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Stefan Urquelle is an alternate identity created by Steve Urkel. Initially an alter ego residing in Urkel's mind and DNA, Stefan was given his own form when Urkel cloned himself. He was portrayed by Jaleel White.

Biography[]

During the fifth season episode "Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool," Urkel devised the ultimate plan to win Laura's heart: transforming his DNA using a serum called "Cool Juice" to suppress his "nerd" genes and bring out his "cool" genes. This resulted in the alter ego known as Stefan Urquelle, played by Jaleel White in more casual attire and with a smoother, natural delivery. Initially, Laura is enamored with Stefan (as all the other girls are). Some aspects of Steve's usual personality remain, such as calling Carl "Big Guy" (though he uses a shorthand version of it, "B.G."). Stefan also revealed that his own parents showered him with love and introduced him to his other relatives (which is something they would never do with Steve). In his premiere episode, Stefan apparently hated his nerdy alter ego, calling him an "annoying, clumsy nerd" and "the village idiot" which irritated Laura because as annoying and clumsy as Steve was, he was also selfless and caring of others. She demands he stops being narcissistic and selfish, and return as Urkel at once, which he grants after eating a tablet containing the antidote to Steve's coolness elixir. After seizing several times, he transformed back into Steve.

In Stefan Returns, Steve later improved the formula to limit the negative effects it had on his new personality and re-dubbed the formula "Boss Sauce." He also invented a "transformation chamber," which allowed him to turn into Stefan for extended periods of time (as well as avoiding developing rashes in "personal areas"). This time, he was a more likeable person, whom Laura is pleased with. He changed into Stefan several times—even while dating Myra—but some circumstance caused him to change back into Steve each time. In the Season 6 two part episode: To Be or Not To Be, Steve was stuck as Stefan for a while, after Carl was accidentally transformed into Carl Urkel, due to Myra's tampering with the transformation chamber to sabotage it and preventing Stefan. Late in the sixth season, Steve transformed into Stefan as part of an inventors competition at Walt Disney World in Florida; however, Laura sabotaged the transformation chamber to prevent him from turning back into Steve. During his extended stint as Stefan, he proposed to Laura in front of Cinderella Castle. Laura accepted, but their engagement was broken off when Myra appealed to Stefan and Laura revealed her sabotage.

While everyone liked Stefan, Myra disliked him immensely, believing he was a joke and thought her "Steviekins" was perfect the way he was. The only time she was actually nice to Stefan was in Teacher's Pet, when he explained to her that Steve asked him to stand in as a substitute teacher when none of his classmates except Laura and Myra took him seriously.

In the seventh season finale "Send in the Clone", Steve created a cloning machine. He came to believe it did not work though it did create another Steve. To clear up the situation, Laura proposed that one of the Steve's be turned into the suave Stefan. Through this, Laura was able to pursue a full-time relationship with Stefan. Also in this instance, Stefan finally met his creator Steve who was surprised at how cool Stefan really was.

The permanent Stefan made several more appearances throughout the series. At one point, he had an identity crisis, since he had no real concept of life before he was given a job as model in Paris. Although this strained his status with Laura, they found a way to make it work. During another time, he began to worry of her and Steve getting together even working with Myra to break it up. However, he presumably withdrew after seeing Laura devastated. To really win her, he proposed to Laura again before the series finale. After weighing her choices in the flashback episode "Pop Goes the Question," Laura chose Steve over Stefan. He left and never reappeared again. It could be assumed that Stefan, while heartbroken over Laura preferring Steve over him, showed maturity in accepting their relationship. He moved on with his life after he learned from his mistake in the episode "Crazy for You (Part 1)" when he teamed up with Myra to stop their date. Before the events of Crazier for You (Part 2), he felt guilty of stopping Steve from dating Laura and had told him the truth about it. Stefan also tells him that he also suspects that Myra was stalking and spying on him, which proves to be true when Steve learns about the illegal surveillance gear in her room and confronts her for her actions.

Episode Appearance[]

Season 5[]

Season 6[]

Season 7[]

Season 8[]

Season 9[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • According to executive producer David Duclon, the character was intended to be essentially Jaleel White being himself.
    • At first, Jaleel didn't want to play the character due to his thinking that essentially being himself was boring.
  • Stefan’s character ironically paralleled Steve Urkel’s in terms of concept and fan response. He was also meant to be a one-off character that was brought back due to the great response from fans. In fact, the last episode for the fifth season had to be rewritten at the eleventh hour to bring back the character.
  • Stefan was originally made because Jaleel White's throat was being tired out due to him playing the role Steve Urkel alot. This was so Jaleel's voice could rest.
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