Full House

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A Full house is also a poker hand. See also Ful Haus (Philippine TV sitcom).
Full House
File:Full House Title Screen.jpg
Title screen from 1992
Created byJeff Franklin
StarringJohn Stamos
Bob Saget
Dave Coulier
Candace Cameron
Jodie Sweetin
Mary-Kate Olsen
Ashley Olsen
Lori Loughlin (1988-1995)
Andrea Barber
Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit
Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit
(1992-1995)
Scott Weinger
(1992-1994)
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes192 (List of Episodes)
Production
Executive producersJeff Franklin
Thomas L. Miller
Robert L. Boyett
Marc Warren
Dennis Rinsler
(seasons 6-8)
Running time24:48
(per episode)
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 22, 1987 –
May 23, 1995

Full House is an American television family sitcom that originally ran from 1987 to 1995 on the ABC network, and has remained on the air in reruns.

Synopsis

Full House is set in San Francisco, where Danny Tanner is left to raise his three young daughters D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle following the death of his wife, Pam. In Season 8 episode Under the Influence, it was revealed that she had died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.

Danny recruits his childhood friend Joey Gladstone and Pam's younger brother Jesse Katsopolis to live with the family and help Danny with the three girls. Many of the show's exploits revolve around the idea of three "swinging" bachelors trying to rein in the precocious antics of three girls, who frequently get the best of them. As is the case with many sitcoms, Danny's daughters ignore the rules, only to learn their lesson afterward. The episodes usually end with a hug or kiss and with the girls sometimes admitting their wrongs and working out a compromise with their father, Joey or Jesse. There is always a talk towards the end of the show.

At the beginning of the series, Danny was a sportscaster for a local TV station. He later becomes the co-host of the morning talk show Wake Up, San Francisco. Although Joey and Jesse partake in several occupations, they are primarily a stand-up comedian and musician, respectively.

Jesse later marries Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson, Danny's co-host on Wake Up, San Francisco. The couple have twin boys, Nicky and Alex. Despite Jesse being married with new children of his own, he continues to live in the Tanner household.

The girls grow up as the series progresses, and various (boy)friends are introduced, notably Steve Hale, D.J.'s steady boyfriend for Seasons 6 & 7. They later break up, though in the final episode, Steve returns to escort D.J. to her senior prom.

Characters

  • Danny Tanner (played by Bob Saget) - Widowed father of D.J., Stephanie and Michelle and brother-in-law of Jesse. His best friend through grade school, Joey Gladstone moves in to help Danny with his three girls. He is also the co-host of the morning talk show Wake Up, San Francisco along with Rebecca Donaldson, who also soon becomes his sister-in-law. Danny is best known for his obsession with cleanliness.
  • Jesse Katsopolis (played by John Stamos) - An up and coming musician, Pam's little brother, Danny's brother-in law, Rebecca's husband, and the father of twins Nicky and Alex Katsopolis. Is of Greek descent. Uncle of D.J., Stephanie and Michelle Tanner. His catchphrase is "Have Mercy!" His surname was Cochran in Season 1 and it is revealed that his real name is Hermes, after his great grandfather.
  • Joey Gladstone (played by Dave Coulier) - Danny's best friend through grade school and college. He makes a living primarily as a comedian. He is also famously known for his perfect imitation of cartoon characters, such as Popeye the sailor man, Bullwinkle, etc. His catch phrase is "Cut It Out!".
  • Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson (played by Lori Loughlin) - Jesse's wife, and the mother of Nicky and Alex. She also co-hosts the morning show Wake Up, San Francisco with Danny. (Debuted in season 2, married Jesse in season 4).
  • Donna Jo "D.J." Tanner (played by Candace Cameron) - Oldest daughter in the Tanner household to sisters Stephanie and Michelle, who is a typical teenager that deals with everyday issues.
  • Stephanie Tanner (played by Jodie Sweetin) - The middle daughter of the Tanner household in which she is D.J.'s younger sister and Michelle's older sister. She is known to have an energetic and talkative personality. She also has two catchphrases, "How rude" and "Well pin a rose on your nose".
  • Michelle Tanner (played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) - Youngest of the Tanner daughters, D.J. and Stephanie's younger sister. She has a strong bond with Jesse, who calls her "shortie" or "munchkin" as her nicknames. Michelle's character has the most catchphrases, such as "You got it, dude", "You're in big trouble, mister", and "No way, Jose."
  • Kimberly "Kimmy" Gibbler (played by Andrea Barber) - D.J.'s best friend and next door neighbor who is usually beaten (verbally, of course) in the Tanner household. She is also known for her lack of "fashionable" wardrobe. (Did not get a role in the opening credits until season 5). She is also known for her stinky feet and eccentric family.
  • Steve Hale (played by Scott Weinger) - D.J.'s steady boyfriend (seasons 6 & 7). He is known for eating too much. Originally called Steve Peters, in the first time he appeared in the season five episode Sisters in Crime.
  • Nicky and Alex Katsopolis (played by Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit) - Identical twin sons of Jesse and Rebecca (seasons 5-8).
Main article: List of Full House characters

Ratings

Full House has entered the ratings in the third until the seventh year, here's a list of its ratings:

History of the show

The original title of the show was House of Comics, and was going to be about three different 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 was based loosely on the film Three Men and a Baby, which was in production around the same time.

The show's original pilot (which was never aired, but was a special feature on disc 1 in the season 1 set) starred John Posey as the original Danny Tanner, because Bob Saget was under contract at another network (as co-host and "comic" correspondent on CBS' ill-fated Morning Program, which, when it was revamped, Saget was let go and thus available for Full House). Show creator Jeff Franklin thought that Saget would be great for the role, and previously thought that Paul Reiser could work in the role. (Interestingly, Reiser would be cast in a similar series called My Two Dads which ran from 1987-1990 on NBC.)

In the first season, Jesse's last name was initially Cochran, reportedly because one of the producers was a fan of singer Joe Cocker. His name was changed after season one, when he came to be called Jesse Katsopolis. The name change was due to John Stamos wanting the Jesse character to better reflect his Greek heritage. In one episode, Jesse admits his real name is Hermes, which actually happens to be his real-life paternal grandfather's name. No reason is given for the character's name change, but fans tend to believe it could have been a stage name, especially because the name "Cochran" also disappeared from his band's name after the first season.

During the show's run, only four main characters were added to the main cast. Lori Loughlin, who played the role of Rebecca Donaldson, was initially scheduled to appear on a few episodes in season 2 as Danny's co-host on Wake Up, San Francisco. However, her character quickly gained popularity, prompting producers to write her character into the show to 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 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 Nicky and Alex until the series' end.

Season 6 saw the addition of Scott Weinger, as D.J.'s steady boyfriend Steve Hale. He first appeared in the episode Sisters in Crime in season 5 as D.J.'s date Steve Peters. However, his next appearance on the show would not occur until the start of season 6 when he was introduced as Steve Hale, D.J.'s official boyfriend. The name change between seasons 5 & 6 was never explained. He would leave the show after season 7, but did make one final appearance in the last episode in season 8.

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 not an immediate success, Full House quickly gained popularity through family viewers and after Season 2 it was ranked among the Nielsen Ratings' Top 30 shows.

The show never received a proper series finale, as ABC suddenly announced that it was canceling the show after the eighth season because of the increasing costs to produce the show (low budgets became visibly obvious during the eighth season). 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 one of the upstart Minor Three). Eventually, the other actors announced they were also ready to move on to other projects, ending the show's eight year run. If the others had decided to continue, this would have impacted WB's decision in picking up the show, since Stamos' influence on Full House was very strong. Another ABC show, Sister, Sister, moved to the WB that autumn instead of the Full House timeslot.

Production

The sitcom was filmed at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles. The only episode to have actually been filmed in San Francisco was Comet's Excellent Adventure, the first episode in season 8. There were also a few episodes where the cast would shoot in other locations, most notably Hawaii in the episode Tanner's Island in the beginning of season 3 and at Walt Disney World for the episodes The House Meets the Mouse (Parts 1 & 2) at the end of season 6.

Opening credits

The theme song, Everywhere You Look, was performed by Jesse Frederick, which he co-wrote with Bennett Salvay, although the song was almost always truncated to the chorus for broadcast. In syndication, an abbreviated version of the song was used for Seasons 1-5 and an even shorter version was used for Seasons 6-8.

In the beginning the six original characters were shown either at home or in various shots in San Francisco. Beginning in season 4, the opening credits for the adults were also filmed in San Francisco as well as the last shot of the opening credits of the show which features the cast having a picnic in Alamo Square in front of the row of Painted Ladies in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco. Contrary to popular belief, the red-doored Victorian where the Tanners live is not one of these houses. It wasn't until season 8 that the opening credits were changed to feature the entire cast in various locations around San Francisco. The actual home used for exterior shots throughout the show's run is located several minutes away - at 1709 Broderick Street in San Francisco.

The role of Michelle was credited as being played by "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen" from seasons 1-7, because the show's director did not want audiences to know that Michelle was played by twins. Ashley's name was made to appear as Mary Kate's middle name in the titles. (The role of Michelle was played by two children because California state law regulated the number of work hours for a young child). In season 8, with the entire opening credit shots revamped for the last time, the Olsen twins were now given special billing, in response to the popularity they earned as separate performers over the years. Appearing last in the credits, they were credited as "and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as Michelle". Fittingly, Mary-Kate is the twin appearing in the shot, but the girl in the painting is Ashley.

It was not until season 5 that Andrea Barber (who played Kimmy Gibbler) was added to the opening credits, despite her recurring role on the show since the first season.

Syndication history and current airings

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. In the late 1990s, TBS Superstation (now called TBS) 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. Currently, Nick at Nite airs Full House at 9:30 PM from Sunday to Thursday and at 10:30 PM on Fridays and Saturdays. ABC Family airs the sitcom weekdays at 12:00 PM and 12:30 PM ET/PT and weekends at 9:00 AM and 9:30 AM ET/PT. Several episodes on ABC Family include the extended version of the theme song.

Broadcasters outside of the United States:

Episode list

Main article: List of Full House episodes

DVD releases

Warner Home Video has thus far released the first six seasons of Full House on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. The seventh season was released on August 72007 and the eighth and final season will be released on November 62007. It has also been announced by Warner Home Video that the 192 - episode Complete Series will be released on November 6, 2007 along with the Complete Eighth Season.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 February 82005
The Complete Second Season 22 December 62005
The Complete Third Season 24 April 42006
The Complete Fourth Season 26 August 152006
The Complete Fifth Season 26 December 122006
The Complete Sixth Season 24 March 272007
The Complete Seventh Season 24 August 72007
The Complete Eighth Season 24 November 62007
The Complete Series 192 November 6,2007

Full House books

Further information: Full House books

There were many short books based on the show. They were divided into different sub-series, such as Full House Sisters, Full House Michelle, Full House Michelle and Friends, Full House Stephanie, and Full House Club: Stephanie.


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