Urkel (and Myrtle Urkel, Urkel-Bot, andStefan Urquelle) come to Nick at Nite
I know many of you have been waiting for this moment, so I’ll get right to it. Tonight begins the official entry of Family Matters onto the Nick at Nite schedule. Starting at 9 p.m., there will be a marathon of the series that began as a spinoff of the ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers.
For those unfamiliar with the show, Family Matters was a traditional sitcom about the Winslows — Carl, Harriet, Eddie, Laura, the other daughter that mysteriously disappeared mid-way through the series, Grandma Estelle, Aunt Rachel, and, eventually, cousin Richie. Of course, all of these characters became second bananas to one Steve Urkel, who eventually became the star of the show. Face it, you didn’t tune in to see what wisdom Carl would pass on to his son Eddie. You tuned in to see Urkel breaking something at the Winslow home, fawning over Laura, inventing transformation chambers and Urkel-bots, and uttering the now-famous phrase, “Did I do that?”
To get you warmed up for Urkel specifically and Family Matters as a whole, Nick at Nite has provided an Urkel-O-Meter on their website to determine how much of the suspenders-wearing nerd we have in all of us. By answering a few questions the Urkel-O-Meter tells you if you are suave like Stefan Urquelle, a belle like Myrtle Urkel, or a true, lovable nerd like Urkel himself. After taking the quiz it turns out that I am a true Steve Urkel. Well, no surprise to some of you readers out there, is it?
Roseanne’s Sara Gilbert Welcomes Baby Girl
Former Roseanne star Sara Gilbert is a mom again.
The actress, 32, and partner Allison Adler welcomed daughter Sawyer Gilbert Adler on Aug. 2, Variety’s Army Archerd reports.
The pair have a son, Levi, who’s 3 years old.
Gilbert, who played daughter Darlene on Roseanne Barr’s hit ABC sitcom, now has a recurring role on ER.
It’s a Boy for Fred Savage and Wife Jennifer
Former Wonder Years star Fred Savage and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Stone, welcomed their first child, a boy, Savage’s agent tells PEOPLE exclusively.
The baby was born Saturday night in Los Angeles. He weighed in at 6 lbs., 13 oz. and measured 20 inches long. The couple, who have yet to name their son, “are absolutely thrilled,” Savage’s agent tells PEOPLE.
The new parents were childhood pals, but their paths diverged in 1988, when Savage, then 11, moved from their Chicago suburb to L.A. to play Kevin Arnold on The Wonder Years.
Eleven years later, Savage, now 30, and Stone, 33, reconnected at Savage’s birthday party. “We started talking and smooching, and we’ve been together ever since,” the actor told PEOPLE after their August 2004 wedding.
Among their vows: “I promised to always bring up a glass of water to her before we go to bed, and she promised to never let me dress myself,” Savage said.
After The Wonder Years ended its run in 1993, Savage continued to work in television and movies. His film credits include Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Rules of Attraction and Welcome to Mooseport.
Working behind the camera, Savage produced and directed Phil of the Future on the Disney Channel and directed episodes of the sitcom Kitchen Confidential and Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh.
He most recently starred on the ABC sitcom Crumbs.
Back to…work: Kelsey Grammer lands new sitcom
It didn’t take long for Kelsey Grammer to bounce back from his Back to You flop stint. The Fox sitcom, a high profile one at that with Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton as his co-star, was dumped by the network recently. Kelsey was so bummed out that he even tried to get other networks, CBS in particular, to pick up the news room comedy. No dice. Back to You was a dead shark.
Now, less than two weeks later, Kelsey Grammer has been cast in a new ABC sitcom called Roman’s Empire. This is big news for a big star and he’s the emperor in the title. He’s playing Roman.
Roman’s Empire is not a three-camera, traditional sitcom, which has been Grammer’s playground since Cheers. Frasier may have been one of the best three-camera sitcoms ever. As an actor, Kelsey’s accustomed to having an audience watching him work. Empire is a single-camera comedy — like The Office or My Name Is Earl or Samantha Who? — and revolves around a nice guy named Leo (Nick Thune), who’s dumped by his heiress-like girlfriend (Christine Woods), but remains connected to her crazy family, the Prettys. That’s especially true of Roman Pretty, the family patriarch, an outspoken, outrageous character.
The show is a joint venture between CBS Paramount and ABC Studios. Perhaps Kelsey’s call to Les Moonves hooked him up with this project? Al Higgins is writing the pilot, and Ashton Kutcher is one of the executive producers (he’s everywhere these days, have you noticed?)
Like so many other pilots these days, Roman’s Empire is based on a British comedy of the same name. It ran in 2007 and starred Neil Dudgeon in the Roman role. According to those who’ve seen it, Roman’s Empire is similar to Arrested Development. In fact, it may be a case of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery since it came out after AD. Of course, the trick for this show, if it runs, will be to figure out how to be as good as Arrested Development without getting canceled for low ratings.
One thing regarding Kelsey coming on board; in the crowded batch of 17 pilots ABC still has under consideration, he tips the scales in the direction of the network giving it a pick up at some point.