|
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 fiancée.
The Setting
San Francisco, California.
The Plots
+++Season Four+++
---Disc One---
1) Greek Week (22:58)
Original Air Date: 09/21/90
Jesse’s grandparents show up from Greece with a surprise, an old crush of Jesse’s and a young boy who draws the attention of DJ. DJ likes this new boy and they even walk around the table together! Of course, some Greek custom says that they are now married. Jesse remembers doing that with his old flame, much to Becky’s chagrin, and they are seemingly married, too! Becky already had a problem with this woman and she leaves when Jesse isn’t turning her away soon enough. They have a party, Becky comes back very upset and Jesse tells everyone that Becky is the only one for her. They get engaged again (after the weddings are annulled) and everyone lives happily ever after. There is a slightly amusing plot where they bring a little girl from Greece who looks exactly like Michelle. This wasn’t a strong episode to start the season with but it set the season long plot point that Jesse and Becky are engaged to be married.
2) Crimes and Michelle’s Demeanor (22:58)
Original Air Date: 09/28/90
Michelle causes a pillow fight that ends up breaking the window in DJ and Stephanie’s room and gets them grounded. They soon start seeing Michelle treated like a princess and the girls don’t really appreciate it. The guys start noticing it, too, with Jesse warning them that they need to start putting their foot down. It seems that little Michelle has the guys wrapped around her finger and they need to be really strong with their rules. Michelle is getting a lot gutsier with having her way and Danny blaming the girls. The subplot of the episode deals with Jesse buying Rebecca a ring that is terribly out of his price range. Becky finds out and chips in for the ring which the macho Jesse doesn’t really appreciate. We have some really dated references here (MC Hammer on the MTV music awards and Michelle watching the Arsenio Hall show) but it was an enjoyable episode with the guys dealing with an egotistical baby. They have the requisite singing number (the guys singing Teddy Bear to Michelle).
3) The i.Q. Man (22:58)
Original Air Date: 10/05/90
Jesse and Joey pitch a cologne commercial to their bosses but when Jesse is offered the part in the commercial, he balks. His bosses tell him he must do it. It gets even worse when he has to wear the smallest pair of shorts and nothing else! Jesse ends up getting so fed up he quits! In other parts of the story, Danny is a bit bummed he wasn’t invited to DJ’s career day at school. When Kimmy’s Connie Chung invite doesn’t go through, Danny is in! So, in the end, Jesse and Joey are unemployed until Danny gives them a huge advance to work together as partners. Danny gives the guys an investment and the two will work, I guess, for Danny.
4) Slumber Party (22:58)
Original Air Date: 10/12/90
Stephanie doesn’t want to go to a slumber party with the Honey Bees because she has no mother. Becky says she will go with her but she gets stuck and Joey takes her place. Stephanie has a terrible time and comes home, heartbroken. DJ saves the day by going with Stephanie. There’s a subplot of Danny selling his belongings in the attic so that Joey and Jesse can use it as their studio and a funny scene of Michelle dressed like a biker after Jesse takes her shopping. I’ve seen this a million times and it is still funny.
5) Good News, Bad News (22:57)
Original Air Date: 10/19/90
DJ becomes the editor of her school paper and lets Kimmy be the sports editor. She does a terrible job, they have a fight, DJ fires Kimmy and they are no longer friends. Kimmy then starts a rival newspaper to badmouth DJ and DJ wants retribution. Danny and Becky think this is crazy, to get back at her, and realize that they’ve been fighting over something stupid, too, with the new format of the show and the commercial (done by Jesse and Joey) being a disaster. There is an annoying little side-plot of Michelle ghosting Stephanie and saying everything Steph says.
6) A Pinch for a Pinch (22:47)
Original Air Date: 10/26/90
Jesse takes over Joey’s duty at Michelle’s preschool after Joey needs to get dental work done. Jesse shows up and when Michelle gets picked on, Jesse tells her to stick up for herself. This leads to a standoff between Jesse and Michelle’s teacher and Jesse pulls Michelle out of the school. Danny isn’t too happy about this, of course. Meanwhile, Stephanie is freaked that a horoscope she read from Kimmy came true and takes one of Michelle’s nightlights for protection. Michelle comes in, pinches her and Jesse realizes that the things she taught her may not be all that productive. Michelle is put back in the school and Jesse explains to Michelle about right and wrong. This was surprisingly well-written with two of the plot lines converging at the end. There was a funny comeback from Stephanie, too. Good episode.
7) Viva Las Joey (22:46)
Original Air Date: 11/02/90
Joey is called up at the last minute to open for Wayne Newton in Las Vegas and the whole family comes along. DJ and Stephanie calls Joey’s dad so he can come but they don’t realize that the two don’t get along. Sure enough, the father shows up and tells Joey how disappointed he is in him before he goes on. Joey does his show, is actually funny, and makes fun of his father. What he didn’t know is that his father showed up to actually see the show. They make up at the end and all is good in the Full House world. This was totally a Joey episode and for the most part it delivered.
---Disc Two---
8) Shape Up (22:57)
Original Air Date: 11/09/90
This classic episode deals with one of the many problems facing young teenage girls even today, the problem of trying too hard to look like the models they’d see in a magazine. DJ is invited to a pool party for Kimmy’s 14th birthday and she starts obsessing over how she will look in a bathing suit. She starts taking it to the extremes, not eating and exercising herself to exhaustion. Eventually Stephanie catches on and tells the family so they basically stage an intervention and tell her that her friends like her for who she is. Though the character turn for DJ was unexpected, it was a good PSA for the little kids out there.
9) One Last Kiss (22:58)
Original Air Date: 11/16/90
Jesse has his 10-year high-school reunion and must come face to face with an old love. She left ten-years ago to model in France and Jesse said he would wait for her. They meet and Jesse still has feelings for her. He goes home and she follows and they share a kiss, but Jesse realizes that he only has feelings for Becky. He tells her this, and although she was a little pissed she kissed her, she likes that he’s the only one for her. In other areas of the episode, Stephanie and Michelle hold a birthday party for Comet. This was a pretty decent episode.
10) Terror in Tanner Town (22:57)
Original Air Date: 11/23/90
Danny has a new girlfriend, Cindy, a divorced mother of one who does his dry-cleaning. This leads to a memorable line (I love it when you talk clean to me). So Danny brings Cindy over to their house and she brings along Rusty, her son. Rusty is a little terror, pulling cruel practical jokes to try and break up Cindy’s relationship. The Tanners are all mad, except Danny, who sees this as a plea to get attention and things are smoothed out and the relationship is saved, until the writers don’t need her anymore.
11) Secret Admirer (22:47)
Original Air Date: 12/07/90
DJ has the hots for the paper boy, so Rusty writes a love letter for DJ that was supposed to be from the paperboy. Of course, this doesn’t go as planned as Michelle gives the note to the wrong person and it passes around like a hot potato, with everyone thinking someone else has the hots for them, including Rebecca thinking Danny wrote her the note, Cindy (she actually made a return from last episode) thinking Joey is onto her, Kimmy thinking Jesse has the hots for her and its actually a very funny entertaining episode where it’s one big case of misunderstanding and probably one of the funniest, well-orchestrated episodes of the entire run.
12) Danny In Charge (22:48)
Original Air Date: 12/14/90
Jesse and Joey are off in the woods to film a fox leaving its foxhole, leaving Danny alone with the girls. He’s happy he and the girls can spend time together until both DJ and Stephanie have an event going on and Danny can’t please either of them, no matter whose event he attends. Soon the stress gets to him and he falls asleep on Michelle’s bed, missing both events. DJ and Stephanie are worried when Danny didn’t show up to either event and are worried, but when they find him sleeping they are much better, and sorry for putting that pressure on their dad. Nothing special here.
13) Happy New Year (22:47)
Original Air Date: 12/28/90
Joey is trying to get a date for New Year’s Eve but is having no luck. So Jesse and Danny enroll him in a dating service (against his knowledge) and he meets the perfect girl named Christine. They have a nice time at the Tanner House for New Year’s Eve (where everyone ends up coming back home) and have a great time. Especially Joey. So much so that he wants to marry Christine after only one date. Eventually cooler heads prevail and they decide to postpone the marriage until they get to know each other better. Did this girl even show up again on the show?
14) Working Girl (22:47)
Original Air Date: 01/04/91
DJ gets a job so she can afford the new $160 shoes she wants. Meanwhile, Becky and Jesse argue over where to get married, Becky’s home in Nebraska or Jesse’s dream location of Graceland. They eventually settle on getting married at home. DJ’s job goes well until she gets an F at school. Thanks to Kimmy that F becomes an A and Danny is happy that DJ is keeping her grades up. Eventually Danny learns the truth and DJ learns her lesson. She leaves her job to bring her grades up.
---Disc Three---
15) Ol’ Brown Eyes (22:53)
Original Air Date: 01/11/91
Danny wants to be cool to impress DJ and he plans to be cool at her fundraiser that night. Danny sings a memorable version of My Generation. Meanwhile, Jesse asks Joey to get Becky’s engagement ring engraved but Michelle takes it and has Joey play a game of Hot and Cold. Unfortunately for him, Jesse had found the ring already. So Jesse plays with him a bit before telling him he has found it. DJ also lets her dad sing with the guys at the end.
16) Stephanie Gets Framed (22:53)
Original Air Date: 01/25/91
Stephanie needs glasses for school, Jesse picks Joey over Danny as his best man and DJ is on the run from a friend’s cousin who has come from Chicago, Steve Urkel. Urkel actually helps Stephanie become acquainted with the glasses and Joey tells her that the real her is beautiful. Jesse also chooses both guys as his best man to quell their little rivalry for this episode.
17) A Fish Called Martin (22:45)
Original Air Date: 02/01/91
Michelle wins a fish at the local fair and brings it home. She washes it in the tub but that just kills the little guy. She feels bad about it but gets over it when Danny buys her another one and she witness the little fish give birth. Jesse and Becky also iron out the rest of the details including the final square dance.
18) The Wedding Part 1 (22:53)
Original Air Date: 02/08/91
The wedding is tomorrow and everyone is getting ready for it. Michelle is practicing being the flower girl, DJ and Stephanie are making a video to document things, and Becky’s parents arrive. Jesse and Mr. Donaldson get off on the wrong foot but have a nice chat to clear things up. Mr. Donaldson tells Jesse that once he’s married all his adventures are done so he heads off on the day of his wedding for his one last adventure. His last hurrah? Skydiving out of an airplane. So the wedding day is here and everyone’s here and ready, except Jesse, who got caught in a tree.
19) The Wedding Part 2 (22:47)
Original Air Date: 02/15/91
So Jesse falls out of the tree into a truck full of tomatoes and then tries to take the driver’s truck to get to the wedding. All of this just ends with Jesse getting arrested. Jesse calls Danny and Becky goes to bust him out of jail. Their car gets towed so Jesse and Becky get on a school bus where Becky drives it to the wedding. They eventually get there and the wedding goes off without a hitch, including a cheesy song that Jesse sings to Becky.
20) Fuller House (22:46)
Original Air Date: 02/22/91
Stephanie has problems learning fractions in school but let’s put that on the back burner for now because Jesse and Becky are back from their honeymoon! Everyone’s happy for them and is excited for their new life together. This new life will be out of the Tanner house (which makes sense) but Michelle is really sad about this. We do get the requisite flashbacks of Jesse and Michelle tearfully says goodbye to him. As a result of Jesse leaving, Stephanie gets Jesse’s room and DJ now has her own room. Jesse misses being around and Stephanie gets a fraction lesson using the 7 members of the family to add and subtract fractions (and Danny saying that Jesse and Becky are the two-sevenths that don’t live there). So Becky tells Jesse they can sleep in the attic that night and soon an idea is sprung, Jesse and Becky can live in the attic! So that’s set, and Steph is back with DJ.
---Disc Four---
21) The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang (22:32)
Original Air Date: 03/01/91
Joey is moving into his new room (Jesse’s old room) and Jesse is busy fixing up the attic. DJ has to deal with Stephanie following her around and acting like her. DJ goes into Danny’s room to get a shirt and Stephanie follows her. Hijinx ensues and this leads to DJ and Stephanie pulling down Danny’s shirts off the closet and then putting a hole in the wall. They are able to actually fool Danny with their Dad song and Steph and DJ have a nice chat about Steph trying to copy her all the time. The b-story of Joey and Jesse fixing up the attic never really ended though.
22) Stephanie Plays the Field (22:32)
Original Air Date: 03/08/91
Stephanie meets a very cute boy who plays for the other team. You know, writing that in 1991 wouldn’t be so bad but writing it now takes on a whole other meaning. So this boy, Bret, is playing Steph’s team and Steph will be pitching. Bret basically asks Steph to throw an easy one his way so he can get a hit in front of his family. Meanwhile, Michelle is locked out of Jesse’s room and she complains to Joey about it. This leads to a funny bit where Michelle asks why they need privacy and Joey says they are doing taxes. Michelle asks if they’ll be doing taxes every night and Joey says they will be, for the first couple of months. I think that’s a very funny discussion between Michelle and Joey and the two different meanings they have. So, Michelle gets that Jesse needs some privacy and Stephanie does give up a fluff hit for Bret but when the game is on the line she does the right thing and strikes his ass out. Bret doesn’t mind and still wants to hang out with Stephanie. This was a really good episode.
23) Joey Goes Hollywood (22:47)
Original Air Date: 03/29/91
Stephanie doesn’t like her name (because kids are calling her Step on Me) and renames herself Dawn Ariel. DJ is also hit with a big phone bill and a call to Tokyo. Joey is heading to Hollywood for a couple of hours, too and as the family goes to see why, Michelle uses DJ’s phone and calls Tokyo. Joey is going to Hollywood to audition for a “situation comedy” starring Annette and Frankie. Joey gets the part and he brings the whole family over to see him tape the show. Danny is star-struck by Annette and Becky is star-struck by Frankie. We see them film a bit, including the studio audience (which I imagine was the studio audience for that taping of Full House. In the end, Stephanie changes her name back to Steph and Joey’s show gets picked up, but as a cartoon. Joey’s now a cartoon! I don’t think this show was ever mentioned again. The television program they watched said that the new show would be riding the popularity coattails of The Simpsons, which in 1991 was in its second season. Of course, as I write this it is 2009 and it is going strong for 20 seasons.
24) Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (22:47)
Original Air Date: 04/01/91
Kimmy is babysitting and she plans on putting the kid to bed and they want to invite two guys over. Becky is there while DJ is talking about it and she agrees not to tell Danny. Danny doesn’t let her go but DJ leaves anyway and asks Becky to cover for her. Eventually Becky tells Danny and DJ is not too pleased with Becky. Joey and Jesse rent a pool table to be used when they are stuck for ideas and immediately they are stuck. Danny wants to play pool but Jesse and Joey have him keep score. Danny finally plays Jesse and Danny totally schools him and hustles him out of some money. Turns out he was a big shot pool player in college. Michelle is also having problems with tricking everyone so Stephanie throws it back in her face by doing the same to her.
25) The Graduates (22:46)
Original Air Date: 04/26/91
Danny’s blind date didn’t go so well, especially since his date guessed his age. He really feels like he’s getting old, especially since DJ and Michelle are graduating. I think this affects Danny a bit because soon he’s asking out the college intern that works at Wake Up, San Francisco. Jesse has the task of organizing Michelle’s pre-school graduation. The Little Rippers sing Twist and Shout. DJ graduates off-camera and Stephanie bemoans the fact she’s not getting a graduation. So the family throws one for her. Danny gets upset at DJ for playing music to loud and finds her girlfriend in there. Danny calls it off, because of the vast age difference (33 vs. 21). He realizes he likes being 33 since he has his kids.
26) Rock The Cradle (22:45)
Original Air Date: 05/03/91
Jesse and the Rippers play for a record executive and they do very well. Meanwhile, Becky learns that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, Jesse gets some news of his own. He’s been signed and he’s going to be going on tour for the summer. There’s a great scene of Jesse coming down with good news and the family thinking he’s talking about having the baby but he just means the tour. Michelle also goes through a phase where she has an imaginary friend. Jesse decides to stay with Becky but Becky tells him that he should go on tour.
Season 4 Review
Season 4 featured a big change in the cast of Full House. We had Jesse the character grow up and get married and decide to still live in the Tanner House. We have Danny really starting to date for the first time. DJ and the rest of the girls are growing up and for me Season Four was the season to document that growth. A lot of things here would carry the show through the rest of the four seasons, including the announcement that Becky is pregnant. You do have some of the 90’s staples like messages for teens (this season had the anorexia episode), the cross-over episodes (Urkel appearing) and the sentimental sit-com moments (the marriage). One of the great things I like about this show, especially watching it years later, are the double entendres that were snuck in for the older fans of the show to enjoy which the kiddies wouldn’t really understand. Usually Season Four’s are the best season for a long-running show because that is where the writer’s are hitting their groove. This isn’t an exception. The writing here is as good as it would be throughout the series and the growth shown by the characters made for some entertaining episodes.
DVD Features
A) Extras
Unfortunately, this thing is as barren as the Sahara desert.
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 really enjoyed watching this season but where these sets fail are in the extras added. We don’t have anything. Not even a commentary. There had to have been something to throw on here, commercials, a retro-spective, anything. Instead, we have nothing. Sure the show’s are complete (it doesn’t shave off anything like they do in syndication) but I don’t know if that’s enough. If you miss 30 seconds of a show is it really all that important? It’s a big conflict for me in rating this. In the end I’ll give this the same thing I gave season three, since both seasons were quite strong and it is only the lack of any extras that docks the final score.
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
|
