Full House
Full House title card
Format	Family sitcom
Created by	Jeff Franklin
Starring	John Stamos Bob Saget Dave Coulier Candace Cameron Bure Jodie Sweetin Mary-Kate Olsen Ashley Olsen Andrea Barber Lori Loughlin (1988 recurring, 1989-1996 cast member) Scott Weinger (1991-1995) Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit (1992-1996)
Theme music composer	Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay & Jeff Franklin
Opening theme	"Everywhere You Look", performed by Jesse Frederick
Ending theme	"Everywhere You Look" (instrumental)
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	192 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jeff Franklin Thomas L. Miller Robert L. Boyett Marc Warren Dennis Rinsler (seasons 5-8)
Location(s)	San Francisco, California (setting) Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California (taping location)
Camera setup	Videotape; Multi-camera
Running time	23-25 minutes
Production company(s)	Jeff Franklin Productions Miller-Boyett Productions Lorimar-Telepictures (1987-1988) Lorimar Television (1988-1993) Warner Bros. Television (1993-1995)
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original run	September 22, 1987 – May 23, 1995
Status	Cancelled/ended

Full House is an American television sitcom that originally ran in primetime from September 22, 1987 to May 23, 1995 on ABC. Set in San Francisco, California, it chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) who, after the death of his wife in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier) and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) to help raise his three daughters. Later on in the series, Jesse's wife, Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis, (Lori Loughlin) joins the household.

[edit] Cast

• Daniel Ernest "Danny" Tanner (played by Bob Saget) is the father of D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, brother-in-law to Jesse and Becky, uncle to Nicky and Alex and best friend of Joey Gladstone. Danny is left widowed after Pam is killed in a car accident and is left to raise his three young daughters. Knowing he can't do it alone, he has Joey and Jesse move in to help him out. Danny is a generally cheerful guy, always willing to give anybody a hug that needs it. He's also a neat freak, always wanting everything to be tidy and is very talkative. He sees himself as the "raddest" dad ever to which his daughters disagree to after embarrassing them when he declares himself that out loud. He is the co-host of "Wake Up, San Francisco!" along with Becky. Danny can be overprotective of his daughters and hates seeing them grow up so fast. He was at first afraid of dating after his wife died, but ended up giving in, having various relationships throughout the show. While Rebecca was on maternity leave, Danny fell in love with his temporary co-host, Vicky Larson (Gail Edwards). The two of them dated for awhile and eventually became engaged. Danny proposed to her in the episode "The House Meets The Mouse: Part 2", by a firework asking Vicky to marry him. Sadly, the engagment was later broken off. Danny was depressed for a little while after this, but soon bounced back. He is a very loving father and does whatever he can for his daughters.

• Hermes Jesse Cochran/Katsopolis (played by John Stamos) is Danny's Greek American brother-in law, uncle to D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, husband of Rebecca Donaldson, and father to Nicky and Alex. He moves in with Danny and his daughters after his big sister Pam is killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. In season one, his last name was Cochran, but was changed to Katsopolis in season two onward (to reflect Stamos's Greek heritage). Jesse has a high passion for music and is a big Elvis fan. He plays guitar and sings vocals in his own band. He also plays piano, keyboards, drums and percusions. Jesse is also highly obsessed with his hair, always making sure that's perfectly styled and hates it whenever someone messes it up ("No, not the hair!"). After moving in with the Tanners, Jesse grows close to each of his nieces, whom he really only saw during Christmas and birthdays, especially Michelle. Jesse is always there for his family and gives them advice whenever they are in trouble. In Season 2, he meets and falls in love with Rebecca Donaldson, Danny's co-host on "Wake Up, San Francisco!" The two of them ended up getting married in Season 4 and are prepared to move to Becky's apartment, but Jesse ends up secretly crying after he says goodbye to Michelle, showing that he really isn't ready to leave the house, but does it for Becky. Becky, seeing how much Jesse misses everyone, surprises Jesse by telling him that Danny agreed to letting them live in the attic. Later on in the series, Jesse and Becky welcome Nicky and Alex on Michelle's 5th Birthday.

• Joseph Alvin "Joey" Gladstone (played by Dave Coulier) is an Army brat and Danny's best friend and eventually also becomes Jesse's best friend even though the two of them had never really liked each other in the past. He moves in to help Danny raise his daughters and looks at the girls as his own kids. Joey is the family goofball, always making jokes or playing pranks. He's also like a big kid and enjoys watching cartoons and playing with toys. He and Jesse work together at an advertising agency until they quit the business for good and then later on become radio DJs. Joey soon gets a job as a TV host on a kid's show called "Ranger Joe" along with his woodchuck puppet, Mr. Woodchuck. He has also done some work as a professional stand-up comedian. Even though Joey is immature at times, he has a good heart and when the situation demands it, he can be mature and serious. He is always there for his family whenever they need him and he is like a second father to the girls. Joey has some form of musical abilities, being able to sing and play harmonica, in addition to impersonating singers. Joey has an Uncle Jasper (also played by Coulier) who cuts kids' hair. He made one appearance in "I'm Not DJ", when he cut Nicky and Alex's hair.

• Donna Jo Margaret "D.J." Tanner (played by Candace Cameron Bure) is the oldest daughter of Danny and Pam and the big sister of Stephanie and the older sister of Michelle. When the series first premiered, D.J. was ten years old. Her best friend is the next door neighbor, Kimmy Gibbler, whom everyone else can't really stand. Throughout the series, D.J. struggles through typical teenage issues. Her first real relationship was with Steve Hale, who was about 2 years older than her. The two of them date until the 7th season when D..J. realizes they have drifted apart. She and Steve decided to have a mutual breakup and the two of them remain friends. Steve is only seen for a couple more episodes and then isn't seen again until the series finale. After breaking up with Steve, D.J. dates Nelson, a rich teenager and Viper, one of Jesse's band members. Neither one lasts. She loves her sisters dearly and looks out for them. Her dream college is Stanford, but she is rejected from there. By the show's end, D.J. is eighteen years old and a senior in high school. In the final episode, she is going to her prom, but the date Kimmy had arranged for her wasn't able to make it. D.J. is disappointed, thinking she is going to miss the prom, but Kimmy surprises her with another date she managed to scrounge up. D.J. is afraid to ask who it is, but at that moment, Steve walks in, dressed in a tux and ready to go. D.J. happily runs to him and they hug. Both say they have missed each other and share a kiss. It's unknown whether or not the two of them got back together. D.J. is a Straight A Student.

• Stephanie Judith Tanner (played by Jodie Sweetin) is the sarcastic middle child of Danny and Pam. She is the little sister of D.J., and big sister of Michelle. In the beginning of the show, Stephanie is five years old. She is a perky kid, always getting excited over stuff. She looks up to D.J. and wants to be just like her when she gets older. Deep down Stephanie is jealous of Kimmy because she doesn't want to share D.J. with her. Stephanie loves to sing and dance. Her catchphrase during her early years were "How rude" and "Pin a rose on your nose". Stephanie's most prized possession is a stuffed bear that her mother gave to her after coming home from the hospital with Michelle whom she calls Mr. Bear. As the show goes on, Stephanie grows up into a smart, beautiful teenager. Stephanie gets along fairly well with her sisters with the occasional sister fights and sometimes teams up with the one against the other. By the show's end, she is thirteen and in seventh grade.

• Michelle Elizabeth Tanner (played by Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen) is Danny and Pam's youngest daughter and the baby sister of D.J. and the little sister of Stephanie. When the show started, she was still a baby, around nine months old. Since she was so young when her mother died, Michelle has no memory of her. Michelle looks up to D.J. and Stephanie and she is very fond of Jesse and the two of them are very close. Since she is the youngest, she often feels left out with her sisters. By the show's end, she is eight years old and recovering from Amnesia after a Horseback Riding Accident. She was a lot more spoiled than her sisters as Danny was too afraid to punish her at first. Michelle was the youngest in the Tanner house until they adopted Comet and until Nicky and Alex came along.

• Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson Katsopolis (played by Lori Loughlin) is the sarcastic wife of Jesse, sister-in law of Danny and Pam, aunt to D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, mother to Nicky and Alex, and Co-host on "Wake Up, San Francisco!" and later she's the producer of "Wake Up, San Francisco!" making Danny jealous. She is introduced in the 2nd season and is from Nebraska where she was raised on a farm. It's assumed she comes from a big family as many different family members are mentioned throughout the series, with very few mentioned more than once. Becky is looked at as the girls' mother figure. Whenever a "girl" issues comes up, Becky volunteers to take care of it for Danny. She and Jesse get married after about 2 years of dating. The two of them move out of Becky's apartment and into the attic of the Tanner house and later learn in season 5 that are having twins. Becky gives birth later on in the season to identical twin boys, Nicky and Alex.

• Nicky and Alex Katsopolis (played by Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit) are the identical twin sons to Jesse and Becky, nephews to Danny and Pam, and cousins to D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle. They were born on Michelle's fifth birthday. It's unknown which one of them is the oldest or how far apart they are. Jesse and Becky each got to pick a name for one of them. Jesse picked Nicholas after his father for giving him great hair and Becky picked Alexander after a professor of hers that inspired her to go into journalism. Everyone sings "Happy birthday" to Michelle and the twins and that's when the names Nicky and Alex are first used. When the twins are first brought home, Jesse has a hard time telling them apart. By the show's end, they are toddlers and are about 3 years old. Both of them have long blond hair that Jesse treasures and refuses to have cut.

• Kimberly Louise "Kimmy" Gibbler (played by Andrea Barber) - is the annoying neighbor that Danny, Jesse, Joey, and especially Stephanie dislike, but get along with very well from time to time. Kimmy usually just jokes right back at them. She is D.J.'s best friend, except when they get in fights. She usually serves as a punchline while visiting the Tanners' home, often due to her eccentric wardrobe, or stinky feet. She was on the show from the first season in 1987. Kimmy is a Straight D Student.

• Steven "Steve" Hale (played by Scott Weinger) - is D.J.'s boyfriend in Seasons 6 through 7. Steve was a popular jock at school. He always came by the Tanners' home and went straight to their fridge. Danny once made a joke that he has never seen Steve at their house not eating. He and D.J.'s relationship was very loving and unbreakable until late in season seven when they started to drift apart. He was written out of the series at the end of the seventh season. However, although he isn't seen until the very end, he is mentioned once in the series finale at the end of Season 8. He makes his last appearance at the end of the episode as D.J.'s date for the prom (arranged by Kimmy).

• Comet Tanner - is the golden retriever adopted by the Tanners from Season 3 onwards. Son of Minnie, a dog they kept overnight in "And They Call it Puppy Love." The dog was not meant to be theirs but the genorous man who owned Minnie let them have one of the puppies. Michelle picked the puppy which was found sleeping in Jesse's bed. D.J. chose the name Comet because she thought he was fast and had a tail like a comet. Michelle, however, wanted to name him Michelle (as she liked her name), and Stephanie wanted to name him Mr. Dog after her beloved Mr. Bear.

[edit] Production

[edit] Production and filming

The series was created by Jeff Franklin and executive produced by Franklin, along with Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett.

The series was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions and Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar-Telepictures (1987-1988), Lorimar Television (1988-1993), and then by Warner Brothers Television (1993-1995).

Although the series was set in San Francisco, and the opening credits featured a row of classic Victorian houses on that city's Steiner Street, the sitcom itself was taped at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles. The only episode to have actually been taped in San Francisco was "Comet's Excellent Adventure", the first episode of Season 8. There were also a few episodes where the cast would shoot in other locations, most notably Hawaii in the third season premiere "Tanner's Island", and at Walt Disney World for the episodes "The House Meets the Mouse" (Parts 1 & 2) at the end of Season 6.

[edit] Casting

John Stamos' original character name, Jesse Cochran, was changed after Season 1 to "Jesse Katsopolis". The change in last names was due to Stamos wanting his character to better reflect his Greek heritage. In one episode, Jesse admits his birth name was "Hermes", which actually happens to be his real-life paternal grandfather's name.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen nearly left the show after the first season because their real-life mother was concerned about them missing out on having a "normal" childhood. After a significant raise in salary from the show's producers, she agreed to let them continue. Their mother also let them stay due to the fact that they became so popular.

During the show's run, only four main characters were added to the main cast. Lori Loughlin, who played the role of Rebecca Donaldson (later Katsopolis), was initially scheduled to appear in six episodes in Season 2 as Danny's co-host on Wake Up, San Francisco. However, producers decided to write her character into the show and 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 had hoped for. 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 toddlers Nicky and Alex until the series ended two seasons later.

[edit] Ratings

Full House later became part of the TGIF Friday night line-up after it was created in 1989. But the show actually aired on Fridays from the fall of 1987 to the fall of 1991, which spanned the show's first, second, third, and fourth seasons. The show was moved to Tuesdays for Season 5, and ratings shot up to number 7, which is not typical for an aged series to gain viewers, putting the show in the top ten. It remained on Tuesday until its ending in 1995. While Season 1 was not successful, the show quickly became popular during Season 2 as it was placed immediately following the established hit show Perfect Strangers, and from Season 3 onwards it was ranked among the Nielsen Ratings' Top 30 shows. [4] By Season 4, it jumped to the top twenty and remained there until season 7 (including season 5 & 6 earning their peak spots in the top ten). [5].

In 1995, despite the fact the show was still rated in the top 25, ABC announced that it was canceling the show after the eighth season due to the increasing production costs. 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 a network which had not yet received full national distribution). Eventually, the other actors announced they were also ready to move on to other projects, thus ending the show's eight-year run. The one-hour finale was watched by 24.3 million viewers (25 percent of all Americans watching television at the time).

[edit] Theme song and opening sequence

The show's theme song "Everywhere You Look" was performed by Jesse Frederick, which he co-wrote with Bennett Salvay and series creator Jeff Franklin. An instrumental version of the theme song was used in the closing credits, and in the opening credits in some early syndication runs, although the song was almost always truncated to the chorus for broadcast. Seasons 1 through 3 used a fuller version of the theme song. In season 4, the longest version was used when they included an extra verse instead of the typically included line "you miss your old familiar friends, waiting just around the bend"; in later seasons, the song was shortened (as was the case with the theme songs of fellow Miller-Boyett sitcom Step by Step, and to a lesser extent Perfect Strangers and Family Matters), until it was down to about 42 seconds in Season 8.

In the beginning, the six original characters were shown either sleeping, 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. The address of the Tanner house was mentioned in "Blast From the Past" as being located at 1882 Girard Street in San Francisco, CA. The actual location of the house used for exterior shots in the series is 1709 Broderick Street. It was not until season 8 that the opening credits were changed to feature the entire cast in various locations around San Francisco. From seasons one through five, select shots from the opening credits were seen in the closing credits as well, switching to still shots of episode scenes starting with season six.

The role of Michelle was credited as being played by "Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen" from seasons 2-7 (the duo was only credited in the closing credits in season 1, as "Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen"; though in syndicated reruns, they are also credited in the opening credits as the former) because the show's producers 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 regulates the number of work hours for a young child; therefore it is common for the role of one baby in a TV or film production to be played by twins). 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 & 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. The long opening was cut when the show started regular rotation upon the end of first-run airing.

[edit] Broadcasting history

United States

• ABC (1987-1995; first-run)
• Syndication (1991-2003)
• TBS (1998-2002)
• Nick at Nite (2003-2009)
• ABC Family (2003-present) Originally aired from 6-7 PM/ET, then moved to 7-8 PM/ET, then moved to 4-5 PM/ET, and currently airing from 3-4 PM/ET on weekdays. Full House used to air weekend mornings, but has been discontinued. The show also used to air weekdays from 12-1 PM/ET, but this too has been discontinued.
• The N (August 31, 2009-September 27, 2009)
• TeenNick (September 28, 2009-present)

Canada

• CTS (2008-2009)

Brazil

• Rede Globo (1990)
• SBT (2000-2006)
• Warner Channel (until-2008)

[edit] Syndication history

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. During the summer of 1991, reruns of the early seasons began airing in a daily daytime strip on NBC.^[6] In the late 1990s, TBS Superstation 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 2003. Several episodes on ABC Family feature the original extended version of the theme song. As of 2009, the show still airs daily on ABC Family. The show also airs on CTS (Crossroads Television System) in Canada.

The show has also been acquired and aired by networks in various countries outside North America, and has a large amount of fans around the world.

Reruns of Full House began airing on The N starting on August 31, 2009, and it then subsequently moved to the new TeenNick network when it debuted on September 28, 2009, taking over The N's channel space.

[edit] Feature film

In a December 2008 news story,^[7] it was reported that John Stamos was planning a reunion movie.^[8] Reports, however, indicate that this idea was quickly withdrawn, because most of the cast was not interested.^[9]

In 2009, Stamos announced that a feature film based on the show is still on. Stamos told The New York Daily News, "I'm working on a movie idea, but it wouldn't be us playing us. I'm not 100% sure, but it would probably take place in the first few years." Stamos has Steve Carell and Tracy Morgan in mind for the roles of Danny and Joey respectively.^[10]

[edit] Episodes

[edit] DVD releases

Warner Home Video has released all eight seasons of Full House on DVD in Region 1. The first four seasons were also released on DVD in Region 2. A complete series set containing all 192 episodes was released on November 6, 2007.

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Kids' Choice Awards

[edit] TV Land Awards

[edit] Young Artist Awards

[edit] Full House books

Books based on Full House are geared toward children primarily ages 8–14. However, many are considered enjoyable by fans of the sitcom, especially of the characters Stephanie Tanner and Michelle Tanner, who are the main focuses. Warner Brothers, the owners of Full House, would not permit others to use their characters, and selected who could write books based on the TV series. Such strict control by the owners of Full House means they may be considered more than fan fiction, and in fact represent a parallel universe known to many fans as the Book Universe.

The series include the following:

Full House Stephanie: These 33 books were written from the point of view of the Tanners' middle daughter, Stephanie Tanner. They take place with Stephanie in a different middle school, likely because of a slightly different redistricting plan compared to the one mentioned in season 7's Fast Friends. She has different best friends, Allie Taylor and Darcy Powell, as well.

Though these are book creations, she has known Allie since kindergarten, and there are several places in the first five seasons of Full House where fans think an unnamed extra could be Allie. The first ten of these books overlap with seasons 7 and 8 of the TV series, though the school is not the only difference; there are a number of differences in the Tanners from the series.

This series begins with Stephanie being pressured to join a clique called the Flamingoes, by completing a series of dares. She almost does the last one, though she's not sure if she wants to, before D.J. catches her trying to steal Danny's phone card. Stephanie explains tearfully what was happening, and D.J. helps her to understand what the Flamingoes were really up to: they wanted the phone card to use to call boyfriends. Stephanie and the Flamingoes become fierce rivals, though not all books surround this rivalry or even show the Flamingoes.

Two stories were translated and published in Japan in February 2007.

Full House Michelle: These 41 stories are told from Michelle's point of view. The first 27 feature more of her - and the other Tanners' - home life than others, though some focus on events at school, whereas the last 14, the "Michelle and Friends" series, focuses mostly on Michelle and her classmates. Unlike Stephanie, Michelle goes to the same elementary school, but is in a different class. The first four books in the Michelle series overlap with season 8 of Full House, though these, too, take place in this Book Universe. Two stories were translated and published in Japan in February 2007.

Full House Sisters: These 14 books focus on Michelle and Stephanie's friendship and comical situations that occur between them. The sisters often alternate points of view in the story.

Full House: Dear Michelle: These 4 books were published several years after the others stopped being produced. They take place with Michelle in the third grade, where she writes an advice column for her class paper. It is a different third grade class from either the first four books or the TV universe, though the class contains several of the same friends as in the other books.

[edit] Time frame

The books, most of which were published between 1993 and 2001, along with the 2004 Dear Michelle series, span from Stephanie's sixth-grade year (season 7 on TV) to her ninth-grade year. No book has been written to date to show her in high school, nor Michelle starting middle school. The Flamingoes are featured less and less in Stephanie books, and the last Club Stephanie trilogy shows Stephanie and her friends becoming friends with the Flamingoes by the end.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Channels:

• Full House on ABC Family
• Full House on Teen Nick

Other links:

• Full House at the Internet Movie Database
• Full House at TV.com