Top photo: Christopher Voelker / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Every family has a writer, a storyteller, or at least one relative who notices everything. In the Winslow house, that person was Rachel Crawford. And in the third episode of Family Matters, the family found out the hard way what happens when the person who notices everything finally puts it in print.
“Short Story” aired on ABC on October 6, 1989. It was directed by Joel Zwick and written by William Bickley and Michael Warren, the two men who created the series. Wikipedia lists it at 22.6 million viewers.
Rachel’s Big Break
Rachel, played by Telma Hopkins, was Harriette’s younger sister. A young widow raising her baby son Richie, she had moved into the busy Winslow home with her sister’s family, Carl’s mother Estelle, and the three Winslow children.
Rachel also had a dream: she wanted to be a writer. In this episode, that dream finally comes true. She sells a short story to a magazine called Tomorrow’s Woman. It is her first published work, and for a budding freelance writer, it is a very big day.
The Only Fan in the House
You would expect a family to throw a little party for news like that. Instead, only one person in the house is really happy for her: Eddie, Carl and Harriette’s teenage son.
Everyone else has a problem with the story, and it isn’t the writing. They have read it, and they recognise themselves in it. The characters look a lot like the Winslows, and not in a flattering way. To the family, it looks like Rachel has used her magazine debut to air her frustrations with the people she lives with.
Anyone who has ever lived in a full house will understand both sides. Rachel was doing what writers have always done: writing about what she knew. And what she knew best was life under one crowded roof. But it is never easy to open a magazine and find your own habits staring back at you.
Meanwhile, Carl and the Water Bill
While the story causes trouble upstairs, Carl Winslow has his own crisis. The family’s water bill has come in unusually high, and Carl can’t stop thinking about it. With a house full of people, every shower and every glass of water suddenly becomes a matter for Carl’s personal attention.
It was the kind of small, everyday worry that made the early Family Matters episodes feel so familiar. Many viewers had a dad or a grandpa who treated the utility bill like a personal enemy.
A Singer Turned Sitcom Star
Rachel was a perfect role for Telma Hopkins. Long before Family Matters, she was one of the two singers in Tony Orlando and Dawn, the group behind 1970s hits like “Knock Three Times” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.” She then moved into television, with roles on Bosom Buddies and Gimme a Break!, before joining the Winslows.
Her warmth and quick timing made Rachel one of the anchors of the early seasons. Fans will remember that Rachel’s ambitions did not stop at writing. She later opened her own restaurant, Rachel’s Place, which became a regular setting on the show.
Before Urkel
Like the first two episodes, “Short Story” belongs to the time before Steve Urkel arrived. These early stories were about a working family, a full house, and the little tensions that come with loving the people you live with. That is exactly what made them so easy to relate to.
Have you ever recognised yourself in something a relative wrote or said? And who was your favourite member of the original Winslow household? Tell us in the comments.
Sources
- TVmaze: Family Matters 1×03 "Short Story"
- Wikipedia: Family Matters season 1
- TV Guide: Family Matters Season 1 episodes
- Wikipedia: Telma Hopkins
