Every season of Family Matters ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of Family Matters!

Mother Winslow moves in and immediately begins to usurp Carl's authority. Eddie wants to go out with his friends, but he has a strict curfew that complicates things with Carl.

The Mama Who Came to Dinner

Hariette loses her job to automation, forcing the family into austerity measures while Carl stews over the family debts.

Two-Income Family

Rachel writes a short story with characters that seem all too familiar; Carl becomes obsessed with the family's out of proportion water bill.

Short Story

The Winslows finally get to be alone together when Rachel accepts a date with a man from the church choir.

Rachel's First Date

Eddie comes home with straight A's on his report card and the whole family is proud of him. Rodney comes over and tells him that he changed the grades on the report cards on the school computer. Eddie doesn't want to tell the truth because he fears that he will hurt Carl's feelings.

Straight A's

Carl's efforts to get Eddie psyched for a pro basketball career is enhanced by a visit from basketball star Bolton.

Basketball Blues

Rachel takes an unauthorized spin in the classic automobile that Carl plans to drive in the Columbus Day Parade.

Body Damage

Self-proclaimed handyman Carl decides to install a shower in Mother Winslow's quarters while she's out of town.

Mr. Badwrench

After Carl is on an all-night stakeout with his attractive new partner, Harriette finds a room key to Louie's Love Grotto in his pocket.

Stake-Out

The Winslows are aghast to discover that their TV idol has been arrested for assaulting a police officer - Officer Carl Winslow.

False Arrest

Laura sells a quilt Grandmother Winslow considered an heirloom.

The Quilt

Laura wants to go to an upcoming dance with a good-looking boy. Carl and Eddie try to find Laura a date. Carl asks Steve Urkel to take Laura to the dance, while Eddie asks one of his friends to take her out. When Laura finds out what happened, she is humiliated.

Laura's First Date

Carl has a rule he intends to enforce not pets in the house until he meets a big, playful puppy who follows the kids home from school.

Man's Best Friend

Thanks to Rachel's brainstorm, Carl could become the "king of tarts" if he shares his secret recipe for lemon tarts, which were a big hit at a local restaurant.

Baker's Dozens

Carl decides to lose weight before going to his high-school reunion.

The Big Reunion

A "No Guests" rule spells no fun for Eddie, who's left in charge of the house while the adults are away for the weekend.

The Party

Eddie persuades Laura to date a guy he's indebted to.

The Big Fix

Laura's babysitting service floods the house with children at a bad time on the night Carl has invited his captain over.

Sitting Pretty

Eddie wants to do the right thing when faced with protecting Steve from a bully who threatens to beat him up, which could get Eddie creamed as well.

In a Jam

Eddie places image over integrity in his class president bid when image-maker Laura offers a thousand points of light to illuminate his campaign.

The Candidate

The men vie with the women in a bowling match and Carl's philosophy about accepting defeat gracefully ends up in the gutter when Hariette aces him out.

Bowl Me Over

When Eddie's big ego threatens to disband his group during the making of a rock video for a contest, the rest of the Winslows offer some ideas.

Rock Video

Feeling like a freeloader, Rachel decides to look for a career beyond writing and opens up a diner after Steve accidentally burns down Leroy's.

Rachel's Place

Steve develops a crush on Rachel and believes it is reciprocated when she invites him to a candlelight dinner at her restaurant, while Rachel is actually dating her bank's loan officer.

Torn Between Two Lovers

For a class project, Laura is "married" to Steve for a day. Meanwhile, one of Carl's sergeants casts his eye on Rachel.

Marriage 101

A braggart with a badge transfers to Carl's divisions just in time for the precinct's annual dance contest, which Carl and Harriette aim to win by dancing circles around their fierce rival.

Flashpants

Eddie crashes the car through the front of the house while trying to impress his girlfriend.

The Crash Course

Carl gets trapped inside a railroad boxcar with Steve and a cargo of cattle.

Boxcar Blues

Steve and Laura are held hostage during a Halloween bank robbery.

Dog Day Halloween

Steve's cousin from Biloxi sets out to sweep Eddie off his feet.

Cousin Urkel

Harriette points out the obvious when seductive neighbor Loretta sets her sights on Carl; and Laura may soon regret steering Steve to a shy young girl when she finds herself jealous of his attentions.

Dedicated to the One I Love

Everyone vies to be partners with budding scientist Steve, who teams up with Laura for a science project - an A-bomb.

The Science Project

Steve charges like a raging bull to the boxing ring when a bully threatens to pummel any guy who asks Laura out.

Requiem for an Urkel

Eddie is cornered by a tough pool hustler.

Fast Eddie Winslow

Alone and fending for himself during the holidays, Steve shatters Laura's old fashioned Christmas ornament along with holiday visiting privileges at the Winslows'. Meanwhile, Carl does battle with other shoppers as he searches for a scarce teddy bear for Richie.

Have Yourself a Very Winslow Christmas

When Carl, Eddie and Steve go ice fishing at Lake Wannamuck, Carl has a potentially critical accident; and at home, Judy dislikes the fuss made over Richie.

Ice Station Winslow

After an escalating spat with his father, grounded Eddie escapes from the house to keep a date, and Harriette must mediate a father-son feud when Carl gets tired of Eddie's attitude and Eddie threatens to move out.

Carl finds a diamond bracelet and wrestles with doing the right thing, as does Steve, who holds in his hands the academic fate of his romantic rival Todd, who needs Steve's tutoring skills.

Do the Right Thing

In a hot-air balloon, Carl tries to overcome his fear of heights. Harriette and Rachel clash over a car won in a contest.

High Hopes

At a rooftop party, some kids spike Steve's punch; and Rachel must talk him down from the ledge.

Life of the Party

When Eddie cracks up the family car, Steve suggests raising repair money at an illegal gambling hangout.

Busted

Laura is inspired to make a difference by encouraging support for a black-history class, but her efforts fan the flames of racism at school.

Fight the Good Fight

Rachel and the kids recall how Eddie took credit for a story written by Steve, and how Carl shared his glory with Lt. Murtagh.

Taking Credit

A charming, mysterious figure, claiming to be a family friend from the past, comes to visit - and turns out to be Harriet and Rachel's long-lost father.

Finding the Words

Carl senses a promotion if he can help Lt. Murtagh get a date with Rachel.

Skip to My Lieu

In a dream, Carl and Steve duel over a compost heap as Old West characters Carl and Two-Gun Urkel - the most annoying gunslinger in the West.

The Good the Bad and the Urkel

Steve schemes to take the reluctant Laura to a hot-ticket concert; Carl takes out his frustrations on the family, unable to shake the memory of a shooting he feels he could have prevented in the aftermath of a hostage case.

I Should Have Done Something

Urkel rescues an orangutan from laboratory experiments. Carl steps on a treadmill booby trapped with a bomb.

Boom!

Urkel's future hangs in the balance during a rope-climbing contest pitting brains against brawn to win Laura's affections.

Brain over Brawn

In the school play, Romeo Steve looks forward to kissing Juliet Laura when the original Romeo lands in the hospital with appendicitis.

The Show Must Go On

Sleepwalking Urkel undergoes hypnosis to uncover the cause of his anger: he thinks Carl hates his nerdy guts.

Words Hurt

Laura's behavior suddenly changes when she meets Carl's younger new partner and surf's up for Steve.

Daddy's Little Girl

Urkel is so bugged when Carl squashes his pet beetle that he takes him to court - TV's Citizen's Court - to settle the matter.

Citizen's Court

Steve creates the Urkelbot, a mechanical Urkel that is all too much like its creator.

Robo-Nerd

When Laura gets snubbed by fellow cheerleaders, she seeks advice from Urkel, who tries out for the basketball team and ends up as equipment manager.

Making the Team

A street gang causes trouble for the Winslows, and things become personal when they vandalize Rachel's Place and attack Eddie. Carl wants to take matters into his own hands, but Urkel decides to infiltrate the gang and tricking them into confessing.

Born to be Mild

Steve thwarts Eddie's potential romance, while Carl is undercover in drag.

The Love God

Laura may be sorry for banishing Urkel from her life: in her dreams, she's a 90-year-old spinster whose only visitor is a now-married Urkel.

Old and Alone

Rachel reluctantly hires a loudmouthed, pushy Harriette to help at the restaurant; and Urkel bets the ranch on Carl's cutthroat poker game at home with the guys.

A Pair of Ladies

Steve joins the Winslows at church with faith that he'll get into the choir, but he's kicked out by new choir director Rachel, whose position has gone to her head.

Choir Trouble

The Winslows are ripped off when Carl dozes off; Urkel takes the heat after helping Eddie cheat on a chemistry test.

A Test of Friendship

Visiting cousin Clarence is a slick dude ready for some action in the Winslow 'hood and a bad influence on a vulnerable Eddie, who winds up being arrested together with Steve.

Jailhouse Blues

Mother Winslow regales Eddie's classmates with tales of her late fighter-pilot husband and of World War II's Tuskegee Airmen.

Brown Bombshell

Urkel enrolls in a home economics class with Laura, thinking it'll be a piece of cake, but he soon learns he less than an A-student.

Food, Lies and Videotape

Urkel again tries to intervene in Laura's budding romance with Daniel Wallace, whom Steve has learned is nothing but trouble. Laura believes Urkel is meddling in her love life and tells him to go away.

My Broken-Hearted Valentine

When squeaky-clean Laura enters the race for student-council president, snooty rival Cassie Lynn vows to gather dirt on her. Meanwhile, neighbors elect Harriet Neighborhood Watch leader and Carl is down in the dumps about it.

Woman of the People

Hoping to win Laura, Urkel strikes a deal with R&B singer Johnny Gill: his treasured baseball card in exchange for serenading her; Carl and Harriette discover that their honeymoon love nest is of the outdoor type.

Love and Kisses

Laura's encouraging words cast a love spell on Waldo; Carl and Lt. Murtagh trade insults in a food fight over Mother Winslow's bad driving.

Stop, in the Name of Love

Urkel's stay at the Winslows brings chaos when he swallows a fish that Carl was "fish-sitting," urges Richie to fight a preschool bully and drives away Laura's study mate.

The Urkel Who Came to Dinner

It's hasta la vista to the criminal element and hello Urkelbot after Urkel revives his robot for law-enforcement use in solving a rash of convenience store robberies on Carl's beat; meanwhile new shampoo changes the women.

Robo-Nerd II

Laura sees red when Urkel, Eddie and Waldo appear on Dudes, a TV dating show that Laura claims is sexist; Carl's birthday gets little attention from his family.

Dudes

Urkel plays bumbling, hard-boiled gumshoe Johnny Danger in a 1940s film noir spoof with Laura as a sultry client who needs protection for her aunt Rachel singer and supper-club owner marked for murder.

Farewell, My Laura

Feuding neighbors "Hurricane" Urkel and "Bonecrusher" Carl take a not-so-neighborly, macho grudge match to TV's American Gladiators.

Surely You Joust

Home-coming Queen Laura gets the royal treatment from Urkel, who gets popular jock Ted to ask her to the dance; Carl meets Harriette's new piano teacher..

Dance to the Music

Carl hopes to practice stress management by keeping his cool, but he nearly blows a gasket teaching Urkel to drive.

Driving Carl Crazy

As rumors begin to fly that Ted has "scored" with Laura, Urkel must warn her that the guy she's dating means to boost his rep by ruining hers.

Rumor Has It

Carl and Urkel are hospital roommates and Urkel, as usual, is a pain -until he gets the opportunity to save Carl's hide.

Number One with a Bullet

Richie is upset when Eddie's hot Halloween date conflicts with his promise to take his little cousin trick or treating.

Whose Kid Is it Anyway?

Eddie's insult sends Waldo off to join the Army; Harriette and Carl set up a sting to catch a shady repairman.

An Officer and a Waldo

Urkel resorts to despearate measures to win a date with Laura by camping out on the Winslows' roof, even though a big blizzard is fast approaching Chicago. Meanwhile, Richie meets new next door neighbor Gwendolyn.

Just One Date!

Eddie's sloppy habits and Steve's scientific experiments don't make for domestic bliss when the two become roommates.

The Oddest Couple

Laura's guardian angel shows Urkel what it's like to be Laura.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Urkel

Eddie breaks a date with a smart and witty girl his friends disapprove of, while Laura regrets encouraging Maxine to date Ted; Carl gives Harriette fitness gear.

Muskrat Love

Carl buys a hot rod for Eddie, hoping it will be the road to a father-son bonding session; and Urkel strengthens his bond with Laura using a new wonder glue he invented.

Hot Wheels

A college woos athlete Eddie, who has only fame and fortune in mind after accepting a scholarship; meanwhile, Laura forgoes sleep to study for her PSATs.

The Way the Ball Bounces

Laura and Ted momentarily derail Urkel's efforts to win Laura by fixing him up with Ted's brainy cousin Myra for a double date to a concert.

A Thought in the Dark

Eddie gets more than he bargained for when he and his pals sneak into R&B singer Tracie Spencer's hotel room in search of tickets to her concert; and Carl is in for a big surprise when he discovers Harriette's diary.

Tender Kisses

Lonely and depressed after breaking up with Ted, Laura grants Urkel a few bittersweet hours of bliss as her valentine; Gwendolyn charms Richie with "yucky goo-goo stuff"; and Harriette and Carl search for admirable qualities in each other.

Heart Strings

Eddie tries to cover for his poor record in school by claiming he has family problems at home - so his teacher arrives to evaluate his dysfunctional family environment.

It's a Mad, Mad, Madhouse

At a party, Urkel, Eddie and Waldo get trapped on a fire escape. A heartbroken Eddie mourns his split with two-timing Oneisha, while Carl gives the cold shoulder to his mother's beau Fletcher, who has big plans for her future.

Higher Anxiety

Thanks to Eddie, Mother Winslow's "simple family wedding" brings more than the family bargained for 150 extra guests.

Mama's Wedding

Waldo dates Laura's friend; Richie tries to get rid of a baby tooth.

Pulling Teeth

When peer pressure comes a-knocking, Laura goes a-walking on the wild side, at Club Buff--a male strip joint.

Walk on the Wild Side

Myra enlists Laura's help in snaring "hot stuff" Urkel; Eddie asks Carl a lot of questions after buying a hot car stereo.

Hot Stuff

Urkel's nerdiness gets under the skin of Laura's arrogant prom date (Ross Leon), who's itching to order Laura to write off Urkel as a friend.

Stormy Weather

As a part-timer at the Mighty Weenie fast food joint, Carl doesn't relish answering to the top dog - Eddie; Urkel takes Laura's advice and commits to Myra.

Buds 'n' Buns

Carl shops for a toupee, hoping to turn Harriette's head. Meanwhile love struck Myra accuses Laura of trying to take Urkel away from her and the two get into a food fight.

Hell Toupee

Laura oversleeps and misses her bus to Cincinnati for a cheerleading competition and Steve offers to take her in his Isetta. Laura is not pleasant company and Steve confronts her about it.

It Didn't Happen One Night

The Winslows find themselves - unbelievably - indebted to Urkel after he saves Carl's life with CPR. The family showers him with gratitude and feels obligated to put up with the nerdy, annoying dweeb.

Saved by the Urkel

Laura and Eddie's romantic tips have obsessive Myra entangled in a web of errors with Urkel when she invades Steve's school; Carl's sage advice leads Harriette to a confrontation with her boss - and a possible layoff.

A Matter of Principle

A long-running dramedy centering on the Winslow family, a middle-class African American family living in Chicago, and their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers.

The Best Seasons of Family Matters

The Best Seasons of Family Matters

Season 7

Season 5

Season 6

Season 9

Season 4

Season 1

Season 8

Season 3

Season 2