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Full House
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Full House is an American television sitcom that ran from September 22, 1987 to May 23, 1995 on ABC. The series was created by Jeff Franklin and produced by Lorimar-Telepictures (1987-1988), Lorimar Television (1988-1993), and then by Warner Brothers Television (1993-1995). Set in San Francisco, California, it chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) who, after the death of his wife in a car accident, enlists one of his best friends Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier) and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) to help raise his three daughters, and later on in the series Jesse's wife Rebecca Donaldson (Lori Loughlin) joins the household.
Full House currently airs in the USA on ABC Family and Nick at Nite.
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Full House is an American television sitcom that ran from September 22, 1987 to May 23, 1995 on ABC. The series was created by Jeff Franklin and produced by Lorimar-Telepictures (1987-1988), Lorimar Television (1988-1993), and then by Warner Brothers Television (1993-1995). Set in San Francisco, California, it chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) who, after the death of his wife in a car accident, enlists one of his best friends Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier) and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) to help raise his three daughters, and later on in the series Jesse's wife Rebecca Donaldson (Lori Loughlin) joins the household.
Full House currently airs in the USA on ABC Family and Nick at Nite. It also airs on CTS in Canada.
Characters
- Daniel "Danny" Tanner (played by Bob Saget) - He is a sportscaster and later the co-host of the morning talk show Wake Up, San Francisco, along with Rebecca Donaldson, who later becomes his sister-in-law. Danny is best known for his obsession with talking and cleaning. In the later seasons, Danny seeks out a potential wife, and at one point is engaged to Vicky, but that ended as she moved across the country to pursue her career in broadcasting.
- Hermes Jesse Katsopolis (played by John Stamos) Danny's brother-in-law, who is an up-and-coming musician. He eventually marries Rebecca Donaldson, and has twin boys, Nicky and Alex. Early in the series, he was known as Jesse Cochran. He is known to be obsessed with his hair and Elvis Presley, and rides a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. His catchphrase, usually when he kisses or meets a beautiful woman, is "Have mercy!". Throughout the seasons, Jesse makes some special musical appearances with The Beach Boys. Jesse's older sister, Pam, was Danny's wife, who passed away in a car accident before the series began. Jesse did not graduate high school and goes back to get his GED later in the series.
- Joseph "Joey" Gladstone (played by Dave Coulier) - Danny's best friend through grade school and college. He moves in to help Danny with his three girls. He makes a living primarily as a comedian. He is also known for his imitations of cartoon characters including Popeye and Bullwinkle the Moose. He is also the puppeteer behind the annoying Mr. Woodchuck in the "Ranger Joe Show". But he quit after being forced to work with an annoying co-host, moving on to co-host the radioshow Rush Hour Renegades with Jesse. His catchphrase is "Cut..It..Out!", accompanied by hand gestures. He has some girlfriends throughout the series, but never has long-term relationships.
- Donna Jo "D.J." Margaret Tanner (played by Candace Cameron Bure) - Oldest daughter in the Tanner household, who is a typical teenager, into fashion, boys, and her struggle for independence and privacy while living in the bustling Tanner household. For a couple seasons she has a long-term boyfriend Steve. She has two occasional catchphrases, "Whoa, baby!" and "Oh, mylanta!". She was born on February 9, 1977.
- Stephanie Judith Tanner (played by Jodie Sweetin) - Middle daughter of the Tanner household. She is known to have an energetic and talkative personality. She also has three catchphrases: "How rude!", "Well, pin a rose on your nose," and "Hot dog!" She was born on January 14, 1982.
- Michelle Elizabeth Tanner (played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) - Youngest of the Tanner daughters. Her first word was "cookie". She has a strong bond with Jesse, who refers to her with the nicknames "Shortie", "Munchkin", "Rugrat". Michelle has her own catchphrases: "You got it, dude!"; "You're in big trouble, Mister!" and "Aww nuts". In the first few seasons, Michelle was also obsessed with Big Bird. She was born on November 12, 1986.
- Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson-Katsopolis (played by Lori Loughlin) - Co-hosts the morning show Wake Up, San Francisco with Danny. Introduced in the second season, Becky dates Jesse for about two years before becoming his wife, and in the fifth season she gives birth to twin sons Nicky and Alex. By the eighth season, Becky has been named as producer of Wake Up, San Francisco, a title which she later agrees to share with Danny. She is known for her witty jokes and unexpected surprises (usually embarrassing) towards Danny. She is originally from Nebraska.
- Kimberly Louise "Kimmy" Gibbler (played by Andrea Barber) (Seasons 5-8 ; Recurring Seasons 1-4) - D.J.'s best friend and next-door neighbor, who usually serves as a punchline while visiting the Tanners' home. She is known for her lack of a "fashionable" wardrobe. She is also known for her stinky feet and eccentric family. Kimmy also has been known to have quite a wild side at times. An interesting note is that Kimmy in season one is said to have three sisters but later on in the series she says that she only has an older brother. Although she has proven to be ditzy and brain-dead, she has a sweet and kind heart. She actually one time paired up with Stephanie to help her with a problem, even though in almost every episode, they are seen making fun of each other. Kimmy lives with her parents and her older brother, Garth, who lent her his car "Wild Thing."
- Steve Hale (played by Scott Weinger) (Seasons 6-7 ; Recurring (Season 5) ; Special Appearance (Season 8) )- He was originally introduced in season five as Steve Peters. He was D.J.'s steady boyfriend for two years. He began dating D.J. during her trip to Spain. He is quite athletic, most notably as the captain of his high school wrestling team. He is also known for his immense appetite, as he is constantly eating large amounts of food in the Tanners' kitchen during his visits. He came back for the very last episode as D.J.'s date for her prom and they kiss. However, since the series ended it is unknown if D.J. and Steve get back together.
- Nicholas "Nicky" and Alexander "Alex" Katsopolis (played by Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit) - Identical twin sons of Jesse and Rebecca, born in the fifth season. Nicky was named after Jesse's father, and Alex was named after one of Rebecca's old professors. With Jesse and Rebecca already living in the Tanners' apartment-sized attic, the boys are also raised there, and bringing the household head-count to 9 people. They were born on Michelle's 5th birthday, (Making their birthdays November 12, 1991) thus cutting her party short. They are very mischievous and are well known for laughing at Joey's jokes.
- Comet Tanner - The golden retriever adopted by the Tanners. Son of Minnie, a dog they kept overnight in Season 3.
History
The original title of the show was House of Comics, and it was going to be about three comedians living together. However, executive producer and creator Jeff Franklin learned that ABC wanted a sitcom about a family, so it was changed to Full House when it was decided that the show was to promote family themes and values. The show's original pilot (which was never aired) starred John Posey as the original Danny Tanner because Bob Saget was on another network (as co-host and "comic" correspondent on CBS's ill-fated Morning Program. When it was revamped, Saget was fired, and thus available for Full House).
In the first season, Jesse's last name was "Cochran". His name was changed after Season 1 to "Jesse Katsopolis". The name change was due to Stamos wanting his character to better reflect his Greek heritage. In one episode, Jesse admits his birth name was "Hermes", which actually happens to be his real-life paternal grandfather's name.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen nearly left the show after the first season because their real-life mother was concerned about them missing out on having a "normal" childhood. After a raise from the producers, she let them stay on. Their being so popular was also one of the reasons their mother let them stay.
During the show's run, only four main characters were added to the main cast. Lori Loughlin, who played the role of Rebecca Donaldson (later Katsopolis), was initially scheduled to appear in six episodes in Season 2 as Danny's co-host on Wake Up, San Francisco. However, producers decided to write her character into the show, and give her a permanent role in the third season.
Season 5 saw the debut of characters Nicky and Alex Katsopolis, who were the twin sons of Jesse and Rebecca. The characters Nicky and Alex were created to complement the popularity of the Olsen twins. However, the new characters did not achieve as much popularity as the producers had hoped. The "baby" versions were played by Daniel and Kevin Renteria until the end of Season 5. Beginning in Season 6, Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit played the roles of toddlers Nicky and Alex until the series ended.
Ratings
Full House was part of the TGIF lineup from the fall of 1988 to the fall of 1991, which spanned the show's second, third, and fourth seasons. The show was moved to Tuesdays for Season 5, and remained there until its cancellation. While Season 1 was not very successful, Season 2 quickly gained popularity for the show, and from Season 3 onwards it was ranked among the Nielsen Ratings' Top 30 shows. By Season 4, it jumped to the top twenty and remained there until season 7 (including season 5 & 6 earning their spots in the top ten). .
In 1995, despite the fact the show was still in the top 30, ABC announced that it was canceling the show after the eighth season due to the increasing costs to produce the show. The new WB network wanted to pick up the show for a ninth season, but John Stamos announced that the eighth season would be his last (he was mainly upset about Full House defecting from one of the "Big Four" networks to a network which had not yet received full national distribution). Eventually, the other actors announced they were also ready to move on to other projects, thus ending the show's eight-year run. The one-hour finale was watched by 24.3 million viewers (25 percent of all Americans watching television at the time).
| Season | Year | Ranking | # of est. viewers |
|---|
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One | 1987-1988 | #70 | N/A | |
Two | 1988-1989 | #32 | N/A | |
Three | 1989-1990 | #22 | 14,091,300 | | Four | 1990-1991 | #14 | 14,802,900 | | Five | 1991-1992 | #7 | 15,657,000 | | Six | 1992-1993 | #10 | 14,709,800 | | Seven | 1993-1994 | #16 | 13,376,400 | | Eight | 1994-1995 | #25 | 11,829,600 |
Production
Although the series was set in San Francisco, and the opening credits featured a row of classic Victorian houses on that city's Broderick Street, the sitcom itself was taped at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles. The only episode to have actually been taped in San Francisco was Comet's Excellent Adventure, the first episode of Season 8. There were also a few episodes where the cast would shoot in other locations, most notably Hawaii in the third season premiere Tanner's Island, and at Walt Disney World for the episodes The House Meets the Mouse (Parts 1 & 2) at the end of Season 6.
Full House was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions & Miller-Boyett Productions in association with Lorimar-Telepictures (1st season only), then Lorimar Television (later to become Warner Bros. Television).
The theme song "Everywhere You Look" was performed by Jesse Frederick, which he co-wrote with John Stamos. The first few seasons played the theme in full, but due to time allotment it was gradually cut shorter and shorter throughout the run of the series, with a short one-minute version written for syndicated reruns.
Broadcasting history
Syndication history
Since its 1995 finale, the sitcom has continued in syndication while gaining even more popularity among newer generations of family audiences. Full House was initially syndicated on various local stations nationwide. During the summer of 1991, reruns of the early seasons began airing in a daily daytime strip on NBC. In the late 1990s, TBS Superstation and WGN aired the show every day until 2003, when the show was dropped from the daily schedule on both networks. Later that year, Nick at Nite acquired the show, as well as ABC Family in 2004. Several episodes on ABC Family feature the original extended version of the theme song. As of 2008, the show still airs daily on ABC Family and still airs at 6:00 am on Nick at Nite. The show also airs on CTS (Crossroads Television System) in Canada.
Possible Spinoff
In a December 2008 news story, it is reported that John Stamos is planning a reunion movie. Reports, however, indicate that this idea was quickly withdrawn, because most of the cast are not interested.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | First airdate | Last airdate |
|---|
| Season 1 | 22 | September 22, 1987 | May 6, 1988 | | Season 2 | 22 | October 14, 1988 | May 5, 1989 | | Season 3 | 24 | September 22, 1989 | May 4, 1990 | | Season 4 | 26 | September 24, 1990 | May 3, 1991 | | Season 5 | 26 | September 17, 1991 | May 12, 1992 | | Season 6 | 24 | September 22, 1992 | May 18, 1993 | | Season 7 | 24 | September 14, 1993 | May 17, 1994 | | Season 8 | 24 | September 27, 1994 | May 23, 1995 |
DVD releases
Warner Home Video has released all eight seasons of Full House on DVD in Region 1. The first four seasons were also released on DVD in Region 2. A complete series set containing all 192 episodes was released on November 6, 2007.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | February 8, 2005 | | The Complete Second Season | 22 | December 6, 2005 | | The Complete Third Season | 24 | April 4, 2006 | | The Complete Fourth Season | 26 | August 15, 2006 | | The Complete Fifth Season | 26 | December 12, 2006 | | The Complete Sixth Season | 24 | March 27, 2007 | | The Complete Seventh Season | 24 | August 7, 2007 | | The Complete Eighth Season | 24 | November 6, 2007 | | The Complete Series | 192 | November 6, 2007 |
Full House books
Books based on Full House are geared toward children primarily ages 8-14. However, many are considered enjoyable by fans of the sitcom, especially of the characters Stephanie Tanner and Michelle Tanner, who are the main focuses. Warner Brothers, the owners of Full House, would not permit others to use their characters, and selected who could write books based on the TV series. Such strict control by the owners of Full House means they may be considered more than fan fiction, and in fact represent a parallel universe known to many fans as the Book Universe. Differences in the universes are noted below.
The series include the following:
Full House Stephanie: These 33 books were written from the point of view of the Tanners' middle daughter, Stephanie Tanner. They take place with Stephanie in a different middle school, likely because of a slightly different redistricting plan compared to the one mentioned in season 7's Fast Friends. She has different best friends, Allie Taylor and Darcy Powell, as well.
Though these are book creations, she has known Allie since kindergarten, and there are several places in the first five seasons of Full House where fans think an unnamed extra could be Allie. The first ten of these books overlap with seasons 7 and 8 of the TV series, though the school is not the only difference; there are a number of differences in the Tanners from the series, as noted below.
This series begins with Stephanie being pressured to join a clique called the Flamingoes, by completing a series of dares. She almost does the last one, though she's not sure if she wants to, before D.J. catches her trying to steal Danny's phone card. Stephanie explains tearfully what was happening, and D.J. helps her to understand what the Flamingoes were really up to: they wanted the phone card to use to call boyfriends. Stephanie and the Flamingoes become fierce rivals, though not all books surround this rivalry or even show the Flamingoes.
Two stories were translated and published in Japan in February 2007.
Full House Michelle: These 41 stories are told from Michelle's point of view. The first 27 feature more of her - and the other Tanners' - home life than others, though some focus on events at school, whereas the last 14, the "Michelle and Friends" series, focuses mostly on Michelle and her classmates. Unlike Stephanie, Michelle goes to the same elementary school, but is in a different class. The first four books in the Michelle series overlap with season 8 of Full House, though these, too, take place in this Book Universe. Two stories were translated and published in Japan in February 2007.
Full House Sisters: These 14 books focus on Michelle and Stephanie's friendship and comical situations that occur between them. The sisters often alternate points of view in the story.
Full House: Dear Michelle: These 4 books were published several years after the others stopped being produced. They take place with Michelle third grade, where she writes an advice column for her class paper. It is a different third grade class from either the first four books or the TV universe, though the class contains several of the same friends as in the other books.
Time frame
The books, most of which published between 1993 and 2001, along with the 2004 Dear Michelle series, span from Stephanie's sixth grade year (season 7 on TV) to her ninth grade year. No book has been written to date to show her in high school, nor Michelle starting middle school. The Flamingoes are featured less and less in Stephanie books, and the last Club Stephanie trilogy, shows Stephanie and her friends becoming friends with the Flamingoes by the end.
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