TV Review: Fuller House

When Full House first aired in 1987 I was already past the primary age demographic for this show. I was a single male in my early 20s who, frankly, had better things to do on a Friday night than watch a show about a single dad whose best friend and brother-in-law move in to help take care of the three cute kids. I did occasionally see a minute or two while flipping through channels. Sometimes I managed to sit through an entire episode.

That's why I found it odd that I would binge-watch Fuller House, the 13-episode Netflix original series that dropped last Friday, February 26. But I did. And, for the most part, I enjoyed it.

Even without having watched every episode of the original series, I knew enough about the show to know the basic back story. I knew what I expected from the show and, more importantly, what I wanted to see.

Fuller House, like a lot of other shows, gets better as you watch the episodes. The first episode/pilot made me cringe in embarrassment repeatedly. Yes, it sets up the rest of the season, but it's basically a "let's get the band back together and do one last show" type of reunion show. The original cast are brought out one by one for a brief chance to shine and we're introduced to the new kids. After that, except for cameos from Bob Saget, John Stamos, Dave Coulier, and Lori Loughlin in various episodes, it's up to Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and Andrea Barber to carry the show.

I believe they succeeded, especially with the nostalgia factor. Yes, there are some episodes that focused on the kids that got a little too close to "Afternoon Special" territory, but when the focus of the story was on D.J., Stephanie, and Kimmy the show exceeded all my expectations.

Widowed D.J. (Candace Cameron Bure) finds herself ready to begin dating and is the object of affection of two really nice guys, Matt Harmon, a fellow veterinarian played by Josh Brotherton, and former love-of-her-life Steve Hale, now a podiatrist, played by Scott Weinger. She is the mother of three, Jackson, Max, and Tommy.

Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), who I remember most as being a pest, has grown up into a mostly responsible person trying to launch a singing career after touring for years as DJ Tanner (as in a club/party DJ).

And then there's Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber). She was my favorite character from the original show, mainly because I had watched Barber as Carrie Brady on Days of our Lives in the early '80s and she went from playing cute kid to cute -- and oh, so quirky -- 'tween and teen on Full House. Pairing her with Juan Pablo di Pace, who played Kimmy's ex Fernando, was an excellent move. The two play off each other perfectly. Kimmy and Fernando have a daughter, Ramona.

There are some cameos/guest appearances in a few episodes. Macy Gray, San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, Val and Maks Chmerkovskiy all made appearances. I'm not crazy about most cameos/guest appearances by entertainment or sports figures anyway as they come off as mostly awkward.

The kids come across as a little too cutesy at times, especially Max, played by Elias Harger, who may be the best actor of the group but also mugs for the camera a little too much.

Noticeably absent from the new show is little sister Michelle, played in the original series by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Much has been made of the fact that neither twin was available to film even a cameo for the first season, but the show doesn't suffer from her not making an appearance and may even be stronger for not dividing the focus even more. Should the show get picked up for a second season, however, I'd like to see one or both of the girls to film a scene or two as Michelle Tanner.

Would I watch a second season of Fuller House? Yes, especially if it continued to focus more on D.J., Stephanie, Kimmy and their lives.

Rating 3.5 Stars