TV You Forgot About #5: Family Matters - "Stevil" (October 25th, 1996)

 

You may be asking yourself "Wait, I don't remember a column named TV You Forgot About?! what the FUCK is going on here?" Well you see I had way back when this blog first started a column called "Obscure Holiday Specials" I've decided to just lump them in here. I figure most of them would make you go "wait they made that". This is for the tv shows that have dated poorly in ways that if you were to watch them today you'd go wait what? It came to me when I was watching a youtube video in which a guy was talking about a gay episode of Marcus Welby M.D. where Marcus Welby actually cured the man of those vicious gay thoughts of his. I thought to myself "holy hot fuck I gotta review that" Stuff like that will be covered under this column. Just a tv show episode that you somehow forgot about that is actually relatively interesting to me. So expect things that you wanted to forget and things that you did in fact forget. 

I've decided for the rebranding of this I should talk about some weird Halloween episodes since you know October. The first thing my mind goes too when I think weird is the 1989 - 1998 television series Family Matters. For those born past the year 2000 and are some how reading this blog that discusses things that mostly came before that year. Family Matters was a family TV sitcom around an African American family known as the Winslows. It was about the troubles and positive happy moments of their lives. Then they added a character that was intended to be a minor reoccurring character. This character was named Steve Urkel, he became so popular that he took over this show. A show that went from sometimes tackling serious issues like racism or police harassing African Americans to a show where Carl Winslow (the dad) and Steve Urkel would end up on American Gladiators for some wacky antics. 

Steve Urkel pretty much made the show and you know you are watching something from the 1990s when they mention Urkel. He was beloved. He even had his own talking doll. We reserved Talking dolls only for the most important people in our society. Like Freddy Krueger, Ernest P Worrell, Pee Wee Herman, Looney Tunes, The Nanny or The Cryptkeeper. You see Urkel was so popular he got to get into that coveted group. I wish I could have a talking doll made out of me. Alas that dream will probably never come to go. So yes he was very popular yet no one has made a listicle of "Weird shit Steve Urkel did on the TV Show Family Matters" at least I don't think they have. You see Steve got into a lot of wild antics. He somehow got into a Mortal Kombat ripoff game they were playing. He Made a robot called Urkelbot. He went back in time. He shrunk himself and Carl. He played basketball with Grandma. Grandma was a crossdressing basketball player, like a real famous one I believe.

Now that's all I can remember, not mentioning his machine that turned him into the smooth and cool and suave Stefan Urquelle. I think that's how you spelt it. I really don't know. (This machine also turned him and several other characters into Bruce Lee. Yes really) They clearly had fun with coming up with weird things Steve Urkel had done. Some people complain that he ruined Family Matters turning it into a crazy show, I say he made it something memorable. Family Matters would not be remembered as well as it is these days if it weren't for that rascal Steve Urkel. Every kid loved him. He was our hero and we couldn't get enough of him.  

Now you are wondering what they could do for a Halloween episode of Family Matters. Well killer dolls and puppets were things that were popping up all over horror movies in the 1990s. They had been popular in decades before but they REALLY popped up during the 1990s. It was weird. So that's what they did. They had Steve Urkel being harassed by a crazy doll. It happened in a little episode called "Stevil" and it came to us via ABC on October 25th, 1996. It changed my life forever.

So the episode starts up with Steve Urkel (who now during the 8th season just lives with the Winslows for some reason. I wonder if they even gave a reason) and he brings down a ventriloquist dummy he created.  He does a terrible set with the dummy and the only person who laughs at the joke is Grandma Winslow who was a nice old lady. He goes up to his room that he shares with Eddie now to sulk. Steve is not happy. We then see Eddie and then LIGHTNING hits the dummy. Like cheap ass special effects lightning. it is amazing. Steve then sees the dummy walking and talking and he tries to get the Winslows to believe him. None of them do and tell him to go get some relaxation. He goes back to his room after being scared by the dummy locking the door, putting a chair up against it and taping the door shut. I mention that because it was my favorite gag in the episode. 

The Dummy goes into his room via the window and tells him that he plans to take out the Winslows. Steve calls him evil and the Dummy likes that and I can finally start calling him Stevil instead of the Dummy. Urkel runs down stairs to Carl to tell him now to worry because he put Stevil in a trunk. We then see 3J and Little Richie go out for Halloween. Then Stevil escapes his trunk very easily. You know for a genius Urkel is kind of a dope. Anyway We then see Stevil get into the chimney and taunt Eddie by saying hes stuck in there (Eddie's response of Santa? was my second favorite joke of this episode if you really wanted to know) He pulls Eddie up the chimney when he comes to look.

Then we go to 3J and Little Richie trying to outrun Stevil on their bikes. Stevil is driving Urkel's Goofy VW Bug. I'm sure it has it's name but I don't care enough about cars to know it or even find it. Fuck cars. Except the transforming kind. He and Urkel end up in his room again and BLAM Stevil shows him that 3J and Little Richie are now stuck in his wall! Their heads come out of cutout above these two basketball players. He then tells them he'll be back and runs down stairs. Stevil is there waiting for him in the kitchen. Stevil makes a joke about Laura and shelves and Urkel looks in there and we see Laura in three segments in three different shelves in the pantry. He then opens up a Jack in the Box and he finds that Stevil has turned Harriet into said Jack in the Box. He then shoves Stevil into the fridge.

However that doesn't stop Stevil as he breaks out through the behind of the fridge and wall and everything. Stevil is a tough mother fucker and he could hold his own against Chucky and the Puppets from Puppet Master. We then see Carl pretending that there's nothing wrong until STEVIL lets him pass out. That's right Carl Winslow is now a Puppet for Stevil! Stevil then tells a terribly corny joke. Stevil also lets Urkel in on his evil master plan which is for them to go on the road together as a ventriloquist act except Urkel will be the Dummy. However Urkel finally decides to fight him. He actually rips his arms legs and head off. Urkel sits down and wonders what he's gonna do to help the Winslows before he realizes Stevil can pull himself together. Stevil then jumps on the tired Urkel and we find out that this is all a dream. 

Urkel talks to Eddie who tells Urkel that he has bad dreams all the time close to holidays. Like when he dreamed the Easter Bunny smacked him silly. Eddie then also tells him he's a perfectionist and that he was worried about not being perfect with the dummy. Urkel asks him if he needs therapy and Eddie says he just needs a little treatment. The treatment Eddie has in mind is to use egg beaters to kill Urkel! I was legit going WHAT THE FUCK at this part of the episode until it was shown to be a dream within a dream. He wakes up AGAIN and Eddie is not murder happy so Urkel realizes he's safe. We then get to see some behind the scenes stuff on the episode which was really cool. 

FINAL VERDICT: This is a fun Halloween episode that if you enjoy Family Matters you should enjoy watching. All the characters feel like themselves and it's very enjoyable. A lot of fun jokes and moments and it feels like you are watching this weird G rating slasher film. It also had Timmy from Passions playing Stevil in the walking scenes. Anything that makes me able to mention that cracked out soap opera is worth all the gold in El Dorado.