Family matters was once part of the essential Friday night of the 90s which consisted of TGIF, the children’s show program which included Sold out, Step by step, Dinosaurs, Sister Sister, Hanging out with Mr. Cooperand more.
It was a really nice moment for kids who didn’t have streaming content on hand and could count on a new run of their favorite series on Friday night to kick off their weekend.
Family matters followed Chicago cop Carl Winslow and his family, and their annoying nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White. He was the show’s main source of comic relief, and if you ask anyone who grew up watching, they’ll tell you his catchphrase: “Did I do thaaat?” in the nasal tone we all know and love.
But the writers didn’t succeed on the first try. White sat down with the Pod Meets World podcast, and revealed that there were other slogans he was given to try out before landing on his now-iconic line:
“They tried a million damn slogans. And the first thing they tried was Steve banging on a coffee table or a lamp, knocking it over and saying, “Sorry.” He was like that, he just said, “Sorry.”
Then they tried to borrow one that already existed: “I fell and I can’t get up.” We did about three of them and the “Did I do that?” he got stuck. And it’s one of those things you pitch to the public.”
He used those other phrases too, but as he explained, none got a better reaction from the live studio audience than “Did I do that?”. He explained:
“At that time, [it] it was completely about the immediate reaction of the audience. You had that live studio audience telling you in real time what worked.
There was no social media. I think that’s the thing I miss most about our television era. We didn’t need to hear the haters.
It really was like a golden age of TV. It wasn’t always the best storytelling, but it was good TV that kids loved and that we still like to quote today.
via: CinemaBlend
by Jessica Fisher
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
