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- Alternate Character Interpretation:
- Laura and Steve's hookup in the final season. On one hand, she rejected him for years, so her falling in love with him could possibly send the message that it's okay to pester a girl for years and she'll eventually cave and say yes. On the other hand, earlier season episodes hinted that Laura may have real feelings for Steve. She's defended him from bullies, dumped her popular prom date for demanding she stop being Steve's friend, reads Eddie the riot act anytime he tries to use Steve for his own gain, confided in him when she had trouble fitting in with the rest of the cheerleaders and he was being dismissed by the basketball team, and has shown signs of jealousy when Steve goes out with other girls. Plus, it's also been more or less stated she doesn't hate Steve himself, just his annoying flirting. She enjoys his company much more when he tones it down and behaves more or less normally (for him) around her. It can be argued that Laura honestly likes the person she knows Steve can be, and when he starts maturing and showing more of that side to him, she's ready to open her heart to him.
- Was Steve purposely being a jerkass to Myra and treating her like a placeholder for Laura, or was he just reluctant to let go of his feelings for Laura despite honestly loving Myra? Several episodes do show his feelings for her as quite genuine despite his exasperation with her, with the two-part Disney World episode having him give up a chance to stay Stefan Urquelle and marry Laura so he could revert to his old self and be with Myra. On the other hand, Myra did become quite the creepy stalker later on and that can be a turn-off to anyone, whether or not they were in love with someone else prior.
- Is Steve just an obnoxious pain in the ass who refuses to accept when he's not wanted and breaks things on purpose? Or is he a well-meaning klutz who just wants to be accepted by people he likes and has zero social skills? The fact that his own parents put as little effort into raising him as possible could be a factor in either case.
- Anvilicious: The anti-gun episode. If handled correctly, it could have taught a lesson on how guns are dangerous in the wrong hands and the proper way for trained professionals to use them. Instead, they declared guns pure evil and that the only way to stop gun-related deaths and accidental shooting was to destroy them. Luckily, a later episode had Eddie learn about gun safety when he was training to be a cop, getting the "guns are dangerous so if you use one, be careful" message across.
- Creator's Pet: Some fans believed Urkel was this over time since he has taken up most of the show and leaving the other Winslows out of the spotlight.
- Crowning Moment of Awesome: See here.
- Crowning Music of Awesome: The second Ending Theme.
- Ensemble Darkhorse --> Breakout Character: Urkel was initially meant to be in the show for one episode, but his popularity led to him becoming a recurring character. Eventually, he would end up the star of the show. During the first season, completed episode scripts were rewritten just to include Urkel.
- Eddie's friend Waldo was hugely popular, starting out as a juvenile delinquent before becoming one of Eddie's best friends.
- Family-Unfriendly Aesop: For many, Urkel's relentless pursuit of Laura and eventually getting engaged to her sounded like "Stalk your dream girl long enough, and she'll one day give in." See Alternate Character Interpretation above.
- At least three episodes of the show dealt with the evils of gambling. Two of them did so quite reasonably. In one, Steve and Eddie got cleaned out by a pool shark, and threatened ("Gambling can leave you broke, and even lead to threats of bodily harm."). In another, Steve won a watch with great sentimental value from Carl's boss in a poker game, but then gave it back to him, explaining that he played for fun, and didn't want to take something that meant so much to him ("You can destroy other people by gambling, but in moderation its ok"). In the final one, though, Steve and Eddie went to an illegal casino in which they won $32,000, which the casino was clearly both capable, and perfectly willing, to pay...but then the casino was raided by the police ("Things are immoral not because they harm you or someone else, but because the state says so").
- Foe Yay: Laura and Myra's altercations occasionally verged on this. Especially during a food fight when Laura stuffed a handful of Jello down Myra's blouse, then patted her chest to make sure it was in there good.
- Funny Aneurysm Moment: Any time Myra (post breakup with Steve) makes any comment about not wanting to live without him. Michelle Thomas (the actress who played Myra) died at the age of 29 from a rare form of stomach cancer.
- Harsher in Hindsight: Any instances of Judy feeling jealous of Richie can come off like this due to how her character was first written off the show, then basically retconned from existence. Sure, it was due to the wacky neighbor taking the spotlight and not her little cousin, but there's also how Richie stayed due to actually having a relationship with Steve, which Judy did not.
- Hilarious in Hindsight: In one episode, Steve compares himself to a can of soda and tells Myra to wait to open him, saying he knows she's thirsty. Decades later, "thirsty" became a popular synonym for "horny", especially in fandom circles.
- Ho Yay: Urkel's relationship with Eddie verges on this sometimes, they even lived together at one point. Eddie and Waldo's relationship also has hints of it.
- Iconic Character Forgotten Title: You may remember this as simply "The Urkel Show".
- Jerkass Woobie: Steve Urkel. He spends every episode harassing Laura and destroying Carl's property, but whenever they yell at him for it, the Studio Audience goes "awwww" in sympathy for him. If you believe the interpretation that he's simply cursed with horrible social skills and lack of coordination, you feel even worse for him. He doesn't mean to do wrong, he's just too eager for his own good.
- Jump the Shark: Many fans feel this happened when the show became less about the Winslows and more about Steve's antics. Jo Marie Payton (Harriet, the show's original star) reportedly left the show for this exact reason.
- Memetic Mutation: Urkel himself became something of a meme in the early '90s, thanks to recurring references in popular culture. David Letterman in particular made a lot of jokes about "That Urkel kid," which spread to other shows like Animaniacs and The Simpsons.
- Moral Event Horizon: These bullies spike Urkel's drink, and he almost falls off the ledge of a building. It was brought on by Steve humiliating them. They were later arrested.
- So Uncool It's A Cool Car: Urkel's Isetta.
- Toy Ship: Richie and Gwendolyn.
- Unfortunate Implications: Almost without exception, every white character on the show was a jerk, an idiot, or a racist - and sometimes all three. One exception is Irene Steuben, the stern but good-hearted theater and later home ec teacher.
- Unpopular Popular Character: Steve Urkel, natch.
- The Woobie: Steve, even as annoying as he can be, doesn't deserve half of the crap he goes through. Especially the way his parents treat him.