My 2015/2016 Shows

My 2015/2016 Shows

When it comes to TV, there are two ways that I’ve gotten into a show. One is that I wait until I hear good things about it, then go find it on Netflix or DVD and binge the whole thing. The other is that I have to watch it week by week as new episodes are released. The obvious perk of the binge watch is that I don’t have to wait to see what happens. I can get comfy, hit play and watch for hours and hours. I’ll often  have TV on in the background if I’m doing other chores like cleaning or homework back when I was in school. It’s nice relaxing background noise.

On the other hand, there is a definite plus to the week to week watch, especially for someone nerdy like me. One perk is that it gives you something to look forward to. Lately, my wife and I have both been home on Monday nights, which we now call “New Scorpion Night.” It’s an added little bonus. Another perk is that it gives you a chance to discuss it. I love talking with someone about a show we both watch, and comparing what we think is going to happen. I’m a subscriber to a number of podcasts that talk about these shows. Usually on these podcasts, the hosts will recap what happened, while mentioning things they noticed, liked, disliked, and so on. This give me a new perspective as well as lets me catch things I may have missed. I feel like it gets me more prepared for the next episode.

What I’m going to do is go through the shows that I currently keep up with, and why it keeps my attention. There have been some “TV Show Casualties” this season as well. Shows that I enjoy, and started to watch, but haven’t been able to keep up with. This season’s casualties include Grandfathered, The Grinder, Dr. Ken, and Last Man Standing. Maybe after my main shows end, I’ll go back and catch up with them, but for now, they didn’t last. Another interesting note is that all but two of the featured shows that I’m watching are on CBS. This is a shift from just a few years ago when NBC ruled my TV viewing with The Office, Parks and Recreation, Community, and 30 Rock. Sadly, all of these shows have ended, and NBC has yet to impress me since. Let’s see what shows are impressing me on CBS.

 

Before I go any farther, I have to give a Spoiler Warning if anyone is not caught up with these shows.

 

Scorpion (Monday Nights)

I first got into Scorpion when I was visiting my cousins in Phoenix last year. They showed us the first few episodes and we were hooked. Currently in its second season, the show focuses on Walter O’Brien, a man with one of the highest IQs ever recorded. He leads a team of geniuses who frequently get recruited by the government for highly classified, delicate, and dangerous missions, such as stopping a hacked, runaway subway train or stopping a dam from breaking. Their missions are like CSI meets MacGyver as they’re constantly learning and adapting to road blocks as they work toward their goal. In addition to their missions, we also explore their interpersonal relationships. This season has been especially interesting with the developed relationship of Toby, the sarcastic psychiatrist and Happy, the unemotional mechanical engineer. It’s by far our favorite new show and my top recommendation.

 

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Monday Nights)

My wife and I got into this show by accident. It started with us trying to find something to watch before Scorpion started, and we found this show. It is the exact definition of a guilty pleasure show. I’ll admit it’s overly dramatic and a little cheesy, but it’s really fun. The protagonist, Rebecca, is a successful lawyer who was unhappy with her life. Then after a brief run-in with an old boyfriend, she moves from New York to California to try and win him back. It’s the perfect mix where as I watch her doing impulsive and irrational things, I recognize that she’s crazy, but I’m still rooting for her. Another aspect of the show that I’m a sucker for is the music. Yes, it’s a musical show. Rebecca processes things internally by envisioning her life as a series of musical numbers. I realize this sounds crazy, but like I said, it’s a guilty pleasure.

 

The Muppets (Tuesday Nights)

If you’ve read my earlier series Eras in Muppet History, you know that I absolutely love the Muppets. They are my number one fandom, so of course I’m on board for their new show. In this show, we follow behind the scenes of Miss Piggy’s talk show, “Up Late with Miss Piggy.” Kermit is the Producer, Piggy is the star, and the rest of the Muppets all play a role in putting the show together. It’s a perfect mix of classic Muppets and modern sitcoms. On the classic side, seeing the Muppets scramble to put a show together is what made The Muppet Show (1976-1981) a hit. Things go wrong, things explode, Monsters eat things, it all adds to the hilariousness of this franchise. On the modern side, The Muppets also gives us real issues to deal with. There’s a guy hired by the network to basically meddle with the show and cause problems. Kermit and Piggy are working together, despite having just broken up. The Muppets are written as real characters with wants, needs, flaws, and insecurities. It turned out better than I hoped.

 

Criminal Minds (Wednesday Nights)

I never really got into Criminal Minds until I started to date my wife. She was more into it than I was, but I watched it with her. Since then I’ve really gotten into it myself, and I really do think it’s much more unique and engaging than other procedural cop shows. As the title suggests, they go deep into the psychology of killers or “unsubs” as they’re referred to. This show does a terrific job at keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as we follow the investigation. In addition, the audience gets emotionally invested in the members of the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit). This team acts more like a family than a group of coworkers. In the most recent episodes, one of the original cast members, and a fan favorite, Shemar Moore decided to leave the show. His character, Derek Morgan, was recently kidnapped, tortured, and almost killed. In addition, his fiancé just gave birth to his son, which made him rethink his current career. It was a heartbreaking episode, and the show won’t be the same without him, but I’m still excited to keep watching.

 

Survivor (Wednesday Nights)

Survivor first aired in 2000, when I was 12, and since then I’ve watched almost every season. I love tracking the alliances and challenges as every week, another player is eliminated until one is left. There’s so much strategy to the game and so much luck at the same time. After each episode, I tune in to Rob Has a Podcast, hosted by former Survivor Contestant, Rob Cesternino, who breaks everything down with his co-hosts and gives his expert take on things. If you love Survivor and are a bit of a nerd, definitely go check it out.

There’ve been two seasons of Survivor in this 2015/2016 block. First was Season 31: Survivor Second Chances. 20 contestants who had played the game once before without winning. This was a phenomenal season. Everyone wanted to correct the mistakes they made in their first game, so they were playing hard right off the bat. There were multiple hidden immunity idols played, alliance swapping, and a ton of things happening to make it a great season.

Currently, I’m six episodes in to the 32^nd season: Survivor Kaoh Rong, which had the tribes broke up into Brains, Braun, and Beauty. This is an interesting dynamic, labeling the contestants into one of these three categories and watching their strategic and social interactions. There was also a very intense scene In which three contestants needed medical attention after a grueling challenge. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this plays out.

 

The Big Bang Theory (Thursday Nights)

Here we have the lone sitcom that I’m currently watching. I’m a sucker for sitcoms, and The Big Bang Theory is a great one. Maybe it’s because there are so many pop culture references, which is something I love as a self-proclaimed nerd. This seasons big story lines include Howard and Bernadette expecting a new baby, as well as Sheldon and Leonard teaming up on a new scientific discovery, that I admittedly don’t understand, but it sounds cool. There was also some relationship drama in the show as Leonard & Penny get married, and Sheldon & Amy start off the season broken up. There was also a big 200^th episode where they brought back several recurring characters as well as special guest stars Adam West and Stephen Hawking. While some people argue that the show is focusing too much on relationships, I completely disagree with that. Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj are just as nerdy now as they always were, and it’s natural for people to change and develop new relationships in life. I’ve loved all of the story lines this season, and as long as they’re making new episodes, I’ll be watching.

 

The Amazing Race (Friday Nights)

CBS really knows how to make great reality shows. Much like Survivor, my wife and I also tune in every week to watch as the teams on The Amazing Race travel all over the world in this competition. It’s amazing to see how one bad mistake or one great move can make or break the game for these contestants. Another great aspect of The Amazing Race is all of the culture that is integrated in. As the teams race around the world, most of their challenges are related to the culture of the area they’re living in, and usually involve the local people in that area as well. This show combines competition, travel, culture, and beautiful scenery into one “Amazing” show.

 

Top 20 Full House Episodes: 5-1

#5: Happy Birthday, Babies, Parts 1 & 2 (Season 5, Episodes 9 & 10)

Normally, I wouldn’t think of clip shows as top episodes, but this is a special case, mostly because only Part 1 is a clip show. We start off on the morning of Michelle’s 5^th birthday party, and like any kid would be, she can’t wait til it gets started. She is too excited about turning five. The family decides to keep her busy by looking through her baby book, while the audience is shown some of Michelle’s best moments. Danny then puts a current picture of Michelle on the last page and declares the baby book to be complete. Michelle, not wanting to give up her reign as baby of the family, rips the picture out and announces that she’s staying 4 years old. This leads to the family needing to remind Michelle about good times by showing us more clips. Michelle ultimately realizes how cool she really is and how she’s excited for her new baby cousins, and the party is back on. The thing, I find interesting about this is that it directly addresses something that happens in many family shows, bringing in a new child when the previous “baby of the family” starts to get older. The Cosby Show brought in Olivia when Rudy got older, 7^th Heaven brought in Sam & David when Ruthie got older, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air brought in Nicky when Ashley got older. Full House is about to do this as well, bringing in the twins, who will be the new babies of the family. This isn’t a bad thing, it just signifies a new chapter of both Michelle’s life and Full House as a whole. I find it impressive that they were able to use a clip show to advance the story and produce real character development.

This brings me to Part 2, which I think is absolutely brilliant. We finally get to see the birthday party that Michelle couldn’t wait for, and who could blame her? It’s a Flintstones themed party starring DJ as Wilma, Joey as Barney, Stephanie as Betty, Danny as Dino, Michelle as Pebbles, and Uncle Jesse as Fred. This party sounds awesome, right?! There’s just one problem. Well if you hadn’t already figured it out from the title of the episode of the heavy themes of Michelle’s ending reign as baby of the family, I’ll spell it out. Becky goes into labor! Which means we get the drama and excitement of new babies with the added bonus of seeing the family rush around the hospital dressed as their prehistoric counterparts. To make things worse, Jesse’s side pains turn into the need for the immediate removal of his appendix. We get to see Jesse trying to be supportive of his wife giving birth, while still groggy from the anesthesia. It’s the kind of craziness that only happens on TV. In the end, we see the new additions to the Katsopolis family with little Nicky and Alex. To close it out, the family sings Happy Birthday to Michelle and the twins. This episode has slapstick humor, heart-warming moments, and cute new babies all in one episode, what’s not to love?

#4: Our Very First Telethon (Season 3, Episode 24)

Remember the cheesy PBS telethons, where they’d put on a show and ask for donations? Well this episode of Full House decided to take that concept and basically use it as a platform for a big talent show, starring the cast. Danny is hosting the 24 hour “We Love Our Children Telethon”, raising money to buy new equipment for the Children’s Health Center. To fill the time in the telethon, we’re given a quick glimpse at random performances, but we focus mostly on what the Tanner family has to offer. Things start to go wrong almost immediately when Joey performs a magic trick by trapping Becky in a box and seemingly separates her body in three parts. The problem is that the box gets stuck, forcing Becky to sing a duet with Danny while still inside it, until they finally release her. We get some singing and dancing from Stephanie, DJ, and Michelle, but the real story is that Danny starts to fall asleep, and he is out cold for a good portion of the show. Danny is woken up by Kimmy Gibbler’s unicycle routine, and realizes that they’re closing in on the end of the telethon, but they still haven’t reached their $1,000,000 goal. Suddenly, Mike Love from the Beach Boys randomly shows up and sings “Be True to Your School” with Jesse and the Rippers. Of course, this performance puts them over the edge and everyone celebrates as balloons fall from the ceiling. This is a pretty big way to end their 3^rd season. I wonder if they hadn’t been officially renewed for season 4 yet, and wanted to make an episode that could be a series finale. I’m glad the show didn’t end here, but either way, this was a great one.

Looking back, I think the reason I love this episode so much is that it reminds me of The Muppet Show. Think about it, almost every episode of The Muppet Show is this group of eccentric characters trying to put on a successful show in the midst of unpredictable chaos. Many episodes also end with a musical number featuring the guest star. If I take out the word Muppet, you might think I was describing this exact episode. There’s something really captivating about seeing goofy characters try their hardest and not give up, despite crazy circumstances. There’s no logical reason for the show to be successful, but you still cheer for these guys as they pull it off. It worked for the Muppets and it worked for the Tanners in this telethon.

#3: Another Opening, Another No Show (Season 7, Episode 8)

If you haven’t noticed by now, the Tanner family does everything together. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s a group activity. That continues to be true as Jesse officially opens “The Smash Club”, a hang-out spot that he owns. It’s such a family outing, that they seem to be the only staff. DJ, Stephanie, Michelle, and Kimmy are waitresses, Danny and Becky are running the coffee bar, and Joey is hosting the performances. Early in the episode, we find out that Kimmy has decorated her outfit with brightly colored shapes to make it pop. I actually liked her decorated vest, and it seemed to blend right in with the club, Jesse did not feel the same way, and insults her for it. This gets awkward in a bit, when Jesse and Kimmy get locked in a supply closet for most of the episode. Everyone else does their best to keep the club running. There’s a food critic, played by Ben Stein, judging the food, as well as a mixup where instead of the rock band R.E.M., Joey booked three old ladies named Renee, Esther, and Martha. The family pulls together and the night is still a success, complete with Jesse descending on a disco ball after escaping the supply closet through an air vent.

There are a lot of great scenes in the club, but I picked this episode mainly for what happens in the supply closet. Kimmy Gibbler has always been the annoying, eccentric neighbor who loves to annoy the Tanner family. Despite her quirks, Kimmy is a good person, who is always there for them. Just look at some examples from this countdown. In “Subterranean Graduation Blues”, she babysits Nicky and Alex during Jesse’s graduation. In “Michelle Rides Again”, she comes to DJ’s rescue and gets her and Steve back together. In “13 Candles”, she arranges for DJ to kiss her crush. Kimmy is very underrated. Jesse realizes this when she admits that her feelings were hurt when he insulted her outfit. Once again, Kimmy was trying to look nice and be there for everyone, and he insults her. Jesse admits that he was too harsh on her, and on everyone. Later at the house, he even gives her a big hug, which is cheesy, yet well-deserved. Kimmy Gibbler proves you don’t have to live in the house to be a member of the family.

#2: Tanner Island (Season 3, Episode 1)

Pack your bags, it’s another vacation episode! This time, everyone heads off to Hawaii to celebrate the two year anniversary of Jesse and Joey moving in. I love episodes like this, because it give you a break from the norm. I love the house, and all the great episodes they’ve had there, but once in a while it’s fun to see the Tanners get out. They get off the plane and believe it or not, Joey actually gets a plotline this time! He keeps seeing this beautiful Hawaiian girl smiling at him, but she always manages to disappear before he can talk to her. Jesse begins to ruin what should be a romantic getaway with Becky, by obsessing over locations of Elvis movies. While Jesse and Joey are striking out with their love lives, Danny is taking his obsessive nature to the next level by scheduling every minute of every day on his “Clipboard of Fun”. He decides to rent a boat and sail to a small island he sees on the map. The island turns out to be a potato chip crumb and then end up shipwrecked, supposedly on a deserted island. The fun Hawaiian vacation turns into Full House meets Gilligan’s Island, as they start to make themselves comfortable.  Everything is going pretty good until the family is ambushed by what looks like a tribe of island native savages who surround them. It turns out they’re performers for a stage show. The island wasn’t even deserted, they were just on the wrong side of it. It’s a bit of a cop-out, but it is fun to watch as the family is invited on stage to sing in front of a crowd of people.

Not only is this a unique episode set in a beautiful, Hawaiian setting, it really works for the characters. We get to see how everyone acts on vacation. Danny is obsessively detailed to the point of annoyance, so naturally he tries to control everyone’s good time and monitor everybody’s activities. Joey is a hopeful goofball, who keeps chasing a girl, who seems to be imaginary until he finally meets her in the stage show in the end. Joey and Danny had some fun moments, but this episode was an eye opener about Jessie. Think about it, over course of the show, Jesse has gone on what should be great, romantic vacations with Becky to Hawaii, Disney World, even Japan, and every time he does something dumb to ruin it. In addition, Jesse got put in jail on his wedding day, he got trapped in a subway on his graduation, and had his appendix removed on the day of his sons’ births. Bad things happen when Jesse leaves the house! Maybe he should just become a shut-in and never got outdoors, it seems like the best solution to me. Another thing I liked is that on a lot of shows, the plot of them running into the island natives would lead to them getting captured and later escaping. While you could also argue that them stumbling on stage of a major concert is just as cheesy, at least it’s different. I’ve mentioned earlier that I think Full House got much better after the first two seasons. As the premiere of season 3, this episode jump-started us into a new, fantastic era of Full House.

#1: Terror in Tanner Town (Season 4, Episode 10)

We finally come down to my Number 1 pick! This was a hard decision, and I rearranged the order of this list a lot, but I landed on “Terror in Tanner Town”. Full House never had a scary Halloween episode, but this one could have easily been a parody of a monster movie. The unsuspecting Tanner family gets attacked by the monster of the week. A monster named Rusty! We’re introduced to Rusty, the young son of Danny’s girlfriend, Cindy. Everything seems great at first, Cindy and Rusty come over to meet Danny’s family. There are some mishaps at lunch, involving spilled milk, spilled salt, and a tablecloth tucked into Danny’s pants. These pranks would later be revealed as Rusty’s handy-work. Cindy gets called into work, and Danny volunteers to watch Rusty for the day.

As you can imagine, everyone is soon subject to more childish pranks. He starts off with Danny, playing catch with him and manipulating the game just right, so that Danny falls into a mud puddle. Next he interrupts a kiss between Jesse and Becky, and then quickly ties a rope between Jesse’s bedroom and DJ and Stephanie’s bedroom, locking half of the family in their rooms. Escaping to the basement, he records over Joey’s comedy demo tape. Next, he sets his sights on Michelle, showing her his kaleidoscope, which he lined with ink to leave a black circle on her face. Just to be thorough, he even throws the family’s roast into the living room, causing the family dog, Comet to run after it in the middle of a bath. That is efficient work! In a small amount of time, he managed to prank every member of the tanner family.

Everyone has had about enough, especially Danny, who comes downstairs from his shower to find that his shampoo was given food coloring. He’s about to lay down the law with this kid, when Cindy comes back and Danny tires, unsuccessfully to cover for him. Rusty and Danny have a heart to heart about how Rusty doesn’t like that his parents were divorced, and that’s why he acted out. I personally, don’t think that should let him off the hook for terrorizing everyone, but I get the overall message. There is a nice moment at the end, where DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle ambush Rusty and cover him in whipped cream. It’s not the full payback that he deserves, but it’s a start.

I love the chaos of this episode. The Tanners are having a normal, uneventful day and this kid comes in and is smart and resourceful enough to prank every member of the family, right down to the dog. He’s quick too, the running gag is that as soon as someone realizes they’ve been pranked, they yell out “Rusty!!” Of course by then, he was already on to his next victim. There aren’t a lot of storylines to follow either. I know, I’ve mentioned how I like episodes where everyone gets their own plot, but it’s also nice to have one story, running through the house. Through most of the episode, when I see a character doing anything, I’m just thinking about how this is going to turn into a prank? How will Rusty mess this up? It’s an interesting story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I personally think that this is the best that Full House has to offer.

Conclusion

What’s left to say about Full House? Out of all the 90s TGIF sitcoms, it was definitely one of the best and most popular. The show has such a large cast of unique characters, which allows for so many different character interactions and dynamics. It’s also so relatable in any point in life. This show follows issues of growing up, parenting, romantic relationships, friendships, school, graduation, college, careers, and so much more. Whatever’s going on in your life can probably relate back to a storyline on Full House. It had plenty of cheesy moments and a lot of the life lessons were predictable, but that’s ok. When you sit down to watch Full House, you know what you’re in for. It also found a balance where it wasn’t inappropriate for young viewers, but at the same time wasn’t dumbed down too much either.

Now that I’ve looked back on 8 years of Full House, I’m even more excited about Fuller House. There have been a few trailers released, and it looks great. The house is back and so are the Tanners! In addition to DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy, we know that Danny, Jesse, Becky, Joey, Steve, Nicky, and Alex will also be making appearances. Yes, it’s a bummer that we won’t get Michelle, but I’m looking forward to seeing how the show does with a 20 year time jump. I know I’ll probably hit Nostalgia overload as I tune in. I think by now I’ve covered everything, so I’ll leave you with a reminder to watch Fuller House on Netflix, on February 26, 2016.

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Top 20 Full House Episodes: 10-6

#10: The Last Dance (Season 7, Episode 17)

If you’re an easy crier, please don’t watch this episode without a box of tissues. In this episode, we deal with the issue of death and how the family deals with the loss of a loved one. Jesse’s grandfather, “Papouli” comes to visit. You may remember him from the Season 4 premiere, “Greek Week.” He is a sweet, kind grandfather who brightens everyone’s day. When Michelle and Stephanie make a mess in the kitchen, trying to make something for him, he encourages them to laugh it off and throws flour all around. He gives DJ advice about a fight she’s having with Kimmy over a pair of sunglasses. Finally, he teaches Michelle a traditional Greek dance and agrees to come to her school for show and tell. The next thing we see is the family, minus Michelle, sitting around the table the next morning. Before they even say it, you can tell exactly what happened. Papouli died. The family was devastated. True, he was a very old man, but he seemed very healthy and sharp. It was a sudden, unexpected twist in life. Michelle comes back from school, learns what happened, and doesn’t take it very well. Jesse catches her skipping school, because it’s the day that Papouli was supposed to teach the dance. They share a moment about missing Papouli, before Jesse steps in and goes to her show and tell. It’s a very moving, emotional episode that most of us can relate to in some way.

Some people have criticized this episode, saying that it’s hard to feel sad about losing a character who only appeared in two episodes. While it’s true, the audience didn’t spend much time with Papouli, we can tell he meant a lot to the family, specifically Jesse and Michelle. This episode also does a great job and showing the various ways that people cope with grief. Jesse immediately wants to get to work, planning the funeral arrangements. Stephanie tries to put on a brave face and not show her emotion in order to help Jesse. Danny gets impulsive and buys a boat. DJ realizes what’s important in life and makes up with Kimmy. Michelle runs and hides from her problems. While some of these methods aren’t recommended, for example, you shouldn’t buy a boat every time someone dies, it’s a realistic depiction of how people handle tragedy in their own ways. Unless you’re counting Michelle’s goldfish, the only other death this show has dealt with is Pam, Danny’s wife and mother to the girls, but this was different. In the pilot, we catch up with the family a few weeks after her death, so the family had time to process it. In this episode, we get the raw emotion of dealing with Papouli’s death the very next day. It brought a new depth to the characters that I very much enjoyed.

#9: 13 Candles (Season 3, Episode 17)

Another thing that most of us can understand, it’s how awkward and over-emotional teenagers can be. As of this episode, there are officially teenagers in the house, because it’s all about DJ’s 13^th birthday party.  The living room is filled with a bunch of hilariously dressed, random teens dancing as DJ and Kimmy wait for the arrival of Kevin, DJ’s current crush. The rest of the family has agreed to give the kids their privacy, except Stephanie, who keeps trying to sneak in because it’s what annoying little sisters do. While this is going on, Becky is upstairs, practicing dancing with Danny for the next episode of Wake Up San Francisco. To no one’s shock, Danny is a terrible dancer, and Jesse steps in to show him how it’s done. This serves two important purposes. First, it gave a reason for Becky to be at the house, which will be needed shortly. Second, it got the guys in the right spot to overhear a game of spin the bottle starting up at the party. Kimmy has rigged the game to ensure that DJ ends up kissing Kevin. The moment is ruined by the barging parent patrol as Danny, Jesse, and Joey obnoxiously burst in with thinly veiled excuses. This leads to the expected over-emotional outburst from DJ who runs off and has a heart to heart with Becky about how special first kisses are. In the end, things are good when Kevin comes back and DJ gets her first kiss.

I love how this episode captures how unnecessarily stressful, the life of a young teenager can be. Unlike the last episode on my countdown, no one died. There’s no real emergency or anything to freak out about. It’s just teenagers not knowing how to handle crushes and parents who aren’t ready for their kids to grow up. Until their last scene, DJ and Kevin keep looking at each other like a deer in the headlights. It’s as if they don’t know how to interact with people. Then there’s the so-called mature adults, who panicked at the first sign of teenage hormones, like they hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility. The only sane one in this episode was Becky, who tried to talk some sense into the guys. There was also very limited screen time for Michelle in this episode, which is a little refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, I think Michelle is a great character, but sometimes she gets dangerously close to Elmo/Steve Urkel territory. That’s my way of describing when a show takes a perfectly good character and focuses on them so much that they overshadow the rest of the cast. It’s episodes like this that keep the balance in order, making it a very important episode.

#8: The House Meets the Mouse, Parts 1 & 2 (Season 6, Episodes 23 & 24)

Full House started a TGIF sitcom tradition of doing a cross-promotional episode at Disney World that would later be followed by Family Matters, Step by Step, Boy Meets World, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Roseanne. The setup of why they all end up going is that Jesse’s band gets booked for a Disney World show, so he plans for a small, Katsopolis family vacation. Then suddenly Joey gets to go, because Jesse and Joey’s radio show will do a live broadcast. Then suddenly the Tanners get to go, because Danny’s show is doing reruns and the girls just happen to have a school break. If that wasn’t convenient enough, Kimmy’s family agrees to pay for any vacation that she takes without them. As unbelievable it is that everyone’s schedule just happens to line up, I’m willing to overlook it, because this is a fun episode that breaks the norm and gets the family out of the house and exploring Disney World.

Everyone gets their own subplot to follow, complete with their own little lesson. The exception to that is Joey. Apparently he drew the short straw and doesn’t get much, except for a quick scene in an animation studio where he imagines a cartoon version of himself. Jesse’s story is that he’s schedule is so busy that there’s no time for Becky. Between his band rehearsals and his radio show, he’s always stopping in to say hi as he’s rushing off to whatever’s next. Eventually Becky is fed up with him, but he wins her over with a song. The Jesse/Becky lesson: Don’t get too busy to spend time with your family. Danny’s story is that he keeps trying to propose to Vicky, who also found a reason to visit Disney World. He keeps getting nervous and then interrupted by one thing after another. He finally gets the courage and proposes and she accepts. The Danny lesson: Follow your heart and go after the people you love. DJ’s story is my least favorite, to be honest. DJ misses Steve so bad that she sees his face on all the male Disney character actors. She sees him as Aladdin and they don’t even make a subtle reference to the fact that Steve’s actor, Scott Weinger was the voice of Aladdin. That’s a big missed opportunity in my book. Eventually Steve misses DJ so much that he paid for a flight and hotel to meet them for the vacation. The DJ/Steve lesson: Love makes you crazy? I know it’s a stretch, but like I said, I didn’t care for this plot point.

Then there’s the Michelle/Stephanie story. Michelle keeps getting everything she wants, which starts to wear on Stephanie. From the last piece of candy to the window seat on the plane, Michelle is definitely treated like the golden child. This only escalates in a “Princess for the Day” contest, where Michelle takes her turn first and ends up winning. She’s now officially given reign over anything she wants to do. She proceeds to torment her sisters by making them ride the carousel and nothing else, until they get so sick of her that Michelle sneaks away. Michelle going missing is also one of the interruptions that stops Danny from proposing. In the end, Michelle and Stephanie make up and all is right again. The Michelle/Stephanie lessons: Be considerate of others and don’t let annoying people get to you. This is a mega episode with so many plots, it’s surprising that they kept it to two parts. Any one of these stories could have worked as the sole focus of an entire episode. This is how most of the Disney World episodes of TGIF shows go. Since the setting is an entire amusement park instead of one house, there’s more room to let the characters split up and do their own thing. It’s also done in an interesting, captivating way that makes you completely overlook the fact that it’s basically a long advertisement for Disney World.

#7: The Bicycle Thief (Season 7, Episode 11)

I love a comedic take on a heist story, and this episode is just that. There’s no emotional talks, sappy music, or big life lesson. It’s just comedy that ends up being a heist in reverse.  Michelle is convinced that someone stole her bike. Everyone splits up and searches around town. Danny, Jesse, and Joey all come back with bikes that are identical to Michelle’s. It turns out that none of them are Michelle’s bike, which means they’ve all just stolen bikes. To make matters worse, Kimmy Gibbler and Mrs. Carruthers, a lady from the neighborhood, decide to barge in and make the Tanner house their neighborhood watch headquarters. What follows is a lot of hilarious slapstick humor, schemes, and plots as the family tries to sneak the bikes back to their owners without getting caught by the Crime Catchers. We later find out that all of this was unnecessary, since Michelle’s bike was never stolen to begin with. She just left it at her friend’s house and forgot about it. Which led to a great moment when everyone gives her the “are you kidding me?” look.

I love these kinds of stories, where something that’s supposed to be simple, keeps getting more and more complicated. As soon as we realize they stole the bikes, you can tell that it’s going to be funny. In addition to crime catchers, the father of one of the kids whose bike was stolen comes over. This guy has biceps bigger than most children and he knows that someone named Jesse is to blame. This of course leads to a name switch, turning Jesse into Joey, Joey into Danny, and everyone else confused. Between this guy and the Crime Catchers, they also shuffle the bike from the living room to the kitchen to the bedroom, and eventually out a 2 story window, while Stephanie distracts everyone with a card trick. Just when you think they have a clear shot of getting the bikes out undetected, something else happens. You could probably speed up the whole episode and put Benny Hill music over it, and you’d still understand it all.

#6: A Very Tanner Christmas (Season 6, Episode 12)

It’s time for the Christmas episode of Full House. Once again, everyone’s got their own plot, and once again, Joey is jipped out of his own story. I know I’m getting into the higher end of this countdown, but I’m starting to feel bad for the guy. Anyways, getting back to the episode, Becky is feeling homesick for holidays in Nebraska. It’s hard for her to get into the Christmas spirit without snow. Likewise, Danny is finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit without Vicky, who is off in Sweden. DJ and Steve end up arguing about what’s going to happen to them if Steve moves away for college. While this is going on, Stephanie and Michelle are bursting with anticipation of what new presents they’ll be getting this year, completely missing the point of Christmas.

Here we have four problems, and all of them are either solved by Uncle Jesse or a Santa Claus. Lets start with Uncle Jesse’s accomplishments. He notices how greedy Stephanie and Michelle have been, so he takes them to a homeless shelter to help out. This would have been a great moment, except we don’t actually see them at the shelter, they just talk about it. The whole issue was rushed and very anticlimactic, when it could have been a much bigger part of the episode. We did however, get a fun moment at the end of the episode, when he surprises Becky with a backyard full of snow in San Francisco by buying 17,000 snow cones. Yes, I think it’s safe to say that Uncle Jesse is one of the big heroes of this episode.

The other heroes come in the form of three mystery Santas. Originally, Joey was going to be the only Santa, which leads to some fun confusion when two more Jolly St. Nicks visit the Tanner house. One of them is revealed to be Steve, who has decided to go to a local school to stay with DJ. Another one turns out to be Vicky, who flew back in time to surprise Danny. It’s a nice moment since both of them had been absolutely miserable at the party without their significant others. I still think it’s more impressive that Jesse made it snow and cured greediness and all without dressing up as Santa Claus, but overall, I’m a sucker for happy Christmas episodes.

 
Continue on with # 5-1 Here

Top 20 Full House Episodes: 15-11

#15: Trouble in Twin Town (Season 6, Episode 7)

This episode makes the list for one main reason. I love to see snobby, pretentious jerks lose. In this case, the jerk is Rebecca’s cousin Dick, who comes in to town with his wife Donna and twin daughters Debbie and Darla. From the moment Dick comes on screen, you just want to smack the smug face right off of him. He goes on and on about how Rebecca deserves better than Jesse and how her old boyfriend is so rich and successful. The basic theme of his conversations are “Dick is great, Jesse’s a loser.” The reason they’re visiting is to enroll Debbie and Darla into a local “Favorite Twins” contest. This is a contest that doesn’t seem to have any discernable structure to it, it’s just a popularity contest for twins. Needless to say, Jesse comes to the obvious conclusion that he’ll enter Nicky and Alex into this contest and show up Dick.

Many shows would probably have the protagonist lose the contest and then have a heart to heart where he realizes that he doesn’t need the jerk’s approval. Full House went a different route and kept the heart to heart, while still allowing Nicky and Alex to win. Admittedly they didn’t do anything except be cute wearing Elvis costumes, but it’s still a priceless moment when Jesse gets the victory over Dick. As I mentioned, there is a heart to heart between Jesse and Becky where she tells him that she loves him for who he is. It’s very relatable, because no matter where you are in life, you can always look to someone who has more than you and get discouraged. This episode does a great job of giving the message to not get caught up in competition. It also gives the message not to act like Dick and look down on others. In addition, there’s a fun B plot, where Stephanie pretends to be twins in order to flirt with a set of cute twin boys. Overall, it’s a fun, uplifting episode.


#14: Michelle Rides Again (Season 8, Episodes 23 & 24)

I love series finales. As sad as it is to reach the end of a show I love, finales are usually very fun. The finale kicks off with Michelle practicing her horse riding for an upcoming competition. Throughout the episode we see her having fun, riding horses, even making friends with another little girl, Elizabeth. The problem is that Elizabeth’s entitled mom mistakes Danny for stable help, and brags about how her daughter always wins. Danny then overreacts and the two start a bitter rivalry, which is unfortunate for the girls, who just want to have fun. Michelle and Elizabeth sneak off for a parent-free joy ride, but Michelle falls off and hits her head, knocking her unconscious. There are a few minor subplots, including Stephanie being nervous about kissing a boy in a play, DJ not having a prom date, and Jessie & Joey rehearsing for a potential late night TV show. While these plots would be fine in most episodes, they seem significantly less important when the cliffhanger involves an unconscious, injured Michelle.

Part 2 picks up in the hospital, where Michelle is conscious, but has amnesia. Michelle is brought home to her familiar environment, but that doesn’t seem to help. The family tries telling her stories, sharing photos, the guys even sing her favorite “Teddy Bear” song. The tone is very somber as the family is realizing that she may never get her memory back. With such a serious issue going on with Michelle, it’s hard to care about anything else. This is my only main complaint with the finale, the lack of anything interesting with anyone other than Michelle. I understand that Michelle is a fan favorite, but it’s an ensemble cast. The show is about all of them, but no one else gets a good send off. Danny, Becky, and Kimmy don’t even get a pity B plot. Even the characters who have their own plot seem to get them glossed over. Stephanie ends up kissing her scene partner with no problem. Jessie & Joey just decide to put their TV plans on hold while Michelle is sick, but they never go back to it. There is a nice moment where Kimmy brings a mystery prom date for DJ, who turns out to be Steve, but even that reunion is overshadowed by Michelle’s plot. I wish they could’ve found a better way to incorporate the rest of the family. That being said, I did very much enjoy Michelle’s story. When all hope is lost, Michelle suddenly sees her memory, manifested as a clone of herself. The Olsen twins are on screen together as Michelle talks with her memory, before they merge together, making Michelle whole again. The ending scene shows Michelle revealing to the family that her memory is back and everyone hugs. It’s admittedly cheesy and predictable, but can you think of a more fitting way to end Full House?


#13: The King and I (Season 5, Episode 5)

Family picnic time! That’s right, the Tanners are all preparing for competitive games at the upcoming Tanner Family reunion. They never address the fact that since it’s Danny’s side of the family, Jessie and Becky wouldn’t be invited, or the fact that Joey and Kimmy aren’t even family at all. It’s a minor nitpick, but something I noticed. For the competitors we have Joey and Becky in the pie eating contest, DJ and Stephanie in the three legged race, Jesse and Michelle in the balloon race, and Danny seems to be team coach, complete with an obnoxious megaphone. Everyone is practicing, except for Jesse, who is trying to write a new hit song for his band. He keeps getting interrupted and pestered by everyone until he snaps and yells at everyone to leave him alone. I can’t entirely blame him here, since he was trying to work on his song, but it’s still a dramatic moment, especially for Michelle. The Tanners leave without Jesse and head off to the picnic. Jesse decides to take a break and visit a diner, where he meets an Elvis look-a-like. Fake-Elvis tells Jesse that family is what’s really important and inspires him to rush up to the picnic and join them. While we don’t actually see this picnic, we see Danny polishing trophies, so I guess it went well. Jesse then performs his new song, inspired by his family.

This is a great episode, but I now realize one of the biggest disappointments in all of Full House. I firmly believe that had the real Elvis Presley been alive in 1991, he would have been asked to guest star in this scene. How awesome would that have been?! Uncle Jesse would be sitting in a diner with his idol and they would have played it off as if he was just a look-a-like. Despite the lack of Elvis, this episode was great. Every member of the family was incorporated, and we get a performance from Jesse and the Rippers, what’s not to love?


#12: The Wedding, Parts 1 & 2 (Season 4: Episodes 18 & 19)

Have you ever noticed how weddings in sitcoms are almost always full of chaos, panic, and misunderstandings? At my wedding, no one went missing or skydived into a tomato truck, but as unrealistic as it is, it makes great TV. Jesse and Becky are finally getting married, which means family drama can’t be too far behind. Since Jesse is already living with his crazy family, we get to meet Becky’s parents. Her father doesn’t approve of Jesse’s wild, rock and roll, motorcycle lifestyle. He tells Jesse that when he got married, he settled down and gave up wild adventures. This puts Jesse into full panic mode as we see at the end of Part 1. Meanwhile, the rest of the family is preparing for the wedding, causing their own chaos. Danny and Joey get their suits mixed up, which leads to Becky’s mother literally catching them with their pants down. Michelle doesn’t get along well with Becky’s niece, Howie, which is understandable since they’re four year olds. We also get a play by play style narration from DJ and Stephanie who are filming everything for a wedding video. As with most two part episodes, I tend to enjoy Part 2 the most, and this is no exception. The very end of part 1 sets that up as we go back to Jesse in panic mode. Jesse drags Joey out to take him skydiving, because apparently Joey’s a pilot? Anyways, it’s the wedding day, and everyone’s at the church, but no one can find Jesse. Even when Joey shows up, Jesse’s still missing. We end on a cliff-hanger, or rather a tree-hanger as Jesse’s harness has gotten snagged in a tree and he’s hanging there helpless. Like I said, only on TV.

Part 2 is composed of two main stories, Jesse trying to get to the wedding and the rest of the family stalling until he gets there. A local tomato farmer finds Jesse, but being too impatient to wait for help, Jesse unfastens his harness and falls into his truck bed, ruining his tomatoes. To make matters worse, he starts to steal his truck, which leads to the groom behind bars in tomato country. Becky finds out what happens and sets out to get him, while everyone else scrambles to keep the guests entertained. Becky finds Jesse in jail and they have the expected heart to heart about how marriage is the beginning of adventure, not the end. I’m sure you get the jist of their talk, so I’ll leave it at that. Conveniently, the sheriff is moved by their moment and lets them go, dropping all charges. Becky’s dad’s car gets towed, but in another stroke of convenience, they flag down a bus with a church choir. The choir not only gives them a ride, but also backs up Jesse in the ceremony as he sings “Forever” to Becky. “Forever” will continue on to be a recurring song throughout the series. The rest of the episode shows us the happy couple dancing at the reception and riding off on the motorcycle. I’m a sucker for these kinds of episodes, where it’s supposed to be a simple event, but everything seems to go wrong. Nobody wants this kind of wedding in real life, but if I’m going to watch fictional characters get married, at least make it interesting. Full House did just that.


#11: Our Very First Show (Season 1, Episode 1)

Here we have the only representation of the first two seasons. I apologize again to anyone who is a fan of the early episodes. I think you have to include the first episode as it sets the stage and introduces us to the Tanner family. We meet Danny Tanner, a newly widowed father, left to raise his daughters, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle. Danny’s mother is just leaving, but we learn that Danny’s brother-in-law Jesse and best friend Joey will be moving in. At the start, Jesse and Joey are very simple characters. Jesse is a rock and roll ladies man, while Joey is a comedian goofball. That’s all you really need to know. We get a typical fighting siblings scene when DJ and Stephanie divide their shared room in half. The absolute best part of this episode is after Danny goes to work. Jesse and Joey are left to change Michelle’s diaper. I have to admit, I wouldn’t really know what I’m doing, changing a diaper, but I think I would be smart enough to figure out that using an actual diaper is a good idea. These guys missed that memo. They spray down Michelle’s butt with the kitchen sprinkler and wrap her in a paper towel. It’s a hilarious and classic scene that sets the tone of two young guys who try their best, but don’t have a clue.

Of course, you can’t kick off a show like Full House without a little drama followed by an emotional talk. For this moment, we have DJ trying to move into the garage, and ultimately crying about how she misses her mother and everything changing. Danny consoles her, reassuring her that even though they all miss his wife, they’ll be ok because they’re going to be there to support each other. It’s cheesy, but it’s also a good message. This family is very close and over the eight seasons, we have seen them be there for each other. This pilot does a terrific job of introducing us to the major players in the show, and also setting the emotional tone for the show as well.


Continue on with # 10-6 Here

Top 20 Full House Episodes: 20-16

 Wake Up, San Francisco! If you grew up watching Full House, then you understand that introduction, and yes, I will find excuses to use more of the show’s catch phrases. I’m excited to hear these catchphrases come back in the upcoming, Fuller House, which will hit Netflix on February 26, 2016. The show will follow Candace Cameron, Jodie Sweetin, and Andrea Barber returning as D.J., Stephanie, and Kimmy, raising their own children in the very house they grew up in. Before I discover the future of the Tanner family, I decided to start by looking back at their past. Full House ran for 8 seasons from 1987-1995, and it was an entertainment staple in my childhood home. We wouldn’t just watch, we collected almost every episode. My parents still have our old VHS tapes containing almost every episode. I’ve looked through these episodes and was able to Cut. It. Out. Down to my personal top 20. Originally, the plan was to do Top 10, but there are so many great episodes, it left me saying “Have Mercy”, so I doubled it. Even then, it was a tough choice to pick my favorites. There are so many great episodes that didn’t even make my Top 20, so if you haven’t already, I would definitely recommend watching the entire series.

You may notice a distinct shortage of episodes in the first two seasons. Before you get mad and start saying “How Rude”, let me explain the reasons for that. First, I was born during the first season of the show, so I am much more familiar with the later seasons. Those are the episodes that bring back the memories of sitting in the basement, playing with my Power Ranger toys, watching hours and hours of Full House. Second, I legitimately think that the show greatly improved after the first two years. Don’t get me wrong, the entire show is great, and something I’d recommend. That being said, the early episodes were all about these three guys learning how to raise kids, despite not really knowing how to be parents, which started to get old. I think it did a great job of showing us what it was like for Jesse and Joey, who previously only had to care about themselves, suddenly becoming parent-figures to three girls. We have moments like Jesse keeping the girls up way past their bedtime practicing with his rock band or Joey deciding to ground D.J. for misbehaving. It was an interesting dynamic, but after two seasons, I noticed a slight shift in the tone of the show.  While everyone continued to learn how to be a family, the adults began to be portrayed as competent, mature authority figures instead of bachelors struggling to figure out life. We also started to explore the individual personalities of D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle as they got older, turning them into well rounded characters. This is when Full House is at its best, in my opinion. Are you ready to dive into my personal picks for the greatest Full House episodes ever? You Got it Dude!

#20: The Hole in the Wall Gang (Season 4, Episode 21)

I’ll start us off with a simple classic. It’s the one where DJ and Stephanie end up putting a hole in the wall of Danny’s bedroom. Stephanie is trying to dress just like DJ, copying her style. DJ decides to borrow a shirt from Danny, and of course Stephanie follows. In the midst of their arguing, the closet rod ends up going through the wall. This leads to the cover up plan. The girls convince Jesse to tell them how to fix the wall, they move the furniture to cover the hole, and even send Michelle to distract Danny. As a last ditch effort, DJ and Stephanie tell Danny they were in his room to gain inspiration for their song “Dad”. Not surprisingly, Danny sees through everything and knows they’re up to something, but is too tired to look into it. It’s a fun plot that brings DJ and Stephanie full circle, from beginning the episode arguing, then having to work together on the cover up, and finally to the traditional heart to heart at the end of the episode. Plus there’s some cute Michelle moments, which I always enjoy.

I also picked this episode for the B plot. Joey is helping Jesse renovate the attic into an apartment for him and Rebecca. I’m always on board whenever they decide to put Jesse and Joey together, these guys are a great comedic duo in this show. Jesse doesn’t want Joey’s help for anything, belittling his abilities. While working on the wiring for the bed that comes out of the wall, Jessie gets trapped inside, forcing him to admit that he could use some help. This is a great episode the displays the hectic craziness that can happen with so many people living in one house.

#19: Just Say No Way (Season 3, Episode 21)

As an ABC family sitcom in the 90s, you can bet that Full House has had a few episodes that deal with serious issues, and this is one of them. Tonight’s topic: teenage drinking. It all starts with DJ and Kimmy organizing their school’s Backwards dance, which DJ is very excited to attend with a boy named Kevin. Panic sets in when the band cancels, leading DJ to ask her musically talented, Uncle Jessie to perform. She promises him a great back-up band, which is later revealed to be the school’s marching band. From a plot perspective, this was necessary in order to get Jesse to the school during the dance so that he could walk in on what’s about to happen. DJ finds Kevin in the hallway drinking beer with some friends. She tells them what they’re doing is wrong, and even takes the beer to mock their behavior. This is the unfortunate moment where Jesse walks in and sees DJ holding the beer. Jumping to the conclusion that DJ was drinking, he takes her home, where Danny and Joey are also suspicious of DJ’s behavior. She finally convinces Stephanie that she’s telling the truth about not drinking, then sneaks back to school. Danny and Jesse follow, only to run into Kevin who confesses and tells them the truth. Jesse apologizes to DJ, saying he didn’t want to see alcohol ruin her life, the way it’s ruined others' lives.

I think this episode was done very well. It definitely delivered the message that teenage drinking is not a problem to be taken lightly, but there are several other lessons in this episode. DJ also learned that lying to someone once can ruin your credibility when you need someone to believe you later. Jesse learned to get the full story and not jump to conclusions. On a lighter note, in the B plot, Joey, Stephanie, and Danny learn that if you give Michelle a tape with the catchy tune “Baby Beluga”, she will continually play it until you wish you were deaf. It applies to so many situations, which is why I picked it as part of my Top 20.

#18: You Pet it, You Bought it (Season 8, Episode 6)

The craziness in this episode is not the work of any of the Tanners. Instead it’s a donkey named Shorty. Michelle managed to rack up $221 in profit from selling lemonade to construction workers. She goes with Kimmy to spend her money at the candy store, but gets sidetracked and comes home with Shorty. Danny decides to let Shorty spend the night in the backyard, however that doesn’t last long as he keeps the neighbors up with continuous “hee-hawing”. The only thing that calms him down is Jesse singing the theme song to Threes Company, which he tries to do all night. In the morning, we see the damage Shorty as done, including eating a portrait of Danny’s great-great grandfather as well as Stephanie’s homework. We also discover that DJ has an allergic reaction to Shorty and it happens to be picture day. In the end, Becky suggests they donate him to the local Children’s Zoo. I enjoyed the simplicity of this episode. It focuses around one specific plot-line that affects everyone. I love the moment when Michelle is explaining that they were on the way to the candy store when they passed by a petting zoo, which leads Joey to chime in with “well, apparently, you didn’t pass it completely!” Well, I couldn’t pass this episode completely when picking my favorites.

#17: Greek Week (Season 4, Episode 1)

If this were an episode of Friends, it’d be titled “The one with all the greek weddings.” Jesse is excited for his grandparents to visit from Greece to celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary.  What he was not expecting was the guests that they brought with them, each one bringing more drama than the last. First there is Melina, the daughter of Jesse’s cousin, who happens to look exactly like Michelle. This was an easy excuse to have Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on screen at the same time, but it’s a fun running gag throughout the episode. Second, is a young man named Sylvio who takes an immediate liking to DJ, which makes Danny less than thrilled. Lastly, they bring Sylvio’s sister, Elena, an old girlfriend of Jesse’s, who is all too quick to give him affection in front of Becky. The peak of this drama happens when Sylvio and DJ take a walk around the kitchen table, fulfilling a Pomadorian wedding tradition. Jesse remembers doing the same thing with Elena years ago, meaning that according to family tradition, Sylvio & DJ and Jesse & Elena are married. At an eventful anniversary celebration, the couples end up getting “divorced” by walking around a table backwards and all is well. After his “divorce”, Jesse and Becky get officially engaged!

This episode feels more like a mini-movie than a sitcom episode. I wish it had been a two part episode, so that we could explore more of these relationship dynamics. There’s much more story that could be told here. We could’ve learned more about Jesse and Elena’s past as well as the greek family traditions. It also could’ve been fun to see more of Danny losing his mind over his teenage daughter being “married”. Even without a Part 2, this episode is terrific. It’s interesting how adding a few more key people to this already large family makes this much more interesting.

#16: Subterranean Graduation Blues (Season 6, Episode 19)

This episode closes up the storyline of Jesse going back to school to get his high school diploma. It’s graduation day and Jesse is set to give the commencement speech. The family decides to take the subway to the ceremony, which ends up breaking down. The rest of the episode shows us the Tanner family trapped in a subway car with strangers. On the lighter side, we have Danny and Becky meeting some fans of Wake Up San Francisco, who turn out to be a little on the crazy side. There’s also Michelle, who notices a big tough guy littering, and tries to get Joey to convince him to stop, even though Joey realizes this is not the guy he wants to mess with. These scenes serve dual purpose of tension-cutting humor as well as finding ways to incorporate the rest of the family into the story, because the main plot here is all about Jesse, who just wants to get his diploma. This is an important moment for him. He has taken responsibility for his education and realized the mistake he made in his youth. This was supposed to be the conclusion of that moment, Jesse finally being able to show everyone that he’s not a drop out anymore. It’s at this point that Jesse meets a young potential dropout much like himself. You could call this luck, fate, a divine intervention, or more realistically, convenient script writing to bring an emotional moment. Anyways, Jesse ends up giving him the speech he was going to give, and in predictable cheesiness, the kid decides to stay in school, and Jesse is given a make-shift graduation right there on the subway.

One of the reasons I picked this episode is that I really enjoy bottle episodes. Before you get all technical on me, I know that this isn’t a full bottle episode, but aside from the episode introduction and the minor B plot with Kimmy babysitting Nicky and Alex, it comes pretty close, and has many of the same elements. The characters are confined into one space and there is both conflict and character development that come out of their lack of escape. If everyone wasn’t confined into that space, Jesse would have never been able to help this young man stay in school. It also adds more weight to the minor plots as well. Joey really didn’t want to anger the tough guy since there was no escape, much like Danny and Becky couldn’t do anything to escape their crazed fans. All in all, it’s a good message with fun moments, delivered in a clever way.


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