“Whatever happened to predictability?” echoes the theme song to Full House and its sequel Fuller House.
It hasn’t gone anywhere. Fuller House is a predictable and cute follow-up series to the popular ’90s sitcom Full House. The shows share the same characters, the same plot points, and the same cheesy comedy.
However, there’s one big difference that every viewer needs to know before they start watching. Fuller House isn’t Full House and it never will be. It’s a sequel series set 29 years later that’s clearly catered toward the generation of viewers that watched Full House as children. It’s not a strong stand-alone series, but all of its references and reprises of characters from the original series should provide Full House fans with some satisfying nostalgia.
It’s a similar setup to Full House, which starred too many characters to name in once sentence – hence the name Full House. Similarly, in Fuller House there are three parental figures, four children, a dog, and tons of quirky side characters.
Although it primarily features the kids from the original series, now grown, the adults from the old series are still given some screen time. So if you want to know what Danny Tanner, Uncle Jesse, Uncle Joey, and Aunt Becky have been up to since 1995, Fuller House should provide some answers.
The strongest episode is perhaps the first one, where all of the characters (sans Michelle Tanner) return and new characters are established. Classic jokes from the original series are all smashed into one episode that novice viewers might not understand. It’s like watching an inside joke unravel for 20 minutes, so if you’re not in on the joke, it may not be that funny.
There’s nothing in itself special about hearing a grown-up Stephanie say “How rude” another time or listening to Danny Tanner bond with his grandson about the importance of cleaning. But for people who watched Full House when it was often on cable TV, these references are something special.
These references continue for the remainder of the season, which is mildly entertaining. A few of its episodes reuse plots from the original series, which may or may not be on purpose. For example, just like D.J. and her sisters in the original show, D.J. and her best friends’ children misbehave sometimes, and these acts of revolt are always followed with a heartfelt and personable talk from their parents.
The biggest missing piece to the series is Michelle Tanner, as the Olsen twins did not return to play Danny Tanner’s youngest child. However, D.J.’s children mirror the personality of Michelle’s younger self, particularly Max: he’s cute, a bit silly, and sweet to his family.
This cuteness applies to the Fuller House series as a whole. It’s not an exceptional TV show, but it’s a fun, light-hearted, and sentimental show for Full House fans craving a taste of their childhood.