MovieChat Forums > Family Matters (1989) Discussion > An obvious jump the shark moment

An obvious jump the shark moment

posted 11 years ago by hubcap18
30 replies | jump to latest

I normally don't talk about jumping the shark, but with this show it really stood out. For me it would have to have been the storylines involving Steve's transformation/cloning chamber. First, he used it to make him into a cool, but more empathetic Stefan (lack of empathy was what Laura disliked about the original Stefan). Carl even got into the act, wanting to make himself cooler, but made a mistake and ended up nerdier. Even worse, Steve somehow obtained hair samples of long-dead celebrities and was able to use them to transform himself into someone with their attributes. He was Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley and Albert Einstein. It was getting really ridiculous. By the way, when Carl was changed into a nerd he should have changed his name to Carlton, like Steve Urkel became Stefan Urquelle when he was cool.

Do you all agree with me that this was the time the show jumped the shark?
_______
"The sun is shining...but the ice is slippery."

[–] dbznarutofan2008 11 years ago

It was silly,but I never really thought they ever jumped the shark.Only problem I had was it was just a tad bit creepy to see a 24 yr old Steve,still having a nasely,high pitched voice.

But in terms of unrealistic they did silly things pretty early on.I mean remember when Steve built the rocket pack to win the rope climbing contest against the jock?First of all the idea of a teen inventing a rocket pack is ludicrous.And even more so that the coach would have let him using it as a legit win.And then at the end of that episode he shoots through the winslows roof,and flys off into the chicago skyline.Lol I mean really?

This is a great fun show,but you have to entirely drop your suspension of disbelief while watching it.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] crazydude1989 11 years ago

By season 8 and 9 it was too crazy. I remember the episode where they zapped themselves onto a pirate ship. That was just O_o. I think it was also the one where Steve and Carl altered Carl's history and he would've lived in a mansion if he didn't marry Harriette or something.

Like the proverbial cheese, I stand alone. Even while seated.

[–] dbznarutofan2008 11 years ago

Lol yeah they went back in time to a pirate ship.
I think Harriet,Laura,and Maxine got pulled along for the ride too.

[–] Manna-Fest 9 years ago

Well they weren't really pulled along for the ride. Myra had her own time machine watch and she went back with Laura and Maxine to save the others. Harriette wasn't with them though.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] arcticdragon340 11 years ago

The biggest jump the shark moment, in my opinion, was Stefan's second appearance. It was the moment when a scifi-produced character became a new recurring character in the series, and as long as that one character continued to exist, then the whole series became a scifi show, because there was just no denying that Stefan is a modified human clone.

I mean, it would have been okay if he showed up just as a one episode gimmick, like Urkel's other inventions. But after he got cloned and became a complete character, there was just no going back for the show, and it just wasn't in the same world as ours anymore.

[–] hubcap18 11 years ago

That's pretty much what I said in my original post. Glad you see it my way.

_______
"The sun is shining...but the ice is slippery."

[–] TheFatDruidofNacyl 11 years ago

I think the concept was out there especially for a family show, but I wouldn't quite call it jump the shark moment. It was established early on Steve was a boy genius so I can see him coming up with inventions like cloning and alter the DNA.

I actually think the biggest Jump the shark moment was having Steve be less of a nerd and having Laura suddenly decide she was in love with him instead of Steve being with Myra who was the perfect girl for him and accepted him as he was.

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[–] Catman_Scrothers 11 years ago

^ This, and that stupid time machine.

Grandpa Joe licks like a pro

[–] furienna 11 years ago

I actually think the biggest Jump the shark moment was having Steve be less of a nerd and having Laura suddenly decide she was in love with him instead of Steve being with Myra who was the perfect girl for him and accepted him as he was.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] Suriname86 8 years ago

I agree. Having Laura fall for him and Steve de-nerding took the spirit out of the show for me. I would've liked it more if Steve stayed the way he was, stayed with Myra and if he and Laura evolved to be more like sister/brother with a deep bond/friendship; like Buffy and Xander.

[–] ItsEddieHaskellBeyotch 11 years ago

1. Steve is just too old to be acting like that.

2. Stephan becomes his own character outside of Steve.

3. That damn machine.

4. The Steve, Laura, Stephan triangle.

5. The show drove Jomarie Payton away in the final season.

6. OGD Urkel...WTF?!

'When there's no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.'

[–] whitespirit26 11 years ago

The rocket pack thing was much more realistic than the chamber eventually became, then other stuff like the time-traveling happened; THAT was jumping a megalodon all right.

[–] crazydude1989 11 years ago

There is a whole written interview online by Miss Payton herself and it doesn't really say that she hated the way it became the Steve Urkel Show. She wanted to pursue other things that paid more money, I think, because she needed to support her family. And her contract ended by the end of the 8th season.

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/family-matters-jo-marie-payton-16891 /

Like the proverbial cheese, I stand alone. Even while seated.

[–] everydayboredom1980 10 years ago

There were so many shark-jumping moments, it'd be impossible to narrow down to 1.

It went a sitcom about a middle class family to a science fiction show. Mixing "The Fly" with Bruce Lee movies.

[–] rompina88 10 years ago

There were so many shark-jumping moments, it'd be impossible to narrow down to 1.

.

This. The last few seasons were unwatchable

[–] b-touch 10 years ago

The exact moment of jumping-the-shark, to me, was "Stefan Returns", the season 5 closer. "Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool" - the episode where Stefan first appears - could have been excused as an odd one-off. Making the character a permanent recurring character/alter ego was the beginning of the end of the show's plausibility, particularly when Season 6 starts with Carl being transformed into a nerd.

I mean, come on - a magic machine where people go in and transform into others, clothes and hair and all? Come on...

[–] furienna 10 years ago

Have you never heard of science fiction? Yes, I know that there were no such elements in the first few seasons of this show. But this never bothered me.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] b-touch 10 years ago

That's the problem - there were no such elements of such in the earlier seasons.

The show ostensibly took place in a slightly pushed version of the real world until Urkel started magically being able to invent robots, transformation chambers, teleportation devices (where the heck was he getting the money and resources?? That "stay away fund" of his doing that well?). Add to this Jaleel White rapidly outgrowing the way Urkel was being written, and the fact that this is still a live-action multi-camera sitcom and it's just too much.

The show became far too cartoony and implausible from that point forward. An important element of good science fiction writing is plausibility - writing things that could believably happen within the context of the universe being created. Nothing set up in the first few seasons of "Family Matters" allows for androids, DNA-altering potions, teleportation, time-travel, etc. to believably exist in that world.

[–] furienna 10 years ago

Well, the show evolved over the years. Like you said yourself recently in a different thread, those pre-Steve episodes were nothing special. And when Steve came along half-way into the first season, it was really what the show needed. Steve started doing inventions rather early, so it was a gradual thing.

As for Jaleel White being too old for the role... I have to say that that's a matter of opinion. They could have had Steve gradually change his voice and wardrobe. But the writers and/or producers wanted him to stay that way (well, until the last season anyway), and I think he did a good job.

Over all, my problem with the show lies with how they had Steve suddenly change himself and dump Myra for Laura. I would have preferred that he had made ten new inventions in every episode, if that only had never happened...

Intelligence and purity.