Season 1 Highlights

• Family Matters premieres September 22, 1989.
• Jaleel White, originally a guest for one episode, appears in each episode afterwards.
• Family Matters becomes a top 20 show after the appearance of Steve Urkel.

Season 1 Episodes

1. "The Mama Who Came To Dinner" (Pilot)
   Pilot. Mother Winslow moves into the household and tries to run things, even Carl and Harriette's son, Eddie.

2. "Two-Income Family"
   Can the family survive when Harriette loses her elevator operator job at the Chronicle?

3. "Short Story"
   Rachel's new short story is a hit, but the family isn't too happy to find out the characters are based on them, especially Harriette.

4. "Rachel's First Date"
   When Rachel start cramping Carl and Harriette's love life, they suggest she starts dating again, something she hasn't done since her husband died.

5. "Straight A's"
   Eddie thinks he has finally made straight A's on his report card, until he finds out his friend, Rodney, got hold of the school's records and changed his grades.

6. "Basketball Blues"
   Carl is going to make sure Eddie will be the best basketball player ever... even if Eddie doesn't want to play at all. Jacques Apollo Bolton guest stars.

7. "Body Damage"
   Good news, Carl gets to drive a classic automobile in a parade. Bad news, Rachel just dented it!

8. "Mr. Badwrench"
   Carl tries to play Mr. Fix-It and install a shower in Mother Winslow's bathroom.

9. "Stake-Out"
   Harriette thinks Carl is having an affair with his new, sexy partner when part of their bust involves a motel room.

10. "False Arrest"
    Carl becomes the cop everyone hates when he arrests celebrity Buddy Goodrich for assaulting a police officer.

11. "The Quilt"
    Laura accidentally sells a quilt at her garage sale that has been in the family over 200 years.

12. "Laura's First Date"
    Laura finally finds a date for the school dance. Unfortunately, so has everyone else! Jaleel White guest stars for the first time as Steve Urkel.

13. "Man's Best Friend"
    Can the kids keep a big dog out of site from big Carl?

14. "Baker's Dozen"
    Rachel's new business of making tarts for restaurants flops when a big food fight blows up in Harriette's kitchen. The first of many pie fight scenes on Family Matters.

15. "The Big Reunion"
    Carl's afraid to show off his "new physique" at his high school reunion only to find out he is the skinniest one there.

16. "The Party"
    Eddie is left in charge of the house while the adults are away. You know what that means... PARRRRTY!!!! Look for a cameo by Waldo himself, Shawn Harrison, in a towel!

17. "The Big Fix"
    Steve helps Eddie in math in exchange for a date with his sister, the lovely Laura Winslow. As they say in sitcoms, all wackiness ensues.

18. "Sitting Pretty"
    Carl invites his boss home the same night Laura has to babysit a lot of crazy children. Look for a reference to Richard Pryor's comedy, "The Toy," when Carl is hit in the head with a dart gun.

19. "In A Jam"
    Steve is in trouble with one of his many bullies and asks Eddie for help. Yet, Carl comes to save them both.

20. "The Candidate"
    Eddie runs for class president. EDDIE???

21. "Bowl Me Over"
    It's a battle of the sexes, Winslow style, as Rachel, Harriette, and Laura try to kill Eddie, Carl, and Steve on the bowling lanes. It's up to Mother Winslow to set them straight.

22. "Rock Video"
    The family enters a music video in a contest to help Carl out at tax time.