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?
Weekend Time Sink - Vintage rap from Balki - VIDEO
Ahhh, the weekend. A glorious time when the prospect of burning some daylight watching sit-com stars from the 80s rap seems perfectly reasonable. Especially if it’s so frickin’ cold it’s snowing outside. Seriously, why am I getting snowed on in April?
Anyway, one of my friends sent along a link to a post by Benner on a blog called Touch. It features videos of a bunch of old commercials that use rap to try and sell you on one thing or another. You have the classic: D.J. Fred and M.C. Barney for Fruity Pebbles, the strange: Jennifer Love Hewitt in a commercial for bread, and the cringe-worthy: Larry Bird raps for Converse. Finally, there’s the awesome: a promo for ABC Wednesday featuring the casts of Perfect Strangers and Head Of The Class. That one is embedded after the jump. Follow the read link for Benner’s post and the rest of the videos.
Sundance Movie Review: The Yellow Handkerchief
The Yellow Handkerchief follows a 15-year-old Louisiana girl, a ex-con, and an awkward annoying young eccentric kid with a blue convertible go on a road trip to, well, nowhere. Just like the film. The whole story is pointless and contrived. How three perfect strangers ended up in a car together is fully explained but not the least bit believable. I feel like the three characters were in a car together because the screenwriter wanted them to be in a car together. The backstories for both of the younger characters are mentioned, but never even followed-up upon.
I’m still not sure why Kristen Stewart has quickly become the new indie IT Girl (following Evan Rachel Wood, and Jena Malone before her). Stewart’s over-reactionary mannerisms look almost as odd as her unnaturally brown died hair. Eddie Redmayne’s eccentric act had me wondering if his character was mentally challenged, although nothing in the story seemed to suggest such. I’m guessing that the point of the film is for the audience to wonder how the character played by William Hurt, became an ex-con. They reveal this story through a series of LOST-inspired flashbacks intercut throughout. Only, the flashbacks don’t offer much to keep your attention.
Unfortunately, The Yellow Handkerchief is the type of stiff, boring and uninteresting film that the general public associates with independent cinema.