On Friday Feb. 26, the long-awaited sequel to “Full House” premiered. Netflix has just released “Fuller House” and viewers are sentimentally enjoying the reignition of the beloved family sitcom from the ‘80s and ‘90s.
The first episode of “Fuller House” begins with the original opening: “What ever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV?” Parts of the old credits roll until the words “29 Years Later” appear as subtitles over a shot of the well-known San Francisco Tanner family home.
The set is almost exactly the same as before, and the show begins in the kitchen with none other than Danny Tanner, played by Bob Saget (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”), now 59 years old. One by one, the same characters that America knew decades ago appear on set: first Danny, then Jesse (John Stamos, “ER”), Joey (Dave Coulier, “Muppet Babies”), Rebecca (Lori Loughlin, “90210”), DJ (Candace Cameron-Bure, “The View”) and Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin, “Walt Before Mickey”). Even best friend Kimmy (Andrea Barber, “Do You Remember Love”) and twin boys Nicky and Alex (Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit) make an appearance. The only actors that declined to reprise their roles from “Full House” are Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (“To Grandmother’s House We Go”), who played Michelle Tanner.
The premise of “Fuller House” is quite parallel to the original. With the Tanner girls all grown up, the new show focuses on the oldest daughter, DJ, and her new life. Her husband has just passed away and she struggles to raise three young boys on her own. Her family takes notice of her stress and they all step up to help. Danny gives DJ her childhood home, Stephanie gives up her globe-trotting lifestyle to live with DJ’s family and Kimmy and her teenage daughter move in to help as well.
There are some great new cast members as well, particularly child actors. DJ’s sons are newly cast: the oldest, Jackson (Michael Campion, “Christmas Trade”), the middle son, Max (Elias Harger, “Popsy”) and the youngest son, Tommy Jr. (continuing the act of using twins, Dashiell and Fox Messitt). Kimmy’s daughter, Ramona, is a new regular as well, played by Soni Bringas (“Beautiful and Twisted”). There is even Comet Jr. Jr. Jr., a new family puppy descended from the original Tanner family’s Golden Retriever.
The premiere is nostalgic and sentimental for those who watched “Full House” in the past. All characters are exactly the same as before, and many even bring back their token catchphrases: there is a “How rude!” from Stephanie, a “Cut it out!” from Joey and some classic Elvis references from Jesse. It is nice to see old favorites, and the Olsen twins are missed from the show. The cast did acknowledge their absence in the first episode—Mr. Tanner tells his family, “Well, Michelle sends her love, but she’s busy in New York running her fashion empire.” The entire cast then made eye contact with the camera for more than ten seconds, cleverly and comically calling out the Olsen twins for their absence.
“Fuller House” also does a fine job of combining the culture of the ‘80s and ‘90s with the culture of today. Each of the characters has a smartphone, but they also throw back to a “New Kids on the Block” song. DJ’s young son, Max, also made a relevant joke, saying, “Relax, Mom, I already know the bad words: dumb, booger and Donald Trump.”
Such a well-loved old show is nice to see again. However, hopefully the program does not become overdone. If it is already successful, it is safe to say that Netflix will do anything it can to build off that success and continue the sequel series. Some things are better left in the past, however, and while seeing childhood characters all grown up and reunited can be great for an episode or two, “Fuller House”—or rather, Netflix—should quit while it’s ahead.
Nevertheless, “Fuller House” is worth watching by anyone who enjoyed the original show. The first season of 13 episodes is available to stream on Netflix.
