TV Show Review: Fuller House - Season 3

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Plenty of laughs

Cons: Generally hokey show (like always)

The Bottom Line:

Next Fuller chapter

Filled with plenty of laughs, love

Light, mindless, and fun

“I Think It’s a Little Hokey.”  “Are You New Here?  This is What We Do.”

It’s always a pleasure to return to characters you know and love.  Look at how many revivals of TV shows we have going on these days.  The one I’ve been enjoying the most is Fuller House.  I snapped up season 3 as soon as I could get it on DVD since I don’t have Netflix, and I’ve been enjoying it.

If you aren’t familiar with the show, it is a continuation of the 1980’s-1990’s sitcom Full House.  30 years have passed since the original, and it now focuses on three of the characters who were girls when the first one aired.  At the center of the new family is D. J. Fuller (Candace Cameron Bure), a widow.  D. J. is getting help raising her kids from her sister Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweetin) and her best friend Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber).  The kids in this new sitcom include D. J.’s three kids, Jackson (Michael Campion), Max (Elias Harger), and Tommy (Dashiell & Fox Messitt).  There’s also Kimmy’s daughter Ramona (Soni Bringas).  Rounding out the cast we have Kimmy’s ex-husband and current fiancé Fernando (Juan Pablo Di Pace), D. J.’s high school boyfriend Steve (Scott Weinger), D. J.’s business partner and current boyfriend Matt (John Brotherton), and Stephanie’s boyfriend Jimmy Gibbler (Adam Hagenbuch).  Yes, that’s right, Stephanie is dating Kimmy’s brother.

Hey, they don’t call this show Fuller House for nothing.

Over the course of these 18 episodes, Stephanie faces a decision about having kids of her own, Steve plans his wedding to C. J. in Japan, with Kimmy helping plan it and everyone traveling over for the event.  While D. J. has made a decision about her love life, she still has doubts that Matt is the man for her.  Fernando buys the former Gibbler house and, which Jimmy’s help, returns it to its former … glory isn’t quite the word for it.  Jackson has to retake history during summer school, which introduces him to Rocki (Landry Bender), the daughter of Stephanie’s friend Gia (Marla Sokoloff).  Max tries to give a report even though he’s sick.  Tommy even gets his own storyline in an episode as D. J. tries to get him into a prestigious pre-school.  And Ramona keeps trying to get into the dance school of her dreams.

To be honest, I feel like the show focuses most on the adults, with the kids usually being relegated to a B story in an episode.  If they are part of the main plot, there is an equally strong storyline for the adults.  Not that I’m complaining since the pull for many of us is the now adult characters.  We’ve loved these characters and the actresses and actor playing D. J., Stephanie, Kimmy, and Steve since the show originally aired, so it is natural to care most about them.  Not that the kids are bad characters, I just find the adults the ones I care about the most.

Speaking of which, the rest of the original cast continue to pop in for an episode here to there.  Everyone is back for the two-part season finale which celebrates the 30^th anniversary of the original show and brings some changes to the adult’s lives.

The most important thing for a sitcom is does it make you laugh.  I can easily say the answer is yes.  Oh, the show continues to be hokey and cheesy with over the top elements.  I can only speak for myself, but that’s one thing I love about it.  This show is light, mindless entertainment, and it does it so well.  The laughs are plentiful and everyone seems to be having so much fun, which comes across through the screen.  Yes, the show does have tender moments as well, although they aren’t quite as plentiful or obvious as in the original.

Likewise, the acting is perfect for this show.  It’s not going to win any awards, and at times it adds to the hokeiness of the proceedings, but it makes us laugh and brings the characters to life perfectly.

This will be the longest season of the show since Netflix gave us 18 episodes.  Each episode is in the 30 minute range, most running a few minutes under but a few running longer.  They are collected in this two disc set in their original wide screen and full surround sound.  There’s nothing in the way of extras, but the episodes themselves are plenty of fun.

I will fully concede that Fuller House is an acquired taste, but if you love these characters and this show, you’ll enjoy season 3.