TV Show Review: Fuller House - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Lots of laughs

Cons: Audience at times

The Bottom Line:

Rejoin characters

For next chapter of laughter

Sure to entertain

“Why Do I Feel Like We Should Hug?”  “Because It’s Mandatory in This Family.”

No one will ever mistake Full House for amazing TV, so it is no surprise that this applies to its modern day spin off, Fuller House.  And yet, there is something so charming about it and so much fun.  And that continued with season 2.

After being scattered for the summer, everyone is returning home to resume their lives.  D.J. (Candice Cameron Bure) has finally made a decision between her two would be boyfriends, business partner Matt (John Brotherton) and high school sweetheart Steve (Scott Weinger).  However, before she can announce her decision, she is blindsided to find out they both have girlfriends.  Meanwhile, Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) finds love in the most unexpected place with her new boyfriend Jimmy (Adam Hagenbuch).  And Kimmy’s (Andrea Barber) soon to be ex-husband and current fiancé, Fernando (Juan Pablo Di Pace), moves in after he gets kicked out of his apartment.

Not that love trials are reserved for just the adults.  Both Jackson (Michael Campion) and Ramona (Soni Nicole Bringas) struggle with their first crushes.  Heck, even eight-year-old Max (Elias Harger) finds love, when not busy working on his sustainable garden project for school.  And Tommy (Dashiell & Fox Messitt)?  He’s just trying to learn to walk.

This season takes place over the fall, so we get episodes dedicated to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.  Over the course of the season, D.J. celebrates her 39th birthday.  We get multiple blasts from the past (with one recast) when D.J. and Kimmy go to their 20th high school reunion, Stephanie writes a song that could help launch her music career, and Ramona gets the chance of a lifetime with a dance audition for a famous instructor.

There are multiple storylines in each episode, and since this is a Netflix show, we get a full 30 minutes of show in each episode.  (Okay, so some are a little under, but some are over, so I’m counting the average.)  That allows us plenty of time for all the stories to play out.

And that also allows time for the laughs.  Yes, I laughed multiple times over the course of these thirteen episodes, sometimes even when I saw the joke coming.  It’s just a thoroughly entertaining show.  It’s not trying to be super sophisticated, but to entertain, and it completely satisfies on that level.

The acting here isn’t of a caliber that is going to win any awards, but that’s okay, too.  The cast inhabit their characters perfectly and make the jokes work.  A perfect example of this comes from the Halloween episode.  Kimmy and Fernando dress up as Ricky and Lucy Ricardo.  Yes, they are pale imitations of the originals, but the homage is sure to get laughs from fans of the original.

I think what makes this show work the most is that everyone is obviously having fun, and the fun the cast is having infuses the work.

We do get to see the “legacy” cast a few times as well, and I love seeing what Joey (Dave Coulier), Danny (Bob Saget), Uncle Jesse (John Stamos), and Aunt Becky (Lori Loughlin) are all up to.  Heck, we even get to meet Joey’s family.

About the only annoying thing is the studio audience.  They could tone it down a tad, especially the “oohs” when a couple kisses, and if you couldn’t guess from the plot teasers I did, there is a lot of kissing this season.

Like the previous season, there are some definite adult references and moments.  This isn’t the squeaky clean Full House from the 80’s and 90’s.  However, I have a feeling most of those jokes will go over the heads of kids, and it certainly isn’t as bad as most shows on TV these days.

Season two consisted of thirteen episodes, and all of them are in this two-disc set.  The show is presented in its native wide screen and full surround.  There are no extras, but fans of the show will definitely enjoy having them in their collection.

I’m certainly one of those fans.  I laughed hard at all the episodes of season 2 of Fuller House.  It’s designed for fun, and that’s exactly what you get when you watch this show.

Season 2 Episodes:

1. Welcome Back

2. Mom Interference

3. Ramona’s Not-So-Epic First Kiss

4. The Curse of Tanner Manor

5. Doggy Daddy

6. A Fuller Thanksgiving

7. Girl Talk

8. A Tangled Web

9. Glazed & Confused

10. New Kids in the House

11. D.J. and Kimmy’s High School Reunion

12. Nutcrackers

13. Happy New Year, Baby