Recap / Family Matters S 4 E 3 Driving Carl Crazy

3-2-1. 1-2-3. What the heck is bothering me?
— Waiting room advice for dealing with high blood pressure

Carl – already fuming that he has to follow his doctor's advice to keep his high blood pressure under control – decides to test some suspect advice he read in a magazine and see if it'll keep his temper under control as he tries to teach Urkel how to drive.

Tropes seen in this episode:

• Absurd Phobia: According to Steve, his parents suffer from a chronic fear of cars because he was born in one.
• Actually Pretty Funny: Carl laughs himself silly after seeing the Isetta for the first time. Seeing how it opens just makes him laugh even harder.
• An Aesop: Listen to your doctor.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: Even before the driving lesson goes horribly wrong, Carl is already noticeably sweating, hinting at his health being worse than he's letting on.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Steve assures Carl that he will do everything possible to keep from irritating him, only to accidentally rip off Carl's sleeve.
• Mood Whiplash: The audience goes through this in the episode's defining scene. From slapstick comedy as Carl is ranting and chasing after Urkel and trying to get to the nerd (who has taken refuge inside his Isetta) ... the mood immediately shifts when Carl begins complaining of dizziness and Urkel rushes to get help.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Steve when begging Carl to teach him how to drive.
• Rage Breaking Point: Carl, after Urkel accidentally shifts his Isetta into reverse and backs the garage, causing all the shelves to collapse and more heavy damage, explodes into a rage after trying to contain his anger.
• Skyward Scream: Carl's "3-2-1" saying escalates to this, as he tries to keep from losing it right after the garage door gets wrecked.
• Tempting Fate: After just barely managing to keep from losing it, Carl says he's maintained control. Then the garage's shelves collapse, causing even worse damage.
• Thing-O-Meter: The Isetta actually lacks a speedometer or anything to that effect. The closest thing it's got is just a mundane chalkboard.
  Steve: So you can write down how fast you think you're goin'.
• What the Hell, Hero?: After the health scare passes, Harriette rips into Carl for ignoring the doctor's advice and endangering both himself and the overall family.
• "You!" Exclamation: Carl, trying to keep calm after the aforementioned accident that heavily damages the garage, recites the "3-2-1, 1-2-3" poem three times before looking at the nerd point blank and then exploding with a huge, at-the-top-of-his-lungs "YOU!!!!!!" before running after the nerd, which continues for several minutes until Carl has a blood pressure-related health scare and the fun ends.