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

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

TV Show Review: Full House - Season 4

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: 26 funny and heart warming episodes

Cons: None worth mentioning

The Bottom Line:

Becky, Jessie wed

And house gets even fuller

As laughs continue

The Year of the Wedding

The Tanner Family is back to make us laugh with season four of Full House. Heading up the family is Danny (Bob Saget). After his wife died, his best friend Joey (Dave Coulier) and brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos) moved in to help raise the three girls. Now, four years later, D.J. (Candace Cameron) is in eighth grade, Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) is in third, and Michelle (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) is in her last year of pre-school.

The big news this season is a wedding. Jesse marries his long time girlfriend Becky (Lori Loughlin). We go from the proposal to the ceremony this season with such stops along the way as buying the ring (and Jesse selling his Elvis guitar to pay for it), picking a location (Graceland or Kansas), and Jesse picking a best man. Of course, there's also the ceremony, which Jesse may just miss because he had to go on one last adventure.

But the wedding isn't the only storyline. There's still plenty for the rest of the gang. Michelle discovers that there can be consequences when she misbehaves. Stephanie is tempted to throw a baseball game for a really cute boy. D.J. becomes editor of the school newspaper and finds that hiring your best friend (Andrea Barber's Kimmy) can lead to problems if she doesn't do the work. Danny dates a dry cleaner with a prankster of a son and a much younger woman. And Joey reunites with his dad and gets a chance at TV stardom along side Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Even Urkel (Jaleel White playing his "Family Matters" role) and Wayne Newton guest star during the season.

This season has a couple of other standout episodes. "Slumber Party" finds Stephanie trying to decide what to do about the mother-daughter sleepover her Honeybee hive is having. This episode truly tugs at the heartstrings. Also in that category is "Fuller House." The episode right after Becky and Jesse's wedding, everyone struggles with the idea of Jesse moving out of the house, especially Jesse and Michelle. And for a downright funny episode, look no further then "Secret Admirer" which finds an anonymous love letter making the rounds with absolutely hilarious results. Also noteworthy this season, the season premier features one of the few times that Mary-Kate and Ashley appear on screen together.

The basics of the show haven't changed. The jokes work yet, each episode also finds a few moments for tender heart to heart talks. With the kids present, this is a family sitcom. It will appeal best to kids or those who are still a kid at heart.

Not that I'm making excuses for the show. Everything is running full steam ahead. The cast knows their roles and plays them excellently. And the writers know the characters and the actors and give them some of the best material of the series to date.

There were 26 episodes of Full House in season four, and all of them are present on these four discs. The picture quality and sound are fine, but nothing that will blow you away. Unlike the previous season sets, this season has no extras. Of course, considering the quality of the extras for the last couple of sets, that's no great loss.

This sitcom may not be groundbreaking, but it is solid family entertainment. I'll watch and laugh at these season four episodes for a long time to come.

Season 4 Episodes:

1. Greek Week

2. Crimes and Michelle's Demeanor

3. The I.Q. Man

4. Slumber Party

5. Good News, Bad News

6. A Pinch for a Pinch

7. Viva Las Joey

8. Shape Up

9. One Last Kiss

10. Terror in Tanner Town

11. Secret Admirer