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The Main Characters
The head of the household is Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), a host of a popular morning television show in San Francisco. He has three daughters, D.J. (Candace Cameron), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and baby Michelle (Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen). His is a widower but he isn’t alone with the girls. He is joined by his brother in law Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) and best friend and comedian Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier). The 6 of them live together under the same roof with the three men trying to raise the three girls. Joining this season as a regular is Rebecca Donaldson (Lori Loughlin), Danny’s co-host and Jesse’s fiancee.
The Setting
San Francisco, California.
The Plots
+++Season Three+++
---Disc One---
1) Tanner’s Island (24:42)
Original Air Date: 09/22/89
Danny surprises the family by getting a trip to Hawaii to celebrate their two years of being together. They head to Hawaii and have a grand time, seeing all the sights. Of course, they head to a island and when their boat sails away without them, they are stranded. They start bickering with each other but DJ brings them together again. It turns out they landed on the right island and get to partake in a real Hawaiian luau at the end. This was just a fun episode that included the first Jesse singing showcase of the season. This was a nice start to the third season of Full House. The one thing I don’t remember is the Northwest Airlines commercial during the end credits. Guess they take that one out of syndication.
2) Back-to-School Blues (23:08)
Original Air Date: 09/29/89
This is a big day for DJ and Stephanie, as Stephanie starts second grade and DJ starts 7th grade, and for the first time they are not attending school in the same building. Stephanie has a great time but DJ has a harrowing experience. DJ is only in one class with her best friend, Kimmy, and she can’t seem to make friends. It doesn’t help she’s wearing the same outfit as one of the teachers. She tries to become something she’s not, dressing as a cheap hooker, but Danny tells her that she has to be herself and luckily Rebecca is there to help her how to wear makeup. There’s a subplot of Jesse and Joey playing golf to win a client and Jesse shoots a 159, on the front nine. There were some great moments here, like DJ wearing the same clothes as the teacher and Stephanie had some great one liners. This makes it two good ones in a row. This is on in syndication like all the time, too, so I’ve seen it a lot and it still remains fresh and funny.
3) Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (In 22 Minutes) (23:07)
Original Air Date: 10/06/89
This would be the first time they used a shorter opening, though not the last. Jesse and Becky start fighting when Jesse doesn’t want to horseback ride with Becky anymore and Becky doesn’t go to Jesse’s rehearsals. When Becky hears Jesse complain about her over Michelle’s baby monitor she storms upstairs and the two have a big fight which ends in them breaking up! DJ is devestated by this and tries hard to get them back together, even getting both of them together at the same time. Of course, Jesse brings another girl home and when Becky finds out it seems it is finally over. But the girl Jesse brought telles Becky that all he talked about was her and the two realize they were meant for each other. They decide to stop fighting and start listening to one another. Michelle also has a problem with being selfish which wasn’t really paid off that well. This was a bit of a downer episode with no real laugh out loud moments. The first miss of the season.
4) Nerd for a Day (23:07)
Original Air Date: 10/13/89
Another short opening here. The main plot deals with Stephanie making fun of a classmate, Walter, by calling him Duckface. Jesse learns about this and makes Stephanie apologize to him. He was teased as a youngster and knows it is no fun. He makes her call Walter and makes her apologize and tell him he’s a nice guy. Walter takes this the wrong way and thinks that Stephanie is now his girlfriend! Stephanie hates this idea and tells him it’s a secret. Of course, when her classmates find out and starts teasing her she realizes what it feels like to be teased. She points out times her friends were teased and in the end calls Walter one of her friends. See, second graders can get along sometimes. The subplot shows Joey co hosting with Danny on Wake Up San Francisco, and that, too, isn’t paid off this episode. This would start a mini-arc this season. There were some funny things but overall I would say it is just average.
5) Granny Tanny (23:02)
Original Air Date: 10/20/89
Michelle gets out of her crib all on her own and it may be time for a big-girl bed. Granny Tanny comes over (played by Doris Roberts, a radical departure from the mother seen in Season 1) and stays with the family for a while. It seems that since she’s divorced and now has no children of her own, she feels kind of useless. So Danny makes her feel that she is needed by not cleaning up as much but this backfires on him when she decides to move in there! Danny eventually has to break it to her that she can’t stay there and they only lied to to her to make her feel happy. They decide to go apartment hunting for her. Danny tells his girls they don’t have to lie to him which leads to a funny exchange about Stephanie asking for a Dustbuster to make Dad happy and actually getting one. Michelle gets a new bed (the pencil bed) and gets used to it. The end was satisfying but the rest of the episode lacked a strong plot to carry it through 22 minutes.
6) Star Search (23:07)
Original Air Date: 11/03/89
Joey told himself 10 years ago that he had a decade to make it as a comic and that time has now come. Joey remembers this vow by seeing himself on a home video he and Danny made in the 70’s. It is as corny and hilarious as you’d expect. So Danny gets Joey an appearance on Star Search and Joey does great, and still loses. The family reassures him that if this is what he loves to do he should continue to do it. The family is there for him which is a nice message. Joey’s stand-up routine was alright and he was generally amusing the whole episode. I thought as a standalone episode this was pretty good.
---Disc Two---
7) And They Call It Puppy Love (24:35)
Original Air Date: 11/10/89
A new dog is in the neighborhood. She comes from Ohio and mysteriouly ends up in the Tanner backyard. Joey lets her stay in the house amd when Danny finds out he freaks a bit. They search for the owner of the dog but cannot find him. The family debates keeping the dog. Jesse is against it, Danny isn’t sure, but all the rest want her. The dog starts having puppies and has the litter right on Jesse’s bed! The owner shows up and takes the dog but gives the family a gift, they can keep one of the puppies! The family celebrates. The mini-plot in this episode features Jesse studying for his license exam that he failed the day before. Another solid episode.
8) Divorce Court (24:36)
Original Air Date: 11/17/89
The divorce in question here is between DJ and Stephanie, who are feuding this episode. They hate living with each other and Stephanie moves out for a bit (having a terrible time living with Michelle). They reconcile in the end and attend their Halloween party together. Stephanie is dressed as Batman and DJ is Joker. The other thread running concurrently in this episode is Danny, Jesse and Joey competing to see who is the better athlete. They have a race (taped by Becky, of course) and Danny wins by a nose. Danny wins the bet and can have Joey and Jesse dress like whatever he wants, two Little Bo Peeps. That is a bit disturbing. The episode played into all the Full House corniness we love, but that’s what makes these shows what they are. Noticeably absent is the puppy from the episode before.
9) Dr. Dare Rides Again (24:32)
Original Air Date: 11/24/89
A new boy in the neighborhood, he lives downstairs and its understood. He’s there just to take good care of me, and he’s one of the family. No I haven’t gone mad, Scott Baio shows up in this episode as one of Jesse’s old friends. He still lives like he did in college and is shocked that Jesse has grown up so much. He thinks Jesse has gone soft since his daredevil ways are over. So Jesse tries to prove he’s not soft by hanging out with his old friends, including his old girlfriend and finally by doing a crazy motorcycle jump he did years before. The family shows up and tells Jesse he doesn’t need to do that to prove himself or anything crazy like that. Jesse relents, of course, and realizes how good his life is. The cold opening of this episode sees the dog named Comet and Jesse gets to sing again. Jesse sang and realized he’s grown up. The show obviously brought Baio in due to his popularity and it wasn’t a very strong episode.
10) The Greatest Birthday On Earth (24:34)
Original Air Date: 12/01/89
It is Michelle’s birthday and it is truly a time to celebrate in the Tanner household. Danny and crew have a huge party planned for Michelle. They are going to have clowns and animals over for a real circus party! Jesse really hates this idea since he hates clowns and pushes for an Elvis party, which is quickly overruled by Michelle. Joey and Danny have no problems with it and will even dress like clowns! Meanwhile, Stephanie trys to juggle. Remember this. So it’s the day of Michelle’s party and Jesse brings in Danny’s car to the mechanic with Stephanie and Michelle in tow. They end up getting locked in the garage while Danny and Joey throw Michelle’s friends the party, since they couldn’t wait for Michelle anymore. Michelle is a little bummed she’s missing her party so Stephanie and Jesse dress up like clowns and throw her a party in the garage! Stephanie even juggles! They come home when the mechanic opens the garage up and Danny is pissed at Jesse. He learns that Jesse dressed up like a clown even though he hates them and Michelle had a great party anyway. All is forgiven. Seeing the guys act like jackasses is always amusing.
11) Aftershocks (24:33)
Original Air Date: 12/08/89
After a recent earthquake, Danny notices that Stephanie is acting very clingy to him. He brushes it off at first but Joey and Jesse tell him there’s a problem. They go to a psychologist and after Stephanie makes a drawing it turns out she was worried about him since he came home three hours late after the earthquake hit and she was worried about him. Danny and Stephanie make a list in order to overcome her fear by staying in touch when he’s gone and all that jazz. Meanwhile, DJ has a zit but then realizes at school all of them have it and even makes the worst joke of the season! (Let’z play connect the dotz with our zitz. I added the z’s myself). The episodes centering on the daughters usually aren’t that good since they were still young actresses and really can’t carry the show.
12) Joey and Stacy and…Oh Yeah, Jesse (24:33)
Original Air Date: 12/15/89
Notice the difference between the daughters carrying the show and this one, a Joey/Jesse episode. Jesse has an idea for a new ad and teams up with Joey but it gets a mild reaction at best. Stacy (one of the singers they used) starts a romance with Joey and convinces him that his ideas are good and he should pitch his idea, too. He does and it gets picked up. Jesse is a bit jealous at this but realizes that the reason he is so angry is because he’s bossy and Joey doesn’t really appreciate it. They make up in the end. In the young’uns side of things, Stephanie is mad at Comet for chewing up Mr. Bear. She forgives the mutt at the end. The Joey and Jesse stuff was pretty good.
---Disc Three---
13) No More Mr. Dumb Guy (23:02)
Original Air Date: 01/05/90
Jesse tries to avoid going to a black-tie event but when he sees Becky going with an old professor he gets crash-course in being high-society. This works very badly and Jesse makes an ass of himself and finally challenges the professor to an arm-wrestling match, which he wins! Becky gets pissed at Jesse’s actions and they have a fight and Jesse leaves. He realizes he acted like a jerk and goes to Becky’s apartment and sings her a song and after they talk about it, they reconcile. The subplot revolves around DJ and Stephanie teaching Michelle to say bad things then trying to get her to stop. I wouldn’t say this was a banner episode, but the Jesse stuff was downright funny.
14) Misadventures In Babysitting (23:08)
Original Air Date: 01/12/90
DJ is hogging the phone and the rest of the family isn’t too pleased with it. Danny tells her she has to cut back on her phone time. DJ says she should get her own phone line and Danny agrees, if only she can pay for it by babysitting. Jesse and Becky vow never to fight again, and I think you know how that turns out, especially when Danny hosts a poker game and the guys get Jesse to call Becky. The whole thing ends when DJ has problems with the son of hippies she’s babysitting. He gets his head stuck in the stairwell railings and she calls Danny for help. Danny is proud of her for calling and helps her out, and gets her the phone line she wanted. The hippy parents provided a few chuckles but that was about it.
15) Lust in the Dust (23:01)
Original Air Date: 01/26/90
Danny is bummed he can’t find a girl and he seems to find something wrong with everybody. He gets hooked up with Stephanie’s dance teacher and they have a great time! Until he goes to her messy apartment. He breaks it off with her and heads home. Jesse and Joey sense something is wrong and tell Danny he is too scared to get attached to any woman since Pam died. They tell him to find the best in every girl and that he can’t just end them. He reuniteds with this woman and we never hear from her again. There is a subplot of Michelle stealing and hiding things and Jesse thinks she has his keys, but he really left them in the door. There wasn’t too much to this episode.
16) Bye, Bye, Birdie (22:52)
Original Air Date: 02/02/90
It is Michelle’s first day of preschool and she dreams it will be a magical place. DJ wants to go to school early and Stephanie thinks something is up and literally breaks into her diary. Stephanie blames Comet for breaking it when Jesse finds the lock in his mouth. Stephanie tries to fix it using super glue and ends up glueing it onto her hand! Michelle shows up for her first day of school and accidentally releases the parrot (the class pet) out the window. Michelle tries to get the bird back but Danny buys another bird for the class and Michelle presents it to the class. The diary incident ends with DJ telling Steph she will tell her more of her “fascinating” life if she stays out of her diary.
17) 13 Candles (23:03)
Original Air Date: 02/09/90
DJ celebrates her 13th birthday! DJ has a boy-girl party and things are going great! The boy she likes is there and they even play spin the bottle! The guys try to interfere but Becky tells them not to. DJ’s interest, Kevin, spins the bottle and gets Kevin but Danny interrupts! DJ tells Danny she ruined her party but Becky goes and talks to DJ about it. DJ gets better about it and after saying goodbye to her friends she sees Kevin again, and kisses him at the end of the episode! I didn’t really dig this episode.
18) Mr. Egghead (22:51)
Original Air Date: 02/16/90
Joey is celebrating his new try-out as the host of a kid’s television show where he plays Mr. Egghead, an expert in all things. He hosts his first ever show and who else but Stephanie and her class is there. Everything that could go wrong does for Joey and the whole thing is capped off with Stephanie breaking her nose due to Joey’s accident. Stephanie doesn’t really mind until she remembers she has class pictures the next day and she was self-conscious about it since last year’s picture didn’t turn out so well. Joey comes to save the day, having the whole class wear glasses with a nose on it to cover up Steph’s bandage. The Egghead stuff was corny but great and the episode was good enough. Joey made a joke about Jesse being his Paul Schaffer to his David Letterman and that joke is still relevant some 18 years after this episode airs.
---Disc Four---
19) Those Better Not Be The Days (23:02)
Original Air Date: 02/23/90
With the girls (and Kimmy) stuck in the house for the day, Danny, Joey and Jesse must entertain the girls. They soon realize that the girls are just asking and taking and never thanking them. Danny has an idea that they will switch places with the girls so that the girls become the parents and they become the kids. They do the same thing, all without thanks, then get worried when the girls don’t pick up on it. This leads to a funny daydream sequence where they are old and the girls are still bossing them around. That sequence still makes me laugh even though I’ve seen it a million times. Anyway, the girls finally realize their lesson and give the guys some well needed thanks. Excellent episode.
20) Honey, I Broke The House (23:02)
Original Air Date: 03/09/90
This is the famous episode where Stephanie accidentally drives Joey’s car through the house. She tries to runaway in shame but is later brought back home and has to deal with Danny, who is shocked that there is a car in the kitchen. It is really a simple plot but one that provides a lot of jokes, and the way the different cast find out the car is in the kitchen was classic. Classic pretty much sums up this episode, as it’s a frequent showing in syndication and is still funny. One funny thing is that Kimmy and DJ are listening to Milli Vanilli and Paula Abdul songs.
21) Just Say No Way (23:08)
Original Air Date: 03/30/90
DJ and Kimmy plan their school dance and when the band doesn’t show they get Jesse (playing an awesome Rickenbacker) to play the gig for them. DJ lies about the backing band and brings a marching band to back him up. It doesn’t go over well and Jesse is about to leave when he sees DJ with a beer! He accuses her of drinking and brings her straight home. DJ tells everyone it wasn’t her fault but no one believes her except Stephanie. DJ sneaks out of home to go back to the party and sees her date there. She tells him he needs to clear her name. He leaves, runs into Danny, and tells her the truth. He and his friends were drinking and DJ was telling them to stop when they spilled beer on her. Jesse realizes he was wrong and apologizes to DJ. This was one big PSA about the dangers of drinking and how you don’t need to succumb to peer pressure for drugs, sex, or alcohol. It is quite obvious 18 years later what the message is but it was a good episode for its time, though it’s a bit dated now. There is a funny joke by Stephanie calling the Rolling Stones old, which, again, 18 years later is still relevant.
22) Three Men and Another Baby (23:08)
Original Air Date: 04/13/90
Danny offers to babysit the next door neighbor’s baby while they are away but it seems only Jesse can make the little guy not cry. Jesse carries the baby around and gives it a lot of attention. He even puts the baby in Michelle’s old crib (which is still in her room) and gives him Michelle’s toys to play with. Michelle gets very jealous and starts acting like a baby again to get attention. Jesse and the rest of the family try to get Michelle to grow up a bit but it doesn’t work. It isn’t until Jesse talks to Michelle in words she can understand that she’s not a baby anymore but it doesn’t mean they don’t pay attention to her and love her all the same. This was a very bland episode. Most of the Michelle-centric episodes this season were, since she’s really too young to carry an episode.
23) Fraternity Reunion (23:08)
Original Air Date: 04/27/90
Kimmy convinces DJ to try to bring their TV upstairs to her room so they can watch two TV’s but the TV falls from the top of the balcony and breaks. Danny forbids DJ from seeing Kimmy for three weeks, even though it was Kimmy’s fault, DJ played a part in it. Danny and Joey that night dress up as women to invade a sorority reunion to get their mascot back. It was Danny’s fault it was stolen many years ago. The guys try their best but eventually are caught, and arrested. They go to jail (in drag) and Danny calls home for help. DJ is there but can’t get in touch with anyone else so she goes herself, leaving Kimmy with Stephanie and Michelle. DJ bails out Danny and Joey but the two won’t talk. Danny is mad at Joey for getting him in this predicament. He learns the same lesson he taught DJ that same morning and isn’t quite as mad at her anymore. Joey and Danny hug and make up and all is good again in Tannerville. The guys in drag was funny and Joey was by far the star of this episode.
24) Our Very First Telethon (23:01)
Original Air Date: 05/04/90
I must’ve seen this one a million times, too. Danny hosts a 24-hour telethon to benefit children and we are treated to a whole bunch of gags and jokes. Joey does his standup, does a magic trick gone wrong with Becky who then sings with Danny, the girls have their moment in the sun when Danny falls asleep from exhaustion. Michelle does the alphabet, DJ sings to Michelle, and Stephanie does a totally 80’s dance. Even Kimmy gets in the action by riding her unicycle! Danny finally wakes up and thinks his career is over but the show is still on. Mike Love of the Beach Boys shows up, does, “Be True to Your School,” and the telethon is a success! Thus ends season three of Full House.
Season 3 Review
Season 3 was 24 episodes long and by and far was a good season. A lot of these episodes are in constant rotation on syndication and probably this more than any other season is the one I’m most familiar with. That said, the familiarity didn’t hurt at all. Some of these episodes I’ve seen upwards of 15 times and my enjoyment of them hasn’t lessened at all. It shows the true staying power of this show. Some of the jokes may be a bit old but the heart of the stories are still there. The family aspect is still present and that’s what made Full House so endearing. It didn’t stray from what it was, a charming show about three guys raising three girls and the troubles and pitfalls they come across in good wholesome G-rated ways.
DVD Features
A) Extras
---Disc Four---
1) Joey Impersonations (3:59)
This is a throwaway extra showing montages of the different impressions Joey did during season 3. I mean it just takes everything we’ve just seen from Joey and compresses it in to 4:00. They have some silly animation on the screen sometimes, too. Nothing too great here.
B) Audio/Video
The video is plain old fullscreen and can be a little grainy at times. It’s better than the re-runs in syndication though. The audio is in Dolby Digital but it just comes from the center speakers. It’s not a huge feast for the ears; it’s just a TV show. It does the job.
C) Liner Notes
This was part of the massive Full House The Complete Series Box Set which features all 32 discs housed in slim line cases, two per case, which all go into a replica of the Full House house. It’s a nice collection, though there are no other add-ons, like an episode guide or anything else that most other complete series sets have.
D) Easter Eggs
None
Overall Review
I harped on this the last few reviews but it needs to bear repeating. There are no extras at all. None. There is a 4-minute compilation but no real extras. It won’t change either. They’ve already put out the complete series so any extra content would’ve been on there. There’s nothing. I know hardcore fans of the show find this a bit bothersome. There is nothing, no deleted scenes of 8 seasons, only two commentaries on the first season, no real making of or behind the scenes, or anything. The seasons are great since you get them in full unsyndicated form for the first time since they aired but it’s a bit of a letdown. I can’t really hold it against all the rest of the discs since it is what it is. I’ll let the seasons speak for itself, and really these are cheap collections. For lack of extras I say it is a mild recommendation since you really can’t get the whole thing on TV.
Overall Rating
6.0
10.0 Perfect
9.0-9.5 Near Perfect, Highly Recommended
8.0-8.5 Really good disc, Recommended
7.0-7.5 Good DVD, Mildly recommended
6.0-6.5 Above Average DVD. Mildest of mild recommendations
5.0-5.5 Decent all around disc, but catch it on TV
4.0-4.5 Great Movie but horrible DVD
3.0-3.5 Horrible movie but great DVD
2.0-2.5 There’s at least some merit to this DVD, but not much.
1.0-1.5 Horrible DVD, don’t even bother
0.0-0.5 Worst DVD ever
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