‘Fuller House’ is full of emotions and nostalgia

It’s the beginning of spring break and you’re looking for something to binge watch on Netflix. There isn’t a new season of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” like there was last year. So what do you watch? “Orange is the New Black?” “Mad Men?” “Scandal?”
Something you might not have considered or known about is “Fuller House,” the spin-off of the 90s classic “Full House.” (“Fuller House”: because DJ’s married name is Fuller. Bah dum tss.) Sure, I know what you’re thinking, “I’ve seen a lot of posts that say ‘Fuller House’ is cheesy garbage.” Well, you’re not wrong, but there are some good parts that should make you want to keep watching.
“Fuller House” has pretty much the same dynamics as “Full House.” A single parent is taking care of three kids with the help of a best friend and a relative. DJ has three boys (the exact opposite of “Full House”) and Kimmy Gibbler and Stephanie decide to live with them to help DJ raise the kids.
There are a few emotional parts. (I won’t say what they are because I’m not a snitch, and you have to watch for yourself.) But I did cry during the first episode. In all fairness, I cry watching a lot of things, but I watched the first episode twice and I cried both times. I almost stopped watching it after the first episode because it was over-acted and the cast was relying too much on the old jokes. But there was a glimmer of hope in that second of pure emotion. So I kept watching. And it took about seven episodes, but the show did get better, and made it worth watching.
Even though those old jokes can be slightly annoying, there is still nostalgia in that. In the original “Full House” certain jokes would became tiring at points: Joey’s Rocky and Bullwinkle impersonation, Uncle Jesse’s “have mercy.” But having them repeated on this stage adds to the nostalgia of the show. Even though it is about 20 years after the show was canceled, it has the same feeling of “Full House.” It has the same characters, and it allows you to venture into their world, at least one more time. It feels like I’m reliving a little piece of my childhood.
“Fuller House” gives more closure than “Full House” did. “Full House” was canceled after the end of its eighth season. It ended with the episode when Michelle fell off the horse and lost her memory. The show left the plot open for a ninth season that never happened. We are able to now see what happened to the Tanners and how everyone is doing.
I feel like the downfall of the show is that the writers don’t know who they are trying to appeal to. There are too many adult references and puns that won’t appeal to children. And then at times it plays out like an overacted Disney Channel special that adults won’t like. When another hit 90s show was re-produced, “Boy Meets World” into “Girl Meets World,” they had one audience they were trying to appease: pre-teens. I feel like “Girl Meets World” does a much better job writing for its audience than “Fuller House.” The writing staff is trying to please too many people, and in the end no one is completely satisfied.
I’m not a 90s kid. (I was born in ’94; I barely even remember the 90’s.) But as a 2000s kid, I remember watching re-runs of “Full House” on Nickelodeon and ABC Family. And I have to say “Full House” itself wasn’t cheese-free either. It had moments that just as cheesy and over-acted as “Fuller House.”
If you liked “Full House” when it was on, you should at least try to get through “Fuller House.” You might be surprised that you like it. I was.
So if you are looking for something to binge on over break, give “Fuller House” a try. You will either like it or hate it, there is no median. But one thing I would not do is try to Netflix and chill with this in the background. The laugh track plays pretty much 24/7.