I don’t properly know how to express my love for Full House. I think it was one of the first TV shows I fell in love with, the show I used to binge-watch before “binge-watch” was added to the dictionary. I own every single season of Full House on DVD, have seen every episode at least three times and could probably recite my favorite ones in my sleep. So naturally, I rejoiced when the Fuller House spinoff was announced.
As time went on, though, and as Fuller House’s release date came closer and more trailers and reviews came out, I couldn’t help but feel disheartened. Most of the reviews I read were negative, and the trailers made me cringe with secondhand embarrassment. By the time Fuller House made its way to Netflix, I was actually a little hesitant to tune in.
I sucked it up, though, made it through about half the season, and I’m really, really glad I did. The first few episodes did make me cringe, but I think Fuller House grows into itself, and gets significantly better as it goes on. In fact, I think, Fuller House’s best moments come once we lose Danny, Joey, Uncle Jesse, and Aunt Becky, and are left with the girls, their kids, and Comso the dog.
Fuller House’s worst, and cringey-iest, moments come in the first few episodes. Hearing Jodie Sweetin shout out Stephanie’s classic “how rude!” line and John Stamos’ revival of “have mercy!” felt awkward, forced, and dated. The full two minutes of insane clapping that accompanied the actors walking back onto set was nearly enough to make me turn the show off, and the shade thrown at the Olsen twins was over the top, unnecessary, unfunny, and honestly made me uncomfortable. But, the show redeems itself.
Fuller House gets better a few episodes in, once it starts to position itself as a kid’s show, which is what it is at the end of the day. DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy are just as great in the main roles as Danny, Uncle Jesse, and Joey were, and the kids grow into their own personalities, without relying on old jokes and expired stereotypes from the nineties. It’s definitely a kid’s show, maybe a family show, and would probably work even better on Disney Channel than on Netflix, but it’s still enjoyable from the perspective of a twenty-something who loved the original.
The best thing about Fuller House, hands down, is the feeling of coming home that it gives you – seeing how the house has been renovated and modernized, seeing the same shots of San Francisco, noticing the way the new episodes parallel – but don’t copy – the originals. DJ is so much like Danny as a parent, Stephanie is like a refreshing version of Uncle Jesse, and Kimmy is Joey – but, at the same time, they are their own people. Fuller House works because it’s not just an attempt to revive something long gone – it’s a rebirth, a second generation, and once it stops trying to be the original series it’s really, really good.
Change is great in the case of Fuller House because you come to realize that, rather than change, the show is about growth. Every episode gives you the same warm feeling that original Full House episodes did, and I ended up really loving the show. In our twenties, when everything is scary and changing and unsure, Fuller House is a reminder that you can go home again, and there’s a hand to hold and a light that’s waiting to carry you home – everywhere you look.