Season 8 (1996/97)
- Orlando Brown joins the main cast as 3J.
- Shawn Harrison is no longer a series regular.
- Bryton McClure and Rosetta LeNoire are now recurring cast members.
- Orlando Brown is absent for 14 episodes.
- Michelle Thomas is absent for 13 episodes.
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 170 | 1 | "Paris Vacation (Part 1)" | Richard Correll | Fred Fox, Jr. | September 20, 1996 | 465301 |
| The Winslows travel to Paris, France with the help of Urkel's teleportation device (the Urk-Pad). There, Eddie has to work at a restaurant to avoid going to jail, while Stefan and Laura become models. Meanwhile, Urkel is seduced by Nicole, a lovely French girl, whose cohort (Phillpe) is out to steal the teleporter. | ||||||
| 171 | 2 | "Paris Vacation (Part 2)" | Richard Correll | Jim Geoghan | September 20, 1996 | 465302 |
| Stefan and Laura participate in a fashion show, while Nicole and Phillipe capture Urkel and hold him hostage inside the Paris Opera House, where he is forced to build a new teleporter. | ||||||
| 172 | 3 | "Paris Vacation (Part 3)" | Richard Correll | Fred Fox, Jr. & Jim Geoghan | September 27, 1996 | 4465303 |
| When Urkel finds out he will be killed when the Urk-Pad is finished, Nicole turns for Urkel, and Carl rescues Steve. Soon after, Phillipe chases Carl, Nicole, and Urkel throughout the city. They split up at the Eiffel Tower and Steve is thrown off by Phillipe afterwards the French police arrest Phillipe. Down on the ground Carl and Nicole activate the Urk-pad under Steve while he's falling to teleport him to Chicago and save him. After going back to the Winslows' house, Myra tells Steve that it's a dream come true. At the end, Stefan decides to fulfill his career as a model, and stays in Paris. | ||||||
| 173 | 4 | "Movin' On" | Richard Correll | Gregory Thomas Garcia & Fred Rubin | October 4, 1996 | 465304 |
| Urkel finally enrolls in BIT, the Boston Institute of Technology, a fictional prestigious college (a spoof of MIT), which is miles away from Chicago. At first, the Winslows are happy to finally be rid of the pesky nerd, but then take pity on him when they learn he is homesick. Meanwhile, Laura (who has recently reached adulthood) moves into an apartment with Myra, but the two do not get along. | ||||||
| 174 | 5 | "3J in the House" | Richard Correll | Meg DeLoatch | October 11, 1996 | 465305 |
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Orphaned 3J sneaks into the Winslows' attic, afraid that he may be forced to move to another orphanage. Harriette suggests to Carl that they adopt 3J, noting that beneath that sometime smart-mouthed demeanor lies a sweet, innocent young boy who is pining for a family. Note: This is the first episode where Orlando Brown (Jerry Jamal "3J" Jameson) is credited in the opening credits. |
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| 175 | 6 | "Getting Buff" | Richard Correll | Stephen Langford | October 18, 1996 | 465306 |
| Eddie talks to his girlfriend about her modeling when Steve sees Greta nude in Laura's art class, only for Laura to reveal the shocking truth. Meanwhile, Neidermeyer takes Richie and 3J's football and he refuses to give it back. | ||||||
| 176 | 7 | "Stevil" | Richard Correll | Gregory Thomas Garcia & Fred Rubin | October 25, 1996 | 465309 |
| A ventriloquist's dummy, which looks exactly like Urkel, comes to life and terrorizes the Winslows, and Steve must stop it. | ||||||
| 177 | 8 | "Karate Kids" | Richard Correll | Joseph Cvar & Gary Menteer | November 1, 1996 | 465307 |
|
A street gang, known as "The Piranhas", has intimidated Richie and 3J from playing at the local park, and when Urkel tries to intervene, he is quickly roughed up. The street gang begin celebrating their possible new place to deal drugs and play rap music until Bruce Lee Urkel (and similar Richie and 3J variants) show up to even the score. After slipping in the Winslows home, Nick fakes needing a wheelchair and threatens to sue Carl. However, his plans are foiled when Harriette and Eddie exploit his scam and sends him on his way. Guest Star: Jason David Frank as Skull |
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| 178 | 9 | "Home Again" | Richard Correll | Stephen Langford Story by: Stephen Langford & Jaleel White |
November 8, 1996 | 465308 |
|
Urkel reunites Stefan and Laura. Meanwhile, Carl and Harriette try to spend time alone but are constantly interrupted by Richie and 3J. Guest Stars: New Edition |
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| 179 | 10 | "Nightmare at Urkel Oaks" | Kelly Sandefur | Gary M. Goodrich | November 15, 1996 | 465310 |
|
Eddie has a nightmare where he is the reluctant groom to Myrtle Urkel. When Eddie refuses to marry Myrtle, her wealthy father steps in and bribes him with $10 million. Greta comes and crashes the wedding. Note: Reginald VelJohnson and Jaleel White both play dual roles, VelJohnson as Carl Winslow and "Big Daddy" Urkel and White as Steve Urkel and Myrtle Urkel. |
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| 180 | 11 | "Chick-a-Boom" | Joel Zwick | Gregory Thomas Garcia | November 22, 1996 | 465311 |
| Carl once again hopes to impress Police Commissioner Geiss with a full-course banquet. With Waldo no longer around, Myra steps forward and volunteers to cook a stuffed chicken-type dish for dinner. However, things start to get explosive when she mistakes Steve's mini fireworks for pepper causing the Chickens to blow up after Eddie's band plays "Roll out the Barrel" triggering the explosions. Meanwhile, 3J encourages Richie to perform a scam to get enough money to go to the movies. | ||||||
| 181 | 12 | "The Jury" | Joel Zwick | Gregory Thomas Garcia | December 6, 1996 | 465312 |
| Urkel and Carl are selected to serve on a jury for a store robbery suspect. Urkel is the only one who is convinced that the evidence is not what it seems and proves whose really guilty of robbing the store. Meanwhile, 3J believes he is being sent back to the orphanage, so he begins working in the house and causes problems. Harriette convinces him that when she and Carl adopted him, he'll always have a home with them. | ||||||
| 182 | 13 | "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" | Gregg Heschong | Meg DeLoatch & Gary M. Goodrich | December 13, 1996 | 465313 |
| Steve and Carl search for a Christmas tree from within the Wisconsin woods, but wind up getting lost. Carl is annoyed and freezing, but Urkel's knowledge of astronomy saves the two from becoming icicles on Christmas. Meanwhile, Laura is caught in a love triangle with Stefan and Curtis and must decide once and for all to whom she is most loyal. | ||||||
| 183 | 14 | "Revenge of the Nerd" | Gregg Heschong | Jim Geoghan | January 3, 1997 | 465314 |
|
Laura is invited to join a sorority and is excited about becoming a member, until she learns that they constantly ridicule Urkel (and all nerds for that matter) and plan to crown him "king geek". Also, after realizing how his feud with Nick Neidermeyer has become a bad influence on the kids, Carl attempts to see how well they can be as friends. Guest Stars: Sanaa Lathan as Allison and Jennie Kwan as Kimberly |
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| 184 | 15 | "Love Triangle" | Richard Correll | David W. Duclon & Gary Menteer | January 17, 1997 | 465316 |
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With Waldo having broken off his long-standing relationship with Maxine, Laura encourages her heartbroken best friend to begin dating once again. Maxine soon comes home with none other than Curtis, Laura's ex. The two get into a huge fight as a result. Meanwhile, Carl becomes concerned about Estelle's babysitting habits. Note: Jaleel White plays a dual role portraying both Steve Urkel and Stefan Urquelle. When Maxine and Laura made up and said they were friends since they both had Punky Brewster lunch boxes this was a coincidence since Maxine was in Punky Brewster as herself, Cherie Johnson, who was Punky's best friend. |
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| 185 | 16 | "Father Time" | Richard Correll | David W. Duclon & Gary Menteer | January 31, 1997 | 465317 |
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Steve and Carl use a time transporting device to travel back in time. In spite of Steve's warnings not to tamper with the past, Carl leaves a note for himself to make investments in stocks that will skyrocket. When Carl and Steve return to the present, they find out that Carl is the richest man in the world, worth about $247 billion. Unfortunately, they also find out that Carl hasn't hugged Estelle in years, that Harriette is divorcing him, and that Eddie and Laura were never born. Note: This episode retcons Judy's existence out of the show (Carl specifically mentions Eddie and Laura as his children, without a mention of Judy. Harriette mentions that she 'always wanted a boy and a girl'). |
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| 186 | 17 | "Beauty and the Beast" | Richard Correll | Meg DeLoatch & Gary M. Goodrich | February 7, 1997 | 465320 |
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The ladies (including Myrtle Urkel) enter the 4th Annual Miss Downtown Chicago Beauty Pageant. Cutthroat tactics and all sorts of similar antics ensue, especially by Myrtle to get Eddie's heart. Guest Star: Emmanuel Lewis Note: Steve Urkel only has one scene in this episode. |
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| 187 | 18 | "Le Jour d'amour" | Richard Correll | Stephen Langford | February 14, 1997 | 465321 |
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Urkel hosts three Valentine's Day short stories involving various members of the cast going through the three stages of love.
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| 188 | 19 | "What Do You Know?" | Richard Correll | Fred Fox, Jr. & Jim Geoghan | February 28, 1997 | 465319 |
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Eddie gets into the transformation chamber to transform Eddie Winslow into Eddie Urkel to gain Steve's smarts, then hopes to clean up on a game show. However, Eddie learns a hard lesson about working hard when Urkel is one of his opponents. Meanwhile, Maxine invites Laura to see Blackstreet in concert, but it just so happens to be on the same night that Laura promised Carl that she would spend some time with him. Guest Star: David Ruprecht |
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| 189 | 20 | "Odd Man In" | Joel Zwick | Fred Fox, Jr. | March 14, 1997 | 465315 |
| Harriette is invited to participate in Carl's poker night and cleans up. Meanwhile, Urkel fills in for Eddie as peanut vendor at Soldier Field, but thanks to the nerd's clumsiness, things go as one would expect. In the aftermath, Eddie loses his job and blames Urkel; that is, until Laura has a talk with her big brother to realize that he has no one to blame but himself. | ||||||
| 190 | 21 | "Flirting With Disaster" | Richard Correll | Story by: Darius McCrary Teleplay by: Fred Rubin |
March 28, 1997 | 465318 |
| Urkel becomes dismayed after learning he is responsible for Carl's homeowner's insurance skyrocketing (thanks to the nerd's clumsiness), and decides to move out. However, Carl saves the day when he makes his insurance agent believe that Steve will be his next door neighbor in an apartment complex that he lives in. Meanwhile, Eddie learns that it's best to act your age and remain loyal to your current steady when he falls head over heels in love with an older woman. | ||||||
| 191 | 22 | "Pound Foolish" | Jason Bateman | Stephen Langford & Fred Rubin | April 25, 1997 | 465323 |
| Urkel's Aunt Oona (Donna Summer) returns from Altoona for another visit, this time seeking help in losing weight. The nerd suggests his new weight compression chamber, and she loses weight, but soon, Oona regains her weight in an instant. Meanwhile, Eddie teaches 3J his methods for getting a girl to notice him. | ||||||
| 192 | 23 | "The Brother Who Came to Dinner" | Richard Correll | Reginald VelJohnson | May 2, 1997 | 465322 |
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Carl's estranged brother Frank (Ted Lange) comes to visit with a devastating secret: He's in trouble with the law. Even worse, Carl is the one who's assigned to bring him into custody. Carl faces a big moral dilemma as he considers loyalty to his job vs. fixing a long-broken relationship with his brother. Meanwhile, after accidentally breaking Laura's laptop computer, Steve and Eddie try to win $3,000 towards getting a new laptop at the carnival, and Steve's latest invention might give Eddie a boost against "Butterball". Note: This is the first appearance of Dick O'Neill's character Commissioner Geiss (previously only mentioned by name). |
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| 193 | 24 | "A Pirate's Life for Me" | Joel Zwick | Fred Fox, Jr. & Jim Geoghan | May 9, 1997 | 465324 |
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Urkel and Carl go back in time on board a 1700s pirate vessel, where they are made to walk the plank after Urkel accidentally drops his time travel watch overboard. Can they escape back to their present time before they become sharkbait? Notes: This was the final episode that aired on ABC. This episode aired in 3-D as part of ABC's "3-D Week" promotion. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Family Matters Episodes
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