Family Matters and all the Halloween Episodes

 

  Good old “Family Matters”, it was one of ABC’s most successful family sit-coms, running from 1989 to 1997, and ended up becoming a staple of TGIF. In the beginning, the show followed Officer Carl Winslow, played by Reginald VelJohnson, and his African American family, the Winslow’s, in all the humorous, yet heart felt and somewhat relatable offerings one would expect from a family sitcom. Things changed when the goofy, and nerdy next door neighbor Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White, came on the scene to steal the show. 

Originally meant as one-off character, he became a main stay in season 2, and eventually became the shows main character. Not only did the show become a full-on comedy series, but it also got re-tooled into a Science Fiction series, with Steve coming-up with all kinds of outlandish contraptions, and goofy oddities ensuing. This made the shows frequently annual Halloween episodes all the more fun to look forward to, because with Steve Urkel, and the shows unpredictable nature … there was no-telling what kind of tricks and treats you’d get along with all the laughs. So, I thought it would be fun to go through each of the shows individual Halloween episodes, and see how they hold-up.

 

“Dog Day Halloween” (Season 2, Episode 7) 

It’s the first Halloween night for the Winslow family with Steve Urkel joining them … however, before any Trick r’ Treating, Steve (dressed as Superman) along with his young crush Laura Winslow (dressed as Tinna Turner) have to make a quick stop at the bank. The night takes a dangerous turn when the bank gets robbed by a crook dressed as Abraham Lincon, and the two find themselves in a hostage situation. Outside, officer Caral Winslow, with his police force organizes a plan to rescue them, and … it’s impossible to watch this without thinking of another holiday related situation in “Die Hard”. While being spooky is the name of the game for a Halloween venture, this is a rare case in which the characters are in real danger.

I can picture kids watching this and thinking … wow, this is kind of a serious situation for a Sit-com Halloween episode. However, the main highlight, and one of Urkel’s most memorable moments of the show is when he fantasizes about saving the day, and we get Super Urkel vs Abe Lincoln. It’s the first of many goofy fights in the show, and for a Halloween episode, it’s the icing on the cake. All around, this was a winning first Halloween episode for the show, with a memorable action highlight, a decent message at the end, and is well worth viewing.

 

“Whose Kid is it Anyway?” (Season 4, Episode 6) 

Eddie is the eldest of the Winslow kids, and his closest family friend is his little cousin Richie, who along with his Aunt Rachel have been living at the house sense the passing of her husband. For a special Halloween treat, Eddie promises to take Richie out trick-or-treating … Eddie as a vampire and Richie as a little Spider-Man … always got to have someone dressed as a superhero. Things take a turn for the worst when an attractive young lady dressed as Elvira shows-up at the door, asking for directions to a costume party on the block. In a selfish move on Eddies part, he passes little Riche off to his absent-minded best friend Waldo to go trick-or-treating with instead, while he elects to escort the lovely Elvira to her dance, and by extent have a date with her. 

Things take a serious turn when Waldo returns with a different little kid who’s also dressed as Spider-Man, leaving the family worried that Little Riche might be lost outside on the spookiest night of the year. The issue gets resolved rather quickly, which is my only reservation with this episode, as I was hoping they’d go out looking for the kid, with Eddie finding him, leading to a dramatic reunion and apology. The actual ending is still suitably touching, albeit not as strong as I feel they were going for. 

Overall, while this episode doesn’t feature any memorable highlights on par with the first Halloween adventure, it’s still another good one, and worth checking out. As usual, the highlight is just seeing the Winslow family showing-off their distinct costumes, with Carl getting into his Zorro act, and Aunt Rachel looking very attractive as the Queen of the Nile. We also have Steve Urkel and his crush Laura Winslow paired together again, this time as the Frog Prince and Princess. As a foot note, seeing Laura dressed as the Princess from the fable almost feels like a coincidental prelude to Disney’s animated African American take on the character. 

 

“Best Friends” (Season 5, Episode 6) 

Laura feels embarrassed that her mother is constantly butting into her group activities with her friends, as well as stealing all the attention. Meanwhile, Eddie gives his friend Waldo a job at his fast-food restaurant Mighty Wings, and he mucks it up fast. Thus, Eddie debates weather or not he needs to fire his best friend, and all the while I ask … where’s all the Halloween in this Halloween episode? While this is a perfectly passable episode on its own, it utterly fails as a Halloween special. 

I’ve never actually looked this up, but my theory is that this episode was written without the holiday in mind, then the network said “hey, we need a Halloween episode, so throw fifteen dollars worth of decorations in the background, as well as a random opening with a single character in costume, and it can pass as our Halloween special for the season” … but again, that’s just my theory. Like I said, there’s clearly good intentions with this episode, the acting between Laura and her mother is effective, and there’s a quirky little dance … but as far as this shows Halloween episodes are concerned, this one is my least favorite by a mile, and one that I just don’t recommend.   

 

“Dark and Stormy Night” (Season 6, Episode 6) 

Right from that title, it’s a sign that this will be a superior Halloween episode, and speaking personally … this is my favorite of their special October holiday offerings by a mile. The Winslow family is all dressed in costume (Laura standing out in her Cat-woman costume), everyone’s ready for some trick-or-treating, but unfortunately for them … the event is called off on a count of heavy rain. That was my all-time biggest childhood fear of Halloween, that Trick-or-Treat would be called-off due to bad weather. To make things worse for the Winslow’s, a black-out kills all the power, leaving both the family and a visiting Steve Urkel stuck inside, with only one means to pass the time … telling scary stories. 

In a 19^th-Century setting, the Winslow family depict themselves as a family of vampires living in a Gothic castle, and Steve Urkel is the unfortunate house guest who stumbles in during feeding time. With no way out, he has to utilize his quick wits and skills to stay alive. There’s also a subplot with Laura being a damsel chained to a wall … a situation that prompts a very funny reaction from Urkel, and an even more amusing forth-wall break from Laura. Everything culminates into a sword fight between Urkel and Count Winslow. Once again, the big highlight is a climactic action scene, this time with Urkel and vampire Caral sword fighting in the castle. 

I get the impression the cast was having a lot of fun with this outing, and that fun transcends onto me every time I watch this. Visually, this is the best-looking Halloween episode by far, with the castle set-design hitting all the right details … including stone-headed busts that are sentient beings … very reminiscent of Disney’s “Haunted Mansion”. It’s all over-the-top, but great fun to go along with all the tricks and treats of the season … and it gets my highest recommendation as the best of the “Family Matters” Halloween episodes.   

 

"Stevil" (Season 8, Episode 7) 

Just when it seemed this show hit the peak for their Seasonal offerings, they deliver another memorable episode, and my second favorite of their Halloween specials. At this point, the show was leaning into it’s Science Fiction esthetic, with an anything goes sense of fun … you can only imagine what kind of goofy insanity comes about during Halloween at this stage of the series. Well, things get absolutely unhinged when we meet a ventriloquist's dummy adorning the looks of Steve Urkel … one that just happens to be alive ... and very evil. 

Yeah, how about that … an evil Urkel dummy that’s terrorizing the Winslow’s on Halloween, leaving Steve the only one who can stop the nasty puppet. It’s as goofy and over-the-top as it sounds, but that’s why it stands out as one of the most memorable of the “Family Matters” Halloween episodes. Urkel naturally has his funny highlights, but the wicked dummy named Stevil is equally amusing with his share of looney quirks. His methods of disposing the Winslow’s are both creative, and enjoyably silly. 

There’s a nod to the “Twilight Zone” with one family member getting transformed into a Jack-in-the-box, and there’s even a mildly disturbing moment in which Carl Winslow becomes a puppet himself. This is how I like my Halloween specials the most, cartoony, over-the-top, and completely breaking away from the norm. If your up for something wild and out of the norm, I give this episode another high-recommendation, and Evil Urkel Dummy has his place among Urkel’s most classic, memorable moments.

 

“Stevil 2: This Time He’s Not Alone” (Season 9, Episode 7) 

Oh Boy … if you thought one outing with Evil Urkel Dummy was insane … just wait till the sequel. It’s been one year sense the events with Stevil, and now Urkel can’t sleep, fearing his wooden nemeses would return. Naturally, he does come back to torment Steve, but this time around, Officer Winslow shares in the abuse, all in part of a second evil dummy named Carl’s Bad … that name alone is the best thing about this whole episode. In general, I do admire this episode for creating an atmosphere of a spooky fun house, with both our players on the run, lightning flashing, objects popping out of the corners, and axe wielding invaders. 

Just guise what horror movie they reference when they axe through the door ... if you said "The Shining", then you know your horror movies. There’s also a moving cabinet, which might be a visual nod to “The Exorcist”. With all that said, this one pushes the over-the-top presentation to the limit, and might be too much of a fun thing. Personally, for the very last Halloween episode of the show, I would have preferred something original, as opposed to a repeat of what we had before. Still, I do enjoy it for the goofy romp that it is, and while I don’t think it was the best note to close the “Family Matters” Halloween episodes on, it was still memorable … in only for the novelty of Carl’s Bad.

 

  So, concludes my rundown of all the “Family Matters” Halloween episodes, and if I were to quickly rank them from my personal favorite, to my least favorite, it would go like this …

#1 “Dark and Stormy Night”

#2 “Stevil”

#3 “Dog Day Halloween”

#4 “Whose Kid is it Anyway?”

#5 “Stevil 2: This Time He’s Not Alone”

#6 “Best Friends”

It's certainly been a nostalgic little throw back, and for anyone who also grew up with the series, I hope it was fun looking back. If your someone just looking for any random Halloween special, maybe this will give you something to look into this Halloween season.

Thanks for reading my retrospective count-down ... and let’s make every day in October feel like Halloween!