<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 9 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 22 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 19, 1997 (1997 - 09 - 19) </Td> <Td> July 17, 1998 (1998 - 07 - 17) </Td> <Td> CBS </Td> <Td> 108 </Td> <Td> 5.9 </Td> </Tr> <P> Family Matters was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren (who also wrote for, and were producers of parent series Perfect Strangers) and developed by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett (who also served as producers on Perfect Strangers), all four also served as executive producers of the series . The series was produced by Miller - Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television who co-produced the show until 1993, when Warner Bros. Television absorbed Lorimar (a sister company under the co-ownership of Time Warner). Starting with season three, the series was also produced by Bickley - Warren Productions . The series was filmed in front of a live studio audience; the Lorimar - produced episodes were shot at Lorimar Studios (later Sony Pictures Studios) in Culver City, California, while the Warner Bros. - produced episodes were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in nearby Burbank . Family Matters is the second sitcom from the 80's and 90's to take place in the city of Chicago, the first is FOX's sitcom Married...with Children . </P> <P> The show's original theme was Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"; it was scrapped after the fifth episode of season one ("Straight A's"), though it was heard only in the pilot episode in syndicated reruns . The second theme, "As Days Go By," written by Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay and Scott Roeme and performed by Frederick, was the theme for the majority of the series until 1995; it was last used in the season seven episode "Fa La La La Laagghh," the only episode during the final three seasons to feature it (this was heard in season one episodes in ABC Family and syndicated airings). A longer version of "As Days Go By" was used during the first three seasons, though in syndicated reruns the short version is heard (in ABC Family airings, the long theme was used for all of the episodes during the first three seasons). </P> <P> The opening sequence begins with a shot of the Chicago Lakefront (the John Hancock Center can be seen in the center), then a shot of the Winslow home . In the opening titles, the main characters were shown around the Winslow home (though in some shots featured some characters in other places as well, such as Rachel at the Rachel's Place restaurant during the seasons 2--4 version or Waldo at the Vanderbilt High School gym during the seasons 4--6 version). The opening credits during the first three seasons feature a scene showing the Winslow family riding their bicycles across the Irv Kupcinet Bridge over the Chicago River; an allusion to parent series Perfect Strangers, which featured a scene of Balki and Larry (played by Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn - Baker), riding a tour boat underneath the same bridge, shot from the same angle, in its own opening credits from seasons 3--8 of that series . Clips of episodes were shown after the bike scene and before the house shot in the season one through three versions . The house shown at the beginning and the end of the opening credits (as well as in establishing shots for scenes set at the Winslow house) is located at 1516 West Wrightwood Avenue in Chicago (41 ° 55 ′ 44" N 87 ° 40 ′ 00" W ﻿ / ﻿ 41.92891 ° N 87.666779 ° W ﻿ / 41.92891; - 87.666779). The closing shot at the end of the credits with the Winslow family at the piano (which also was shown during the closing credits when there was no tag scene), in which the shot pans outside the house and the camera zooms out showing neighborhoods and the northside Chicago skyline (Wrigleyville) in the background, was originally used in the pilot episode "The Mama Who Came to Dinner" (though the scene featuring the Winslows before the pan was redone twice in seasons two and five). The role of Richie as a baby was credited as being played by "Joseph (and) Julius Wright" in season 1, with Julius' name made to appear as Joseph's middle name in the titles--the duo was credited this way because the show's producers did not want audiences to know that Richie was then played by twins--the role of Richie as a baby was played by two children because California state law regulates the number of work hours for a young child, therefore it is common for the role of one baby in a television or film production to be played by twins (another Miller - Boyett series, Full House, credited Mary - Kate & Ashley Olsen in the same manner in its opening sequences until that show's seventh season, in which the Olsen twins were credited separately). In season five, after Hopkins left the show, White was given special billing in response to the popularity he earned as Steve Urkel . Appearing last in the credits, he was credited as "and Jaleel White as Steve Urkel," starting in the sixth season (Hopkins was credited similarly as "and Telma Hopkins as Rachel" prior to season five). For season seven onwards, the opening theme song and credit sequence were dropped entirely (though it was brought back for one episode, "Fa La La La Laagghh," the eleventh episode of that same season); for all other episodes during the last three seasons, the names of the show's main cast members, as well as co-executive producers and executive producers were shown during each episode's teaser scene . In lieu of the full theme song, several episodes during season 7 featured the last few notes of "As Days Go By" as fade - out music at the end of the opening scene . </P>

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