TGI – Family Matters 807 “Stevil”

Summary

Pod Meets World – TGI: Family Matters 807 “Stevil”

Date: October 23, 2025
Hosts: Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Ryder Strong
Episode Summary:
In this Halloween-themed episode, the Pod Meets World trio dives into a classic TGIF neighbor: “Stevil,” the infamous ventriloquist dummy episode from Family Matters (Season 8, Episode 7). With their signature warmth and wit, Danielle, Will, and Ryder break down the episode’s wild premise, explore '90s sitcom tropes, and reflect on the horror-comedy balance that made "Stevil" so memorable. The hosts also consider why their own “And Then There Was Shawn” is so beloved in comparison and examine the eerie and comedic elements that set “Stevil” apart.

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Main Theme & Purpose

The hosts pay tribute to the glory days of TGIF by watching and analyzing "Stevil," one of Family Matters’ most talked-about Halloween specials. The goal: investigate what makes a memorable spooky sitcom episode, share laughs, and offer insights into TGIF’s enduring appeal and legacy for '90s kids.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Histories with Family Matters & TGIF ([19:53])

• Ryder & Will: Admitted they had never seen a full Family Matters episode before.
• Danielle: Watched Family Matters during Boy Meets World’s heyday, when you "couldn’t skip it" ([20:03]).
• Discussion of pre-streaming era TV habits—no skipping, no TiVo (which debuted after TGIF's prime).

2. Child's Play Parody, Horror Tropes, and Sitcom DNA ([20:33])

• "Stevil" is a direct homage to Chucky/Child’s Play—creepy, campy and designed for sitcom scares.
• Ryder describes his own history with horror, admitting he loves being scared ("My whole life is fear. What are you talking about?" – Will, [21:27]).
• Danielle recounts her kids’ obsession with Chucky after a brush with a ventriloquist act ([21:32]).

3. Cast, Characters, and TGIF World-Building ([22:32])

• Detailed rundown of main and guest stars, including Reginald Vel Johnson’s "perpetual cop" roles and Jaleel White’s meteoric TGIF rise.
• "I was just trying to figure out what Family Matters is about. ...I just know there’s a character named Urkel." – Ryder ([23:41])
• Exploration of Urkel’s place in the Winslow household and TGIF culture.
• Tangent on how Urkel, like Topanga, wasn’t an original main character but became central ("He was a Topanga" – Will, [24:09]).

4. Recap & Reactions: Stevil’s Plot Breakdown

Cold Open & Premise ([28:04])

• Urkel introduces the episode as possibly scary and recommends watching it with someone "brave."
• Will and Ryder wish their own “And Then There Was Shawn” included a spooky intro ([28:04]).

The Dummy Comes Alive ([36:07])

• Classic ventriloquist-dummy-comes-to-life setup: lightning strikes, the Urkel dummy awakens, creepy voices abound.
• Will’s horror trigger: "From the time I was a little kid, that scares the hell out of me is creepy voices.” ([37:06])

Sitcom Structure, Jokes, and TGIF Tropes ([29:38], [30:32])

• Observations about the show formula: the cast sets up Urkel to "go off," just as Boy Meets World did with Eric or Sabrina with magic plots.
• "It’s as if Boy Meets World were just everyone looking at Eric being like, 'Yeah, right, right, exactly.'" – Ryder ([31:14])
• Praise for Jaleel White’s performance: "He has this entire show on his shoulders." – Danielle ([30:14])

Notable Sitcom Gags ([41:53])

• Scotch tape as a barricade: "Joke of the show. I wish I had thought of this." – Will ([41:53])
• Classic hacky ventriloquist jokes, Stevil’s over-the-top evil plans.
• "It’s over. The demon is dead… until the arm starts to move." – classic horror fakeout, analyzed for its sitcom execution.

Halloween Set Piece & Special Effects ([53:22])

• Praise for the production values: car chases, moving dummies, body parts in cupboards, and inventive effects.
• "A crazy tape week... He’s just working so hard, this actor." – Ryder & Will heap praise on Jaleel White’s physical and comedic workload ([50:46], [60:27])

Ending & The Dream Fakeout ([62:34])

• Multiple layered dream fakeouts and horror references.
• "Urkel wakes up in a dream screaming bloody murder and fighting the pillow. Hello." ([62:55])
• Will and Danielle express admiration for how confidently the episode leans into weirdness and supernatural hijinks.

5. Reflections on Tone, Structure, and B-Stories ([62:34])

• Noting the lack of a B plot: “So there really is no B story?” – Ryder ([62:34])
• Comparison to “And Then There Was Shawn”—Family Matters sticks with one wild, focused story.
• Will marvels at the difference in what was allowed in a “7:30 vs. 8:00” timeslot (i.e., you couldn't actually kill characters like on Boy Meets World’s horror episode).

6. TGIF’s Secret Formula: Recasting Classic Sitcoms for Kids ([31:20])

• Will’s insight: "They’ve taken sitcom tropes, all different sitcom tropes, made them kids and then put them on the air again. ...Brilliant.”
• Sabrina = Bewitched, Family Matters = Three’s Company with a kid angle, etc.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Degrees of Coincidence Debate:

  • “Is there a big coincidence and a small coincidence or are there just coincidence?” – Will ([03:30])
  • “To me, is a big coincidence.” – Will on the Justin Long airport story ([06:40])

• Meta-Humor & Self-Awareness:

  • “Jaleel White is on another level of genius, he’s brilliant. He has this entire show on his shoulders.” – Danielle ([30:14])
  • “It’s almost as if like Boy Meets World were just everyone looking at Eric being like, yeah, right, right, exactly.” – Ryder ([31:14])
  • “He’s an American. He probably has a house in Boston.” – Ryder, still in science mode about odds ([08:02])

• Creepy Dummies & Horror Gags:

  • “From the time I was a little kid that scares the hell out of me is creepy voices.” – Will ([37:06])
  • “He can’t be destroyed… He just broke out.” – Danielle ([38:43])
  • “Scotch tape as a barricade: Joke of the show. I wish I had thought of this.” – Will ([41:53])

• Cultural Observations:

  • “You couldn't skip it back at the time.” – Will ([20:03])
  • “That's the trope all the way. As I was watching, like, oh, it's Eric.” – Will ([35:37])
  • “It’s got that... Ks are always funny.” – Will ([43:19])

• Sitcom Writing Analysis:

  • “They took traditional sitcom tropes, aged them down, and put them back on the air. Brilliant.” – Will ([32:12])
  • “This whole episode is just... Urkel, what are you doing, Steve?” – Ryder ([62:36])

• Praise for Jaleel White:

  • “[He’s] working so hard, this actor. It’s unbelievable…” – Will ([50:46])

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Important Timestamps

• 19:53 — Hosts introduce Family Matters and their varying familiarity.
• 28:04 — Cold open recap and discussion of episode format/warnings.
• 36:07 — The dummy comes alive — effects and creep factor analyzed.
• 41:53 — Notable sitcom joke: Scotch tape door barricade.
• 50:46 — Praise for Jaleel White; heavy production demands.
• 53:22 — The "Stevil" set pieces: car chase, hidden children, high-concept comedy.
• 55:05 — Story structure, comparison to Boy Meets World’s “And Then There Was Shawn.”
• 62:34 — Recap: No B-story, focused episode structure, layered horror-comedy ending.
• 64:17 — Post-episode love for the “making-of” montage and clever production methods.
• 64:46 — Hosts’ final thoughts: fun, funny, and impressive Halloween romp.

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Tone & Style

The conversation is spirited, nostalgic, and laced with comedic asides. The hosts display genuine appreciation for the ridiculousness of '90s sitcoms while offering industry insight and loving meta-commentary.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a lively, affectionate, and insightful exploration of Family Matters’ "Stevil"—from horror parody to sitcom structure and the performance demands on Jaleel White. The hosts celebrate both the zaniness and craftsmanship of TGIF-era TV, while also reflecting on the shifting rules of family sitcoms and the staying power of a great Halloween episode.

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For Fans Who Haven’t Watched “Stevil”—this summary captures all the key events, iconic jokes, cultural context, and analytical fun. Whether you’re a TGIF diehard or just love a good sitcom spookfest, you’ll leave with new appreciation for both Family Matters and the craft of beloved '90s TV.

Transcript

[Danielle Fishel]

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Mailchimp your marketing today with the number one AI powered email marketing and automation platform Intuit mailchimp number one based on publicly available data on competitors customers. Plans vary. SMS available as add on visit mailchimp.com so Ryder, back in the day you and I used to have on Running conversations about different, I mean, philosophies or walks of life, whatever you want to talk about it, you and I would find a conversation about it. And there was one that you and I used to constantly go back to, which was fate versus coincidence.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay?

[Will Friedle]

And fate is something that you roundly rejected. Back in the day, it was, everything's coincidence now. So let's, let's pretend that's true and there is no fate.

[Danielle Fishel]

Back in the day. Back in the day. He's.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, yeah, it's true. But let's just say that it is all coincidence. I would then ask a sub question which is are there degrees of coincidence? Is there a big coincidence and a small coincidence or are there just coincidence?

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, man, do we really want to get into this?

[Will Friedle]

Well, I'm going to tell you why, because something pretty amazing happens.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't. Look, do I believe that there's an order to the universe? Potentially, yes. But it's a material order, so there's complexity. So things happen for reasons, but those reasons can be explored by investigating science and evidence and. Right. And it's so complex that it's outside of the grasp of our minds most of the time.

[Will Friedle]

But again, would you say like somebody who flies to, you know, from their home in California to Africa and is on safari and in the middle of safari they meet their childhood friend that they haven't seen forever, that they grew up on the street next to. Is that the same kind of coincidence as, hey, I'm standing next to some guy on a train and we're both drinking the same soda? I mean, those both equal just coincidences. One is not bigger than the other, right?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, sure.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. So I believe in, at the very least, I believe in fate. But I also believe in degrees of coincidence. So here's what happened to me. And when I tell this story, it's to me. Some people are like, okay. And I'm like, this is nuts to me. So I'm home with at the time to see my parents. And I always. Because I don't like flying and I. Every time there's a flight to another flight, I don't like to connect because it's just one more chance to have a delayed flight or they're going to lose your bag or something.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right?

[Will Friedle]

So I. And there's no direct flights in Hartford, so I always fly from LA to Boston. And I rent a car and I drive. And one of my favorite things has become my drive from Boston. It takes about an hour and 45 minutes. I usually get there. I'm in there by myself in the afternoon. And then I take a very early flight home. I usually get like a 6:00am flight. So I leave my house in Connecticut, like 2:00 clock in the morning, 2:30 in the morning. And that drive has become just kind of a magical time for me. It's dark, there's nobody on the road. I'm completely by myself. I'm listening to whatever I want. It's great. So, as everybody else knows, we have a lot of podcasts to do, and we podcast quite a bit. So one of the things we do is we get the edits of our podcast and we get to listen to our podcast and then we say, oh, I said here or I stumbled this word. Can you cut. Can you tighten it? So I'm listening to my podcast and I'm now in Logan Airport.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

And I'm listening to the last episode of Magical Rewind, the other show that I do to. To edit what I have to edit. And a character in. I'm listening to myself and I say, oh. And then this character walks on screen and they look like Justin Long.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And before the G hits my. My headphones, I look over and Justin Long is standing next to. Wow. So the idea that I say a random actor's name, that and what I mean literally. I mean, literally, the G Long is there as I go like this, and he's standing next to me at the airport.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

To me is a big coincidence.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's a big coincidence.

[Will Friedle]

Of all the people in the world, I say an actor's name in the.

[Danielle Fishel]

Middle of the night, by the way.

[Will Friedle]

Correct. It's like 4 o' clock in the morning. 4:30, 30, 5 o' clock in the morning.

[Ryder Strong]

So what does that mean to you?

[Will Friedle]

There's no.

[Danielle Fishel]

To me.

[Will Friedle]

I don't know. I. I don't know. But the idea that that's just the same as, hey, the guy I'm sitting next to is using the same pencil as me is crazy. Like, coincidence and small. No. No, it's not.

[Ryder Strong]

Why? Okay, so what, what does it mean? Why is there a face connecting you and Justin Long in that moment?

[Danielle Fishel]

Did you fall in love with Justin Long?

[Will Friedle]

First of all, I'd already been in love with Justin Long. This just solidified it. No, but again, take fate out of it. Is that the. Say, is there a degree of coincidence where even you'd have to admit, like, wow, that's a huge coincidence, as opposed to. This is just.

[Ryder Strong]

It has more meaning to you, right? There's more like you. Somebody's using the same pencil next to you. How many times? You don't even notice, Right? In this case, isn't that more of.

[Will Friedle]

A chance of that happening than saying some random person's name of the 8 billion people on the planet and he's standing next to you in a random airport?

[Ryder Strong]

But even if it is more or less likely, it doesn't have any more or less meaning.

[Will Friedle]

I'm not talking about the meaning. I'm asking, is there degrees of coincidence to you? Is there a small coincidence or a bigger?

[Ryder Strong]

He's an American. He probably has a house in Boston.

[Will Friedle]

Right?

[Ryder Strong]

Like, there's reasons for all of these things, right? Who knows what they are?

[Danielle Fishel]

I think you're talking about, like, what you're really thinking about, Will, is, like, what are the odds? Are there better or worse odds?

[Ryder Strong]

Of course there's more odds. The. An American is going to be next to you. And, you know, and then, I don't know, like, are you flying first class? So that, you know, that means the. The odds that it's somebody who is also wealthy and in the same class.

[Danielle Fishel]

Let's just combine, like, using the same pencil versus being next to the same person.

[Ryder Strong]

Right?

[Danielle Fishel]

Like, how many pencils are there in the world?

[Will Friedle]

That's what I'm saying.

[Danielle Fishel]

How many pencils? Like, versus naming a person on a podcast, listening to that podcast in that moment, seeing that person in that moment like that, to me, does feel like the percent chance of that happening is much smaller than just running into someone who has the same pencil.

[Ryder Strong]

And I would say, yeah, like, it's worth, like, remarking on it being like, oh, my God, what are the chances? The odds are low. And it happened.

[Danielle Fishel]

And it happened.

[Ryder Strong]

That's crazy. Yeah. But then the next. The ne. Whatever that you take for the next step is, like, now I have to talk to Justin Long because our fates are intertwined.

[Will Friedle]

No, I never thought that.

[Ryder Strong]

There's a meaning. There's a sign to this. I have to, you know, respond a appropriately. That's where I go. No, no, I agree with you 100% there.

[Will Friedle]

But I would. That's why I took fate out of it. And just ask if there was to you, degrees of coincidence. Because, like, some people are like, no, the pencil next to you is exactly the same as running into your childhood friend 9,000 miles. And it's like, okay, I don't agree with that. It's exactly the same in terms of.

[Ryder Strong]

Meaning, I think so. It's. It's. There's no more meaning to it.

[Will Friedle]

But for the record, he was in Front of me in line, waiting to go on. A fan came up to him. He could not have been nicer to the woman that came up to him, which is kind. All I need to know about his character when you see somebody and how they treat their fans. And he was lovely to this woman. And so Justin Long. I saw that I see you, Justin, and it was a cool moment and I was like, okay, good. Because I really admire him and I'm glad that he was a cool guy. And he seemed to be a very cool.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, going back to like when we were on boy, we would talk about him in Galaxy Quest. It's like one of the greatest, like one of the all time performances. He is so good in that movie. I mean, it launched his whole career and understandably so because he is so good in that movie.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it was great. But that's. I.

[Danielle Fishel]

Did you tell him, did you tell him what had happened?

[Will Friedle]

No, I didn't, I didn't. But the funny, funny thing was we walk on the plane and he gets on first and he's putting his bag up and he looks at me and he's like, I'm sorry, it's. Sorry, it's taking a little while. And I'm like, no, no, no, take your time. And about 10 seconds go by, I'm like, well, now it's too long. And he starts to laugh and he starts to laugh and I walk by him and the first woman that saw him went, you're on Boy Meets World. How many of you are on this plane? How many of you? And so I was like, oh, hi, how are you? And she's like yelling at that. I'm like, hey. And she tells her friends and I'm like, hi. So it was like, it was a strange kind of flight.

[Danielle Fishel]

Were you, were you in 4C? Because you're no longer seat.

[Will Friedle]

I wasn't. I was 2A. Although there's. They're now saying I got 4 seed at dancing with the Stars again the other night. Did you hear about that?

[Danielle Fishel]

No, what happened?

[Will Friedle]

So I'm sitting there watching a really close friend and somebody I love dancing their heart out. I'm watching Robert Irwin and it's really amazing. No, I'm there watching you and in between these two people come up and they're like, we're live on TikTok. Brandon, would you mind if we. Okay. I did not put that together at first. I just saw two people come up and I was like, this guy kind of looks familiar and he's like, hey, who are you? Here rooting for. And I said, well, we're. We're here rooting for Danielle Fishel. And. And he's. And then a moment goes by and he goes, well, of course you are. And so somebody sent me that clip, and all the comments were like, four seed again. He got completely foresee again, like. Because then he's like, whoa. Oh, I just got something in my ear. What do you think about Bill Daniels? So obviously, like, that's Will Friedle.

[Danielle Fishel]

Like that.

[Will Friedle]

Please take the glasses off. That's Wilford. So, yeah, four seat again.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Will Friedle]

Which is pretty.

[Danielle Fishel]

So funny. What are the odds?

[Will Friedle]

What are the odds?

[Danielle Fishel]

What are the odds of that?

[Will Friedle]

That pretty good. I'll be horsey.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's.

[Will Friedle]

That's pencil odds. Those are pencil odds.

[Danielle Fishel]

Welcome to pod meets world. I'm Danielle Fishel.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm Ryder Strong.

[Will Friedle]

And I'm Will Friedle.

[Danielle Fishel]

Anyone else ever get that nagging feeling your dog is bored? Like, my brunchie just stares at me sometimes with that really again? Look, and I instantly feel guilty.

[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

I'm grabbing my first Edition books.

[Will Friedle]

I think my Charlie bear, the teddy bear I grew up with.

[Danielle Fishel]

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Same. I mean, apparently fall means focus, discipline and adulting. Who approved this? I'd like to see their manager going.

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Are so good it's actually scary.

[Danielle Fishel]

Sex and the City meets severance when Adam Scott joins Kristen Davis to discuss the haunting relationship between Big and Natasha on Are you a Charlotte? And 911 what's yous Emergency? The new episode of Call it what it is. Of course, 911 Nashville co star Kimberly Williams Paisley joins Jessica Capshaw and Camilla Ludington to talk about her health scare her superstar hubby Brad Paisley and her memories on the set of Father of the Bride with the legendary Diane Keaton. Oscar winner Brie Larson is a work in progress. Sophia Bush finds out why and waltz right over to Danielle with the Stars. Because Danielle Fishel has fellow Dancing with the Stars contestant Dylan Ephron on to talk about the ballroom, the leaderboard and more. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Okay, Halloween is just days away and we acknowledge that we have picked apart. And then there was Shawn. The way vultures tear at a dead body in the desert. So rather than revisit our beloved spooky episode, we have decided to tackle some of our TGIF neighbors Halloween specials in hopes that it helps us understand why ours is considered so good. And this week we are looking at the Season 8, Episode 7 of Family Matters. The episode is titled Steval. Have you. Have either of you ever seen a Family Matters episode before?

[Ryder Strong]

Never in my life.

[Will Friedle]

No. First one.

[Danielle Fishel]

I had seen Family Matters back when we were on Boy Meets World. I definitely saw it leading into the night.

[Will Friedle]

Well, because you couldn't skip it back at the time.

[Danielle Fishel]

Nope. There was no boo doo boop.

[Will Friedle]

No. No fast forward.

[Ryder Strong]

Is that a technical term?

[Danielle Fishel]

Which, by the way, is now an outdated technical because is from. What was that thing called?

[Will Friedle]

TiVo. TiVo, exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

First time I remember seeing TiVo was our finale.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, really?

[Ryder Strong]

Watching the finale at TiVo and I was like, oh, you can skim commercials is crazy. But that was 2000, right? Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

So it first aired on ABC as part of our TGIF programming block on October 25, 1996, and is actually regarded as one of the better Halloween episodes. It is currently available to stream on Hulu, so feel free to check it out. This script is very much influenced by Chucky and the movie Child's Play. Have either of you seen those movies?

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

No.

[Ryder Strong]

It's been a long time. It was one of the first horror films I saw. I went over to Ryan Bloom's house when I was probably like, only eight.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Child's Play scared the crap out of.

[Will Friedle]

Me, but I love it. Yeah, I wouldn't be able to sleep.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So you liked being the. Actually being scared is something that you like.

[Ryder Strong]

Totally. Totally. I still do. I mean, that's why, like, it's pretty rare as you get older, you know, and you get more, like, immune to being scared. Like, when I find something that actually puts me on edge, I'm so excited. But it's pretty rare.

[Will Friedle]

Speaks for yourself. My whole life is fear. What are you talking about?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yesterday we were in an elevator, and something made a loud sound, and I was. I literally jumped, like I was about ready to die. I know I don't enjoy it. Both of my children are obsessed with Chucky now because we took them to see Justin Willimon at the Thousand Oaks Theater. He's a comedian slash magician, and he had a whole bit with a little ventriloquist dummy. And actually, it wasn't a ventriloquist dummy. It was my buddy. Remember my buddy from when we were kids?

[Will Friedle]

Of course I did.

[Ryder Strong]

Which is what Chucky, I think was based on.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly. So he had his. My buddy on stage, and my buddy does tricks with a person where, like, it feels as though my buddy is alive. And then he goes to put my buddy in the box, and he pulls it out really quick, and the camera zooms in on it, and it's suddenly, it's Chucky. And both of our kids were like, what was that? What's that? Why did it look like that? And so we had to talk to them about Chucky, and now they talk about Chucky.

[Will Friedle]

But they're too young to see the movie, though, right?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, they've never seen it, but they stuck with them for sure.

[Will Friedle]

Jeez.

[Danielle Fishel]

So the synopsis. A ventriloquist's dummy, which looks exactly like Urkel, comes to life to terrorize the Winslows and see Steve Urkel Must Stop was directed by Rich Carell, one of the busiest directors in the history of TV for family sitcoms. It was written by Gregory Thomas Garcia, a veteran TV writer. He has written for My Name Is Earl, Yes Dear, Raising Hope, the Millers, and last year's Emmy Awards. It was also written by Fred Rubin, who has similar credits, but goes back to Webster, Mama's Family, and Night Court. The show stars Reginald Vel Johnson as Carl Winslow, one of the more recognizable sitcom stars of the 90s. And he is. Who seems to always play a policeman. He appears in movies like Die Hard, Turner.

[Ryder Strong]

Is he a cop on this show?

[Danielle Fishel]

I think he is.

[Will Friedle]

I think he. Have you not heard? There's a. Yeah, there's a. An online theory that it's essentially the same character from Die Hard, that it's like he had to change his name because of some weird thing and move to a small town because of something.

[Ryder Strong]

Shot a kid.

[Will Friedle]

It's like. Yeah, it's like, same exact story. It's like the same exact thing. That's why he takes in Steve Urkel.

[Ryder Strong]

I was just Trying to figure out what.

[Will Friedle]

But I.

[Ryder Strong]

Cause I don't know what Family Matters is about. I just know that there's a character named Urkel. And I know most. I see these actors, and I'm like, oh, yeah. Because we would see them at parties or whatever they were. They were on the same network. But I had. I was trying to piece together what the story is. Like, why does Urkel live with them? Who are the Winslows?

[Will Friedle]

I didn't understand that he lived with them either.

[Danielle Fishel]

Does he live with them?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, he kept coming from upstairs, and he's in.

[Ryder Strong]

Sharing the room with them. So I kept being like, what is the pitch? Like, what was the original pitch for fans? Family Matters?

[Will Friedle]

Well, you know, he wasn't. He was. He was a Topanga. He was. When he was on our show, he wasn't supposed to be on the show, so. Right.

[Ryder Strong]

So that's what I was trying to.

[Will Friedle]

Get was straight up family sick.

[Ryder Strong]

So the original pitch was just. It's a story of the Winslows.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. And, well. Well, there.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And there wasn't one at the time. It was. It was just Reginald Vel Johnson. I think they made a show for him, and that was it. And then I think that's one of the reasons why the cast. You know, if you. Jaleel's talked about it in his book and everything, the cast kind of didn't like him for a while because he came in and took over the whole show.

[Danielle Fishel]

Steve Urkel lives with the Winslows because his parents moved to Russia and left him behind.

[Ryder Strong]

Interesting.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. Russia.

[Danielle Fishel]

Russia. I know.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

Did that happen right away? Like, we met Urkel and then he just moved in? Or was that.

[Will Friedle]

No, my guess is it's gonna be later. Yeah. Because he was the wacky neighbor. He was like, the actual wacky.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. He would always come in and.

[Ryder Strong]

Did they have, like, school scenes? Did they have teachers?

[Will Friedle]

Like. They must have. They must have. They must have. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

He was also in Ghostbusters and an episode of Girl Meets World where he played a police officer.

[Will Friedle]

Really?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Who is he in Ghostbusters?

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm gonna go with a cop.

[Will Friedle]

Trying to remember who he was in Ghostbusters.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

I gotta watch the movie in my head. Right now.

[Danielle Fishel]

We have Joe Marie Payton as Harriet Winslow. She appeared on dozens of shows like 227 Silver Spoons and Perfect Strangers. She's also well known as the voice of Sugar Mama on Proud Family and is still working more recently on the Netflix show Ms. Governor. There's Rosetta Le Noire as Estelle Mother Winslow. As a child she was taught to dance by her godfather Bill Bojangles Robinson.

[Will Friedle]

Wow. Really?

[Danielle Fishel]

And in her 20s was cast in Orson Welles stage production of Macbeth. She had a regular role on Give Me a Break and is best known from Family Matters. She passed away in 2002 at the age of 90.

[Will Friedle]

Wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

And then Darius McCray as Eddie Winslow. McCray made his film debut in 1986's Hotshot and would later appear in movies like Mississippi Burning and 15 minutes. He also was a regular on the Young and the Restless and Kelly Shaneen Williams as Laura Winslow. She was also a recurring guest star on Moesha and the Parkers. And then we have Brighton James as Richie Crawford. James went on to become one of daytime soaps biggest stars joining the cast of the Young and The Restless in 2004 where he's won two Emmys and is is still playing billionaire Devin Hamilton. And finally Jaleel White as Steve Urkel. Jaleel was the face of ABC and its uber successful TGIF lineup. We interviewed Jaleel a while back and he is a lovely, very interesting guy. So go check it out now and learn more about this TV legend. Guest starring Orlando Brown as 3J best known as Eddie Thomas on that so Raven. He also appeared in movies Major Pain and Eddie's Million Dollar Cook off and shows like the J. Jamie Foxx show and the Proud Family. But he is now best known for some crazy TMZ headlines. And for those wondering we have two interesting behind the scenes appearances. The episode's director Rich Carell is the voice of Steval and Josh. Ryan Evans was the double for stevel. Josh was 3ft 2 inches tall and had achondroplasia which is a form of dwarfism. He was well known from his time on the surreal daytime soap Passions as Timmy Lennox. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2000 and won two Soap Opera Dig. He also played the role of Baby Grinch in the 2000 Jim Carrey version of how the Grinch Stole Christmas. Sadly, Josh passed away in 2002 at the young age of 20. Jumping into our recap, we start in the cold open in the living room. Steve Urkel sits behind a dimly lit pumpkin breaking the fourth wall to introduce tonight's Family Matters. It works as a warning describing what viewers will see as a little scary and he recommends that you watch it with someone brave.

[Ryder Strong]

And immediately I was like why didn't we do this for and then there was Sean. I know we just really just threw our dream surprise unsuspectingly on the ground.

[Will Friedle]

We never did a warning, did we? Even when it was like the Ariana Richards episode or anything, or the drinking episode, there was never a. Hey, everybody. This is a special kind of episode of Boy's World. Yeah. Interesting. Interesting.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, you're right, though. That would have been a really smart one. Like, this is a little different than our usual episode. Yeah. It's revealed that Little Richie and 3J are sitting next to him. Richie chimes in, don't Worry, Uncle Urkel. 3J insists. Yeah, man, we're here for you. Urkel looks around in fear. Can we turn on the lights? The audience laughs, and we start the actual episode. We're in the living room. Urkel walks downstairs carrying a large white sheet. He greets the family. Hello, Halloweeners. Happy to see him. Harriet wonders what's under the sheet. Urkel can't wait to show them. He excitedly reveals a ventriloquist dummy that looks. Looks and is dressed exactly like him. Everyone screams in horror at the sight. Urkel isn't impressed with their reaction, and Laura calls it disturbing. Urkel explains that the key to being a good ventriloquist is to give the dummy a funny voice. He asks the dummy, does your mom know where you are? He takes a breath and responds in what is very close to Jaleel's real voice, my mom doesn't know anything. She's a telephone pole in Kansas City.

[Ryder Strong]

This is probably the best joke of.

[Will Friedle]

The whole episode, by the way.

[Ryder Strong]

For me, I had a better one. I was like, that's great. Like, because my interreaction, I've never seen the show. I'm like, so that's the voice of Urkel? Yes.

[Will Friedle]

I thought the same thing the whole time.

[Ryder Strong]

I was like, oh, right. I mean, I guess because we're in season eight.

[Will Friedle]

Eight.

[Ryder Strong]

And I imagine Jaleel started the show when he was very young and that the Urkel voice probably felt more natural or seemed more possible. But as it is, you're watching like a 20 year old do this, you know, ridiculously high voice. So when he did the ventriloquist as like a normal, I was like, that's fun. That's funny.

[Danielle Fishel]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

At least they're acknowledging how crazy it.

[Ryder Strong]

Is that this guy talks.

[Will Friedle]

Like, one of my favorite sitcom jokes I think ever was in this episode. I was like, oh, my God, that's brilliant. And I'll tell you when we get there. This is absolutely genius. I wish I had thought of this.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, I'm just gonna say it here. Jaleel White is On another level of genius, he's brilliant. He has this entire show on his shoulders.

[Ryder Strong]

But is the show.

[Will Friedle]

That's my question, since we've only watched one episode. Is the show essentially. Because that was what I took away from this is it's essentially five or six actors that stand in a line and go, steve, what are you doing? And then he goes off and does a bunch, I think. So is that the whole show? Is that like, oh, Steve. And then he goes off and does his thing, right? I don't know if that's what the entire show is. And then occasionally, like in Family Ties, you'd turn it on and be like, oh, God, it's a Tina Yothers episode. So you wonder if there's. If it's gonna be like that. Where occasionally one of the other characters gets an episode, but for the most part it's like, what are you doing, Steve? And then Steve tells you what he's doing, and then you follow what he does and they go, man, that's crazy, Steve. And then that's kind of the show. So, yeah, it was.

[Ryder Strong]

It's almost as if like Boy Meets World were just everyone looking at Eric being like, yeah, right, right, exactly.

[Will Friedle]

Well, I also watching this show gave me a huge realization of what TGIF actually was and actually the diversity of tgif. Cause when you think about it, Sabrina is Bewitched, right? We're Happy Days. And then Urkel is kind of Three's Company, where it's the crazy, wacky guy that you're following. It's like they've taken sitcom tropes, all different sitcom tropes, made them kids and then put them on the air again. And it's really brilliant when you think about it, because they know they work. Happy Days works okay. Why wouldn't it work if Richie was 11? So bewitch.

[Ryder Strong]

And how much of that is just falling into what people want to watch? Do you know? Like, I don't think it was that conscious. I think it was like, brilliant. Throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. And what stuck was like, traditional sitcom tropes.

[Will Friedle]

That's the thing, though. They took traditional sitcom tropes, aged them down, and put them back on the air. Brilliant.

[Ryder Strong]

Brilliant.

[Danielle Fishel]

So Urkel lets out his high pitched laugh, loving his own joke, but no one else gets it except Grandma Estelle, who visibly loves it. He asks the family their opinion, and Harriet simply wonders, are your lips supposed to flap like that? Urkel lets reality sink in. I'm awful, aren't I? The entire Family can't help but agree. And just like that, they're into the perfect. You know, don't need to waste a bunch of time. He wants to be. He wants to be a ventriloquist. He's not good at it. Great.

[Will Friedle]

Move on.

[Danielle Fishel]

Move on.

[Will Friedle]

We're ready. That's all we got. We got it.

[Danielle Fishel]

We got it. All right, now we're in Urkel's bedroom with a large poster of Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman above his bed. Something that did not seem very easy to clear, by the way. Like, you know, they had to work for that.

[Ryder Strong]

I wouldn't have noticed. I thought they were just, you know, generic basketball players, generic bat.

[Will Friedle]

Did you really not notice that one.

[Ryder Strong]

Of them was Michael Jordan?

[Danielle Fishel]

No.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, I saw a bull, so I figured, like.

[Danielle Fishel]

Did you not see the number 23? That means nothing to you?

[Ryder Strong]

Nope, Nope. I do remember the Bulls being big back in the day, but no, why would I know any of this?

[Will Friedle]

How about. Because Ben Savage was on the show with us and he was a big. A huge Bulls fan.

[Danielle Fishel]

Sure, sure.

[Ryder Strong]

I was like, sports ball people doing sports ball things, like. And I was like, why is it so prominent? And then, of course, when they are captured in the poster later, I was like, oh, that's why they had to, like, make a big deal out of this poster. No, at this point, I was thinking, did you guys notice how small their sets seem?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, that bedroom was tiny.

[Ryder Strong]

Even the living room felt closer to me than most.

[Will Friedle]

The kitchen, too, actually, when you think about it. Yeah, interesting.

[Ryder Strong]

And then when they were. Were, like, destroying the kitchen and, like, doing stuff later, I was like, wow, this is a really production, like, art department heavy episode. And. But yeah, it did just feel close to me. It felt like, very, like our show just sounded. Felt spacious compared to this. It was interesting.

[Will Friedle]

Do you think they dealt with the same things we did, or do you think being on Warner Brothers as a hit show, they were like, they had way more money. Here's. Here's money.

[Danielle Fishel]

Or.

[Will Friedle]

And Disney was tight with the perspiring. Or do you think it's just the same all the way across the industry where they're just going to.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, I remember the reputation that Disney had back in the day was that they were very cheap compared to other studios, and that was part of their success. Frugal. There you go.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Because that was considered, you know, for when you were working for them. There was a sense of, like, they would never give anything.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

But in retrospect, of course, as part of their success as a company is that they held on to their capitalism.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, baby.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, yeah, I wonder the same thing. Like a very. But they weren't spending that much money on sets, right?

[Danielle Fishel]

They were small.

[Will Friedle]

Well, it's probably all going to Jaleel at this point. Hopefully. Hopefully.

[Danielle Fishel]

Urkel is lying in bed. His dummies is sitting in a seat just a few feet away. And there appears to be thunder and lightning outside. Eddie walks in and points out that a storm is coming. Urkel sarcastically responds, thank you, Al Roker. Eddie asks, what's wrong? And Urkel whines, I'm only the world's worst ventriloquist, right? Eddie nods, yeah, you blow chunks. But he reminds him that no one's good at everything. Then he smiles. Although I do come awfully close. Urkel walks over to his lookalike doll. He just wants to make him talk. Eddie can't relate. The only doll he wants on his lap can talk on her own.

[Will Friedle]

So. But. So that's. That's the thing. Older brother, girl, crazy or stupid. That's. That's what we get.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's the trope.

[Will Friedle]

That's the trope all the way. As I was watching, like, oh, it's Eric.

[Ryder Strong]

But it's not technically his older brother. It's his older neighbor at the time.

[Will Friedle]

They started the show. I think he's considered the older brother, like, because it wasn't. Yeah, it's just like it really is the same trope over and over.

[Danielle Fishel]

With that, he pats Urkel on the shoulder and heads out. Urkel sadly looks at his puppet once more, perfectly timed with some lightning. He shrugs, then lays down to sleep. Suspenders and glasses still on and shoes, which cannot be comfortable.

[Will Friedle]

It was a nap.

[Danielle Fishel]

And then a bolt of lightning flashes through the open window directly onto the dummy. It shakes with electrocution. Once the lightning subsides, the dummy opens his eyes on his own and glances around the room. The studio audience, most likely not filled with inmates on a field trip, react. Urkel, who did not feel the lightning in his room or hear what should have been ear numbing thunder, turns the lights back on to close the open window. Along the way, the puppet watches his every move move. Urkel notices its head move and is confused, but he brushes it off. He lays back down and closes his eyes. But when he quickly reopens them, the dummy is gone. Urkel screams and looks around the room, but he can't find him. We then hear a deep and grisly voice.

[Will Friedle]

Hey.

[Danielle Fishel]

The Urkel dummy springs up in Eddie's bed. Urkel screams bloody murder just as lightning flashes and thunder erupts. The dummy just maniacally laughs in response.

[Will Friedle]

So one of the things from the time I was a little kid that scares the hell out of me is creepy voices.

[Danielle Fishel]

Really?

[Will Friedle]

You did it as a kid? Like, it's one of the reasons, I think I became a voiceover guy. Like, the Freddy Krueger voice back in the day used to scare the hell out of me. Any kind of, like, little kid voice, like, come join us. Like, all that stuff freaks the hell out of me. So this kind of Freddy Krueger they obviously put in it. They came under digitally. They gave it a gravelly kind of. So when he starts. Hey, Steve. I was like, ah. Like, totally. This is one of my freaky triggers is creepy voices. And this one really hit the creepy voice aspect. It did. It was a great creepy voice.

[Danielle Fishel]

All right. I already was super into this episode. I was like, all right, we've got a storyline.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm hooked.

[Danielle Fishel]

Me too.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I'm hooked.

[Ryder Strong]

Me too.

[Danielle Fishel]

All right, we're in the living room. Urkel hurries down the stairs. The dummy is alive. He shows them the doll, but it's as lifeless as ever. Carl rolls his eyes. Nothing with a plywood brain is alive. But Urkel tells them what he witnessed, and he tries to prove it to them. He sets the dummy on the chair and presents him with urgency. But it doesn't move an inch.

[Will Friedle]

What are you doing now, Steve? What's going on, Steve?

[Ryder Strong]

What's going on, Steve?

[Danielle Fishel]

Say something funny at this point.

[Will Friedle]

I was.

[Ryder Strong]

So you're terrified of the dummy, and you pick it up and you carry it downstairs. And then later when he just pulls it apart. So. So what's the problem here? Just take apart the dummy, man.

[Will Friedle]

He did. He comes back to life.

[Danielle Fishel]

You can't kill him. He just stuffed him in the refrigerator and he just broke out. He came up writer.

[Will Friedle]

What's. What. What are you not understanding? You're the horror guy. How do you not get it?

[Danielle Fishel]

He can't be destroyed.

[Ryder Strong]

Sure.

[Will Friedle]

Why can't you destroy him? Steve, what's going on, Steve?

[Danielle Fishel]

After a couple beats of silence, Carl compliments him. If this is your new act, it's actually an improvement. Urkel doubles down on this revelation. And Carl just asks, has anyone from your family checked into the Rubber Ramada before? Has anybody ever heard of Rubber Ramada before?

[Will Friedle]

No, but it's kind of awesome.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's. It's pretty funny. I'm sure it's. I'm sure it's offensive to someone, but.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, I'm sure it is, too. But anytime you can make, you can make it.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, to Ramada.

[Will Friedle]

We'll leave the foam on for you.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, God.

[Danielle Fishel]

Urkel earnestly answers, my Aunt Edna thought she was an air conditioner. Carl asks if they took her away, and Urkel answers, heck, no. She kept to school in the summer.

[Will Friedle]

The weirdest, weirdest joke at this point, they were just like, just. Just put in. Like, it was so random.

[Ryder Strong]

Just like, oh, okay, I want to.

[Will Friedle]

Know what they rejected.

[Danielle Fishel]

Which jokes didn't make it?

[Will Friedle]

Because that was like, okay, all right.

[Danielle Fishel]

Carl and Harriet agree they don't want to deal with this any longer. And even Estelle puts a hand on Urkel's cheek and begs, please get some rest. Urkel keeps trying to prove himself, but eventually he just gives up. He moves the dummy to the couch and sighs, maybe I have lost my mind. Then, on cue, the dummy growls, no, you're fine. Urkel looks directly at the camera in disbelief. He's startled. Harriet's right. I need to lie down. He recites to himself, my name is Stephen q. Urkel. My IQ is 196. I like cheese. I like polka. Then, as he walks to the stairs, the dummy gets off the couch and follows him.

[Will Friedle]

Urkel, did you hear the audience gasp?

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

They must have, like, shot the whole show and done it as a playback, because they obviously, they were shocked, as was I, that the thing gets up and starts to walk. I was like, oh, God, it was a creepy moment.

[Ryder Strong]

It's really a lot. We are no longer just cutting to solo shots of moving his ass.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's a great move.

[Ryder Strong]

It was a great moment.

[Danielle Fishel]

It totally adds another element and a layer to this episode and a Halloween story in general, that it actually moves. And it isn't just like, I have a voice.

[Will Friedle]

And that was a clear first take gasp. Like the audience had never seen that before. And when he stood up, everyone was freaked, myself included. I was like, oh, how'd they do that? So, yeah, that was great. Good.

[Danielle Fishel]

Urkel notices and stops dead in his tracks. The dummy rapidly raises his eyebrows in response. Urkel determines he's hallucinating and continues to walk up the stairs, continuing to recite basic information about himself. He assures himself, I'm perfectly sane. And then the dummy calls out his name. Urkel turns around and the dummy shouts, boo. Which sends Urkel sprinting up the stairs in a panic. Now in Urkel's room, he quickly locks the door and grabs a nearby chair to place under the doorknob. He then grabs some Scotch tape and places individual strands across the door frame one by one.

[Will Friedle]

Joke of the show. I wish I had thought of this.

[Ryder Strong]

What? Scotch tape.

[Will Friedle]

Genius. You shut the door and then you're taking little pieces of Scotch tape to close the door.

[Danielle Fishel]

I thought it was very funny, and it would have been amazing if it was Eric doing it. But we just heard Steve 196 IQ and then the first thing he does is little pieces of Scotch tape.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, but.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, God, if I could have taken that joke. That's a 10 out of 10 sitcom joke right there. I'm barricading the door with little pieces of Scotch tape.

[Danielle Fishel]

So funny.

[Will Friedle]

Loved it.

[Danielle Fishel]

While Steve is preoccupied with this idea, the dummy sneaks in through the open window. It watches Urkel fiddling with the tape and comments. Good job. Urkel thanks him, but quickly realizes who said it. He screams in horror, and the audience is having a blast. The dummy tells him to relax and sit down. Urkel argues back, but you're made of wood. You can't walk. You can't talk. The dummy smiles. Oh, yeah? I bet I can't dance either. Then he proceeds to do a little samba to prove him wrong. Urkel makes it official. He's gone insane. But the dummy disagrees. You just got what you wished for. You wanted me to talk, and you got it, bucko. I bucko was big in the 90s. Buck up, buckers. Yeah, and then we've got.

[Ryder Strong]

It's got that.

[Will Friedle]

That hard like. And the.

[Ryder Strong]

It's got that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

K's are always funny.

[Will Friedle]

Always funny.

[Danielle Fishel]

Now, sitting on his bed, Urkel wonders, then why didn't you talk in front of the Winslows? The dummy responds confidently. I don't like the Winslows, Urkel argues, but they're the finest family in the whole wide world. The dummy agrees. I know. They make me sick. He takes it one step further. The Winslows are in the way, so we'll have to get rid of them. Urkel lets out the biggest, most dramatic gasp ever on television and runs towards the door. He scolds the rotten little puppet for even suggesting such a thing. You may look like me, but you're not like me at all. You're evil. The dummy smiles. Hey, I like that. Evil, huh? From now on, you can just call me Stevil.

[Will Friedle]

Come on.

[Danielle Fishel]

This entire episode came from someone who was like, what if for our Halloween episode, we have Stevil? That's it. That was it.

[Will Friedle]

And you know, the. The first pitch was probably Steve Urkel himself. Becomes evil and becomes Stevil. And then they were like, well, let's do a movie parody and make it a puppet kind of thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Because you know that I get. I think he does that a lot, doesn't he? He has got a cool guy Persona.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Like there's Steve and then there's actually.

[Ryder Strong]

I remember that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

So Steven Urkel.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Is that what it is? Steven Urkel. So. Yeah. So maybe. I'm guessing that was. Yeah, that's gonna. That. I'm bet. I'm guessing that was the first pitch is that he turns evil somehow.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right, Right.

[Will Friedle]

And he was steal. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

So the show is about Urkel just sort of ruining the Winslows lives constantly. Like that's the.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

And they moved him in so he can ruin it from inside the house.

[Danielle Fishel]

The ruining is coming from inside the house.

[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

And always be sure to check the CVS Health app for deals and savings.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder of meaningful beauty. When Dr. Sabah and I decided to do a skincare line together, he said to me, we are going to give women meaningful beauty. And I said, that's exactly right. We want to give women meaningful beauty. Which means each and every product is meaningful. It has a reason to exist, it's efficacious, you're going to get results and then you just go out and live your life. Meaningful Beauty Confidence is beautiful. Learn [e-mail].

[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

Can do to help prevent it.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

Sponsored by Gilead.

[Danielle Fishel]

So we're back in the Winslows living room. Carl peeks outside and tells 3J and Richie that they have to hurry. The boys are dressed up as Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman, creating quite a theme for this episode. He reminds the boys, if it starts to rain, tell Charlie's dad to bring you straight home.

[Will Friedle]

Home.

[Danielle Fishel]

They nod and then head out the door with their Halloween bags. On their way out, Carl has one last reminder. Do not eat your Halloween candy until I look at it. Which feels like an ABC note.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep, razor blades and the apples. Which never happened in the history of the world.

[Will Friedle]

No, it was this whole thing was from one guy who poisoned his own kid, right?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

No. And then, and then the other thing that's like been going around is like every, every season now they're like, they're giving out drugs. They're giving out drug candidates. People are saving their drugs. Why do they want to give drugs to kids? They want to use them for themselves. It's the dumbest thing. The question.

[Will Friedle]

You also have to find the family. This is what you want to do, is you want to find the family that gives out the full size drugs. Because the little drugs, it's like, I'm kind of high, but I'm not where I want to be. I want the full size drugs.

[Danielle Fishel]

Richie responds, but you remember, don't eat our candy while you look at it.

[Will Friedle]

It.

[Danielle Fishel]

Carl shuts the door just as Urkel appears. He explains, we don't need to worry anymore. I just locked Steel away upstairs in a trunk. I feel like maybe we would have wanted to see that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, like the kind of wrestling to get him in there.

[Danielle Fishel]

To get him in, but yeah, okay. Carl raises an eyebrow. He has a name now. Urkel nods. Yep. Named him myself. I'm telling you, Carl, he's Satan's sock puppet. That dummy ain't no dummy. Not only does he talk, but what he says, oh, it ain't good.

[Ryder Strong]

And what does Steve. What does Stevil want to do?

[Danielle Fishel]

Do?

[Will Friedle]

Kill the Windsor.

[Danielle Fishel]

Just kill them. He explains later that he wants to go on, like, a ski trip with her.

[Will Friedle]

No, he wants to go on the road with and. But he's gonna be. Urkel's gonna be his puppet on the road. So he thinks he's, like, gonna go on stage and do all this stuff. It was during this speech where I was like, jaleel is working his.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my God.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, my God. All the special effects and stuff. They. A crazy tape week. And.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, but it's also every.

[Ryder Strong]

He.

[Will Friedle]

Every beat. He's just working so hard, this actor. It's unbelievable to watch this.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. No, he's. He's in. Truly incredible.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Carl is seriously afraid that Urkel is losing his mind. Urkel follows along and rattles off, I know. Urkel's crazy. Urkel's crazy. Urkel's crazy. But he urges Carl to trust him. The important thing is Stevel's locked away and the family is safe. But up in Urkel's dark room, there's a locked chest with signs that warn, beware, Danger. An evil puppet inside. And then a hand breaks through the wood from inside and reaches for the lock. With some quick movement, he opens the crate. And the chest slowly opens. The camera zooms into its pitch blackness. And then after a few seconds, lighting illuminates Stevel Inside, his eyes glow and he eerily laughs to himself.

[Will Friedle]

Creepy.

[Danielle Fishel]

Super creepy. Yeah, I liked this shot a lot.

[Ryder Strong]

So, just going back to Stevel wants to be an entertainer.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes, Steve will want.

[Ryder Strong]

Who doesn't? It's an analogy to Urkel taking over the show. Sh that Ste's villainous plan is to entertain people more than the Winslows. They're standing in the way. Okay, so we're just watching on abc.

[Will Friedle]

What are you doing, Steve?

[Danielle Fishel]

What's happening, Steve?

[Ryder Strong]

I'm going to take over the world. I'm going to get more per episode than anybody else. Steve.

[Danielle Fishel]

Back in the living room, Eddie gives out candy to some trick or treaters. Then he closes the door and plops back onto the couch. He begin read a magazine, and then Stevel's little hands appear in the fireplace. He hangs down from the chimney and whispers, psst, Eddie. Eddie looks up in confusion and nervously asks, who said that? Steve will now back in hiding, whispers, help. Help me. I'm trapped in the chimney. Eddie adorably asks, Santa. Santa. So cute.

[Will Friedle]

Great joke, Santa.

[Danielle Fishel]

He hurries over to the chimney to help.

[Ryder Strong]

Is that you? Was he.

[Will Friedle]

Was he mad?

[Danielle Fishel]

Was he mad?

[Will Friedle]

Was he mad?

[Danielle Fishel]

He peers inside and then screams as he's pulled up and disappears entirely. Steel hangs down from the chimney once again and says to camera one, down, five to go. And then we're outside. 3J and Richie are speeding down the road on their bikes, reminding each other to keep pedaling faster. The camera reveals a tiny car right on their tail. And Stevel is behind the wheel. He grunts and laughs, foot on the pedal, catching up quickly.

[Ryder Strong]

Huge set piece.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Wow, this is a lot.

[Danielle Fishel]

Where did Steve get this car?

[Will Friedle]

I don't know, but I think It's a peel P50 if I'm right, which is the smallest automobile ever made. I believe that's what that one is. Yeah, it opens in the front and all the. Well, Top Gear is like one of my favorite shows. Tested this car out, so I'm pretty sure that's a PLP50. Tiny little car.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, very tiny. All right, we're back in Urkel's room. Urkel sees the chest has been destroyed. He screams, jumping Jehoshaphat. He's loose. Then the door slams shut and we get a jump scare. When Steve O. Is standing right behind him, he tells.

[Will Friedle]

I'm sorry, just a weird writing thing. The dad tells the kids, Carl. Carl tells the kids, if it's raining, have somebody bring you back. He mentioned somebody. Yeah, but the kids aren't with Anybody. They're on bikes.

[Danielle Fishel]

It seems as though they were going.

[Ryder Strong]

To someone's house, maybe.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

They may be on to then start trick or treating.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Or they just had to pedal away from the people they were with when they were being chased by the scary pup.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. So then they would just leave their bike somewhere if it started to rain and the guy would drive them home.

[Ryder Strong]

Sure.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Danielle Fishel]

Or put the bikes in the trunk.

[Will Friedle]

That was the thing that really took me away.

[Ryder Strong]

That's the. You wanted the realism.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I was like, totally fine.

[Ryder Strong]

Puppet finding car somewhere. Keys for it. Sure.

[Will Friedle]

I'm guessing we've never seen the. We've never seen the show. But it's such a weird car. I will guarantee you that.

[Danielle Fishel]

Someone's car. Right, right, right.

[Will Friedle]

That's actually Urkel's car. But yeah, but we don't, you know, we don't know that. But yeah, that took me out of it.

[Danielle Fishel]

He tells Urkel to relax. It's the Winslows he's after, and he's been a very busy duck. Urkel doesn't get it, so Steavel suggests he check out what's behind Murphy bed number one. Urkel pulls down the mattress to reveal three. Jay and Richie are trapped behind the wall, their faces peeking out where Jordan and Rodman's heads were. They beg Urkel to help, and Urkel asks the puppet, what kind of diabolical, demented dummy are you? Stevel calmly responds, the kind that stuffed Eddie in the chimney. Urkel gasps in horror and assures him he won't get anyone else. They can count on him. And with that, he runs right into the closed bedroom door. But he pulls himself together and quickly hurries off.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, wait a second. This also showed me, I think, how much of a difference a half an hour in television makes because we killed people on our show. Actual dead knives in the back. Feeny's dead, the janitor's dead. Nobody dies in this episode. They're specifically talking to each character to show you that they're still alive. And I wonder if that's seriously the difference in being on at 8 or being on at 8. 30.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Where they literally couldn't kill anybody. We were killing people left and right a half hour later.

[Danielle Fishel]

I know, you're right.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, is that all it is, do you think? Is that 30 minutes that changes everything.

[Ryder Strong]

It's just context, you know, it could.

[Danielle Fishel]

Also just be a choice on the writers. Like, I don't. We don't want to. We don't want to like our episode very much wanted to go for horror movie trope. And it also wasn't a Halloween episode, which somehow I think gives us more leak leeway.

[Ryder Strong]

Right?

[Will Friedle]

Right. Yeah, maybe.

[Danielle Fishel]

The dummy turns to the camera and comments, what a goof. And then we're in the kitchen.

[Ryder Strong]

Being like Urkel's crazy.

[Danielle Fishel]

Urkel calls out for the remaining family members with Stevil following close behind. No one answers and Stevil asks, why don't you check the cupboard? There may be a little honey on the shelves. Urkel opens it to find Laura's head, and when he opens another cupboard he finds her legs and feet, then her torso. In another, Urkel begs her to pull herself together, then realizes that was a poor choice of words. Laura agrees she's totally beside herself. Stevel adds, laura's a nice girl, but she suffers from low self esteem. Laura tells Urkel to shut the cupboards because she doesn't want anyone else to see her like this. Urkel obliges and then asks the dummy, where's Harriet? Stevel exclaims, special delivery. Then motions to a giant jack in the box nearby. Stevel urges him to turn the crank and find out what's inside. Urkel does as he's told and we hear a creepy pop. Goes the weasel. Finally, Harriet's head pops out of the box. Her head is dressed in clown gear while the rest of her body is a giant spring. She asks Urkel for a baseball bat to knock this dummy upside his head, but Steve will just taunts her. In your dreams, bozo. Urkel snarls at his puppet. That's it. You've got to be stopped. He lunges for the dummy and carries him over to the fridge where he stuffs him inside. Urkel feels triumphant for a split second, but then the fridge begins to rattle. Stevel's stronger than he expected, but then the rattling stops altogether. Just before Urkel notices some smoke coming out of the fridge, he opens the door to see that Steval has put a hole through the back of it to escape. Urkel gasps in horror. Horror. And runs into the living room. Urkel notices Carl is just nonchalantly lounging on the couch and asks him if he saw a demented dummy come through the wall. Carl laughs, if that had happened, I would have noticed. Urkel explains that everything he warned him about has happened. He rattles off all of the victims thus far. Carl oddly laughs, maybe your dummy did do away with the whole family, but let's be honest, is that so bad? Urkel's shocked. Carl tells him to lighten up, but Then he convulses and falls to his side, revealing Stevil was controlling him the whole time. Time. Stevel says that Carl is his new personal puppet. He lifts Carl back up to do a little joke. Carl robotically announces that he took his wife to the islands. Stevel asks Jamaica. And Carl responds, no, she wanted to go.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, great joke. It's awful and wonderful.

[Ryder Strong]

It's the perfect ventriloquist joke.

[Will Friedle]

It is the perfect ventriloquist joke. Such a hacky joke and it's great. No, she wanted to to go.

[Ryder Strong]

So bad.

[Danielle Fishel]

Urkel cringes. Oh, for the love of fried pickles. Why are you doing this? Stevil reveals, I took care of the Winslows so we could go on the road together. I knew you'd never come unless they were out of the way. Urkel is shocked. On the road. Stevel nods. We can do a ventriloquist act together, only I'll do the talking and you'll be the dummy. Urkel shouts, never. I'm not going anywhere without a fight. Fight. He challenges the dummy to a one on one mono y puppet battle, then shows off his quick feet and steady hand movements. The two of them talk trash before getting into an awkward brawl. When Stevil charges at Urkel, he trips the puppet and tries to pin him on the ground, but Stevel smacks his ear to buy time. Stevel crawls away and somehow Urkel loses track of him. Finally, he finds him behind the couch and shouts, come back here and fight like a mannequin just before belly flopping to get. But Steval manages to then ride Urkel's back and use his wooden hands to forcibly open his mouth. Urkel tries to pull him off, but Stevil has a tight grip. Finally, Urkel's able much work.

[Will Friedle]

It's the whole episode. He's working so hard. I was tired watching this. I mean, my God, this is like.

[Ryder Strong]

A four hour shoot just for this scene. Sitting there with like, okay, get the actor in. Okay, now replace him with a puppet.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yep. This was massive. A massive undertaking.

[Will Friedle]

And it's all Jaleel. The whole thing. It's not even broken up amongst all the other cast. It's all Jaleel.

[Danielle Fishel]

Urkel's able to throw the puppet to the ground and fall on top of him to keep him from getting up. Urkel grabs a hold of Stevel's head and pulls it right off. He disassembles each body part to be safe, then falls onto the couch. With a sigh of relief, he proclaims, it's over. The demon is dead until the arm starts to move, and then it quickly rejoins the body. The rest of the dummy's limbs follow. Soon after, after. Once reassembled, Stevel sits up with a look of fury on his wooden face. Okay, now it's personal. Urkel lets out a scream in disbelief. He tells himself over and over, this isn't happening. This isn't happening. The dummy jumps onto the couch with ease and starts to strangle him. And Urkel realizes this is happening. Or is it? Because we start to transition into Urkel's room. Urkel is screaming in his sleep, fighting a pen pillow. The dummy is back, lifeless in the chair. Eddie quickly runs in and hits him with his pillow. Urkel snaps out of it. How'd you get out of the chimney? Eddie's confused, so Urkel explains, my tummy. It's alive. It put you in the chimney and Laura in the kitchen cabinets. Eddie assures him it was a dream. Urkel can't believe it. He taps the dummy with his foot to make sure and Stevel doesn't move. Urkel wonders, why would I have a dream like that? Eddie laughs and explains very calmly, that's no mystery. You have an obsessive compulsive personality which manifests itself in your extreme need to achieve perfection. Action. Urkel asks, you think I need therapy? And Eddie leads Urkel to his bed. Not at all. A simple surgical procedure will alleviate the problem. Urkel lies down nervously, going along with everything. But then Eddie pulls out an electric whisker to match a now devious look on his face. Urkel begs him to put it down, but Eddie just yells, lie back and close your eyes, because this is really gonna hurt.

[Ryder Strong]

So there really is no B story?

[Danielle Fishel]

No, no, no. This whole episode is just.

[Ryder Strong]

Just.

[Will Friedle]

Urkel, what are you doing, Steve?

[Danielle Fishel]

Because like, Family Matters, AKA what you doing, Steve?

[Will Friedle]

What you doing, Steve?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, we know. The kids were going trick or Treaty and we're.

[Danielle Fishel]

He was going downstairs just to pass out candy because we see him, well, as part of the dream.

[Ryder Strong]

Right?

[Danielle Fishel]

You know.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Danielle Fishel]

Urkel screams in horror as the whisker gets closer and closer to his face. But then this reality starts to fade away as well. Urkel wakes up in a dream screaming bloody murder and fighting the pillow. Hello. Eddie comes storming in. What is the matter with you? Urkel explains, I just had a horrible Halloween nightmare with a false ending.

[Will Friedle]

Great joke.

[Danielle Fishel]

Eddie wonders what's with him and holidays. Last Easter, you dreamed that the Easter bunny jumped you in the alley and slapped you pink At Thanksgiving, you dreamed that a turkey stuffed you. Urkel announces next Groundhog Day, I'm wearing steel pants. I don't get that joke.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So the groundhog maybe is coming out. Out of him, going into him.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, why not just next Groundhog Day, I'm wearing armor. Why steel pants?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

I don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't know.

[Will Friedle]

I want to know what happened last Groundhog Day.

[Danielle Fishel]

My question.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

As the pair leaves the room, the camera zooms in on the doll, who just stares at the camera blankly.

[Will Friedle]

How do you not have the puppet blink or a hand move?

[Ryder Strong]

But that's the. It's better this way. It's lingering. No. You're like, is the dream over or.

[Will Friedle]

Is it it not one eyebrow goes up. Just something like, how do you. How do you not do that?

[Ryder Strong]

They probably. They probably did a version of that. And then they were debated, and they were like, no, let's just not do it at all. I liked it. I was like, don't do it at all. Leave it lingering. But then the making of which was my favorite part of the whole episode.

[Danielle Fishel]

My favorite part of the whole episode. I mean, I love the episode, but I also loved this. We see that the hole was cut into the couch to make the doll move. The stand they used for standing shots, the different faces they had for the doll, and. And the Steval double who played him. And eventually we see Rich Carell voicing Steval just before he yells cut. And that is our episode. What a fun Halloween romp.

[Will Friedle]

Great Halloween episode. And with anybody but Jaleel, it would have been awesome.

[Danielle Fishel]

I know, but, boy, I thoroughly enjoy those 22 minutes.

[Will Friedle]

Me too.

[Danielle Fishel]

I really did. I. I thought it was very. I thought it was very enjoyable. I didn't. I didn't spend a whole bunch of time going like, wait, let me think about this math. I just. I really just. I enjoyed it. And I thought everybody, everybody put in the effort to make it as funny as it possibly could be, and they succeeded. Well, thank you all for joining us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always, you can follow us on Instagram Pod Meets World show. You can send us your emails. Pod meets worldshowmail.com and we've got.

[Ryder Strong]

Merch.

[Will Friedle]

What are you doing?

[Ryder Strong]

Merch.

[Will Friedle]

What's going on? Merch. Merch, you're crazy.

[Danielle Fishel]

PodmeetsWorldShow.com will send us out.

[Will Friedle]

We love you all. Pod dismissed. Pod meets World is iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle and Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp. And Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production Danielle Romo, producer and editor Tara Sudbaksh, producer Matty Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World superfan Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon and you can follow us on Instagram @podmeatsworld show or email us at podmeatsworldshowmail.com Wednesdays on BET an all new episode of 106 in Sports from executive producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter.

[Ryder Strong]

Ashley, Nicole Moss and Cam Newton break.

[Will Friedle]

Down top moments in sports, culture and Entertainment. Check out 106 in sports on BET and next day on BET.

[Danielle Fishel]

Plus, Thursday Night Football is on and.

[Will Friedle]

It'S only on Prime Video. That's going to be fun.

[Danielle Fishel]

Tonight, the Minnesota Vikings head west to face the Los Angeles Chargers.

[Ryder Strong]

They'll take that all day.

[Will Friedle]

Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon.

[Danielle Fishel]

Not a Prime member?

[Will Friedle]

Not a problem.

[Danielle Fishel]

Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Vikings and the chargers tonight.

[Will Friedle]

At 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video.

[Danielle Fishel]

Restrictions apply.

[Will Friedle]

See Amazon.com Amazon prime for TJ Ah, greetings from my bath, festive friends.

[Ryder Strong]

The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money getting 5% cash.

[Will Friedle]

Back when I pay in 4.

[Ryder Strong]

No fees, no interest. I used it to get this portable spa with jets.

[Will Friedle]

Now the bubbles can cling to my sculpted but pruny body.

[Ryder Strong]

Make the most of your money this holiday with PayPal. Save the offer in the app ends 1231.

[Will Friedle]

See paypal.com promoter points can be redeemed for cash and more. Paying for subject to terms and approval. PayPal Inc. And MLS 910457 the day.

[Ryder Strong]

Begins at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by.

[Will Friedle]

The club at Boston Logan Airport.

[Ryder Strong]

You get the clam chowder in San Diego.

[Will Friedle]

It's Tostadas New York Espresso Martini.

[Ryder Strong]

It's 10am why not? It's the quiet before your next flight, the shower that resets your day, the.

[Will Friedle]

Menu that lets you know where you are.

[Ryder Strong]

Bar this is access to over 1300 airport lounges and every Sapphire lounge by the club.

[Will Friedle]

And one card that gets you in.

[Ryder Strong]

Chase Sapphire Reserve, the most rewarding card.

[Will Friedle]

Learn [e-mail] Sapphire Reserve cards issued by JP Morgan, Chase bank and a member FDIC subject to credit approval. Get ready to power up your play with Nintendo Switch 2. Power up the visuals with 4K support and a bigger, more vivid screen. Power up the fun with exclusive new games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong bonanza. Nintendo Switch 2 all together, anytime, anywhere. Games rated E to E10 games and systems sold separately. Compatible TV required for 4K display.

[Danielle Fishel]

This is an iHeart podcast.