As you may already be aware, our boss/founder of this website, Macaulay Culkin, has been dabbling in video game production. Most recently, he executive-produced a remake of the classic Sega Genesis game Toejam & Earl. And while doing research to prepare, Mack gained access to production notes for the entire series. Every finished or even proposed ToeJam & Earl game. While that was exciting in and of itself, he also discovered notes for an unreleased game! A game co-starring … sitcom character Steve Urkel. We here at Bunny Ears are excited to show you what he found.
Steve Urkel? But Why?
It might be hard to imagine how inescapable Steve Urkel was in the ’90s. He was a cast member of the family-centered sitcom Family Matters from the beginning and eventually became a weekly staple to the show. Entire episodes and story arcs centered on the wacky, loveless nerd. And the world completely lost its collective minds over him. They released board games, lunch boxes, books, albums, dolls and puzzles. The one thing that was missing to really hit that ’90s merchandise jackpot was a video game.
After shopping around, they allowed the creators of ToeJam & Earl to pitch. Sample graphics and sketches were included. Urkel’s trademark Isetta was there, and several of his inventions appeared.
Unfortunately, there’s not much more to go on than the scant notes and drawings we found. We don’t know what halted production. No working demo of the game exists as far as we know. Regardless, we hope you enjoyed this secret peek into what could have been!
Images: Rani Baker