My Review of "Family Matters: Season 2"

Family Matters: Season 2 aired back in 1991. The first season was a bit of a growing pains situation. It was trying to find what kind of show it was and in a sense this season continues that search. Though, this season does feel more like the show that I know and remember than the first season. There's some interesting points and some things that I didn't realize about the show either.

The season doesn't really have a continuous storyline. Each episode is pretty self sustaining by itself. They don't really follow any sort of history either. Something that could have happened in previous episodes sometimes get forgotten instantly in future episodes. We kind of just know the characters in this case.

This season has a few interesting episodes that touch upon some deeper social problems. We have an episode of racism, another on grief and another on taking advantage of people. Each of them have a moral to the story that the family can discuss after the episode airs. I kind of miss that element of storytelling in shows nowadays. There's a very wholesome charm to these episodes. They're written in a very simplistic way and wrapped up in the half hour format.

I kind of wished that there were some continuity within the overarching story of the show. There's only one and that's Steve's obsession with Laura. That's not really a story though. It's interesting to see this infatuation play out. Today this wouldn't be tolerated at all but there's a wholesome charm with Steve that you can't deny.

I'm also quite impressed with the range of character that the actor of Steve Urkel can play. They have him doing a lot of different things in this season. They even have him play as a female version of himself in one. His transformation as a child actor is quite astonishing. He really makes some of these episodes much more enjoyable than they really should be.

I admit there were a few episodes where even I kind of rolled my eyes and wanted to speed through. It's wholesome fun but I can only take so much before I crack. Then again these shows were aired once a week so binging these episodes isn't really the best way to watch them.

Still they're nice to have in the background when you're doing things around the house. That's what it was really. I kind of felt like a zombie sometimes just going through the motions of watching it at points.

The show started to get a little more wacky in this season than the previous season. They had a few dream sequences and some story telling to diversify the episodes. These are clever ways of rearranging the template of the episode so that it still feels fresh for the viewer. It does the job and I kind of liked the change in dynamics.

One of the big things that you will notice in this season is the drastic changes from the last season to this one. Everything has changed. They redid everything from the opening video to the clothes they wear. The kids have grown considerably from the last season. During the season you still notice them growing before your eyes. It's quite astonishing. Little Richie is now a kid that can talk instead of the baby from last season. They use him as a cute prop for gags.

With all the characters in the show it's kind of hard for all of them to have equal time on the screen. I guess this could have been done strategically so some of them can go to school while others come to the set to act. I'm not really sure what the case was.

Overall, this season is an interesting one where they make a few risks and gambles with their storytelling. It was much appreciated and there is a lot of fun to be had with it. I would have to give this season a 6 out of 10. It's getting there. Not quite to the heights that I remember it though.