While Family Matters made Steve Urkel an icon of ‘90s sitcoms, his appearance in three other comedy shows of the era ensured that the breakout star had an entire fictional universe of his own by the end of the show’s run. Some sitcom characters transcend their original shows and become pop culture mainstays in their own right. Joey received a spinoff show after Friends ended, while even viewers who can’t name another major character from The Big Bang Theory would likely recognise Jim Parsons’ iconic Sheldon Cooper.
However, neither of these later examples can hold a candle to the most iconic nerd of the ‘90s, Jaleel White’s Urkel. Originally intended to be a one-off Family Matters side character, Urkel was the dorky neighbor of the Winslow family. Reginald VelJohnson’s Carl Winslow might have been the sitcom’s ostensible main character, but Urkel’s unexpected popularity saw him gradually overshadow the rest of the cast and become the de facto protagonist of Family Matters. As if this wasn’t enough, the ubiquitous Urkel went on to invade other sitcoms of the period, too.
Although Family Matters was one of the best sitcoms of the ‘80s, Urkel wasn’t content to let his TV reign stop there. After the lovable dork had established himself as the show’s lead, he appeared in Full House season 4, episode 16, “Stephanie Gets Framed,” wherein he commiserated with Jodie Sweetin’s Stephanie as she adjusted to wearing glasses. Urkel’s presence in this crossover episode was justified as he was supposedly a cousin of DJ’s friend.
With this guest role, Urkel went from starring in one of the best sitcoms of the ‘80s to appearing in one of the best sitcoms of the ‘90s, but he wasn’t done yet. Step by Step season 1, episode 2, “The Dance,” relied heavily on White’s added star power as the sitcom’s sophomore outing was a direct crossover with Family Matters. The Family Matters episode that immediately preceded “The Dance” ended with Urkel using a rocket pack to fire himself out of the Winslow home.
“The Dance” then began with Urkel conveniently landing in the backyard of the Lambert-Foster family, the main characters of Step by Step. From there, Urkel went on to raise the spirits of the family’s just-dumped daughter before the eponymous school dance, as well as helping the family’s son with a science fair project. As if this weren’t enough, Urkel also sent Boy Meets World’s protagonist Cory Matthews a chain letter in an episode of Family Matters, and Cory confirmed that he received Urkel’s letter in a later episode of Boy Meets World.
Although Urkel never appeared on-screen in Boy Meets World, viewers can still reasonably assume that the show takes place in the same fictional universe as Family Matters, and by extension, Full House and Step by Step, thanks to this crossover. Urkel later returned in 2023’s animated movie Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie, as well as an episode of 2019’s Scooby-Doo reboot Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? Thus, the Family Matters hero unexpectedly became the living nexus that connected a half dozen pieces of family entertainment over four decades.
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