Why I Liked Full House

I love the Nostalgia Critic. I came across the site during a very low point in my life and those reviews gave me some much needed laughs. However, there was one review I disagreed with. One review which I had to comment on. That review was for “Full House”.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a show to be taken seriously. It’s almost a kid’s show, very whimsical and light. But my question is what’s wrong with that?  

Now to be fair, the 1^st season wasn’t very good. Just three guys living in a house raising a couple of kids? I’m almost amazed that the show made to the air at all. It’s little wonder why they introduced the Lori Loughlin character after that 1^st year. They needed a strong female in the cast, even though I don’t think that was the plan at first. That season was beyond corny; in fact it was just plain ridiculous. Episodes would be about sending the kids to school for example, and they always ended with the cast dancing and singing like idiots. Thankfully the creators realized they needed to make some changes to be at least a little realistic. For example, Danny stopped grinning every second, the stories had a little substance to them, and they added some extra characters.

Every episode had the same premise. Two characters in the main story, one gets their feelings hurt and the other has to apologize in the end. The second story is usually just some light hearted fun to fill some time. You always knew when the resolution was coming by the corny music that would play. One of the complaints NC had was that the problem was always solved conveniently after 22 minutes. Isn’t that true of most shows from that time period? He also complained about the audience, but they were clearly cued when to awe and when to laugh. The best episodes are the ones the play against formula, like an episode about a love letter that gets mistakenly circulated, or another episode where the guys imagine there future.

Some of the characters were good, others were not. For example we know Jesse as played by John Stamos is a motorcycle riding, rock n roller who loved Elvis and his own hair. Jesse was the uncle who moved in after Danny’s wife died. Bob Saget was the fun loving Danny Tanner, and to this day I don’t understand how Bob Saget put up with this role. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. As the show ran its course Saget started putting more of himself in the role, Danny didn’t smile like an idiot as much toward the end.

Joey was probably the worst character, not because Dave Coulier was a bad comedian but because the character had no point. He served no real purpose. I know this is true because there is a couple episodes all about what the hell Joey is doing living in the house. They try to make a good case that he is the comic relief, but by the end of the series he is really just a walking punch line. Whenever they had a hard hitting episode, like the one where the grandfather dies, Joey disappears into the background.

Of course you can’t talk about this show without talking about Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. These kids made the show a hit, not just because they were cute but because they could actually deliver lines somewhat convincingly. Unlike other kids on some shows, include the kids, who played the twin boys later on, it’s obvious they are just reciting what their parents or whoever told them. Mary Kate and Ashley knew how to deliver a line so well. For example, in the episode where Stephanie drives Joey’s car into the kitchen Michelle walks in, sees the car, and delivers the line “There’s a car in the kitchen!” so well you almost forget she’s only two.  Of course this didn’t last and by the end of the show Michelle was just annoying.

I don’t understand why these shows cast kids who are cute not realizing when they get older they will not be as cute. Stephanie was played by Jodie Sweeten, and she was just plain adorable the first couple years. By the end of the series she had almost been forgotten. Candace Cameron played D.J., who had enough talent to keep her character interesting. However they had to bring in a boyfriend for her because she was to one dimensional.

The supporting cast wasn’t many. Kimmy was the neighbor, and at first she was just annoying. By the end of the series she was like a cartoon, doing all these silly things for no reason. Steve was DJ’s boyfriend, and let’s just say I was happy when he left the show. As I said, the twin’s Jesse and Rebecca have are two of the worst kid actors ever, and Gail Edwards played Danny’s fiancée Vicki for awhile.

Anyway, that’s my thoughts on this show. Was it bad? No. Was it cornball? Oh yeah, in fact I admit I can only watch so much at a time before I start to get a cavity myself. Shows like The Cosby Show are taken seriously because they are well performed, this show is like the parodies I see for The Brady Bunch where everyone is smiling and everything ends with a laugh and a hug. Its escape TV simply put.

In closing, while I think NC was a bit hard on the show I can’t say he was totally wrong either. This show is for kids, which is why it was on TGIF to begin with and exists on ABC Family to this day. If you can accept that you find the lessons aren’t bad, the characters are kind of fun and the jokes are ok. There are worst ways to spend a half hour.