I remember talking with a friend in comedy a few months ago, and we were talking about how Full House comes up all of the time. Like, no matter how burly or brash the comedians you’re working with, no matter how blue the humour, a Full House reference lands with everyone. We weren’t sure why exactly, but it did kind of seem to flip the script of ‘family’ shows at the time, in the sense that any of the myriad adult-kid pairings were not exactly going to be run of the mill. Sure, you might have a Dad-daughter pairing, but you might equally have an Uncle-two-kids pairing, or an Uncle-daughter-creepy comedian who sleeps in the alcove pairing. I think it lived as long as it did because the scenes looked different from common nuclear family shows, even if the actual content was exactly the same.
It endures because you don’t get Uncle Jesse confused with any character on any other show.
Now they’re hoping the same is true for Kimmy Gibbler.
So Fuller House, as the Netflix 13-episode series is called, will involve DJ Tanner pregnant and widowed, Stephanie Tanner doing stuff, and Kimmy Gibbler having a teenage daughter. There are also some other kids running around, obviously.
So let’s dispense with the obvious comments about how these guys were probably not the hardest to lock down in their contracts, and move to whether or not we care about this show as it’s going to be. First of all, the hilarious questions about where Michelle is are going to be the focal point. I hope they try to explain early and often that she’s just never coming home. Then, given that Candace Cameron Bure has very conservative views like her brother Kirk, is there going to be any romance for this pregnant widow? Or can she conveniently ‘not be ready’ and watch her sister and Kimmy get all the guys?
I’m not worried about whether anyone will watch this. People will watch, just to see who grew up hot and how the rehab stints went. I have no idea what the actual show’s going to be like, though. It would be hilarious if they were all “remember the glory days?”-Arrested Development-style, but I’m not sure I want to see them being bravely single in the 2010s. Also, given that it’s 20-odd years later, it would be great to see some nontraditional relationships on the show. Will Candace Cameron allow it?
I’m not even going to make a joke about a viewing party at my house. Every bar you’ve ever been to is going to have a viewing party when this comes out. Enjoy responsibly.
Attached - Candace Cameron-Bure at a Dancing With The Stars anniversary party last night.
