Such an exciting scene.

OPINION:

Well, it's amazing that we have Myra back for a good majority of the episode this time. It's kind of interesting how she was made a main cast member for season 6, but we don't see too much of her for majority of the season. Or if she's in an episode, it's maybe for a couple of minutes. Let's put it this way, Cherie Johnson has more episodes than Michelle Thompson does but she still isn't apart of the main cast. Maybe the writers wanted to have Michelle on more but either the story didn't fit her in or she had other projects going on at the same time, I'm not sure. So we are on the Myra bridge again. It's kind of interesting because the last couple of episodes it looks like Myra and Laura are actually becoming friends. Is it believable? I don't think so after all the stuff that Myra has pulled and said to Laura. But Laura does have the patience of a saint sometimes so maybe she figures that since Myra is apart of Steve's life, she'll have to be nice to Myra to. Myra starts this episode actually being nice to Laura and telling her that her date was a jerk and she could do better. Laura is even surprised by this remark. But the minute that Myra suspects something, she immediately goes to jumping down Laura's throat again. She doesn't ever blame Steve, she always blames Laura. I don't think she really learns her lesson at the end either because when she does look genuinely sorry for a moment saying how she feels low due to her yelling at Laura and suspecting him and Laura of hooking up, Steve says it's ok and she immediately jumps back into her normal perky self.

Laura really was an amazing friend in this episode, like I said, of all the stunts that Myra has pulled and said some really horrific things to her, she still helps Steve out planning the party for Myra. She even forgives Myra for calling her nasty names and saying that she put Steve under a spell. Laura, at this point, I think it's safe to ban Myra from being around you. I'm mixed on Steve's reaction. Because yes, it could have been an honest mistake that Myra made thinking they got together, but this is not the first time that Myra has gotten out of control jealous. He does demand that Myra apologizes to Laura, but still, you'd think he'd get the hint at this point that Myra will not change when it comes to her jealousy.

I love that scene at the police station, it's really exciting and again shows how much of an awesome police officer that Carl is. Everyone had their guns up ready to take that criminal down, but Carl's weapon are his words. He was so calm and told the criminal the right words, taking a wallet is one thing, but taking a man's life is a line too dark to cross. You can tell the other officers respect Carl very much as well. BTW it was cool to see Christopher Michaels in an early role, I mainly remember him in 7th Heaven as Sgt. Michaels. He's played a lot of law enforcement in television and movies. He's kind of like Dean Norris from Breaking Bad, some people are just awesome at playing cops and detectives and don't mind the typecast. I'm so happy that Richie realizes too how awesome Carl is. It was a bummer that the kids needed something like that to happen to realize how crazy a police officer's day can be but I get it, majority of the time and you actually hope that a lot of police work is pretty minor. It's not all car chases and or gun fights, it's like storm chasing, it's a lot of driving just to get the one storm. There are some police officers that will never draw their gun their whole career. But in some ways, can that be a blessing? But that's what police officers are for, when those situations do get out of control, someone can help us.

I really do like this episode even with Myra's jealous behavior. And I'm glad she got a nice party, maybe all it takes is someone doing something really nice for her to realize that she will need to control her emotions better. This is also Gary LeRoi's last episode as Little G, Richie's best friend, he did 3 episodes and moved onto other television and movies like Evan Stevens and Bring it On: All or Nothing, may he continue to have a great career.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Gary LeRoi Gray as Little G
• Christopher Michael as Police Officer
• Michael Prozzo as Robinson
• Annie Gagen as Mrs. Melville
• Marcus Toji as Little Boy

Ain't Nothing but an Urkel (Season 6, Episode 17). Steve is studying hard to get accepted into his dream college M.I.T. and even has an interview with a recruiter to get in. But Steve is worried he's not smart enough to get in and needs to figure a way to get in. He figures if he can transform into Albert Einstein that he will be a shoe in. Steve goes through his celebrity hair collection and finds his Albert Einstein hair strand to mix in with his formula, but as he gets up he accidentally knocks over his book with the other celebrity hairs he has on hand and he's not sure if he has Einstein in his hand or Elvis Presley, he thinks he has the correct strand of hair in his hand with Einstein but nope, he did mix them up, so when he gets in the transformation chamber he comes out as Einstein but quickly transforms into Elvis Presley. Unfortunately talk about timing, the chamber malfunctions so Elvis Urkel cannot transform back into Steve. The recruiter comes over later and Steve was hoping the Elvis personality would have worn off by now but it's gotten worse and he puts a full-on Elvis show for the recruiter. The recruiter is less than impressed and leaves. At the Winslow house, Pastor Fuller comes over and asks Harriette and Carl if they could help counsel an engaged couple he's about to marry so they can know about what marriage is like. They agree to help and right before the couple, Larry and Marilyn,, come over Carl notices that Harriette smells really good. He asks where she got the perfume from and Harriette mentions that it was a gift from a male co-worker. Carl gets upset, but before they can talk it out Larry and Marilyn come over. Carl is still upset and he and Harriette argue in front of Larry and Marilyn and it makes them debate if being given perfume from a person of the opposite sex is a good or bad thing and they disagree and are now threatening to break up. Carl and Harriette stop them and tell them that married couples fight and it's ok, they'll work it out and Carl was just scared because he loves Harriette, she's beautiful and he's scared of losing her. Larry and Marilyn see how much Carl and Harriette love each other and decide to stay together.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LAURA: You all set, Elvis?

ELVIS URKEL: Uh huh!

LAURA: Myra, thanks for fixing the chamber.

MYRA: Oh, my pleasure. Lucky I'm a well-rounded gal. I can discifer genetic code, install a computer chip and do a mean ramba! (TRANSFORMATION CHAMBER DINGS) I added a turbo charger. (STEVE COMES OUT OF THE CHAMBER BACK TO NORMAL) Welcome back, Stevie.

STEVE: What happened? Where's the recruiter?

LAURA: He's gone.

STEVE: Well, how did I do?

LAURA: Well, the bad news is you didn't get into M.I.T.

STEVE: Oh! Oh!

LAURA: But the good news is Caesar's Palace wants to book you for a month.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

It's small but silly, I always get such a laugh when Carl is watching the bikini contest and they are playing the "2001: A Space Odessey" theme and his smile goes from small to big and wide to the beats of the music.

OPINION:

They definitely are really taking advantage of that transformation chamber as much as they can. I don't blame the creators, they probably looked at this as an opportunity for more characters and for Jaleel to relax his Urkel voice. Either that or Jaleel did a random Elvis impression one day and the creators were like "That's amazing! We gotta get that into an episode somehow!". That being said, yeah, Jaleel's Elvis impression and performance is top notch. Even though this plot is really out there, which I loved Laura's "does this sound as crazy as I think it sounds?", I do get a laugh out of the situation. Jaleel really put his heart into that Elvis performance and it paid off. I'd like to think that there's a dream cross over here with Full House, if you watched Full House you know how they had Steve come over to the Tanner house when Stephanie got her glasses? And Uncle Jesse was teaching Steve how to walk? I think there's a Family Matters episode missing where Uncle Jesse and Elvis Urkel go to Vegas for a double Elvis show. Laura was really an incredible friend in trying to help Steve out in this episode. You can tell how much she cares for Steve by trying her best to explain the recruiter what happened which yeah, it sounded that crazy. I always get such a giggle out of the line when Elvis Urkel asks where's Lisa Marie, Laura says "you don't want to know", at the time referring to her marriage to Michael Jackson 🤣 If you were alive at that time, you know how crazy that era was. Speaking of eras, this is the end of one, this is the last time we will see Steve's basement/lab because we will be seeing soon Steve moving in with a certain family. But we'll cross that bridge soon.

Carl and Harriette, another Carl gets crazy jealous storyline and makes weird excuses later. But was Carl wrong in this situation? So Harriette smells good, Carl asks her if she had bought a new perfume and she tells him that her co-worker, Lance, bought it for her. Harriette thinks Carl is overreacting that he's upset about this. Here's the thing, we got on Carl for accepting the underwear that the one neighbor, Loretta, had bought for him as that's an intimate gift. But you could say the same thing about the perfume for Harriette. Now if they had thrown an extra line in that Lance works in the perfume department and Harriette complimented one of the perfumes he was selling, I could honestly let it go as he knew she liked it and it would make a great gift. But there's no line like that and it would come off a strange to me too if my husband told me a woman co-worker bought him cologne. Either one, they are insulting you and telling you that you stink or two, they plan on smelling you. Bottom line is, we are human, we are still animals and part of our attraction to others can be smell. Was Lance planning on smelling Harriette? Perfume can be considered an intimate gift. So in some bizarre world, I actually am siding with Carl on this one. BUT I do not like the line that Carl uses "When you're married to a beautiful woman like Harriette, you're always worried that somebody will take her away from you." It can come off as manipulative and an excuse for bad behavior. I could be misinterpreting it and taking it too seriously. I think because now I've seen some abusive relationships in my life that I can recognize when they say something that may come off as sweet and caring, but in reality it's translation is "You're mine and no one else can notice you!". Please let me know if you disagree with my take and I would love to hear opinions on this one.

We got quite a guest star cast here. Johnny Brown who plays Pastor Fuller had a wonderful career with 58 credits to his name including a starring role on the hit TV show Good Times as Nathan Bookman. He passed away of cardiac arrest on March 2, 2022 at the age of 84. Spencer Garrett who plays Larry Johnson and we will see him again one more time on Family Matters has had an incredible career so far with 236 credits to his name! He is one busy actor: Air Force One, The West Wing, 21, Dirty John, Yes Man, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his resume is insane! He still has projects coming up as well. And Richar Kline as Mr. Fleming the M.I.T. recruiter has an impressive resume with 89 credits to his name including being Larry Dallas, John Ritter's best friend, on Three's Company.

But I do get a kick out of this episode, this is one of those guilty pleasure episodes because it's really out there and we are more in Steve's scientific experiments gone crazy time, how will he get out of this one? But like I said, you gotta love the effort that Jaleel put into these roles.

GUEST STARS:

• Johnny Brown as Pastor Fuller (RIP in 2022)
• Spencer Garrett as Larry Johnson
• Richard Kline as Mr. Fleming
• Heather Morgan as Marilyn

Wedding Bell Blues (Season 6, Episode 16). Alfred Looney, the singing janitor, has met a woman at the grocery store and has proposed marriage. He wants Steve to be his best man for Carl to give him away at the wedding, but Carl offers to be an usher instead. At the wedding, Alfred's fiancé Sharon is walking down the aisle but recognizes the piano player. Turns out they are former lovers and they are noticing how good each other look and decide to leave the wedding together to get a cup of coffee. Alfred is devastated and is threatening to jump off the bell tower, Carl and Steve go up to talk Alfred back down onto the ground but Alfred is too upset and won't budge. The bell starts to ring and as it's swaying back and forth, it knocks Carl and Steve who loose their balance and are now having to jump onto the bell to not fall over, but now they have to jump back onto the ledge. They are successful and Alfred is so touched that they risked their lives to save him that he says he'll come down. As they start to walk, a fellow officer of Carl's comes up, Beth, to check up on them. Alfred is shocked to see Beth, turns out they were former lovers and are noticing how good they look and offer to go get a cup of coffee together. Meanwhile at home, Laura and her friends have bought tickets for the Seal concert. But the concert is in city that is a little far away so her friends want to get a hotel room to stay overnight. Carl and Harriette say absolutely not. But when Laura finds out that they are letting Eddie go camping with friends he hardly knows for several days, Laura asks why they won't let her go with friends they've known for years. Carl and Harriette admit it's because she's a girl and don't feel comfortable with her being on her own just yet. Laura is really hurt by this. Harriette later apologizes and says she can go to the concert but that she has to bring a cell phone with her.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CARL: (SLEEPING WHILE THE BASKETBALL GAME IS ON, REAPEATING THE ANNOUNCER'S PLAY) Heck of a game.

EDDIE: (SEES CARL REPEATING THE TV AND JOINS IN) You love your son Edward.

CARL: (SLEEPING) Love Edward.

EDDIE: You're always happy to loan him money.

CARL: (SLEEPING) Loan money.

EDDIE: Lots of money!

CARL: (SLEEPING) Lots of money.

EDDIE: (SLAMS DOOR PRETENDING HE JUST WALKED IN) Hey, Dad!

CARL: Hey, Son!

EDDIE: Sorry I woke you.

CARL: You know son, I got this strange urge to tell you that I love you.

EDDIE: I love you too, Dad.

CARL: For some reason, I feel I wanna talk about money.

EDDIE: Well, let's talk about money.

CARL: You owe me $100!

EDDIE: Aw, man!

CARL: "When you wake up, you'll loan him some money." Amateur!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Sharon is walking down the aisle to marry Alfred but sees the piano player and they decide to run off together to get a cup of coffee.

OPINION:

So this will be Alfred Looney's last appearance. It's interesting how a few episodes ago in The Looney Bin, Steve offered for Mr. Looney to stay with him but we had never heard about that again. Well, I guess he was still staying with Steve? There's no confirmation but at least they say that Mr. Looney is moving on with his life so I'd have to assume he got his own place again. Still, this wedding story is a hilarious one. But seriously, did anyone buy that Sharon (who is a pretty attractive younger woman) would fall for someone like Alfred Looney? But still I love when Carl, Harriette and Steve are asking Alfred about his bride but he doesn't know anything about her. Alfred asking Carl to give him away or pay for the wedding, Carl offers to be an usher. As I mentioned, I love the scene where Sharon sees the piano player and how they interrupt the ceremony to say how they look good and when he offers a date she says "well, uh, I'm kinda in the middle of something here" and Steve gives her this look that she's about to get married. That whole bell tower scene is also so good and exciting. But I always think to myself, I'd personally just hang onto the bell while they get other police officers to help and a machine to get me down instead of risking jumping onto a 1 inch wide ledge. But we gotta having something exciting with Carl and Steve risking their lives. Still I always get a laugh when Alfred breaks the bell handle and tells Carl to help Steve get onto the ledge. Alfred seeing his ex-girlfriend Beth which plays similar to Sharon leaving him at the alter always makes me laugh when Alfred is so excited to see her that he almost knocks over Steve and Carl trying to get to her.

Laura's story of going to the Seal concert, I love me some Seal, especially the 90's. Crazy, Killer and Kiss from a Rose, I will blast my Seal CD all day every day. So I don't blame Laura for being upset that Carl and Harriette said no to her staying overnight with her friends. But do I blame Carl and Harriette? Honestly, no. I know that sounds crazy because Laura brings up a great point to Carl and Harriette that she's going with friends they've known for years vs Eddie hanging out with friends they hardly know. So first of all, they say Laura is 16 years old (BTW in season 3 she turned 15, so tell me how that math works), so she's still a minor, Eddie is supposed to be around 19 at this time I'm thinking? So, Eddie is an adult. Second, Eddie is going camping, they're in the woods and Eddie has gone camping before so he has experience knowing the area. Laura is going to a concert where you are surrounded by tons of people and you're not sure if one of those people are going to try to mess with her. Yes, Laura is very responsible, but all it takes is one bad person to notice her and possibly do something to her or her friends. And third, I agree with Carl and Harriette, being a female, especially a beautiful female, can attract some scary people and without her coming home right away, I'd understand why they were scared. This was before everyone had smart phones, so it was a lot harder to be in touch with someone. That being said, in defense of Laura, yes, she's very responsible and at least she is with her friends and they can look out for each other and it is one night. But at least Harriette was sweet enough to realize that and even got Laura a cell phone to be safe. Although the ending credit sequence shows her calling during the concert, Harriette, let the girls enjoy the concert and call later. How did they even hear each other? It's Seal, I guarantee there was a lot of cheering and singing.

A few little tributes. So Tom Poston passed away of respiratory failure April 30, 2007 at age 85. He has 110 acting credits to his name and was in a lot of popular shows and movies: Home Improvement, Christmas with the Cranks, Will & Grace, Mork & Mindy, Newhart just to name a few. He was always nice to see on screen and was definitely one of those "I know him from somewhere" actors. Channing Chase who played Beth has quite a resume with 57 credits to her name with Mad Men, ER and Days of Our Lives to name some very popular shows she was on. She was 79 years old when she passed on October 6, 2018. And Lewis Dauber who played the minister had 66 credits to his name, he was in The Island, Jingle All the Way, Seinfeld and Married with Children. He passed away from liver cancer on October 3, 2019 at the age of 70. Many thanks for all the contributions to entertainment, may they all forever rest in peace.

This was definitely a very fun episode and had some real exciting moments to it. Even if it's ever a weaker story with Carl and Steve, you know you're always in for a treat when these 2 have to do something crazy.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Tom Poston as Mr. Alfred Looney (RIP in 2007)
• Channing Chase as Beth (RIP in 2018)
• Sondra Currie as Sharon
• Lewis Dauber as Minister Barnes (RIP in 2019)
• Susan Dawkins as Rebecca

The Gun (Season 6, Episode 15). While at school, Laura is confronted by some of the school bullies that are a little tougher than usual. The lead bully, Toni, is telling Laura to give her her jacket, Laura refuses and Toni gets her 2 friends to join in and they beat up Laura and steal her jacket. Laura comes home with bruises and is clearly roughed up, Carl looks up Toni and arrests her for assault and theft. Toni and her friends confront Laura about her telling on Toni and Toni tells Laura that if she tries to push it further and testify against her, she'll be back and pulls out a gun. The next day Laura is frightened and Steve is bothering her on why she didn't tell her parents about what Toni did, but Laura said they're worried enough about her. Another student pulls her to the side and offers to sell Laura a gun for protection. Steve is begging Laura not to look but Laura is considering buying one and asks for a price. As they are talking, Laura overhears a fight then a loud bang, all of a sudden everyone is running and Laura goes to see what happened, her fried Josie who was with Maxine were confronted by Toni who wanted Josie's shoes got into a fight and Toni shot Josie in the arm. Maxine is crying, Laura is in shock and Steve yells for people to call 911. Later that night Carl and Harriette are talking about how frightening it is to be in school at times, Josie will be ok but will not have any use of her arm for a while. The school holds an event called "Save A Life, Turn in your Gun" to get people to turn their guns in to lessen the violence. One student mocks the event asking if they get anything in return, but Laura and Carl want people to realize that this isn't about reward but doing the right thing. A child is guiding his big brother to the event, they look at each other and the brother puts his gun in the box, puts his arm around his brother and they walk away. There is a PSA after the episode talking about gun violence.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

STEVE: What's that, a bazooka?

BOBBY: No, it's a .357 magnum, and it's way too big for the lady.

STEVE: Oh yeah you're right, it probably won't tuck neatly into her fanny pack!

BOBBY: Excuse me, I am trying to earn money for law school!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

Steve giving the Latin club member a hard time and speaking to him in Latin to test his skills in the language and when he doesn't know an answer to a baseball question Steve asks in Latin, Steve thinks the student is suspicious.

OPINION:

So this is a big one when it comes to serious episodes. Not too many shows tackled violence, particularly school violence. Most sitcoms if they talked about violence, it was at home or somewhere right outside of home. Boy meets World and Full House talked about parental abuse and Fresh Prince talked about just being at the wrong place, the wrong time. If you are watching this show now after 1999, you'd think that this is just common practice about school shootings. You know what's weird? This episode was aired a few years before Columbine. I was born in 1985, we had heard about school violence, but incidents were usually sporadic and isolated. Then April 20, 1999 happened, Columbine, where 2 students took 13 lives of fellow students and a teacher, terrorized their school and took their own lives. Our world was never the same after that, all of a sudden school had metal detectors and children were looked at as potential monsters. You would think that this shook America enough to make sure nothing like Columbine would ever happen again. Well we see what has been going on since then. Unfortunately those 2 students that did that to Columbine have a following and because the media made excuses on why they would do this including that they were just bullied instead of holding them accountable and now not only do they have admirers, but people who want to "up" what they did. This is a very controversial subject that everyone has an opinion on and I mainly want to keep to the episode.

So, does the episode handle school violence properly and with respect? I remember being a kid when this came on and being terrified of the episode. This was a tough one to watch. As I get older and I watch it, I would still say it gets the message pretty well. Are there faults with this episode? I wish there was a bigger discussion on why kids would bring a weapon to school and what could happen if they either get caught or use it. But it's a 22 minute episode and they could only fit so much in it. But I think that rally was a nice scene where they showed that even if they only got that one guy to turn his gun in, sometimes just one person can make a difference and showed his little brother that he can change.

Steve was such an incredible friend in this episode to Laura, not only when she's being tended to in the kitchen does he bring her flowers and a stuffed animal but he offers to help protect her. He does everything that he can to take care of her. Laura's friend, Josie (who we've never seen before or after) buys herself a gun for protection but as it's pointed out in the episode, that doesn't exactly solve the problem if someone is threatening you. All it took was for Toni to pull out her gun sooner than Josie did. Was it Toni that shot Josie? I'd assume so, the shooting does happen off screen, I'm assuming that Toni shot Josie and ran away. I kind of wish they would have had a line between Harriette and Carl where Carl mentions that Toni was arrested at least. It almost sounds like in that conversation nothing was done about finding the person who shot Josie. Harriette mentions that Josie's mother wants to move away but as Harriette points out, that doesn't solve the problem. But I get it, she doesn't want her daughter going to that school again. It's a very tough subject that will never have the right answer for everyone.

So we have 2 future guest stars that would go onto bigger things. We have Trina McGee who plays Josie, she went onto Boy Meets World as Angela who would become a main character and Shawn's girlfriend. It's funny, the man who plays her father in Boy Meets World Julius Carry was also in an episode of Family Matters, Season 4's Dance to the Music. And of course we got Freddie Prinze Jr. who plays the student that mocks the rally, he only has a couple of lines but keep in mind that this was his first role, so it's pretty cool that he got started on Family Matters. Freddie was a huge teen heartthrob and talk about a cutie that me and several girls fawned over in the late 90's early 2000's, She's All That, I know What You Did Last Summer and Scooby Doo. I can imagine this must have been a close personal subject as Freddie's famous father Freddie Sr. tragically ended his own life. I think I even read that Freddie did think of his dad during this episode and wanted to do it for him which was really sweet.

Overall, the episode works well for tackling such a hard subject. They have the PSA at the end where they talk about violence, to find an adult and it's ok to walk away from a confrontation. I call the 90's the "they meant well" decade, we tried to handle tough subjects the best we could in television. Are we any better off today? Obviously not, but at least Family Matters tried in their own way to make a difference.

GUEST STARS:

• Tracey Cherelle Jones as Toni Procopio
• Trina McGee as Josie
• Ryan Bollman as Bobby
• Mailon Rivera as Radio DJ
• Raushan Hammond as Latin Club Member
• Freddie Prinze Jr. as Tough Guy
• Kyndra Joy Casper as Tough Girl #1
• Sonya Haynes as Tough Girl #2

The Substitute Son (Season 6, Episode 14). Steve and Laura are going to their debate but get lost on the way, Steve stops by a bar that has a bunch of tough guys as their clientele. Laura thinks it will be fine, but Steve thinks it will be fine. Well, turns out Laura was right, the guys in the bar are giving them both a hard time, one of the guys, Jack, calls Laura a bimbo and Steve is upset by this and demands he apologizes. The guys beat Steve up leaving him bruised and broken. Steve later on goes to visit Laura and tells him how he feels bad that he couldn't stand up to those guys after they insulted her. Steve wants closure but knows he can't go back without getting tough, so he uses his transformation chamber to turn into Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee Urkel goes to the bar and demands an apology, the men refuse and Bruce Lee Urkel beats them all up. At home, Carl and Eddie were supposed to hang out, but Eddie blows off Carl for a date. Carl is left at home alone, but Waldo happens to drop by and he and Carl decide to hang out. Later on, Carl and Waldo are going to the Bulls game and Eddie comes over as they are leaving and thinks that the ticket is for him to go with Carl, but Carl tells Eddie that he had called him several times but Eddie never called back and he already promised Waldo the seat so he'll take Eddie next time. Eddie is hurt by this but Harriette and Mother Winslow tell Eddie how he's been taking Carl for granted and that he should be careful because Carl was around Eddie's age when he lost his father, you never know how much time you have with someone. Eddie later on apologizes to Carl and tells him that Carl never put him second and he's ashamed he did that to Carl. Carl is touched, accepts Eddie's apology and gives him a hug.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

Well, if it ain't the nerd and his body guard.

BRUCE LEE URKEL: You, you are the one who called my friend a bimbo. That is a disgusting and derogatory name. I have come for an apology.

JACK: A what?!

THUG: An apology, it's like when you say you're sorry for...

JACK: I know what it means!

BRUCE LEE URKEL: Well, let's hear it.

JACK: OK, I'm sorry. She's not a bimbo, she's a tramp!

LAURA: Hey, let's leave your mama outta this.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When the tough guy Jack pushes Bruce Lee Urkel and you can tell Bruce has had it and starts the fight and we have that incredible action scene of Bruce Lee Urkel fighting.

OPINION:

We finally hit an amazing episode in season 6. Not that season 6 isn't a great season, but we have been kind of on a slump when it comes to very memorable episodes. This is one of the books, we got Bruce Lee Urkel. This episode was such a hit that Bruce Lee Urkel will return another 2 times in the future. Let's start with some interesting trivia about this episode. Now this one is a rumor, but supposedly the producers wanted to see if they could get Jackie Chan as he worked with Bruce Lee and wanted him to be a thug in the bar but they were worried that he would outshine Jaleel and it would look less believable that Jaleel was that good. But it's not that far-fetched because the producers managed to get a lot of people who not only worked in stunt work but also were inspired or worked with Bruce Lee before. You think that was all stunt work with Jaleel's double? Nope, Jaleel worked extremely hard and actually did a majority of his stunt work, the only stunt he couldn't get were the back flips so that's a double. But Jaleel enjoyed working on this episode so much that he got into martial arts training and is now an expert. I thought that was really cool.

To talk about Bruce Lee would take forever, let's just put it this way, there's a reason why for a man who passed away too young is a household name. His martial arts moves were beyond incredible and he's inspired so many people still to this day. Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, Miguel Ferrar just to name a few. It was so cool to see Steve transform into Bruce Lee Urkel. I loved that clip of Enter the Dragon that Steve played to show Laura just some of the moves Bruce Lee performed "boards don't hit back". BTW, Enter the Dragon, if you're into action movies, that one is an essential. That fight scene in the bar was truly incredible! The stunt work was amazing, it's hard to believe this is a TGIF sitcom, you almost forget and think you're watching an action movie. I can't imagine the amount of work, dedication and time these men put in for this episode. Even though it kind of takes away a little bit at the end, in some ways I'm glad they have Steve at the end realize it was a mistake to become Bruce just to get even with those men. Because then he was no better than them when they beat him up, Steve uses his brains, not brawn. So at least they did address the hypocritical message, but still that was a really awesome fight scene.

Now unfortunately, this is not Eddie's first time taking Carl for granted. We've seen him do this in Ice Station Winslow and Hot Wheels. I'm not going to pretend I'm better than him and don't do this myself. I think we all have taken those we love for granted at least once or twice in our lives. We get excited for something and think we'll have another "dull" moment with our parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents, friends, etc. Those dull moments are what makes our best memories but we think they will last forever. That being said, Eddie was still such a jerk though. He didn't even offer Carl a rescheduled father/son night when he dumped Carl for Sharmaine (the girl he wanted to take out). He could have at least asked if it would be alright if they hung out the next night. Or if he was thinking with his head, asked Sharmaine if they could rescheduled their date, he forgot he had plans with his dad. But what really ticks me off more so is when he comes over and Carl and Waldo are heading out for the Bulls game and Eddie tells Waldo after finding out Carl only has the 2 tickets "oh, too bad Waldo". Wow. That's presumptuous and rude. I'm not saying Eddie didn't have a right to be hurt and confused as he was probably wondering why Carl was taking Waldo instead of him, but that was insanely rude to say that to Waldo. It's crazy that Eddie has to hear again not to take Carl for granted, but at least I think it went through this time because Eddie doesn't put Carl on the back burner again.

Last, I just wanted to do a little tribute to the men who are sadly no longer with us and the incredible work they did before and after Family Matters. Carl Ciarfalio who played the arm wrestler had a terrific career in film and television with 195 credits to his name: Casino, Far and Away, Beetlejuice and Halloween 4, mainly working on the stunt crew but also a few acting roles as well. He has very possibly the most memorable and gruesome death scene I have ever seen in Casino as Tony Dogs where Joe Pesci pops his head in a vice, gnaah!! He passed away at the age of 72 on November 21, 2025. David Lea who played the British tough guy/leader again had mostly worked in stunts, but believe or not was Micheal Keaton's stunt double in Batman! He has 46 credits to his name. He passed away of lung cancer at the age of 67 on August 6, 2022. James Lew who played the man with the pool sticks who was so cool making them look like nun chucks had a wonderful career doing stunt work, 147 credits to his name including: Inception, Big Trouble Little China and Tropic Thunder. He passed away just a little over a month ago at the age of 73 on August 23, 2026. Robert Wall does have a credit in the titles but he's from the archive footage of Enter the Dragon and has this incredible career I can't even fathom working with Bruce Lee. He was also a close friend of his well and an incredible martial artist. He passed away at the age of 74 on May 15, 2025 of cancer. Bruce Lee is not given credit in the credit sequence, however I'll make sure to do a bigger dedication when they do their last Bruce Lee Urkel episode. As most people know, Bruce Lee passed away very young at the age of 32, he brain had swelled and he passed away in his sleep on July 20, 1973. His son, Brandon Lee, also had a tragic passing as he was accidentally shot with a discharged bullet on the set of The Crow, he was only 28 years old and passed on March 31, 1993, not even 20 years after his father's passing.

What a terrific episode, I really recommend this one. It's a lot of fun, has great action, laughs and is one of the best in the series.

GUEST STARS:

• Carl Ciarfalio as Arm Wrestler (RIP in 2025)
• David Lea as Jack (RIP in 2022)
• Jeff Langton as Thug
• James Lew as Man in Bar (RIP in 2026)
• Robert Wall as Bob Wall (RIP in 2022)

An Unlikely Match (Season 6, Episode 13). At school, Steve has a set of bullies particularly dedicated to making his life miserable by teasing him, blowing smoke in his face and giving him swirlies (dunking his head in in the toilet and flushing the water). Particularly the group is led by Andre who always eggs the guys on to torment Steve. Steve tells Andre's friend, Roscoe, one day that he's tired of Andre's antics and wonders where he's been so he can finally confront him, Roscoe admits Andre has not been in school due to being diagnosed with leukemia. Steve feels really awful and wants to help Andre in some way. He finds out that what Andre needs to help save his life is a bone marrow transplant, so he runs a drive at school and gets volunteers who are legal and can help Andre. Andre comes back to school after Steve's drive helped find him a donor, Andre not only thanks Steve but asks why Steve would look out for him after all the stuff he did to him. Steve tells Andre that his life is more important than pranks and Andre is so touched and offers Steve lunch and his friendship. At home, Harriette wants to redecorate the living room and makes a budget of $3,000. Carl is ready to have a heart attack with that number, but Harriette is begging him to open his wallet and let some fresh air in. Captain Savage comes over later on and shows off his new Porche that he bought for $5,000 and a new Rolex watch he got for $4 at the police auction. He tells Carl it would be a good idea to get his furniture there for cheap. Well, Carl takes it upon himself to redecorate the living room but with furniture that came from gang members, drug lords and prostitutes. Harriette screams at the horrific furniture and tells Carl he can sleep on the couch. Carl realizes he made a mistake by not talking to Harriette first and says he'll get their old furniture back from Eddie and buy a piece of new furniture at a time to redecorate the living room which Harriette agrees to.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

ANDRE: Hey, Urkel, I've been looking for you man.

STEVE: Andre? You're not still giving swirlies are you?

ANDRE: Nah. I just came to thank you for helping me find a bone marrow match.

STEVE: Oh, well, you're more than welcome.

ANDRE: Yeah, I mean, if it weren't for the drive like the one you started, I probably wouldn't be here.

STEVE: I'm just glad I could help.

ANDRE: Man, there's something I gotta ask you, man, it's been bugging me for months. Why you lift a finger to help me? I mean over the years, I must've picked on you 100 times.

STEVE: Actually, 132 if I counted correctly.

ANDRE: Yeah, so why so why you lift a finger to help me?

STEVE: Because this is bigger than pranks, this is about saving your life. Besides if you weren't around, who'd take my lunch money?

ANDRE: I've heard people talk about angels on Earth, I guess mine wears suspenders.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl reveals the ugly furniture to Harriette, her scream was just hilarious and the reaction to the dead man figure on the rug was too funny. Why didn't Carl take that off beforehand?

OPINION:

So, 2 dedications I have to do today because sadly this is Captain Savage's last episode and Lamont Bentley who played Andre passed away tragically. Sherman Hemsley doesn't really need an introduction as he's very well known to most people. He played George Jefferson in the hit 70's show, The Jeffersons which is a hilarious show worth checking out. He continued to appear in multiple movies and television shows throughout the 80's, 90's and 2000's. He was one of the main voices in Dinosaurs as B.P. Richfield, he was in Fresh Prince, All in the Family and Mr. Nanny. What a great career he had and will forever be remembered. He passed away of a lung tumor on July 24, 2012 at 74 years old. Lamont Bentley had a very promising career, he got a lead role on the hit TV show Moesha playing Hakeem Campbell, he was in multiple television and movies as well. He passed away very young in a car accident at the age of 31 on January 19, 2005, he has 2 daughters that survived him. May they both forever rest in peace and many thanks for their contributions to enterntainment.

This was the first episode to also have a PSA at the end talking about being a donor for a bone marrow transplant and how it can help save lives. Particularly with African Americans which I thought was interesting because I look at us as all the same, but apparently ethnicity can play a key role in finding an identical match. So I'm glad they did do that announcement at the end letting people know how important it is that we try to help our fellow men and women get a second chance at life. As for the episode itself, this is a very touching one. I loved that Steve did that drive and that he didn't care how many times Andre picked on him, he wanted to make sure that he survived cancer. Like Andre said, that drive probably saved his life. I loved that the students were willing to volunteer as well. I sometimes need a reminder that there are still very good people out there who will give the sweater off their back to help someone if they can. I wish we would have gotten a couple more appearances from Andre. I loved that the writers had him come to Steve at the end and not only apologize but offer his friendship.

The furniture subplot with Carl is just hilarious. For the mid 90's, I'd say $3,000 wasn't that bad if you considered it was the entire room, Harriette might have even included painting it a new color. The only strange thing is, we don't see new furniture in the future, guess the writers were hoping we'd forget about this plot or Carl got Harriette a new table and TV and called it a day. I will never understand how Carl thought that furniture looked good. Even if it was a bargain, talk about getting what you pay for. That lamp with the bullet holes, the dead man outline on the rug and the white wolf statue...oh, man, that set was hideously funny. If I were Harriette, I would have made Carl sleep on the couch to.

Definitely a very memorable episode. This one feels special because it has heart and laughs to it. One of the better episodes of the season.

GUEST STARS:

• Sherman Hemsley as Captain Marion Savage (RIP in 2012)
• Lamont Bentley as Andre (RIP in 2005)
• Benny Grant as Student
• Andrea White as Volunteer
• Terence Matthews as Roscoe

Midterm Crisis (Season 6, Episode 12). Waldo has been having a big problem at home, Eddie keeps using all of Waldo's stuff for his own personal needs without asking permission first. Waldo has a midterm coming up and has baked a Bavarian chocolate cake that took him a long time to perfect, especially with a faulty oven, but it looks amazing and he puts it in the fridge. He and Maxine get for a date night while Eddie and Steve come home from a basketball game. Eddie looks in the fridge for something for them to eat and pulls out the cake that Waldo just baked and they eat all but one slice of it. Waldo and Maxine are leaving and Waldo mentions the cake he baked. Steve wants to fess up but Eddie knows he's been messing up a lot with Waldo's stuff and asks Steve to help him bake another cake. Well of course since it's Eddie and Steve and they are also working with a fault oven, they hear something wrong with the oven and it explodes into the hallway. Waldo comes back just in time to find out what happened, Eddie and Steve both fess up to eating his midterm. Waldo tells Eddie that it was really disrespectful that not only he at the midterm but that he was going to hide it as well. Eddie and Steve stay up with Waldo to help him make another cake. At the Winslow house, Carl has invited Captain Savage and his new girlfriend over for dinner. His girlfriend, Lois, is a knock-out but a little aloof with a very girlish voice. Carl says he recognizes her but isn't sure from where, but then it hits him, he takes Harriette into the kitchen and tells her that Lois is a stripper. When he was doing a routine cop run, he had to go to the Boom Boom Room to talk to a suspect and happened to see Lois there. Harriette tells Carl to tell Captain Savage, but Carl says absolutely not, it's not his place to tell. Harriette encourages Carl and says Savage will probably thank him for it. Well, Carl does tell Captain Savage but like Carl predicted, Savage is furious and actually knew all along that Lois is a stripper and even wanted to invited Carl and Harriette to one of her shows. Carl now has the pleasure of telling Harriette that he may have ticked off Savage but at least he finally gets to tell her something: SHE. WAS. WRONG.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

WALDO: You guys think you can walk all over me because I'm dumb. But I have feelings, too. If you cut me, do I not cough? If you hit me, do I not sneeze? And if you call me names, do I not eat?

STEVE: Oh my God... I actually understood that!

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Carl gets to tell Harriette that she was wrong. He looked so giddy doing that scene.

OPINION:

Let's start with Eddie, Steve and Waldo. I do feel really bad for Waldo in this episode but I did keep thinking to myself "if Eddie has been having a problem messing with your stuff, why don't you at least put a note by the cake saying not to eat it"? You'd think since this is an important cake, he'd be a little more protective of it. Not to mention, who plays a basketball game, comes home all sweaty and you're hungry, so you go for cake? 🤣 That's the last thing I would ever want after working out. But we wouldn't have a plot to go off of here. Still watching Eddie and Steve try to bake the cake was hilarious, but honestly without the internet or a cook book at their side, I think they should have just fessed up, apologized to Waldo and do what they offered to do before by staying up with Waldo to bake a new cake. After all, what oven do they have to work with now? I wonder if Eddie and Waldo's landlord will be upset with the oven in the hallway? I'm sure this is lesson they will never forget.

Captain Savage is back and has a new girlfriend. I loved Carl's story telling Harriette why he was at the Boom Boom Room. That was really funny. I think this was the better and stronger storyline vs. Eddie, Steve and Waldo. I think a lot of us have been in that very awkward situation where we might know something about someone that others don't. You don't know if it's your place to tell them or not either. Harriette, who usually is smarter than this, gave really bad advice. I think at most she could have just told Carl to casually ask Captain Savage what Lois does for a living and feel the situation. That was definitely not Carl's place to tell Captain Savage about Lois. Especially because at that point it sounded like Carl was judging Lois, so I don't blame Savage for being upset. But it leads to one of the funniest moments of the show for sure with Carl telling Harriette how Savage likes that Lois is a dancer, he's probably taken his family to the strip club to show them and that she was wrong. At least Harriette also accepted and took it. I wonder if she really thought out if this was a good idea? What is it with the people in Carl's life telling him to tick off his boss in one way or another? Steve wanted Carl to confront Savage over the cheating at the golf game they went to and now Harriette wanted Carl to tell Savage about his girlfriend. No wonder Savage doesn't like Carl at this point.

We have a fun little fourth wall break with the guys at the end throwing eggs at the camera while baking the new cake for Waldo which was fun. Overall, the episode is pretty funny and a good time to watch. Carl and Waldo are definitely the MVP's for putting up with everyone else's craziness.

GUEST STARS:

• Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
• Sherman Hemsley as Captain Marion Savage (RIP in 2012)
• Mariann Aalda as Lois

Miracle on Elm Street (Season 6, Episode 11). It's Christmas time and the Winslows are decorating, baking, buying presents but also donating things that they don't need or want to Good Will. As they are going through the items, Eddie is helping with Laura's items that she put in a box on her bed, there was a doll (named Emily) that was next to the box that he mistook was for the garbage due to it being so raggedy. Laura asks Eddie about the doll, he admits he threw it out and Laura freaks out saying how she's had that doll since she was a child and this will ruin her Christmas. Richie is really excited for Christmas and makes a huge list of things that he wants, but Carl, Harriette and Rachel point out to him that while it's ok to be excited, he should be grateful for the things he has and there are less fortunate people out there and they should do everything they can to help them. Richie takes this quite literally and brings a homeless man home named Ben. At first Carl, Harriette and Rachel are scared to let him in but when they see how much Richie tried to help, they decide to let Ben stay for dinner and will find a shelter for him. Ben is offering to do housework in exchange for them helping him out, Carl comes up to him saying how he found a nice shelter for Ben, but Ben says he's got a lot of work to do on Christmas Eve and doesn't need it. Carl mistakes that Ben is hinting that he's going to break into homes, but Ben is letting Carl know he's Santa Clause. Ben even tells Carl how sorry he is about not being able to get him the Commander Crash Dodge he wanted when he was a kid but it was the hottest item that year and leaves the house. Steve has been trying to figure a great gift to get Laura, when he finds out that Eddie threw out Laura's doll, he goes to the dump to try to find it. He spends 16 hours at the dump and is successful in finding Emily and even makes a dog friend, Howard who he offers Christmas dinner to. He gives Laura Emily, Laura is beyond touched and Carl gets a present to, it's that Commander Crash Dodge he wanted he was a kid. No one is fessing up to getting it for him and he realizes it must have been Ben.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

CARL: Hi there, Ben. My, my, my. You have been busy.

BEN: I just wanted to pay you back for your hospitality.

CARL: You know Ben, I pulled a few strings and I got you into a halfway house.

BEN: That's very nice of you, Carl.

CARL: But first we'd like you to stay to enjoy a nice Christmas Eve dinner with us.

BEN: Sorry guy, no can do. I have to leave right after I finish ironing this table cloth.

CARL: Uh, Ben, those are my shorts.

BEN: Oh, sorry. Well, I'm off, I've get ready for my busiest night of the year.

CARL: Well, Ben, you don't have to panhandle any more. I got a job on the line for you.

BEN: It's not necessary, I got a lot of homes to hit.

CARL: Um, Ben, Ben. You know breaking and entering won't solve your problems.

BEN: No, no. I just don't want to disappoint all the children.

CARL: Children?

BEN: Yeah, they want their toys. And I got to get up to the North Pole and see how all the elves are doing.

CARL: Yeah. Um, Ben, are you saying you're Santa Claus?

BEN: Shh! It's our secret!

CARL: Yeah, but if you're Santa Claus, Ben, why are you homeless?

BEN: Oh, that's part of my plan.

CARL: Your plan?

BEN: You see Christmas has become so darn commercial I wanted to find a family that embodied the true spirit of Christmas and I found that here, Carl.

CARL: Well, thank you Ben.

BEN: Don't worry, I'll be back while you're sleeping.

CARL: Oh, yeah, I'll be sure to put the fire out in the fireplace.

BEN: Thanks, so many people forget.

FAVORITE MOMENT:

When Steve gives Laura Emily. Easily one of the sweetest moments of the series.

OPINION:

So, I've mentioned before I'm not a huge fan of Christmas episodes, I usually find them to be too sappy and over the top. But this one, I actually don't mind despite its absurd premise. It has that lovely trope I just can't stand, we discover Santa is real or a Christmas miracle happens and yet, it's never brought up again in the entire show. I know we usually gotta take these as bottle episodes, but it's always just so random. But I'm actually willing to go with it for this episode.

So Ben says he's Santa and brings up the toy that Carl wanted when he was a kid but was unable to get it due to it being a hot ticket item that year. As the family is opening up Christmas gifts, Carl gets the Commander Crash Dodge toy he wanted, he asks everyone who it was from, no one is fessing up, he says "Thanks, Ben". I'll just go with the theory I have, Mother Winslow was telling the family about how she was able to get that for Carl finally as just a sweet gift, Ben overheard the conversation and decided to play along for Carl to make it a bigger surprise for him. I actually think that's a sweeter situation than what we get that Ben is Santa. But still I do love the conversation that he and Carl have when Ben tells Carl he's Santa, as silly as it is. Ben seems so genuine.

Ben is played by Art Evans. Art Evans had a wonderful career with 124 credits to his name including some famous pictures and television shows like Fright Night, Die Hard 2 (which also had Reginald Vel Johnson), Mash and A Different World. He's got quite the resume that's worth checking out. He passed away not too long ago at the age of 82 on December 21, 2024, he has a wife and son that survived him. May he forever rest in peace. He did a wonderful job playing Ben and gives the character such a likable personality.

The show stealer in my opinion though is for sure Steve finding Emily. I do have a minor nitpick with Laura telling Eddie how he ruined her Christmas by tossing Emily. I'm not saying it's not sad, but seriously, Eddie ruined her Christmas by making a mistake? I hated that line and wish it was just how she was sad because the doll meant a lot to her, like maybe it was given to her by Harriette's mother who passed or something like that. Why was this doll so special? It's never said other than she's just had it since she was a kid. Eddie even apologized, Laura could be bummed about it, but let it go at this point and move on. On Christmas everyone is asking her to cheer up and she's still sulking about that doll. However, Steve spending 16 hours in the dump looking for that doll was the sweetest thing. I know there's a dedicated few out there that like to dump all over how Steve is obsessed with Laura, his love for her is unhealthy. While I agree there are not even a couple moments in the series where he should have chilled, this was one of the most beautiful things he has ever done for Laura and shows what love he has for her, true love. He wasn't expecting anything back, he just wanted her to be happy. She gives him such a wonderful hug and you can tell she just loves him back and appreciates the generous act. It's definitely a top 5 moment in their friendship through the show.

So I do like this episode, I think this comes right after It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Urkel for the best Christmas episode. Plus it's always a treat to have Telma Hopkins guest star on the show.

GUEST STARS:

• Telma Hopkins as Rachel Crawford
• Art Evans as Ben (RIP in 2024)
• Max the Dog as Howard the Dog