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Continuing SEASON 3:
"Woman of the People" (19)
https://ok.ru/video/2011237845547
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
Estelle is 81 years old.
RATING: *** ***.5
"Love and Kisses"
https://ok.ru/video/2011236731435
.
RATING: *** *** *
Steve: "Oh, pah-leeze. Why, if you take away his fancy cloths, his perfect hair, and that velvet voice and what have you got?"
Laura: "The sexiest bald-headed mute in America."
Harriette: "CARL WINSLOW ... there's a goat eating your shorts."
"Stop, in the Name of Love"
https://ok.ru/video/2011236272683
.
RATING: *** *** *
Laura: "You have the perfect face for your head."
Steve: "Allow me to quote the twenty-fifth letter of the alphabet ... Y???!!!""
Waldo: "I was upset; we drove all the way across town to see The Prince of Tides and there wasn't one bit of surfing."
"The Urkel Who Came to Dinner"
https://ok.ru/video/2011236141611
Plot Hole: What was the silver lining on Murtaugh's fish?
Continuity Error: Urkel was vacuuming the couch when the doorbell range. He laid the hose down over the couch in the left corner (our view) and answered the door. The scene cuts and they are now talking at the couch, but the vacuum hose is gone.
RATING: *** *** *
Laura: "Two weeks without Steve Urkel? Wow -- maybe dreams really do come true."
Steve: "For some unknown reason my father is fascinated by animals that eat their own young."
"Robo-Nerd"
https://ok.ru/video/2011235945003 (load is mis-titled "Dudes")
Filming Mistake: Because of the camera angle not being changed, you can see the actress who plays Laura, down on her haunches, just holding the box on the porch, waiting for the time she's supposed to get up and bring it in.
First episode score by Gary Boren.
Boren worked on a few sitcoms, but after "Step by Step" ended, his scoring career puttered out and he's done a few shorts on/off for years now, with the last one being in 2020. His credits: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0096354/fullcredits
RATING: *** ***
Eddie: "Yo, Waldo -- how do I look?"
Waldo: "With your eyes."
Carl: "Hey -- nobody kisses butt like you, sir."
Murtaugh: "Thank you, Winslow."
Laura: "I could sell sun tan lotion to Michael Jackson."
Laura: "Gee, Steve, if I cared, I'd be honored."
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Finishing SEASON 3:
"Dudes" (24)
https://ok.ru/video/251174324750 (regular old broadcast picture quality)
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** *
Steve: "Care to rock my world, baby?"
"Farewell, My Laura"
https://ok.ru/video/2011235879467
This kind of one-off episode was entertaining and was fun to watch.
This episode is score heavy.
Gary Boren scores.
RATING: *** *** **
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SEASON 4:
Waldo has been added to the opening credits, already telling you in advance he's now a main cast member.
"Surely You Joust"
https://ok.ru/video/2011211762219
Laura changed outfits three times in about three minutes.
Continuity Error: Last season Carl was 38 years old, now he's 42 years old.
Gary Boren scores. In a couple of cues, Boren tries to implement some of Bill Conti's "American Gladiators" sound.
RATING: *** ***
"Dance to the Music" (2)
https://ok.ru/video/2011211369003
An extra half star just for that touching ending.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** *.5
(NtM: 11:28/gif)
Steve: "Yesterday she said 'Drop dead, nerd boy'..." walks in a cocky manner, "I'm wearing you down, baby!"
"Wow, you're like some kind of ... nerd saint."
"Driving Carl Crazy"
https://ok.ru/video/2011211172395
Once again conspicuously missing from the episode and the clown car scene for the end credits, is Judy.
Steve has an uncle named Cecil who lives so close by, Steve can walk over to get a used car from him. Cecil is not seen.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** *
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Continuing SEASON 4:
"Rumor Has It" (4)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210910251
Another episode where Eddie demonstrates that he's a good brother sometimes.
Noticeably missing from the episode: Judy. I guess there are no lessons here she needs to learn! I guess nothing ever happens at her school we ever need to see. I guess she has no friends that come over or she hangs out with.
This episode introduces a new character named Weasel (who is also called Alex in the episode). I guess they wanted to do more with him, but he only made thirteen appearance through season four and five. Totally forgettable and kind of redundant, considering they have Waldo.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** **
Steve: "We'll turn down the lights an engage in a little ... lip wrestling."
Carl: After learning Eddie played hokey twice to watch cheerleaders, "What you did, son, is a very serious offense. And did you take pictures?"
"The nerd by hit me."
Steve slaps him over the head again with a rolled up poster.
Steve: "Correction: I hit you twice."
"I don't believe this."
Steve: "Oh? Then maybe you'll believe this one," slaps him over the head again.
"Number One with a Bullet" (4.5)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210779179
This is the final appearance of Carl's boss, Lieutenant Murtaugh (played by Barry Jenner). No explanation is given.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score. This episode features a score cue for the end credits, with more episode running all the way to the end.
Special note to the score cue starting at about 13:19 in, which is a fun playful cue I can imagine an old guy walking around and getting mixed up in annoying things to. More at about 21:33 in.
Carl gets shot in the line of duty.
Steve goes to the hospital and his parents quickly attend a Parents Without Children meeting.
Continuity Error: Steve says Laura is leaning on his appendix, but she is leaning on the right side, whereas earlier he was holding the left side in pain when he collapsed.
RATING: *** *** *.5
Steve: "Jumping Jehoshaphats, woman, I've asked you out over nine hundred times and you have said 'No' every single time."
Laura: "Well, it's important to be consistent."
(TRIVIA: If, like me, you got curious as to what that even means, there is no clear-cut answer, but there are theories: https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2020/0903/Who-is-Jehoshaphat-and-why-is-he-jumping )"
Carl: "NO MORE MUSICAL TRIBUTES TO MY BUTT!!!"
"Whose Kid Is It Anyway?" (6)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210648107
This season moves from Halloween to Christmas really fast. In just a few short episodes it'll be Christmas.
Just so everyone is clear: Steve has been getting creepy the last few episodes. He knows Laura's measurements and uses them as his locker combination. And he has a motion detector in the bedroom of Carl and Harriette.
The actress who plays Judy seems to be really uncomfortable in his brief scene in this episode. I think she did not want to wear that outfit.
RATING: *** ***.5
(Note to Me: 0:56/gif, 16:48/gif)
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Continuing SEASON 4:
"An Officer and a Waldo" (7)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210582571
Special note to the light militaristic score cues at about 8:44/10:34/22:05 in, which kind of reminds me of the work on TV series "Major Dad" (I did three or four suites for that show, covering both composer).
Urkel's clumsy stupidity reaches a new height when he almost accidentally kills over a dozen people, including himself, Eddie and Waldo. And then he does it again, much later on.
RATING: *** *** *
Steve: "You heard her, you're witnesses -- she used the phrase 'human being'!"
Harriette: "Carl, fixing things is a talent. A talent you don't have."
"Just One Date" (8)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210517035
Urkel keeps track of how many times he has asked Laura out, and says this is the one thousandth time.
Just remember, when you think it's kind of creepy that little girl is so taken by Richie at his age, based upon what we've learned about Steve and Laura over the four years, Steve was taken by Laura at a younger age than that! We've never really scene his mom and dad, maybe they are in the freezer. The Winslow's "just missed them" a few episodes ago at the hospital.
I guess Gwendolyn was being considered as a new character, but she did three episodes and that was that. It's a shame, because adding her to the show would have given chances to do things with Richie and maybe even include Judy -- two characters who really don't do much on this show. She was played by actress Naya Rivera, who tragically died young. She went boating with her young boy near her home, something happened and they ended up in the water; she got him into the boat, she called for help, then drowned. Her body was found seven years later. She was 33. Her son was 4 when he watched his mother die.
I have no idea what the Chinese guy was so pissed off when Carl told him "Up on the roof". So I thought maybe that was some kind of insult, but found nothing. I thought "Roof" might have a different connotation in Mandarin, but still no luck. I came up empty handed. But I did find this bit of weirdness: in ancient China, sleeping on somebody's roof was a way of submitting to them, confessing, and submitting to their judgment. Also, it could mean other things like "it was a way of asking for help or protection. And in still other cases, it was a way of showing loyalty or devotion". So by Steve being on the roof, he was showing his loyalty and devotion towards Laura, which I'm not sure was intentional by the writers.
This is the second -- maybe third - episode where Steven has fallen off the Winslow residence roof.
RATING: *** *** **
Laura: "Our relationship doesn't need a mile stone, it needs a tomb stone."
Laura: "I'm close to feeling sorry for you, Steve -- don't blow it."
Steve: "But??? Praise God, there's a 'but'!"
"The Oddest Couple" (9)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210320427
Steve's quest to accidentally kill other people, continues.
Steve wonders who would be visiting them at the apartment. Oh, I don't know ... how about the police? The bomb squad? A local F.B.I. agent? A local A.T.F. agent? That wasn't a wayward moth that exploded just outside their apartment. It's almost a matter for Johnny Dollar.
Judy's birthday is next week (in-universe) (age unspecified). Who cares when she's about to vanish from the show.
Oh, how nice of Eddie -- he blew over three hundred dollars of Urkel's money for a few hours in an apartment. He's such a pal.
Steve's parents charge him rent, and his curfew is he's not allowed in the house until midnight.
Gary Boren scores.
RATING: *** ***.5
(NtM: 11:13/gif)
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Urkel" (10)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210123819
Special note to the whole episode score, with arrangements of Christmas classics, music that makes you think of Christmas, and that good emotional cue and the payoff to when Laura gets into the Urkelmobile.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** **.5
Guardian Angel: "We're watching ABC -- the Angel Broadcasting Channel."
(I wonder if this line was deleted or dubbed over for re-runs on CBS)
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Continuing SEASON 4:
"Muskrat Love" (4.11)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210058283
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
A LONT-TIME first: This episode not only NOT Urkel centric, he's barely in it. Thank goodness.
Ted Curren is apparently going to be a re-occurring character. I completely forgot about him.
I thought we'd see Melissa again for sure, but this is her only appearance. And I get the distinct impression the actress who plays her, finds the actor who plays Eddie, to be really attractive.
It's been two months, in-universe, since the episode "Rumor Has It". That's seven episodes ago, meaning all of the events occur in mere days of each other in the episodes. Man, that house is a rockin'! In fact, it's warped the time space continuum, since between that episode and this one, it went from Halloween to passed Christmas. Somewhere over three months has been crammed down into two! I guess it's possible this episode was aired out-of-order, but if it wasn't, I know it's decades after-the-fact, but this episode needs to be moved earlier into the season for continuity's sake (this episode should take place during the winter time and no one is even dressed for it).
Continuity: Why isn't Steve begging Laura to be her date to the dance? It's totally uncharacteristic.
RATING: *** *** *
Eddie: "Let me tell you something, Weasel, if all you look for is the float with Miss America on it, the whole parade is going to pass you by."
"Hot Wheels" (12)
https://ok.ru/video/2011211696683
Urkel puts his name on his underpants.
This episode has scenes all the way through the end credits and no end credits theme.
Gary Boren scores.
RATING: *** *** *
"The Way the Ball Bounces" (13)
https://ok.ru/video/2011209992747
Another episode which is thankfully not Urkel centric.
Eddie's recently sudden and inexplicable basketball skills are now drawing the attention of recruiters.
This episode has no end credits theme music and instead has more episode all the way threw.
Continuity Error: Twice before in the series Steve had to use a ladder to get up to Laura's bedroom window door, but here he climbs a tree and uses a large tree branch which is now there (sudden large tress are sudden. They pop up over night, don't you know).
Gary Boren scores.
RATING: *** *** *
"A Thought in the Dark" (14)
https://ok.ru/video/2011205863979
I thought this episode might go somewhere, but it just fell apart into endless Urkel annoyances and it's safe to say I don't think it's likely I'll ever watch it again.
The writer's are really struggling for some reason to utilize Judy. Here they find the lamest, flimsiest thing to actually give her something to do in an episode (which I don't think has happened in nearly four seasons now!). And it's over as quickly as it begins.
Sadly, it was this pathetic episode that introduced a new character, a love interest for Steve named Myra Monkhouse. She'll be on the show all the way to the final episode.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** **.5
(NtM: 6:46/gif)
Steve: "Read a book."
Maya: "Iii'mmm going to kill Steve. Yep -- he's needs to be killed."
Myra: "I know size isn't important, but I bet his brain is huge."
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Continuing SEASON 4:
"Tender Kisses" (15)
https://ok.ru/video/251184089614 (regular old broadcast picture quality)
Tracie Spencer was and still is a real life singer: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1748789/fullcredits
Noticeably absent from this episode: Judy. And, come to think of it, been a few episodes since we've seen Rachel. Her son is in the show way more than she is now.
This episode has the actor playing Carl, reading out who produced and distributed the show at the end.
RATING: *** ***
"Heart Strings" (16)
https://ok.ru/video/2011205995051
That box was missing a peanut log.
Second (of three) appearance of Gwendolyn
Gary Boren scores.
RATING: *** *** *.5
(NtM: 9:00/gif)
"It's a Mad, Mad, Madhouse" (17)
https://ok.ru/video/2011210189355
Gary Boren scores.
Actress Debra Jo Rupp guest stars as a one-time scene teacher named Miss Connors. If you don't know the name, you probably recall her as the mom on "That 70's Show" (Kitty Forman) and appearances on the spin-off show "That 90's Show" (cancelled a few short months ago). I liked her appearance, it's a shame she wasn't in more episodes.
Continuity Error: Steve can barely handle a bowling ball, dropping it straight to the floor while holding it, yet in season one or season two its shown he's an expert bowler and has zero trouble handling bowling balls.
Continuity Error?: Richie says he can't read. Wasn't he reading a book -- albeit slowly -- a season or two ago?
Continuity Error: Eddie is worried about getting kicked off the basketball team, but in season one it was shown he had no interest and wasn't really that much of player. Episode: "Basketball Blues". Just a few short episodes ago in "Muskrat Love" he couldn't hit a baseball on a target a few feet away, yet now he can get a bigger ball into a hoop.
Continuity Error: Harriette complains about the job and work, but she had the exact opposite comments in season one when she landed her new job and had to push herself to get the job. I highlighted that episode and the stand out scene.
RATING: *** *** **
(NtM: 8:11/gif)
Harriette: "Edward, I have been home less than five minutes -- can I at least have time to breath?"
Eddie: "Sure, bu-but can you breath while you're making dinner?"
Carl: "You see, when I lie, I lie UP."
"Higher Anxiety" (18)
https://ok.ru/video/2011206191659
Foreshadowing? Judy is pushed off the couch, in her only scene in the episode.
This episode also has scenes through the entire end credits, with no theme song. At this point, I think it would be easier to just note when the regular losing credits are used.
RATING: *** ***.5
(NtM: 11:30/gif)
Harriette: "Carl, could I offer you some constructive criticism?"
Carl: "Sure."
Harriette: "You're a jackass."
Steve: "Ed-O, you look sadder than my parents on the day I was born."
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Continuing SEASON 4:
"Mama's Wedding" (19)
https://ok.ru/video/2011206060587
This is the third and final appearance of Gwendolyn, she has no lines and is simply sitting at the wedding, where she blows Richie a kiss. I was actually enjoying her smiling cheerfulness -- shame she wasn't kept. I wonder what the story behind her not being brought back is...
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
This is the final episode with the Winslow family daughter Judy (Jaimee Foxworth). She has one line of dialogue and her final scene is standing in a blue bridesmaid dress next to Laura at the wedding. Seth MacFarlane would go on in an episode of "Family Guy" to make fun of an un-named series where one the kids disappears from the cast of a show by going upstairs and never coming back down; this is presumably, I think, a knock at the disappearance of Judy.
Things were not going well on the show. While searching for answers as to why she left, I found a documentary series called "The Dark Side of Comedy", which had an episode dedicated to various TV series, including this one:
https://ok.ru/video/7070200498735
In it, she talks about how when the originally intended one-off character Urkel became popular and made a series regular, it not only overshadowed her, but White was rude and would lose patience with her, at one point a during a simple scene where she couldn't get her lines out, yelling at her from off stage, "Why can't you just act!?". Her mother also talks about how she got paid far lesser than the rest of the cast (Really? Baby Richie before the re-cast got paid more?). They go on to say she was promised six or more storylines around her each season, but it never happened. Her mother asked about it and one the producer's, she alleges, replied, "When pigs fly.". Then the parking spot for Jamiee (of course used by her mother) was taken away without notice and given to White (Urkel). The cast, the producers, all knew she had been essentially fired, but no one told her or her mother and they only found out after filming had started for the new season. White goes on to claim there was unspecified behavior from her and her mother that caused the firing. White seems uncaring and unapologetic even decades after. The executive who fired her, is dead. The cast, especially the actress who played Harriette, stood up for her. If the show gets rebooted and she is brought back with some kind of explanation, she'll have ultimate vindication.
Claims of racism, child molestation, issues on set, and so forth are found in this documentary.
I can't begin to guess what happened behind the scenes, as this was not only her final episode (not counting credit-only episodes), but the last acting project she ever did. In 2000/2001/2002 she was in some X-rated pornos as "Crave". And she looks very sexy in them (yes, I did look up some images; it was time well spent).
RATING: *** ***.5
Steve: "You know, son, if screwing up ever became an Olympic event, you'd win the gold."
"Pulling Teeth" (20)
https://ok.ru/video/2011206257195
This is odd and contradictory behavior from Steve, to spread gossip about others.
Also, thankfully, this is another episode that is not Urkel centric.
We hear the voice of one of his parents (his mom) -- a first.
Waldo says he has four brothers and three sisters. None of which ever mentioned before or ever seen.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
"Super Space Donkies" could be a Pixar movie.
RATING: *** *** *
Waldo: "Roger and Maxine are incommunicado."
Waldo: "Wow. Is that in Mexico?"
Carl: "You better get back out here when I think of a snappy comeback!"
Maxine: "Waldo said he was dying to see Malcolm Ten."
Maxine: "Any pets?"
Waldo: "A dog, a cat, and something that lives behind the refrigerator. We don't know what it is, but we call it Bob."
"Walk on the Wild Side" (21)
https://ok.ru/video/2011209402923
This was a pretty good episode. Been a while since we had one this good.
So, how old is Laura anyway? Based on what we already knw, at this point in the series she should be 16 and-a-half to 17, so it's really not that bad she wanted to go to Club Buff.
I think this episode was aired out-of-order, as Waldo is going girl hunting with Eddie, yet in the prior episode he is dating Maxine and they did not break up.
Harriette having to trick their children into doing their chores, and named ... "Judy". Who is no longer on the show. And Payton knew that. I think it was a deliberate shot across the producer's bow by her. I bet they probably asked her to do the scene again and remove Judy's name, but refused.
RATING: *** *** **
Steve: "Laura ... legs ... bazooooommmsss!!!""
Carl: "I don't know what I did, but I'm sure glad I did it."
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Finishing SEASON 4:
"Hot Stuff" (22)
https://ok.ru/video/2011195705899
.
RATING: *** *** *
(NtM: 5:15/gif, 8:21/gif)
Laura: ""1:00
Laura: "Well, Steve, you're a man. Kind of."
Carl: "You know, son, that's the thing about hot property: You never think about the victim until you become one."
"Stormy Weather" (4.23)
https://ok.ru/video/2011195509291
One of Waldo's sisters is named Quesadilla (because she was born in Taco Bell). And we get to see her. This is the first time we've seen any member of Waldo's family. We also se a cousin (un-named) She is played by Tracy Lanier. Who? Well, good question. Not only is this her only episode, but this is her only acting credit. She's vanished off the face of the Earth best I can tell.
Gary Boren scores.
RATING: *** *** *
(NtM: 14:32/gif)
Harriette: "This is a quality dress. You can't put price on quality."
Carl: "Well the store did."
Waldo.: "Well, smack me hard and call me stupid."
Laura: "Look, Steve Urkel may be annoying, but he's always treated me with respect, and that's why he has a date tonight. And as of right now, you don't."
"Buds 'n' Buns" (24)
https://ok.ru/video/2011195378219
Final episode to have Jaimee Foxworth credited, after this, she's even gone from the credits.
So that's where Rachel has been the last few episodes: upstairs.
Plot Hole: Why would Harriette says she knew there would be trouble when Eddie was promoted? It was a surprise sudden promotion with no advance notice; she didn't know about it and have time to think about how it would affect Eddie and Carl.
Gary Boren scores.
RATING: *** *** *
(NtM: 21:29/gif)
Carl: "Inside these walls, I am the head weenie."
Myra: "I love Steve Urkel. He's the hot fudge on my Sundae."
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SEASON 5:
The opening credits have been changed slightly. The quick pull back to the scat singing, have been eliminated. And the closing shot of the family together, that included Judy, has been replaced with an entirely new and entirely different scene that not only looks staged but the cast appears uncomfortable and faking it. And, for some reason, everyone is there (sans Urkel, of course, who is not a family member) except Rachel. Her son is there, but she is not.
Judy was not the only victim of the new season. Rachel is not even in season five, but her son Richie is.
"Hell Toupee" (1)
https://ok.ru/video/2011147733547
It's been obvious that White has been getting older, but with his first appearance in this new season, it's even more obvious now that he's an adult playing a nerd.
The new "hip" scoring with quasi hip hop sounds, is really annoying. I hope it goes away quickly. It's also infect the end credits music!
RATING: *** *** *
Carl: "Harriette, are you saying I'm loosing my hair?"
Harriette: "Oh, it's not lost, its on the bottom of the sink."
Harriette: "Honey, relax -- your hair line is not receding. It's gone."
Steve: "The little vixon is stuck on my like bicycle pants on Delta Burke."
(I did look and she was never on the show)
Richie "How'd he grow hair that fast?"
Estelle: "Because he ate all his vegetables."
Out-of-context quote...
Steve: "Well, it is enormous."
(How about we call it the Urkel-nator.)
"It Didn't Happen One Night"
https://ok.ru/video/2011147405867
This episode actually takes place outside of the house and out of the city.
I like the way Steve stood up for himself after all Laura did to him. It was like a sudden moment where he finally grew up more into a man from a turbonerd teen.
I don't know how this family affords to exist, considering all the major home repairs alone (how do they keep home owner's insurance?). The kitchen windows alone get broken two or three times a season.
The street they live on: Pineheart Avenue.
RATING: *** *** **
Harriette: "Carl Winslows gotta go to bed now."
Steve: "Sometimes you just gotta polka."
"Saved by the Urkel"
https://ok.ru/video/2011147340331
This episode is something of a mixed bag. While the lead up to the electrocution was phony and cheap, the life saving was good an a number of scenes in the episodes are good. Believe it or not, this episode actually is held together by Urkel!
In-universe, Laura should be somewhere in 17 years old, maybe even just 18. The actress who played her really grew up to become a beautiful woman, and it's really noticeable in this episode. Also really noticeable, White is way too old for the nerdy look and execution.
Continuity Error: Carl is going on about the mess about the garage shelves collapsing and how he built them over fifteen years ago with his own two hands, but we know from a prior season this is the second time Urkel has been involved in taking them down.
Plot Hole: Urkel says he needs to make Carl's heart beat, but while he is saying that, you can see Carl breathing like crazy.
Gary Boren and Steven Chesne score (credited in that order). I think the hip music was Boren, and the dramatic cue for the electrocution, was Chesne.
RATING: *** *** **
Carl: "I'm sorry, Steve."
Steve: "There -- was that really so bad?"
Carl: "Yeah, it really was."
Laura: "I'll just go take off these cloths."
Steve: Excited, "Need some help?"
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Continuing SEASON 5:
"A Matter of Principle"
https://ok.ru/video/2011147274795
Harriette gets fired from where she works, the place she was working at on "Perfect Strangers". She says she has been there for twenty-three years. For a show that was created to be around her and her family, she's the secondary plot, a plot which barely gets any screen time.
RATING: *** *** *
(NtM: 1:40/gif)
"Money Out the Window" (5)
https://ok.ru/video/2011147209259
Carl telling Eddie he's had trouble with gambling before is a perfect way to sum up this episode: We've seen this before!
Continuity Error/Plot Hole: How can a family that is always on a tight budget and having to pay for damages Urkel related, afford to buy a collectable stamp and help Laura pay for a car, when atop all that just the prior episode Harriette lost her job?
RATING: *** *** *
"Best Friends"
https://ok.ru/video/2011147078187
This episode is not only not Urkel centric, but he's barely in it.
This episode re-enforces something I said in an earlier season: if there was ever a revival of the series, Waldo should be making a living as a chef. Here we see he excels at it. PLUS, if there ever was a revival, imagine an episode where he and Gordon Ramsay meet.
"You f*****g doughnut!"
"That is inappropriate food-handling procedure. And you shouldn't do that to doughnuts. They're for eating."
Continuity Error: Waldo says there are nine people eating at the Faldo dinner table. So in a prior season he said he has four brothers and three sisters, so with him that's eight. Then two parents would make ten. There has been no indication thus far he's in a single-parent household.
Continuity Error: Steve works at Mighty Weenie, yet we know from prior season's he's worked at Rachel's Place. I know Rachel has been quite absent in season four and isn't even in this season (as previously stated), but that doesn't mean he gets fired or the place disappears (Laura works there, too, after all). While I'm at it -- who is running Rachel's restaurant?
Steven Chesne and Gary Broren score (credited in that order).
(Note to Me: 8:40/gif -- "I am not amused")
RATING: *** *** *.5
Eddie: "Dad, I need some advice."
Carl: "Here's some: Never go jogging in new underwear."
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Continuing SEASON 5:
"Grandmama"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146947115
The series has finally de-evolved more: obligatory basketball episode.
Gary Boren and Steven Chesne score (credited in that order).
RATING: *** **
Eddie: "So, what's new, guys?"
Waldo: "My underpants."
"Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146881579
I disagree -- the skirt isn't short enough. In fact, eliminate the skirt altogether.
Continuity Issue: Harriette just got fired a few episodes ago from her job, hasn't gotten a new one (no job hunting scenes or talk at all) and now she's going shopping at the mall. Almost feels like the writers were trying to give her something to do for one episode to tide her over.
First appearance of the alter ego cool-juice creation Stefan Urquelle.
Steven Chesne and Gary Boren score (credited in that order).
RATING: *** *** **
"Car Wars"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146816043
Steve Urkel: turbo cockblocker.
While I found the episode amusing while watching it, I ultimately just don't care for it and have no intention of ever watching it again. One and done.
There is NO WAY all those M&M's were picked up that fast. One minute a huge bowl is kicked and they are flung everywhere, then two minutes later -- no cutaways, one continuous scene -- with minimal picking up, the bowl is full again. There's a cut in there somewhere, or a bowl hidden full of 'em and she got them and I missed it.
RATING: *** ***.5
(NtM: 12:31/gif)
Steve: "Well, you're in luck -- she thinks you're some guy named Jack."
Steve: "What happened to your ... bazooms?"
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Continuing SEASON 5:
"All the Wrong Moves"
https://ok.ru/video/250339527303 (regular old broadcast picture quality)
Like the above episode, enjoyable enough, but I have no intention of ever watching it again.
Steve and Myra have been dating for eight months.
Continuity Error: Laura says a blind date was how she met Steve Urkel, but multiple passed episodes have had Steve indicate he's never been on a date with her and it would mean to the world to him if she would go out on at least one date (which since then, has happened two or three times now). But I think I can explain this one away so what she says is still true in a way: she was on a blind date, and met Steve while on a blind date with another boy.
RATING: *** ***
Myra: "Steven, they're old; they gotta be pushing thirty."
"Christmas Is Where the Heart Is"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146553899
Special note to the arrangement of a Christmas classic, at about 2:21 in.
I bet Richie doesn't know where Judy's presents are...
(or his mother's)
In fact: Nobody knows where her gifts are. No one even mentions her (or Rachel), not even a "I wish Judy was here to celebrate with us". Or a "O hope Rachel is having a good Christmas, too.". Man, when you were gone from that show, you were GONE.
RATING: *** *** *
Steve: "Happy holidays, ma'am."
Cranky Old Lady: "Drop dead, four eyes."
Cranky Old Lady: "Simon says: Go suck an egg."
"Scenes from a Mall"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146422827
Special surprise guest appearance in the end credits...
Urkel says he and Myra are too young to be getting so serious, so I had to check back on how old Urkel is supposed to be. So, mid season one he stated he was 13 years old. This is mid season five, so he should be 17 years old now. So, I think he's wrong.
Man, Harriette is blowing through temp jobs fast. Two episodes ago she was an undercover pirate, then this episode has Carl saying her last job was proof reading M&M's.
I had to look it up to see, just out of curiosity. The current fourth largest mall in America is in Pennsylvania, based upon certain criteria:
King of Prussia Mall, or simply King of Prussia, is a large shopping complex located in Montgomery County, about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It is currently the fourth largest shopping mall in America by gross leasable area.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** *
(NtM: 12:00/gif)
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Continuing SEASON 5:
"Rock Enroll"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146357291
Casual reference that Steve's parents tried to assassinate him.
So, Steve is either now turning 17, or 18. And I guess Judy and Rachel aren't attending his birthday...
Steven Chesne and Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** *
Steve: "Take me now, Laura -- it's all downhill from here."
"Like a Virgin"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146226219
Steven Chesne and Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** **
(NtM: 8:27)
Carl: "What's wrong with sitting on the bench?"
Eddie: "Plenty. It means I'm not even in the game."
"Hey, Urkel, you wouldn't now what to do with a girl if one fell in your pants."
Estelle: "At my age you hope for a wiggle, but settle for a ding.""
Steve: "I am an un-opened can of soda. And I know you're thirsty, but I'm not ready to pop my top."
"Good Cop, Bad Cop"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146160683
Steven Chesne and Gary Boren score.
Special note to the touching score cues staring about 18:55 in and 20:38 in.
RATING: *** *** .5
(NtM: 22:33/gif)
Estelle: "Carl, you lazy slug, get up and get your own pie."
Carl: "Yes, mother."
Estelle: "As long as you are up, bring me a piece."
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Continuing SEASON 5:
"Presumed Urkel"
https://ok.ru/video/2011146095147 (Note: I don't know why this load is like this, but occasionally it cuts to scenes that look like regular old broadcast picture quality, then cuts back)
You know what occurred to me -- the janitor would have been perfectly cast if it had been Bob Newhart.
Gary Boren & Steven Chesne score.
RATING: *** *** *.5
To Urkel, "I think I speak for all society when I say: You make me sick."
"Father of the Bride"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145898539
Only a few episodes ago there was a casual reference to Steve's parents trying to murder him, now we find a sight gag that shows his dad tried to commit pre-meditated murder against Steve.
Again, I don't know how the family affords to have Steve as a neighbor. Just in this episode: breaks threw the roof and the second story floor (which we know from a prior season has a water pipe), and then breaks the TV with a bowling ball threw it. Even back then that has to be a thousand to two thousand dollars.
This episode ends with a compilation of VHS tape submissions from kids showing their Urkel impressions.
Gary Boren & Steven Chesne score.
RATING: *** *** **
(NtM: 8:09/gif, 9:21/gif)
Carl: "Mother, how long have you been watching me act like a fool?"
Estelle: "All your life."
"Psycho Twins"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145767467
This wrestling episode is easily one of the worst of the series thus far.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** **
Waldo: "I make stupid an art form."
"That's What Friends Are For"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145701931
More learned about Carl: His dad was a Lt. in the police department.
Continuity Error: How does Eddie get accepted to Chicago University and get a scholarship when just in the last few episodes it's slipped he skipped school at least once, and prior seasons have shown he gets bad grades?
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *** *
Waldo: "Don't repeat me, I heard myself the first time."
Steve: "Are you calling me a Fofnoficator?"
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Continuing SEASON 5:
"Opposites Attract"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145439787
I can't say there is anything necessarily wrong with the episode, but I just don't like Ziggy, don't like the relationship angle, and just don't like any of the plots and execution this episode.
Urkel's mother is apparently so physically ugly, that wearing a bikini is scary and her husband locks himself in the basement. Still haven't seen either of them yet in five seasons and I imagine we never will.
RATING: *** ***
Laura: "We're pecking order people."
"A-Camping We Will Go"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145374251
Alternative link with the full ending: https://ok.ru/video/2011145374251 (regular old broadcast picture quality) (minus the end credits)
I can take or leave this episode. It's has it's laughs and is enjoyable enough (and some of the score cues are unusually pleasant), but it's just a reminder of how far the show has fallen from the first season.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** ***.5
(NtM: 14:55/gif, 19:54/gif)
Carl: To Urkel, "If you don't come back home with us, the police will believe anything I tell them..."
"Nunsense"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145177643
Laura and Ziggy have split up, but the "relationship" was never on screen. They met in the one and only episode he was only in part of, a few episodes ago and has not been seen since.
I know this is kind of silly to note, but I noticed the realism of the bathroom scene -- it sounds like they are speaking in an enclosed bathroom like real life, instead of mic'ing it all to hell to get the best professional sound possible.
Am I the only one who is noticing how Estelle's husband has been no where to be found for a while now.
RATING: *** ***
(NtM: 7:75/gif)
Steve: "You lost your 'but" rights when you sketched mine."
Steve: "And let your father find out he was right? Bad precedent."
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Finishing SEASON 5:
"Aunt Oona"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145243179
Surely one of the series' worst episodes.
And it's especially noticeable that Rachel is missing, 'cause we know she was the singer.
Gary Boren and Steven Chesne score.
RATING: *** *
Steve: "What'cha watchin', honey bee?"
Laura: "A horror movie, but you're here now and that's much more frightening."
"Stefan Returns"
https://ok.ru/video/2011145112107
I found this episode really insulting to the character Laura.
Oh, yes, I did look up to see if you could power a light bulb with a wheel of cheese, but came up empty handed. Found misleading articles about a power plant being powered in part by cheese, but not what I was looking for.
Steven Chesne and Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** *
Carl: "I don't know how my arms got that big."
Harriette: "It's from liftin' all them doughnuts."
I had read online that the season had stated somewhere where Rachel was, but this turned out to be false. It'll be mentioned another season, briefly in passing with not much information and in a way that makes it unclear precisely who was involved.
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SEASON 6:
Since Carl got his promotion last season, this season now has him wearing a white police uniform to reflect his new position, in the show and opening credits.
"To Be or Not to Be (Part 1)"
https://ok.ru/video/2011050347051
Lord, this episode is just as insulting to the character Laura as the last episode. Because of that another with more Stefan, I wanted to hate the episode more than I ended up hating it.
Gary Boren & Steven Chesne score.
RATING: *** ***.5
(NtM: 13:50/gif)
Waiter: "Here you are. And get out, fire boy."
Eddie: "Hey, grandma, what'cha doing?"
Estelle: "Just chillin' like a villain."
Estelle: To Carl, "The last time you said 'No' to a sandwich, Nixon was President."
"To Be or Not to Be (Part 2)"
https://ok.ru/video/2011050215979
Okay, now all the hate is back. This episode sucks!
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** ***
Stefan: "The fact is: everyone is different, and it would be a boring world if everyone was the same."
"Till Death Do Us Apartment"
https://ok.ru/video/2011050019371
Oh my goodness, you can see threw the shirt of that hot girl in the grey top some. Thank you, kind director, thank you.
I had to look her up. Her name is Kimberly Russell, and she was 29 when the episode aired. She's now married and has eight kids (five adopted).
She's still acting, though her work has been kind of sparse. She only had one regular gig, on a show before this, called "Head of the Class" (114 episodes for her); every other series has been a one-off.
RATING: *** ***.5
Waldo: "There's another Waldo, but people can't seem to find him."
Steve: "Hi, sugar toes."
Laura: "What do you want, Steve?"
Steve: "A beach, a thong, and you in it."
Steve: "That's your piece..."
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Continuing SEASON 6:
"The Looney Bin"
https://ok.ru/video/2011049953835
Apparently Harriette lost the last job she had, too, as she's going on for another job interview. She says it's been six months since she lost her job -- that was the fifth episode of the prior season, so all the events since then and into this new season happening in-'univers in six months. That's ... bad writing.
By the way, that would mean Laura is now 18 years old or just or passed it. She's not moving out or going to college like Eddie...
This is the second (of three) episodes with the janitor. I liked him, a shame he wasn't in more. Especially when he moved in next door with the Urkels for two months, so you'd think he'd make more appearances.
Gary Boren & Steven Chesne score.
RATING: *** *** *
"Beta Chi Guy"
https://ok.ru/video/2011049757227
Carl's full name spells: C.O.W.
Rachel returns. Richie doesn't even say anything, like , oh I don't know, "Mom!". And we know she didn't come back between episodes, because she was thanking Carl for picking her up.
Steven Chesne & Gary Boren score.
RATING: *** ***
(NtM: 2:59/gif)
Steve: "I'm probably too much man for her."
"Dark and Stormy Night"
https://ok.ru/video/2011049691691
Love the one-off story idea, a welcomed diversion in the series.
But, having said that, why would Steve tells a story where he's still a clumsy duffous? He made himself wealthy and a "handsome" bachelor, but still clumsy?
When the episode was getting close to closing, I thought I knew the ending for sure: That Steve would thought he had saved the day, but when Estelle would have come back while he was out and stake him threw the back, with words maybe something like:
"Sorry, sugar."
"How did you know I--"
"You don't get to my age without learning a thing or two hundred."
Special note to the score cue starting at about 17:22 in, obviously trying to harken back to the days of swashbuckling scores akin to Korngold -- in the composer's own way, of course.
RATING: *** *** **.5
Rachel: "This is what they wore back in the 1920's."
Harriette: "Yeah, back when she was little."
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Continuing SEASON 6:
"Par for the Course"
https://ok.ru/video/2011049626155
Special note to both the character and the actress who plays Laura's fried Maxine. She got a great scene around the end of the episode -- a first for her -- and the actress does a good job. I even got the impression maybe it was a little too real for her.
Special note to the score cues at 14:57 and 22:01 in. Sorry if I am not so great at identifying the style ... ragtime?
RATING: *** *** **
Steve: "Let's hit the links."
Carl: "Why not, you've hit everything else."
"Sink or Swim"
https://ok.ru/video/2011049560619
Another casual reference to how Steve's parents try to murder him from time-to-time. If there was ever a reboot of the series, Steve should visit them in jail, where he tells them he forgives them for trying to murder him (after they have finally been caught).
19:50 in: my favorite part of the season.
Gary Boren & Steven Chesne score.
RATING: *** *** *
(NtM: 2:18/gif)
Steve: "You poor thing, a week without me will seem like a ... like a--"
Laura: "A vacation?"
Laura: "You only go around once in life, and you already passed halfway." (to Rachel)
"Paradise Bluff"
https://ok.ru/video/2011049364011
Myra says she and Steve have been together for quite some time. I'm not going to look it up for a more precise time frame, but I want to say that in-universe the two have been dating (she was just perusing him before dating, so I am not counting that) just around two years.
And while I am thinking about it, Rachel -- Harriette's sister -- who was there since episode one (except last season) and was a main character for three years and family, doesn't even appear in the opening credits. And the actress who portrayed her, no longer gets opening credits credit either -- she's in the end credits! The actor who plays Waldo -- credited in the opening credits. The actress who plays Myra -- credited in the opening credits. Man, she must have pissed off somebody in the production higher ups.
You know, for however he acted behind the scene, White really was quite good at the accident and disaster zone scenes, like in this episode where he simply tries to get his jack off the holder and put it on.
It didn't escape me that over time Steve has given Laura many sweet nick names, like "sugar toes", but here his nick name for Myra is "lizard lips".
Well, I think I found the jump the shark moment of the series: Urkel is trying to climb out of his little car -- perilously teetering on the edge of a cliff -- and is on the roof, balancing himself when he suddenly strikes a surfing pose and the music plays cliched surfing music. A lot of fine bad moments beforehand, but this for me just takes a whole new slice of horrible cake. But the scene is made even worse from a moment in part of a deleted section that appears in the end credits.
WHOA, TMI character info': we now know how many times a week Carl and Harriette have sex.
Man, having said all I have about the episode, I still think this is one of the best of the later season episode I have seen so far. Quite enjoyable.
Gary Boren & Steven Chesne score.
RATING: *** *** **
Steve: "Oh, did you see me coming?"
Laura: "No, but I wouldn't mind seein' you leavin'."
Estelle: "You married him, he's your baby now."
Steve: "I realized something: I can spend my whole life chasing a dream, or I can let a dream catch me."
(that's just a great line, isn't it?)
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