Father of the Bride is the seventeenth episode of the fifth season of Family Matters, which aired on ABC on February 11, 1994. It was directed by John Tracy and written by Stephen Langford.
Synopsis[]
To get him out of his hair for the evening, Carl sends Urkel on a bowling date with Laura, then watches a movie. Estelle warns him that they may fall in love but he ignores her and dozes off. Carl quickly has a nightmare about how Urkel and Laura fell in love, got married and gave birth to a brood of Urkel kids in the year 2009; Steven Aloysius Urkel, Steven Bertram Urkel, Steven Cornelius Urkel and adopted daughter Stephanie Sue Urkel. Ironically, this dream is actually going to come true later on, minus all the frightening parts of this dream.
Plot[]
Steve invites Carl to go bowling with him and refuses to take no for an answer. So Carl bribes Laura to go with him instead. Estelle warns him that Laura could fall for Steve. Carl doubts that will happen and he goes to sleep.
In 2009, he is still asleep as the TV was showing the last of the film Hudson Hawk. Carl wakes up old and Harriette tells him to get himself cleaned up for the kids. Frantic and in denial, he tries to remind her that Eddie, Laura and Richie live with them. Harriette reminds Carl that they had moved out since graduation and he is horrified to learn that he'd been asleep for 15 years. He asks her why she didn't wake him up around that time. Harriette mentions that Carl was so peaceful sleeping on the couch and didn't have the heart to wake him up. As she tells him to go to the bathroom and get cleaned up again, Steve and Laura visit them. Carl is horrified by what happened, made worse when four of their children appeared.
While Carl is dreaming, the older version is horrified when he is introduced to his grandchildren: Steven Aloysius Urkel (youngest), Steven Bertram Urkel (middle), Steven Cornelius Urkel (oldest) and adopted daughter, Stephanie Sue Urkel. After Harriette herds the children in the kitchen for cheese, Carl finally asks Laura about her first date with Steve. He knows she usually dates guys who are more her type (tall jocks who are fashion forward). She mentioned when he bribed her with a new wardrobe to go a bowling date with Urkel, Laura expected to be bored at once. Instead, she found herself enjoying their date especially when he was showing her a few pointers in how to bowl strikes. In turn, Laura has seen the wonderful and caring guy Urkel is. She never realized how much fun she had going out with Steve and she hasn't looked at another guy since then. He and Laura has continued dating throughout college. Eventually, Steve proposed to her upon graduation and she accepted it. Afterwards, they got married and Laura has been the happiest woman on earth. She has a wonderful husband Steve and four terrific children. When Carl tries to apologize for what he did, Steve and Laura reassure him that he did the right thing. If he hadn't tried to trick her into going on the date with Steve by bribing her with a new wardrobe, they would never have realized they were meant to be together. They've been happily married since that time and Carl comes to terms with it. That is until Steve kisses Laura and she immediately becomes pregnant. This made worse when everyone including Harriette begins playing accordions.
Carl immediately wakes up and tells Harriette about the dream he had. Laura immediately returns, telling Carl that he owes her big time and that he better follow through. As he is relieved, Steve asks if he can get his bowling ball off his right toe as it got stuck challenging another of Laura's prospect male date. Even though he succeeds, Steve destroys the television set leading Carl to chase him again.
In the end credits, it shows a video tape audition of children doing their best Urkel impression.
Cast and Characters[]
Main[]
- Reginald VelJohnson as Carl Winslow
- Jo Marie Payton as Harriette Winslow (credited as Jo Marie Payton-Noble)
- Rosetta LeNoire as Estelle Winslow
- Darius McCrary as Eddie Winslow
- Kellie Shanygne Williams as Laura Winslow
- Bryton James as Richie Crawford (credited as Bryton McClure)
- Jaleel White as Steve Urkel
- Shawn Harrison as Waldo Geraldo Faldo (credit only)
Guest[]
- Ryan Doss as Steven Cornelius Urkel
- Marcus Miller Jr. as Steven Bertram Urkel
- Mitchah Williams as Steven Aloysius Urkel
- Rachel Lundquist as Stephanie Sue Urkel
Trivia[]
- This episode takes place in February 1994, with Urkel citing the present date as February 3, 1994 at the beginning of the episode.
- It is possible that this episode was thus meant to air a week earlier on February 4, 1994.
Goofs[]
- Eddie Winslow's birth date is revealed to be January 28, 1974 in "Son". As this episode takes place on February 3, 1994, Eddie should have just passed his 20th birthday. Despite this, he is still a senior in high school this season, with no mention that he is no longer a teenager or if he had been held back.
- Urkel claims that he asked Carl to go skydiving on February 3, 1986, and that Carl had refused at the time in order to get Urkel out of his house. However, Urkel and Carl did not meet until "Laura's First Date", which is set in 1989. Additionally, Urkel had visited the Winslow House for the first time in that episode, placing the 1986 interaction as an inconsistency.
Quotes[]
- Carl: What year is it?
- Harriette: 2009.
- Laura: [in Carl's dream] It seems all Steve has to do is kiss me and I get pregnant.