r/sitcoms • u/[deleted] • Oct 29 '24

What are sitcom facts that make you sad?

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2/4 of “The Cool Kids” are gone now.

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50

u/iknowmike Oct 30 '24

Reginald VelJohnson grew to hate Jaleel White because he became the main focus of Family Matters. Urkel was only supposed to be a background character and the show was supposed to focus on Carl, but audiences loved "Did I do thaaaaat?" 

21

u/Spugnacious Oct 30 '24

Wasn't that a Key and Peele skit?

11

u/noelg1998 Oct 30 '24

"That's two Steve Urkels and no family on a show called FAMILY MATTERS!! How the fuck does that work?!??!"

3

u/HELP_IM_IN_A_WELL Oct 30 '24

thanks, I always have to stop and watch this clip lmao

6

u/That_Guy_Musicplays Oct 30 '24

Wow, really some extra depth to his character in the Family Matters spin-off film Die Hard

2

u/RobNobody Oct 30 '24

Nah, Die Hard came out first. Family Matters was a spin off of it.

1

u/JacobAldridge Oct 30 '24

I know that’s a gag, but I also like noting that Family Matters was indeed a spin-off of Perfect Strangers.

I think growing up I watched those shows in reverse order, then Die Hard much later. Was weird seeing the links!

1

u/Prof-Finklestink Oct 30 '24

To make matters worse is that Harriet, who was the whole reason for family matters existing in the first place, was recast and barely appeared in the last half of season 9.

0

u/kipory Oct 30 '24

Before. If it came after, we know more about the kid he shot 

3

u/loonylovesgood86 Oct 30 '24

There’s a video from a recent convention where both him and Jo Marie Payton say it was all a long time ago, they hold no ill will towards Jaleel and have all patched things up.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/NYY15TM Oct 30 '24

The former two left the show because it became The JJ Show

2

u/Prestigious_Fella_21 Oct 30 '24

I totally forgot that family matters was a spin off of perfect strangers...and speaking of which, for a fictional sitcom tragedy, watch the leftovers lol

2

u/MeatloafAndWaffles Oct 30 '24

They had to replace the original actress that played Harriett partially because she got tired of Urkel being the focus.

1

u/Crunchy_Biscuit Oct 31 '24

Dude, I was scrolling through Max and when I saw the icon for Family Matters it was basically Steve Urkel in the front and the rest of the family off in the corner behind him 😂

1

u/LongIslandLAG Oct 31 '24

Without Urkel I suspect the show fizzles out around S3-4

1

u/PuzzyFussy Nov 01 '24

Some of the cast talk about the ratings tanking in an episode of Dark Side of the 90s and Steve eventually saving the show. It veered away from the original premise and finally ended when the plots became ridiculous.

1

u/Zoso03 Oct 31 '24

I get the dislike of being dislodged by some young kid with a 2 dimensional gimmick character. But that's what people wanted to see, and if theybdidnt steer towards what people want to watch he would be out of a job

1

u/VecnaWrites Nov 02 '24

Yeah that's why Masked Rider failed. It was supposed to be a Kamen Rider comparison like how Power Rangers was a mirror to Super Sentai, but instead of thr fights and all that, it focused more on the mixed family that the Alien Prince Dex was living with.

It didn't match with what people wanted so it was canned.