Family Matters: The Complete Third Season

This 1991-92 third season of the long-running sitcom (listed as the third longest-running black sitcom—placing even before The Cosby Show) includes 25 episodes chronicling the family life of the Chicago-dwelling Winslows and their geek neighbor Steve Urkel (Jaleel White). Although Steve's nerd antics and obsession with Winslow daughter Laura serve as the centerpiece for most stories, other episodes focus on cop dad Carl's (Reginald VelJohnson) line of work, including the season premiere “Boom!” (in which a criminal rigs a police treadmill with explosives); “A Test of Friendship,” in which a burglar seeks revenge by drugging Carl with sleeping gas; and “Robo-Nerd II,” featuring crime-fighting creation Urkelbot. “Making the Team,” “Food, Lies, and Videotape,” and “Woman of the People” showcase the high school lives of the teen Winslows (Kellie Shanygne Williams, Darius McCrary). Guest stars include singer Johnny Gill and LaWanda Page (as an ex-con). The best stories here are “Born to Be Mild,” which balances a vicious gang situation with humor as Urkel goes undercover, and the season finale “Farewell, My Laura,” a 1940s gumshoe spoof—probably my favorite episode of the entire series, which I saw on its first airing when I was nine years old—with Urkel solving a murder as “Johnny Danger,” Laura as a sultry murderess, and Tony Orlando and Dawn star Telma Hopkins as the supper club-owning victim. Deftly blending silly slapstick with realistic home situations and tender moments, this is easily recommended. (J. Williams-Wood)