Full House
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- This article is related to Full House, the American television series. For information related to the album, see Full House (album). For information pertaining to the poker hand, see Full house (poker).
| Full House | |
 The "Full House" cast at the end of its series run in 1995. |
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| Format | Sitcom |
| Run time | approx. 0:24 (per episode) |
| Creator | Jeff Franklin |
| Starring | Bob Saget as Danny Tanner John Stamos as Jesse Katsopolis Dave Coulier as Joey Gladstone Candace Cameron as D.J. Tanner Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie Tanner Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen as Michelle Tanner Lori Loughlin as Rebecca Donaldson (seasons 2-8) Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler Scott Weinger as Steve Hale (seasons 7-8) Blake & Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit as Nicky & Alex Katsopolis (seasons 5-8) |
| Country | USA |
| Network | ABC |
| Original run | September 22, 1987 – May 23, 1995 |
| No. of episodes | 192 |
Full House was a television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from 1987 until 1995. It was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions, in association with Miller-Boyett Productions and Lorimar Television (which was subsequently bought by Warner Bros.) and distributed by Warner Brothers Television.
The theme song "Everywhere You Look" was performed by Jesse Frederick and co-written by him and Bennett Salvay.
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Synopsis
The premise of the show, as established in the first episode, involves a recently widowed San Francisco sportscaster (later television talk show host) Danny Tanner who is left to raise his three young daughters (Donna Jo "D.J.", Stephanie Judith and baby Michelle Elizabeth) following the death of his wife, Pam, in a car accident. He recruits his best friend from college, Joey Gladstone, and his late wife's brother, Jesse, to help him take care of his girls. Many of the show's exploits surrounded the idea of three "swinging" bachelors trying to rein in the precocious antics of three little girls, who frequently got the best of them. Joey makes a living primarily as a stand-up comedian, Jesse as a struggling musician who originally pays the bills working for his father's exterminating company. Eventually, Danny becomes the co-host of the morning talk show "Wake Up, San Francisco" alongside Rebecca Donaldson, who begins dating Jesse. They marry and have twin sons, Nicky and Alex. The girls grow up considerably as the series goes on, and often argue and clash as only sisters do. The expanded family all live together in the same "full" house. To quote the theme song, "Whatever happened to predictability?"
Characters
Danny Tanner
Danny Tanner is left with three young daughters to raise after his wife, Pam, passes away. At the beginning of the series, he works as a sportscaster for Channel 16 News. Beginning in the third season, he is chosen to be one of the co-hosts for the station's new talk show, "Wake Up, San Francisco," with Rebecca Donaldson. Much of the humor of Danny's character comes from his obsession with cleaning and cleanliness (he can often be found cleaning for cleaning's sake, sometimes even cleaning his cleaning products), his dorkiness and his generally "not-hip dad" personality. Eventually moving on from his wife's death, he enters various romantic relationships through the show's eight seasons. Most notably is his relationship with Vicky Larson, first introduced in the fifth season. Their relationship reaches a climax in season when she accepts his marriage proposal; however, Vicky gets offered a job elsewhere, and they break up.
Jesse Katsopolis
Jesse Katsopolis is Danny's brother-in-law, Pam's younger brother. He first moves into the house with virtually no experience in taking care of young children or babies, but learns quickly (sort of). In the first season, Jesse works for his father Nick's exterminating business before leaving to pursue work in advertising, frequently working with Joey. He later works with Joey as co-hosts of an afternoon radio show, and also as the new owner of the Smash Club. Jesse's main passion is music, and struggles to "hit it big" with his band The Rippers for much of the show's early seasons. His band finally gets a record deal in the fifth season. Jesse's biggest obsessions in life are his perfect hair, and his idol worship of Elvis Presley. His catchphrase is "Have Mercy!" He also likes to end a lot of sentences with "HUH?" such as "NO, HUH?" Jesse begins dating Rebecca Donaldson a few months after she begins working with Danny, and they marry in the show's fourth season. The next season, they welcome twins, Nicky and Alex, and all four continue to live in the house with the rest of the family. In the first season, Jesse's last name was Cochran; this was changed to Katsopolis, supposedly to better reflect John Stamos' real-life Greek heritage. In a later season, it is revealed that his true first name is Hermes, after his great-grandfather, but that he had it changed at a young age. It was rumored during the first season that since the show took place in San Francisco, Joey and Jesse were homosexual partners. However, these rumors tended to dissipate after the character Jesse married Becky.
Joey Gladstone
Joey Gladstone is Danny's best friend since childhood and former college roommate. His catchphrase is "Cut.. it.. out" accompanied by a series of related mouth and face gestures. He, like Jesse, has very little knowledge of childcare when he first moves into the house. Joey has struggled to make a living as a standup comic for nine years, but loves what he does. He does get a "big break" every once in a while. He works with Jesse in the advertising business, co-writing jingles and campaigns. They initially work for a major company before branching off into their own business. In season five, Joey takes over a children's program as "Ranger Joe." The following year, he teams up with Jesse again to co-host a radio show as the "Rush Hour Renegades." Joey is seen with various girlfriends throughout the series' run, but no permanent romantic attachments. It was rumored during the first season that since the show took place in San Francisco, Joey and Jesse were implied homosexual partners. However, these rumors tended to dissipate after Jesse married Becky.
D.J. Tanner
Donna Jo (D.J.) Margaret Tanner, is Danny's eldest daughter. She is 10 years old when the series begins and 18 at the show's end. D.J. is the only Tanner girl seen in all three levels of school--elementary, middle, and high school. She attends Frasier Street Elementary, Van Atta Junior High (named after the show's co-producer, Don Van Atta), and Bayview High School through the show's whole run. She shares a room with middle-child Stephanie at the beginning of the show, but switches rooms with Michelle in season five to have more privacy. After experiencing the usual preteen junior high boy-craziness, D.J. has her first serious relationship with Steve, first introduced in season five but becoming a real fixture in her life (and an official cast member) beginning in the sixth season when their characters return from a summer abroad in Spain. Their relationship lasts until midway through season seven, when they realize they do not have much in common anymore. During the show's final season, D.J. has on-off relationships with guitarist Viper (a new addition to Jesse's band) as well as rich-kid Nelson. In the very last episode, Steve and D.J. are reunited for her senior prom. D.J.'s best friend (and fixture throughout the entire series) is Kimmy Gibbler, their dim-witted next-door neighbor and a nuisance to the entire Tanner household.
Stephanie Tanner
Stephanie Judith Tanner is the middle daughter. She is five years old when the series begins and 13 when it ends. She is the typical "precocious" child, far too cute for her own good, particularly in the early seasons. Her catchphrase of "How rude!" was heard frequently in the show's early years. Stephanie loves spying on older sister D.J.'s life (such as reading her diary and eavesdropping on telephone calls) and is generally the nosiest of the Tanner girls. She attends Frasier Street Elementary and DiMaggio Junior High during the series. Stephanie shares a room with D.J., and later Michelle. Her best friend in junior high is Gia Mahan, who was originally her biggest enemy. They get into various pre-teen/teenage exploits together. Of all the Tanner children, Stephanie has dealt with the hardest issues, such as teenage smoking, "make-out" parties, and witnessing child abuse.
Michelle Tanner
Michelle Elizabeth Tanner is Danny's youngest daughter, the "little princess" whom he tends to spoil and pamper more than the other girls. She was just 10 months when the show began and about eight when the series wrapped. Jesse and Joey's misadventures in taking care of her when she was a baby provided much of the humor in the show's early seasons. Once Michelle started to grow up, she became the focus of a lot more storylines, as well as the majority of the show's publicity, thanks to the popularity of the Olsen twins. Michelle attends Meadow Crest Preschool and Frasier Street Elementary during the show's run. Her best friends, Teddy and Denise, appeared frequently in later seasons, as well as the perpetually obnoxious Aaron.
Rebecca Katsopolis
Rebecca Katsopolis (nee Donaldson) is Danny's co-host on "Wake Up, San Francisco" and Jesse's girlfriend and later wife on the series. She joins the cast in the second season, becoming an official cast member in season 3. She originally hails from Valentine, Nebraska, and the contrast to Jesse's rock-and-rolling city background provides for some humor early in their relationship. They marry on Valentine's Day in 1991, and at the end of that season she reveals she is pregnant. She and Jesse welcome twins - Nicholas & Alexander Katsopolis in the fall of season five.
Kimmy Gibbler
Kimmy Gibbler is D.J.'s best friend and the Tanners' next-door neighbor. She is portrayed as a nuisance who often gets into trouble with D.J. Though she starts off as a typical friend, she becomes more and more dim-witted as the show progresses. Kimmy has been a regular fixture in the Tanner household since the beginning of the series.
Steve Hale
Steve Hale (originally introduced as Steve Peters) is D.J.'s first steady boyfriend. He joins the cast as an official member in season 6, though he made an appearance in a season 5 episode. Steve is two years older than D.J. and a star member of the high school wrestling team. He leaves the cast at the end of season 7 after he and D.J. break up, but makes a cameo appearance in the series finale the following year.
Pam Katsopolis - Tanner
Pam, the girls' mother and Danny's wife, was never seen in the series, except in the form of a home video when she and Danny brought Michelle home from the hospital. She was killed by a drunk driver before the series began. She has been described as always smiling, overexcitable, and unpunctual.
Reunion rumors
Rumors have voraciously circulated the internet since the early 2000's of Warner Bros. Television asking the entire cast of the show to return for another reunion special. While there has been much speculation by fans on the subject, there has been no real "hard evidence" to support the claim. Both Dave Coulier and John Stamos have commented that such a reunion is highly unlikely. Although, the entire cast (minus Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen) joined Bob Saget on the final episode of America's Funniest Home Videos in 1997.
On Television
ABC Family at 12PM and 3PM (Mon-Fri) 12PM (Sat, Sun)
Nick at Nite at 9PM (Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu) 10PM and 5AM (Fri, Sat) 5AM (Sun-Thur)
Nickelodeon at 8:30PM (Mon-Thur)
