ALONG COMES MARY

Guys, easily the biggest, baddest, most anticipated event of 2016 officially went DOWN this past Friday at midnight. Netflix at last premiered Fuller House, the re-boot of one of the most beloved family sitcoms of the 90s (and my childhood), Full House.

Last week proved to also be one of the toughest weeks in the newish year for Mike, our friends and myself (Deaths in families, absolute worst flu and bronchitis imaginable, you get the picture.), so, awaiting to see Fuller House was THE best day of last week for me. When midnight struck, I was sneezing and miserable on the couch, and, at 12:14am, realized IT was available. 5 out of 13 episodes later, I was, and am, still hooked.

Full House premiered in 1987. Set in San Francisco, it was the most wholesome, and, at times, cheesy, sitcom, that told the tale of news reporter and Dad of 3 young daughters, Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), picking up the pieces following the tragic death of his wife by a drunk driver, and enlisting in his brother-in-law, Jesse (John Stamos) and is college BFF, Joey (Dave Coulier), to help him raise his family. It ran for 8 seasons. While its popularity often baffled the critics, families and children loved every episode of group hugs, “Have Mercy!” and “You Got it, Dude” catch phrases and heart warming lessons.

Fast forward to 29 years later, and the Tanner clan is BACK in a 1 season reunion show, with every cast member returning, except for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. This time around, oldest daughter DJ is the Mom of 3 boys and recently widowed. With the family seeing how much DJ is struggling since her fire fighter husband passed away in the line of duty, little Sister, Stephanie and pesty next door neighbor/BFF of DJ, Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) offer to move in with DJ and the boys to help. Sound familiar?

As a pretty hard-core follower of Full House (I still watch the re-runs), I have been anxiously awaiting Fuller House and all I can say is: I LOVE it. It is everything you expected with a Full House reunion is here. Grandpa Danny is still a clean freak, Joey is now a comedienne in Las Vegas, Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky are still happily married (and we even get to see their twins, Nicky and Alex, all grown up!), DJ is a local Veterinarian and her old flame, Steve, is even still in the picture. Comet’s ancestors are, too 😉

As far the new set of children, Michael Campion as Jackson D.J.’s 13-year-old son, and Elias Harger as Max Fuller, D.J.’s 7-year-old son, respectively, are full of energy and just how you would expect a new generation of Full House kids to be. As for the adorable Dashiell and Fox Messitt as Tommy, D.J.’s infant son, I did feel the producers are trying to force the cuteness onto the audience; while it seemed natural with infant Michelle (The Olsen Twins), several scenes are indeed just for Tommy, but, to me, that is the only element that seems very forced. Let The Messitt boys develop their own character, should the show progress.

Fuller House is an absolute great show to introduce your family to Full House; I am actually surprised the original series is not yet on Netflix. Even if you or your child is unfamiliar with the plot, it’s a pretty fool-proof series, and perfect for everybody!

Bravo to the vast and crew for bringing back the House! 🙂