Identity Crisis: Deconstructing Steve Urkel and Stefan Urquelle.

Urkel and Urquelle…two sides of the same coin?

For those of you couch potatoes out there, I’m sure we all remember the hit sitcom ‘Family Matters’ as part of A.B.C.’s T.G.I.F. (Thank goodness its Funny) lineup on Friday nights. A spin-off of the Miller-Boyett production ‘Perfect Strangers’, ‘Family Matters’ followed the comical and dramatic adventures of the Winslow clan a working class African-American family who lived in the Windy City of Chicago Illinois. When I first tuned into the show, it seemed rather bland at the moment because some of the episodes were really lacking in the humor department at times but all of that changed when a young Jaleel White was cast as the Winslow’s nerdy next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel.

‘I’m wearing you dowwwwwwn!’

Originally designed just to be a guest-starring character, producers and network executives began to see the potential the Urkel character had after a serious rating hike and it wasn’t before long into the second season that Jaleel’s character was there to stay for nine, count em’, nine seasons folks. Over the course of those seasons, Jaleel would have many families gathered in front of their t.v.’s as they laughed and applauded his antics as the ‘King of the Nerds’ who would cause trouble for the Winslow family and other characters but always be there to help out and give life lessons about love, respect, individuality and most importantly, being true to yourself no matter what anyone says or thinks.

As the seasons continued though, the writers of the series would create other characters for White to play and would ultimately lead to the creation of a character that everyone idolizes just as much as Urkel. (I know I did when I saw him play this specific character). You all know him…he calls himself…Stefan Urquelle!

Suave, smooth operator Stefan Urquelle with Laura Winslow, the object of Steve’s affections.

Paging ‘Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool’

In the fifth season episode ‘Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool’, the writers decided to put the lessons about ‘identity’ to the ultimate test when they have Steve invent a formula called ‘Cool Gene’ that would help him become a different person altogether after his clumsiness causes Laura (Steve’s love interest) to strongly insist that he change his nerdy ways of living, especially if he wants a ‘real chance’ at being with her. Needless to say, Steve and Laura’s wish is granted when the Cool Gene formula transforms him into the suave and debonair Stefan Urquelle and pretty soon, Chicago’s biggest nerd become its most coolest bachelor.

Laura meets the new and improved Steve Urkel, now known as Stefan Urquelle.

However, even with this new change in identity, problems arise when Stefan possesses a shallow and self-centered personality which results in Laura demanding he go back to nerdy Steve Urkel, which Stefan does only because the one thing that hasn’t changed about him are his feelings for Laura and his desire to make her happy. But this does not signal the end of Stefan’s appearance, oh no. As Family Matters continued to wow and amaze audiences with its creative imagination and heart-warming stories, it would also see the return of various characters with Stefan being one of them. And it is through his return that ‘conflicts of interest’ begin to arise for a lot of people, mainly for Stefan himself as well as his alter-ego Steve Urkel.

Steve Urkel vs the World

Urkel-mania is everywhere!

Even before the appearance of Stefan Urquelle, I really enjoyed the stories that revolved around Steve and not only his relentless pursuit to be accepted by the Winslow Family (particularly Laura who barely gave him the time of day) but to also be accepted by the people he interacted with be it bullies, popular kids at his school, the teachers and so forth. Though nerdy as he was good-natured, Steve followed a code that he wouldn’t be stepped on by anyone for being who he was and I think that alone is one of the bases that the writers of Family Matters hit home with when they created this character. That people should be happy as they are regardless of what anyone says about them is the key to living a wonderful life.

So as I binged watched reruns of this fantastic show, I started to question things about Steve Urkel’s identity and why he does the things he does, usually when it comes to annoying people though that part of him is unintentional it’s just who he is. Part of me thought there was something wrong with Urkel because while people like Mother Winslow (the grandmother), Hariette (mother and Carl’s wife), Rachel (Hariette’s sister) and Richie (Rachel’s son) have all grown to love and accept Steve, he consistently tries to cling to characters like Carl (the father), Eddie (the son) and Laura (the daughter) who are all too quick to throw him to the curb. But the interesting part is that when he transforms into Stefan, these three characters and a handful of others are eager for him to stick around.

It’s here that I began to ponder and then realize that while there’s something indeed wrong with Steve, there’s also something wrong with the world that he lives in. That the people in it are shallow and conceited and are all too quick to be around the popular people. A good example of this is the episode ‘Talk’s Cheap’.

Respect your Fellow Man (‘Talk’s Cheap’ episode)

Waldo Faldo tries to increase the peace between his homies and homegirls.

In this memorable episode, idiot-savant Waldo Faldo (played by Shawn Harrison) calls a local talk-show called ‘Tiffany’ in which he has his fellow friends Steve, Stefan (appears after Steve transforms later) Eddie, Laura, Myra Monkhouse (Steve’s girlfriend) and Myrtle Urkel (Steve’s cousin from Biloxi) go on stage and try to work out their differences with each other. However, things don’t go as planned and everyone starts chewing each other out about why they don’t like each other or why they like someone who doesn’t like them back:

• Laura and Myra bicker over Steve and Stefan, with Myra pointing out there’s nothing wrong with Steve and that Laura and everyone else should just accept Steve for who he is and stop trying to turn him into a ‘microwaved’ artificial version of something that doesn’t belong in this world which is already shallow enough.
• Though Myrtle’s feelings for Eddie wouldn’t change until the eighth season of Family Matters, she still carries a torch for him and Eddie has made it crystal clear that nothing can ever happen between them. Even for Myrtle, that point still doesn’t get across after meeting Eddie’s girlfriend Greta, creating another story arc later in which both women fight for Eddie’s affections and the right to be on his arm, with neither female backing down.

As things heat up, Waldo finally steps forward and tells the group (in his own idiotic way) that they’re all different and even though the world is shallow, that doesn’t mean that they have to be enemies. They have to learn to look past what’s on the outside and concentrate more on what’s on the inside if there’s going to be peace between any of them.

And though there was still friction later on between everyone later on in the season, they at least used this episode to agree to a ‘cease fire’…at least until the next episode. But deep down, I enjoyed the writing for ‘Talk’s Cheap’ and it did answer my questions in that while some of the characters are flawed (regardless of how perfect any of them think they are), it is these flaws that allow us to truly shine and be counted on and understood in the world.

So either way you slice it, the creation of the Stefan Urquelle character did its duty and created dozens of good story arcs that helped to explore identity and acceptance in a world that is filled with flaws and people who believe they are flawless when they’re really not. Truth be told, it’s hard to find good quality family shows like this anymore that teaches the audience about not judging books by their covers.

For all its intent and purpose, ‘Family Matters’ is a show that gave good lessons about life and created memorable characters that we can cherish, admire and love through their journey of maturing and facing a brave new world.

When it comes to the flaws of the next man, don’t be cruel. Be cool!