Full House - The Complete Series

I remember it quite well… During my lunch breaks when I was at my grandmother’s house we used to watch it all the time, ‘Full House’. This series, which tells the story of a single father named Danny Tanner (Bob Saget – ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’) and his three daughters, takes place in San Francisco and was a big hit during the late 80’s/early 90’s. These days it’s still a classic - and with a spin-off in the making - I thought a nice trip down memory lane would be just what I needed to ring in the new year. A friend of mine lent me her DVD box set of the complete series, so we had a ‘Full House’ marathon here during the holidays. This show was such a big part of my youth, it’s always been one of my favourites, so I was very curious to see if I still liked it as much as I did back then.

These days you don’t see these kinds of shows very often, most of the people have different parental views now which is actually a bit of a shame in my opinion.

When Danny’s wife passes away due to a car accident, he’s faced with the responsibility of taking care of their three daughters D.J. (Candance Cameron – ‘Make It Or Break It’), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and Michelle (Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, named as one person in the credits) all on his own. His brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (Cochran during the first season, John Stamos – ‘Grandfathered’) and best friend Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier – ‘Bob & Doug’) move in to help him out and with that a full house is literally what you would call their new household. This unconventional family first appeared on the small screen in 1987 and eventually became very popular. Throughout the eight years they were on TV we watched them grow (up) in more ways than one. ‘Full House’ brings viewers laughter and tears, but also learning experiences. These days you don’t see these kinds of shows very often, most of the people have different parental views now which is actually a bit of a shame in my opinion. The beautiful relationship between Danny and his daughters, the respect in the family and the way the children are involved in their upbringing and household reminds me a lot of my youth. But also the many hugs and kisses Michelle gets from her uncle and Joey, for example. All of this would be labelled inappropriate or too liberal by most people nowadays, while in my opinion it is very sweet, loving and natural to raise children that way.



Notable guest appearances are by The Beach Boys and Jaleel White. White, better known as Steve Urkel, makes a special appearance as this character in one of the episodes of season four. Season three marks the birth and welcome of Golden Retriever Buddy into the family. This dog is not only known for his role in ‘Full House’ but also played the lead in the original ‘Air Bud’ movie. A fun fact I have learned recently is that Teddy, one of Michelle’s friends (in season four), is named Tahj Mowry in real life and the brother of famous ‘Sister, Sister’ twins Tia & Tamera Mowry. As teenagers the girls were often on set and during season five they even played a small part in one episode. While re-watching the series you do notice some flaws and errors. Episodes that didn’t air in the right order for example, but nothing that is too distracting and/or irritating to watch.

I loved watching this show again after so many years and continue to believe that this is still one of the most fun series ever made.

During season five, D.J.’s very first official boyfriend named Steve Hale (last name Peters during his first appearance, played by Scott Weinger) is added to the main cast. The sisters, who are each five years apart, are the only female leads during season one but this soon changes. D.J.’s best friend and neighbour Kimmy Gibler (Andrea Barber) is the first to join the main cast and Rebecca “Becky” Donaldson (Lori Loughlin – ‘Summerland’) joins the cast a little while later. Becky’s role was supposed to be a small one as Danny’s co-host on their new morning talk show ‘Wake Up San Francisco’. She and Jesse, however, share a great chemistry which lands her a permanent role in the series. They marry in season four and get twins named Nicky & Alex (Daniel & Kevin Renteria in season five and Blake & Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit after that) in season five. The next generation brings new and fun situations into the household and because the cast stays the same for most of the series, it eventually becomes a nice mix of different ages. The rough road to success for rocker Jesse and comedian Joey are also still very nice and interesting to watch.

I was very relieved to notice that my happy memories of ‘Full House’ were nothing but justified. I loved watching this show again after so many years and continue to believe that this is still one of the most fun series ever made. ‘Full House’ is a typical feel-good story appropriate for all ages. On February 26th the new spin-off of the show called ‘Fuller House’ will appear on Netflix and great news for the fans: almost the complete original cast will be in it! The Olsen twins were the only cast members who unfortunately have declined to appear on the new show, but I’m sure it will still be fun without them. I personally can’t wait to see how the Tanner family is doing now and expect great things from ‘Fuller House’. The Dutch network SBS6 airs ‘Full House’ reruns at the moment which I can highly recommend to everyone, all of the eight seasons of this series are still very fun to watch, even 30 years later.