Family Matters (1990s) - Monster Madness 2023

Cinemassacre's Monster Madness' journey through Halloween TV episodes continues into the 1990s with Family Matters, featuring Steve Urkel's killer doll Stevil!
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[@TheWtfanime]

Glad to be a 90's kid. James is totally right about the 90's being a gold mine of tv shows, and the halloween specials were always a fantastic part of those 90's shows.

[@sfighter0085]

Same here man. :D

[@dustybunny6716]

You should play Vampire Survivors on Halloween

[@thegamingchef3304]

I never celebrated Halloween or Christmas and stuff. But I do remember the 90s being more festive and there being more stuff on TV. My Pop, brothers and I use to watch the Wayne's world Halloween special every year. I even remember the NFL use to have a thing called Gridiron Monsters where the players dressed in costumes and you could collect their cards in coca-cola products.

[@TheWtfanime]

@@thegamingchef3304 That's a great memory, thanks for sharing that.

[@brilicusgaming6922]

My dads name was Steven and he told me my uncle would always call him Steve Urqel just to mess with him lol. I was five in 1999 and when I would go to my grandparents house after class we would watch Family Matters.

[@BroNovaGaming]

I would LOVE a Family Matters retrospective

[@jimnfl7134]

not me, i hated it.

[@themajordudes8194]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think anyone else has done one yet

[@JustJulyo]

​@@themajordudes8194Vee Infuso did it

[@TEKITOcreations]

I don’t care what anybody says, I loved when Family Matters did all that silly sci-fi and fantasy stuff. The crazy things Steve would do never failed to make me laugh!

[@jaycerrito3142]

Exactly. It stood out compared to other sitcoms especially with its tone throughout the series

[@cheneethompson5756]

I agree! Steve's mad scientist laugh slays me! And he was very smart!

[@cylondorado4582]

I was a kid, so I never even questioned it or thought I would prefer it to be different.

[@cheneethompson5756]

@@kenlivesgaming I was a nerd, and still am! This show had me rolling with the crazy antics of sci-fi!

[@losttechwetlights7493]

Completely agree

[@sethmartin]

You could do a whole Monster Madness marathon on just 90s tv! Thanks for keeping the madness going after all these years!

[@BOBINDUN]

He totally should! 2000's too

[@mattjohnson6916]

I loved Family Matters, and especially this episode when I was growing up! I dressed up as Urkel for Halloween when I was 8 years old and won a $50 gift certificate to KB Toys at the local mall's costume contest. Passed up on a discounted Power Glove for some action figures... Dodged a bullet with that one.

[@seanspear6224]

The 90s was indeed overwhelmingly for Halloween stuff

[@dvdjkaufmn]

We were REALLY in to partying back then. lol

[@Dr.W.Krueger]

gotta consume fast

[@stevennieto9898]

Roseanne always loved Halloween.

[@Krystalmyth]

Halloween was crazy in the 90s. Nobody trick or treat during the day, barely any chaperones. We were a bunch of hooligans 😂

[@tino9117]

The boy meets world Halloween episode "and then there was shawn" will always remain in my mind as one of the best Halloween episodes of any sitcom

[@kyledonlin5594]

I am right there with you! I watch it every year in October.

[@JustinPayton]

The problem is it aired in February. So it's not technically a "Halloween" episode.

[@nickrandolph4213]

Funny beings Rider Strong is the one who played the "bratty kid" they scare off in that Home Improvement Halloween episode James talks about if I remember correctly *shrugs*

[@boblangford5514]

I would still watch every Cinemassacre video if they were only about Family Matters. It was my favorite sitcom too.

[@opaljk4835]

I just rewatched it last night, and it was pretty fun, but I didn’t love jt like I used to

[@cylondorado4582]

I was born in 1990, and nothing was worse to me then a living evil doll like Chucky or Slappy from Goosebumps. Except maybe vampires (I always had a thing with blood too).

[@Invisiblekatana]

Puppets have always been the one creepy thing that always got to me, and as a kid I did not find these episodes to be silly. Seeing the chimney death unlocked a hazy memory of that genuinely bothering me when I was little.

[@Lastclerk3]

I’m a little sad you didn’t mention the Halloween episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” it’s not particularly scary or anything but they decided to have Peter Boyle dress as Frankenstein’s monster, a fun reference to when he played the monster in “Young Frankenstein”

[@curleed85]

The two Stevil episodes were always my favorite Halloween episodes of “Family Matters.”

[@Stevil86]

My too

[@cheneethompson5756]

Those are two of my fave episodes! I also love the ones with myrtle! Remember the family matters where the family are vampires, and want to eat steve?

[@dinosauriojacinto]

The ways Steevil dispose family members are homages to classic terror stories from The Twiligt Zone and such. You might remenber when Bart Simpson turned Homer into a Jack in the box in a Treehouse of Horror special.

[@MichaelDoubleU]

I knew James would go with Family Matters for the 90’s! 🎃

[@loosemeatsamich3689]

I’m right there with you James. I love family matters, and used to watch it every week as part of TGIF. Such fond memories from the 90’s.

[@jimnfl7134]

not me, after a couple episodes i hated it.

[@steveb7932]

@@jimnfl7134its one of the 90s worst shows

[@Rodanguirus]

Evil dummies/dolls was definitely one of the spooky things that rattled me the most as a kid, and I was genuinely freaked out by these episodes for a while. Unrelated: The shift of Family Matters to becoming Urkel's show is so often talked about in a disparaging way. It was really cool to see genuine praise for the physical comedy, Jaleel White's range, and the practical effects fueling the destruction and antics (the latter in particular is almost never talked about). Always cool to hear James talk about something he genuinely enjoys.

[@ai_serf]

90's halloween sitcom specials were awesome! I never saw the Family Matter's one, so thank you for this wonderful bit of history :D

[@xxcrysad3000xx]

One great Halloween episode that I'll always remember is The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

[@traesmith9822]

4:20 Urkel flying through the wall almost made me choke 😂

[@sirbatsgaming1431]

The home improvement Halloween episode when Tim makes a haunted house in the basement was one of my favorites

[@themonsterunderyourbed9408]

I liked the one with the "INCIDENT".

[@20th_century_specter]

I love these Monster Madness episodes. They really help to get everyone into the spirit of Halloween.

[@videostash413]

eh.

[@ChonkySlotDonkey]

Yesss love all the Home Improvement, Family Matters and Full House Halloween episodes!!!

[@CenturianEagle]

For sure! Haha like when Wilson made Tim think Wilson was dating a witch that killed him and then the police come and make Tim think they were gonna pin it on him 😂

[@breakfastatepiphanies]

Fun fact the little person who doubled for Steevil went on to play the young version of the Grinch in the Jim Carrey live action version.

[@michaelb9537]

Family matters is my favorite sit back and chill series. Would love a cinemassacre series on it lol

[@forrestredd2706]

Jaleel White is absurdly underrated, and what he did as Urkel/Stephan should really be held in much higher regard than I feel it is.

[@benduffy2782]

Honestly one of their other Halloween episodes where the family are vampires is one of my absolute favorites.

[@jimmyreed2405]

I completely forgot about that! Isn't set in a Gothic castle like a Hammer film?

[@cheneethompson5756]

@jimmyreed2405 I think so And Harriet says they would love to have him for dinner(literally)

[@ShadowW0lf1]

The spirit people had for holidays in the 90's is unmatched to this day. I miss it so much.

[@Krystalmyth]

Jaleel White was a phenom back then. Super talented guy. Loved Family Matters. Wish it was recorded in film and not tape so we could get it HD remastered.

[@zuntata7860]

Halloween special of 90's show always peak honesty, the vibe of Trick or Treat in the suburbs with Beetlejuice-esque musics just burned into my brain

[@bitfreakazoid]

I would say my favorite Halloween episodes were the Boy Meets World ones, with Home Improvement coming in second; seeing Tim's super extravagant haunted house setup was always really cool.

[@RavenHouseMystery]

Great episode, James. The 1990's were certainly the decade of the Halloween TV episodes.

[@chubbycatfish4573]

Love me some 1990s and love me some Family Matters.

[@Phantom-Lewis]

Man. I forgot how much Halloween stuff came out in the 90’s. I love those monster madness. I look forward to those every year. :)

[@AnoNymous-gn6tl]

All of the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episodes in the 90's are such classic pieces of nostalgia.

[@brknglasses2734]

This was my favorite family matters episode! The monster madness this year is amazing!!!

[@Leel3ones89]

Am i the only person that thinks Carl's role in the those insurance commercials as "TV Dad" is hilarious. He says "Maybe you'll understand one day, when you're a father." 😂

[@cheneethompson5756]

Reginald VelJohnson is hilarious!

[@silentcaay]

Not counting anything from The Simpsons, this Halloween episode is among the most memorable to me. 🤘

[@mattb9664]

Never knew or heard about this episode! By 1996- I definitely was involved in lots of extra curricular activities, and just started driving and didn't really watch any TV at all that point. I did notice that Urkel's character would be allowed to have break away characters showing him as himself and not Urkel, in an attempt to undo his Urkel typecast.

[@BetterThanDoomWithAZ]

Harriet as a jack-in-the-box... I think we can pinpoint the exact moment she started having thoughts about moving on from the series.

[@Gramps83]

Friday nights and Saturday mornings were my favorite part of the week. I miss it greatly.

[@MikeMixtapeMM]

Honestly, I would watch you go over the series of Family Matters.

[@thequestbro]

Family Matters really was PEAK TV. Wild how rarely it gets discussed nowadays. Same with other great shows like Step by Step. They would do so much strange genre stuff on those shows you'd never expect to pop in.

[@jimthompson8947]

"Martin" had a great Halloween episode.

[@RagamofinTVplay]

I always found the episode "The terrible twos" from Dinosaurs very scary D:

[@yldarbdaeh]

I was hoping that you would get to this one, because its so absurd and I love it. I watch this almost every year

[@rylar717]

Purple Urkel wins a Monster Madness episode!

[@asarishepard8171]

These are great, I also remember a family matters Halloween where everyone kept passing the story and changing it as they went. Comedy gold😊

[@leannerose6181]

Blue Moon!!

[@asarishepard8171]

@@leannerose6181 those peasants mustve been having a bad night, aunt rachel has some pipes :D

[@cheneethompson5756]

​@@asarishepard8171aunt Rachel's a singer irl

[@asarishepard8171]

@@cheneethompson5756 im not surprised! :)

[@cheneethompson5756]

@@asarishepard8171 I agree! Lol! 🎵🎵🎵 blue moon! 🎵🎵🎵🎵

[@doop00]

The 90's was truly magical 😢

[@servomarc]

Simpsons Halloween episodes are the best

[@GESSO217]

Stevil was played by little person Joshua Ryan Evans. Evans is probably best known for his role as Timmy in the soap opera Passions. Unfortunately he passed away in 2002 at the age of twenty.

[@majoraslayer64]

It's wild to think Family Matters was never supposed to have Steve be a main character, but not only did they remodel the entire show around him but the character became a 90s icon.

[@pnoptic]

The scotch tape thing is genuinely a great gag.

[@cheneethompson5756]

I love steve's mad scientist goofiness! It's just so funny to me!

[@chriscole5990]

Steve Urkel saying to Larura Winslow. I'm wearing you down baby! I'm wearing you down!!! 😂 I love when he said that! Lol

[@brad5856]

Home Improvement is my favorite show of the 90s

[@stanimirgeorgiev.87]

I love this guy. He is so dedicated to everything he doing!

[@BetterThanDoomWithAZ]

What would've been really funny is if up in the attic Urkel found the body of Judy, who was supposedly "still upstairs".

[@thisisthelukas]

90's was indeed a great decade for spooky stuff. Cheers, James!

[@Farfignewton29]

I used to love the home improvement Halloween episodes. Lots of replay value.

[@GrizzlyAdams94]

I'd be down for a Family Matters series review or even a Top 10 episodes video

[@pinebarrenpatriot8289]

Rip Suzanne Somers. Step by Step was also a TGIF Nick@Nite special with Family Matters.

[@SecondOpinionGames1]

Two guys and a girl and a pizza place had great Halloween episodes. 🎉

[@SakicFan]

Fun Fact! This episode of Family Matters was #6 on horror KZbinr Mr. Nightmare's list of the "6 Most Disturbing Episodes of Kid-Friendly TV Shows".

[@Spaxer]

I would so be down for James to go over series and such like this outside of Halloween

[@e1iteyoshi998]

I think what made Family Matters stand out was how they were willing to allow explosions on the in multiple occasions. Like that one episode where Steve was accused by the school student council of blowing up the science lab with one of his inventions. no sitcom ever did something like during the 90s. The only thing i can think of that sorta came close was the episode of Full House where Michelle and her friends went on a trip to the Dinosaur Museum and they accidentally knocked a priceless T-Rex display down.

[@JRock-xv3sk]

Family matters was my favorite when I was a kid as well. Couldn't wait for tgif too come on.

[@SuperSonic1984]

AS a kid I used to forget the show was called Family Matters I used to call it The Steve Urkel show lol.

[@infinite-sadness]

I’ve heard it referred to as just “Urkel”

[@cheneethompson5756]

​@@infinite-sadnessMy late grandma did as well!

[@infinite-sadness]

@@cheneethompson5756 my grandma does too

[@xtremejay2000]

James.....I would absolutely watch a new weekly show where you review every episode of Family Matters. I am not joking. I enjoy watching you talk about stuff you love. Who knew you loved Family Matters so much? It had 215 episodes so thats 215 weeks of videos or a little over 4 years worth of uploads.

[@penilewrinkle69240]

I look forward to monster madness every year. Bless you James

[@penilewrinkle69240]

@@redacted2275 🥴

[@lowrider993]

I always found it weird that there were Halloween Town specials that had nothing to do with the Nightmare Before Christmas

[@midnightkitty8172]

Thanks for sharing this with us, James; I had only heard of Family Matters but never saw it.

[@juliorivera6732]

It was so magical, those days, those episodes. I have the same LOVE for them.

[@DevilFish69]

2:40 The 1976 Philadelphia Flyers.

[@kylopat1652]

The Broad Street Bullies!!!!

[@HellsAsylum]

Halloween just isn't halloween without Monster Madness.

[@manoo2056]

Great episode. I could finally watch it (your video) and brings so many memories.

[@MiaaDavis]

Bro he deadass scotch taped the door shut I am in tears over here😂😂😂😂

[@cheneethompson5756]

Lol! Oh, Steve! What will you do next? Lol!

[@The_October_Man]

I’m a lot younger, but I remember catching Family Matters on TV every day before I went to school and this episode was one of my favorites too.

[@CheeseSandwich999]

It would be cool if you did a live stream on Halloween night playing Halloween old games.

[@Piper7865]

The Bratty kid in the Home Improvment episode is actually a young Sean from Boy Meets World, Rider Strong

[@cheneethompson5756]

Yep!

[@RidleyCinema]

I remember watching this episode while at my babysitters, I was on the couch cowering behind my babysitters back cause the doll scared me. My babysitter just laughed.

[@Jcc2224]

I had totally forgotten about this episode, but once I saw the family after Stevil got to them, it all came back. I miss this show, absolute gold. lol

[@libbyandtai]

Nothing was scarier than the Halloween episodes of the 90s Finally the Nerd talks my childhood Of course I mean family matters The OG Nerd reviewed by The AVG Nerd

[@KingHenryVR4]

TBS showed both the Family Matters Halloween episodes back to back late one night a few weeks ago

[@TheKorfish]

This is by far my favorite episode of monster madness

[@LuckyGreenShamrock]

What an excellent show

[@nkrugjohn]

I love this episode too. Of course, for me, the 90's Halloween specials were all about the "Tree House of Terror"

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

I loved this episode and I remember when this episode was aired. At the end of the episode, it felt like a cliffhanger given the camera was straight towards Stevil.

[@unwelldanny7108]

Jaleel White was Sonic; so I can imagine Sonic watching Family Matters!! I knew about these episodes as a kid, but now, all I can think of is the Check It Out with Dr Steve Brule episode where he reveals he's scared of puppets.

[@no_one_from_nowhere]

I’m soo glad you mentioned Pete and Pete.

[@SunnySide_Gaming]

Had no idea cinemasscre was releasing Monster Madness videos yet!l this year! What a great idea! Old sitcom Halloween episodes! I’m all for it!

[@gymkat13]

I loved this episode of Family Matters, but it scared me as a child.

[@dlausactor6373]

Jaleel White will always be Sonic the Hedgehog to me.

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

This is where it gets kind of bittersweet, once we hit the 2000s and 2010s. As we get to the streaming age, the traditional halloween episode begins to slowly fade away as the attention span of viewers decrease and a little more sensitive, easier to scare based on how much clothing you wear. Less clothing you wear, easier it is to scare someone. The moment you also play a halloween remix of Proto Man Stage 1, that's when you know you are about to do a mega man fan a frighten.

[@jeffrielly]

he forgot to mention the line that Urkle says to Lara "Pull Your self together!" lol

[@mattyg4186]

James you are 100% right shows in the 90’s went all in on Halloween specials, my favorites personally were Home Improvement and The Simpsons, Roseanne was great too but i didn’t watch that show too much

[@mr3urious]

12:28 That's Josh Ryan Evans, who would go on to play Timmy in the soap opera Passions. He would unfortunately die in 2002 at the age of 20.

[@dondaddydish]

When he says “stevil “ that sounds like Robert Englund!

[@frogmanforever4622]

For the record, I’d watch James review every Family Matters episode.

[@cheneethompson5756]

The angry video game nerd reviewing another famous nerd is brilliant!

[@GiulerPowerGamer]

Thanks Nerd I totally missed this Episode as a Child. I just watched it and it is aweseome!

[@Hect0rx]

I remember this episode too well, it scarred me for years after watching it

[@robertwieczorek5838]

One of my favorite episodes for sure