Why I Love Fuller House Even More Than Full House

Whatever happened to predictability
The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV?
You miss your old familiar friends
Waiting just around the bend
This old world’s confusing me

You know these words right? I get chills just typing them out. I hear the “Ahhhhhh, ahhhhhhh, ahhhhhhh” and the drum line that leads into “Everywhere you look…” The Tanner family was so familiar as I was growing up. I wanted so badly to live in DJ and Stephanie’s bedroom. I mean, I wanted their entire house, with the awesome garage bedroom and attic apartment and the multiple staircases. I’ve never been to San Fransisco, but I could pick out The Golden Gate Bridge anywhere. And you can be sure I wanted to be Rebecca Donaldson when I grew up.

Full House was a good show. I would watch it sitting in the living room while my Mom and Dad prepared dinner in the kitchen. Yes, it was a family show promoting wholesome family values (except for how much of a player Uncle Jessie was, but that went right over my head at the time,) but the episodes focused on the lives of these three girls, and I related to it so much, living my life as a girl growing up with sisters.

Last year I started rewatching Full House when all episodes were added to Netflix. Re-watching as an adult possibly takes some of the magic away. I mean, the show is ridiculously cheesy at times. (How rude!) But I missed the Tanner family.

There were a number of rumours about a series revival, but they often proved to be false, until it was finally confirmed. Full House was coming back as a Netflix original series and me and every other (woman) in my generation pretty much lost our collective minds. (Have mercy!) I didn’t care if the new rebooted season might be crap. I was absolutely going to watch it.

But it isn’t crap. It might actually be better than the original.

I was lucky enough to get an early look at the first six episodes of Fuller House. The entire season is being released on Netflix to everyone on February 26 (that’s tomorrow) so you can guess what I’ll be doing with my weekend, (I mean, you could say it is my job).

DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy Gibler are back, but this time, they’re the ones going through the parenting journey. As expected, it mirrors a lot of the original show in the general family structure, but it is reversed: three adult women instead of three adult men; more boy children than girl children. I think perhaps the focus has shifted a little bit (or maybe my focus has shifted). Full House’s original audience is all grown up now and many of us are parents. Our lives are reflected in DJ and Stephanie and Kimmy. I know the original show also explored the parenting struggles that Danny, Jesse, and Joey felt, but it feels so much more real and personal now. Maybe it is just that I’m a mom. Or maybe it is because Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and Andrea Barber are all moms themselves now. Or maybe the show creators made a smart decision in realizing that their audience will be the people who loved Full House in the beginning, and those people are moms and those moms will relate to a show about them.

I cried a number of times during the first few episodes. They were good cries. I cried out of nostalgia, but also, because Fuller House was very quickly able to get to the heart of what it feels like to be a mom.Now, I only want to be DJ Fuller when I grow up. I also laughed. Fuller House is the perfect mix of nostalgia, good new content, and self-awareness. I will absolutely be rewatching the first six episodes so I can finally tweet everything that made me laugh and cry without being in violation of any spoiler legislation that I agreed to before watching the pre-screeners.

I will also be watching Fuller House with my kids. I think they might like it. Or maybe I’m just assuming they will because it mirrors our life so much: A mom with three boys including one baby who reminds me SO much of my Logan. Like, they literally have the same clothes and the same pacifiers. Whatever. I’ll insist my kids watch it whether they like it or not. And then we’ll hug it out because the family values from Fuller House will transfer to my family.

Clear your weekend. (You got it, dude!) You’re going to be hanging out with the Fuller family.

I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team and as such I have been compensated for this post with a complimentary Netflix subscription and a few other perks. I’m honoured to have been a StreamTeam member for the last three years. The stories and opinions are all my own.