Carstairs Considers....: TV Show Review: Full House

Sunday, March 17, 2013

TV Show Review: Full House - Season 3

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great acting and funny stories

Cons: Two sub-par episodes

The Bottom Line:

The laughs continue

In light, family comedy

Not too serious

The Third Season is Full of Laughs

The Tanner family is back with season 3 of the hit sit-com Full House. There's morning talk show host Danny (Bob Saget), his brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos), and Danny's best friend Joey (Dave Coulier). All three men are busy raising Danny's daughters D.J. (Candace Cameron), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and Michelle (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen). Rounding out the cast is Danny's co-host and Jesse's girlfriend Becky (Lori Loughlin) and D.J.'s best friend Kimmy (Andrea Barber) who are each in roughly half the episodes this season.

This year, D.J. starts Jr. High, a change that is hard on everyone. She feel like a small fish in a big pond, and she also wants to spend less time with Stephanie, a change her little sister doesn't like. The guys have a hard time dealing with her first boy/girl party when she turns 13.

The other on going storyline of the season involves Jesse and Becky. They fight and make up multiple times. My favorite is "Breaking Up is Hard to Do (in 22 minutes)" which finds the couple trying to work through their very different hobbies.

In other developments this season, Michelle turn three and start pre-school, Danny takes the entire family to Hawaii, Stephanie backs Joey's car into the kitchen, and Joey makes another bid to become a famous stand-up comic.

While Jesse and Joey are still working in advertising, that seems to be a side note and only the focus of one or two episodes here. We also suffer the first signs of tainted timelines when Doris Roberts shows up to play Danny's mom and Becky and Jesse celebrate the one year anniversary of the day they met around Christmas (in an episode that aired in January originally.), when last season they met in September.

But I'm being nitpicky. The show is still packed with laughs and heart. I laugh my way through most episodes no matter how many times I've seen them. Everyone does a great job bring their characters to life every week. This goes especially for the girls, who match the adults' acting each week.

This season does have a couple sub-par episodes. "Just Say No Way" finds Jesse catching D.J. with a beer in her hand at a school dance. It starts out funny, but quickly turns into a lecture on peer pressure and drinking. The final episode of the season, "Our Very First Telethon" is really just an excuse for the cast to do a talent show and doesn't have a plot.

Even with those two I didn't like, there's still plenty here to love. The set contains 24 episodes that look and sound great. The only extra is a montage of Joey's impersonations over the course of the season. Frankly, it's funny, but not worth watching more then once.

The lack of extras is a bit disappointing, but the episodes of season 3 themselves are great. This is a funny show that the entire family can enjoy together.

Season 3 Episodes:

1. Tanner's Island

2. Back-to-School Blues

3. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

4. Nerd for a Day

5. Granny Tanny

6. Star Search

7. And They Call it Puppy Love

8. Divorce Court

9. Dr. Dare Rides Again

10. The Greatest Birthday on Earth

11. Aftershocks