Family Matters/Headscratchers

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Why does Steve even like Laura? She's very obviously not interested in him, has nothing common with him, is mean to him all the time, is not very attractive, and does not seem as smart as him. Myra, on the other hand, is prettier (at least in my opinion), more cheerful, definitely likes him, shares many of his interests especially the geeky ones, and is a scientific genius. I have no idea why he picked Laura over Myra and made sure that when he was going out with Myra, she knew he didn't love her and just wanted Laura.
    • No accounting for taste, I suppose. Also, this troper always found Myra a little creepy. I can't put my finger on why exactly but she always seemed to be just on the verge of becoming a freaky stalker.
    • "She always seemed to be just on the verge of becoming a freaky stalker"....which she DID in later seasons.
    • Steve mentioned meeting her in kindergarten and she got him to eat his Play-Doh or something and probably never got over his childhood crush. As he's an Extroverted Nerd, his love was equal parts a matter of his own personal deifying of the object of his love as it was appreciating her for her actual qualities.
    • At least by the last couple seasons Laura actually DID end up appreciating Steve for who he is. During the show's final season she finally chooses Steve over Stephan, and the show ends with Laura and Steve engaged.
  • Does the title mean "Matters of the Family" or "Family does Matter"?
  • Correct me if I'm wrong on my question, since I haven't seen the show in ages, but I'm still curious. What exactly did Steve like about Laura in the early seasons of the show? She seemed rather cynical and sarcastic, not somebody I would go out with. Or was that just a case of Early Installment Weirdness, since Laura did eventually mellow out as the show went on?
    • It's similar to Screech's infatuation with Lisa in Saved by the Bell (though Lisa was nowhere nears as sarcastic). Basically a case of nerdy Unrequited Love, with Steve being either too naive to realize that Laura wants nothing to do with him or feeling that she's simply playing hard to get. Nerdy guys trying to hook up with good-looking girls who treat them like dirt is a pretty standard Sitcom trope.
      • Not to mention Laura was pretty much only cynical and snarky in response to annoyance; when nobody's getting on her nerves, she's usually very sweet and understanding. Since over half the time we see her, she's being pestered by Steve or Eddie, it's natural to see her as a nastier person than she really is.
    • She's pretty and near by. He probably saw her in the backyard from his room when he was young so it makes sense that she made an impression on him.
  • If the Winslows didn't like Steve coming by their house all the time than why don't they just lock the doors? I mean every time Steve makes an entrance, the doors look like they're unlocked.
    • It's a sitcom. EVERY door in a sitcom is unlocked.
    • Although in one instance in an episode from season 1 he said he had his own key made.
  • Why doesn't a genius like Steve know that people who sell star names are scam artists and the bought personal names aren't recognized by any nation or scientific body?