Full House Information

Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, Donna Jo (D.J.), Stephanie, and Michelle.

The show originally ran in primetime from September 22, 1987 to May 23, 1995 on ABC. The series ran as part of ABC's TGIF Friday comedy lineup for its first four seasons before moving to Tuesday nights, where it aired for the remainder of its run. The series originally ran for 8 seasons, and 192 episodes.

Premise

After news reporter Danny Tanner's wife Pam is killed in a car crash (revealed in a final season episode to be caused by a drunk driver), he recruits his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (a rock musician) and quirky best friend Joey Gladstone (a comedian) to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle, in his San Francisco home. Over time, the three men as well as the children bond and become closer to one another.

Danny (in season 2) becomes co-host of a local morning television show, "Wake Up, San Francisco", and is teamed up with Rebecca Donaldson. When Jesse meets Rebecca, they instantly fall in love. Eventually (in season 4), Jesse and Rebecca get married. Then (in season 5), they have twin sons, Nicky and Alex Katsopolis. Throughout the series, Jesse struggles to decide on what he wants to do with his life. In season two, he partners up with Joey in an advertising business. In season five, he decides to start a music career. Additionally (in season 6), D.J. gets a steady boyfriend named Steve, though the two break up in season seven. In the series finale, Steve takes D.J. to her senior prom, and they get back together.

Main cast and characters

Actor(s)	Character(s)	Seasons
John Stamos	Jesse Katsopolis (Jesse Cochran: season 1)	All
Bob Saget	Danny Tanner	All
Dave Coulier	Joey Gladstone	All
Candace Cameron	Donna Jo "D.J." Tanner	All
Jodie Sweetin	Stephanie Tanner	All
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen	Michelle Tanner	All
Andrea Barber	Kimmy Gibbler	1"4 (recurring) 5"8 (main)
Lori Loughlin	Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson-Katsopolis	2 (recurring) 3"8 (main)
Scott Weinger	Steve Hale	5 & 8 (guest) 6"7 (main)
Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit	Nicholas "Nicky" and Alexander "Alex" Katsopolis (as toddlers)	6 (recurring) 7"8 (main)

Production

Casting

Bob Saget was the producers' first choice to play Danny Tanner, but because of his work as an on-air contributor to CBS's The Morning Program, John Posey was cast as Danny for the original pilot. This episode is included on the Season 1 DVD.

John Stamos' original character name, "Jesse Cochran," was changed after season one to "Jesse Katsopolis". The change in last names was due to Stamos wanting his character to better reflect his Greek heritage.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen nearly left the show after the first season because their real-life mother was concerned about them missing out on having a "normal" childhood. After a significant raise in salary from the show's producers, she agreed to let them continue. To comply with child labor laws, twins Ashley and Mary-Kate were cast to alternate during tapings. Both girls were credited as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen" in the beginning.

All seven of the original cast members remained with the show through its entire eight-year run. During the show's run, five main characters were added to the main cast. Andrea Barber (D.J.'s best friend Kimmy Gibbler) had a recurring role in seasons one through four, but was made a regular in season five. Lori Loughlin (Rebecca Donaldson [later Katsopolis]) originally appeared as a recurring character in six episodes in season two as Danny's co-host on "Wake Up, San Francisco," however, producers decided to write her character into the show and give her a permanent role in season three.

Season five saw the debut of characters Nicky and Alex Katsopolis, who were the twin sons of Jesse and Rebecca. The "baby versions" were played by Daniel and Kevin Renteria. Beginning in season six, Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit played Nicky and Alex as toddlers for the rest of the series.

The last character added was Steve (played by Scott Weinger), who is D.J's boyfriend in the seasons six and seven. He returned in the series finale as D.J.'s senior prom date.

Filming

The series was created by Jeff Franklin and executive produced by Franklin, along with Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett. The series was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions and Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar-Telepictures (1987"88), Lorimar Television (1988"93), and then by Warner Bros. Television (1993"95).

Although the series was set in San Francisco, the sitcom itself was taped at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles. The only episode to have actually been taped in San Francisco was "Comet's Excellent Adventure", the first episode of season eight. There were also a few episodes where the cast would shoot in other locations, most notably Hawaii in the season three premiere "Tanner's Island", and at Walt Disney World for the episodes "The House Meets the Mouse" (Parts 1 & 2) at the end of season six.

The series experienced high turnover with its writing staff throughout its run, the first season in particular had at least three writing staff changes with Lenny Ripps (who remained with the show until season three ended) and Russell Marcus being the only writer surviving the changes through the entire season. Show creator and executive producer Jeff Franklin was the only writer to remain with the series throughout its entire eight-season run (though all episodes that Franklin wrote and directed were during the first five seasons). Marc Warren and Dennis Rinsler joined the series in the second season and also remained with the show until its 1995 cancellation, taking over as head writers by season five and executive producers by season six.

Theme song and opening sequence

Theme song

The show's theme song, "Everywhere You Look", was performed by Jesse Frederick; Frederick co-wrote the song with Bennett Salvay and series creator Jeff Franklin. An instrumental version of the theme song was used in the closing credits, and in the opening credits in some early syndication runs, although the song was almost always truncated to the chorus for broadcast. Seasons one through five used a longer version of the theme song. However in syndicated airings, the line "you miss your old familiar friends, but waiting just around the bend" replaced the lines starting with "how did I get delivered here, somebody tell me please..." (After ABC Family acquired the series in 2003, it became the first television outlet to air the long versions of the theme since the series' ABC run, included in some episodes from the first five seasons).

Opening credits

In the beginning, the six original characters were shown either at home, or in various shots in San Francisco. Beginning in season four, the opening credits for the adults were also filmed in San Francisco, as well as the last shot of the opening credits of the show, which features the cast having a picnic in Alamo Square in front of the row of Painted Ladies in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco. Contrary to popular belief, the red-doored Victorian where the Tanners live is not one of these houses. The address of the Tanner house was mentioned in "Blast From the Past" as being located at 1882 Girard Street in San Francisco. The actual location of the house used for exterior shots in the series is 1709 Broderick Street. It was not until season eight that the opening credits were changed to feature the entire cast in various locations around San Francisco. From seasons one through five, select shots from the opening credits were seen in the closing credits as well, switching to still shots of episode scenes starting with season six.

The role of Michelle was credited as being played by "Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen" from seasons two to seven (the duo was only credited in the closing credits in season one, as "Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen"; though in syndicated reruns, they are also credited in the opening credits as the former) because the show's producers did not want audiences to know that Michelle was played by twins. Ashley's name was made to appear as Mary-Kate's middle name in the titles (the role of Michelle was played by twins because California state law regulates the number of work hours for a young child; therefore it is common for the role of one baby in a TV or film production to be played by twins). In season eight, with the entire opening credit shots revamped for the last time, the Olsen twins were now given special billing in response to the popularity they earned as separate performers over the years. Appearing last in the credits, they were credited as "And Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen as Michelle". Fittingly, Mary-Kate is the twin appearing in the shot, but the girl in the painting is Ashley. Starting with season three, Lori Loughlin was featured in the opening credits, however it was only in episodes she appeared in. From season four onward, she was featured in the opening credits of every episode. It was not until season five that Andrea Barber was added to the opening credits, despite her recurring role on the show since the first season. The long opening was cut when the show started regular rotation upon the end of first-run airing.

Episodes

Ratings

Full House aired on Fridays from September 22, 1987 to August 1991, which spanned the show's first four seasons, and later became the flagship program of ABC's newly launched TGIF block. During the 1987"88 season, however, the show did move to Tuesdays briefly, and then aired twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays for a few months in order to help the series build an audience. It remained on Fridays permanently for the next three seasons, as the show's ratings became more respectable. The show was moved to Tuesdays for season five, and remained there until its ending in 1995. While season one was not very successful, mostly because it was a new series placed in an 8/7c time slot (most freshman series start out in protected time slots preceded by successful lead-ins), the show quickly became popular during season two as it was placed immediately following the established hit show Perfect Strangers. From season three onwards it was ranked among the Nielsen ratings' Top 30 shows (a ratings increase which allowed the series to move back to Fridays at 8/7c). By season four, it jumped to the top twenty and remained there until season seven (including seasons 5 & 6 earning their peak spots in the top ten).

In 1995, despite the fact the show was still rated in the top 25, ABC announced that it was canceling the show after season eight due to the increasing production costs. The new WB network wanted to pick up the show, but John Stamos announced that season eight would be his last (he was mainly upset about Full House defecting from one of the "big four" networks to a network which had not yet received full national distribution). Eventually, the other actors announced they were also ready to move on to other projects, thus ending the show's eight-year run. The one-hour finale was watched by 24.3 million viewers, ranking No. 7 for the week and attracting a 14.6 household rating and a 25 percent audience share.

Season	Original air dates		Nielsen ratings
	Season premiere	Season finale	Ranking	Average viewers (millions)
1	September 22, 1987	May 6, 1988	#53	9.6324
2	October 14, 1988	May 5, 1989	#27	11.8758
3	September 22, 1989	May 4, 1990	#23	14.0913
4	September 24, 1990	May 3, 1991	#15	14.8029
5	September 17, 1991	May 12, 1992	#8	15.99777
6	September 22, 1992	May 18, 1993	#10	14.7098
7	September 14, 1993	May 17, 1994	#12	13.3764
8	September 27, 1994	May 23, 1995	#24	11.8296

Crossovers with other Shows

In the Hanging with Mr. Cooper season 1 episode "Hanging with Michelle", has Mr.Cooper as a substitute teacher for Michelle's class. It includes Michelle, Uncle Jesse, Aaron, and Denise.

In season four, there was a crossover with Family Matters called "Stephanie Gets Framed", where Steve Urkel visits his cousin in San Francisco and he gives advice to Jesse and Stephanie.

Syndication

U.S. syndication

Currently, Warner Bros. Television Distribution handles the domestic and international syndication rights to the series. Since its 1995 finale, Full House has gained even more popularity among newer generations of family audiences through syndicated reruns. During the summer of 1991, reruns of the early seasons began airing in a daily daytime strip on NBC. Starting in September 1991, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution began distributing Full House for broadcast in off-network syndication and was syndicated on various local stations nationwide until 2003. Stations included KBHK-TV in San Francisco, California, WPIX in New York, New York, KTLA in Los Angeles, California, WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois, WGBS in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, KTVT in Dallas, Texas, WLVI in Boston, Massachusetts, WGNX in Atlanta, Georgia, WTTG in Washington, D.C., KTXH in Houston, Texas, WXON in Detroit, Michigan, KSTW in Seattle, Washington, WTOG in Tampa, Florida, KMSP-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, WBFS-TV in Miami, Florida, KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, WVTV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, KWGN-TV in Denver, Colorado and KPLR-TV in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1998, Atlanta-based cable superstation TBS (which is now a traditional cable channel, as of October 2007) and Chicago-based superstation WGN obtained cable rights to the series and aired the show every weekday until 2002, when the show was dropped from the schedules of both networks.

In September 2003, ABC Family acquired the series; as a result, ABC Family became the first network since ABC to air the original extended version of the theme song, featured in select episodes of the first five seasons; the closing credits however are substituted with marginalized credits to allow for promotion of other ABC Family programs. In other broadcast and cable syndication runs (as well as most other episodes aired on ABC Family), a shortened version of the main theme with alternate lyrics is used for all episodes of the first five seasons; however, the opening credits for the final three seasons are shown as they originally aired. As of May 2012, the series has been replaced in its time slot. The show, however, returned to the air in September 2012 where it airs weekdays from 12pm to 2pm.

Nick at Nite acquired the series in 2003, and aired it from October 6 of that year until April 10, 2009; several months later on August 31, 2009, it moved to sister channel The N and continued on that channel after its September 28, 2009 rebrand as Teen Nick, remaining on the channel until October 24, 2010. The following day on October 25, 2010, the series returned to Nick at Nite after a one-year absence, airing in the hour leading into the start of Nickelodeon's broadcast day. Soon after, though, it was dropped from Nick at Nite again, returning to TeenNick until September 2012, where it was then transferred back to Nick at Nite.

International syndication

Country / Region	Network	Broadcast run	Title
	Seven Network	1987"1994	Full House
	Nine Network	late 1990s
	7TWO	January 2010 " present
	2BE	1995"2000
	Rede Globo	1990"1995 (first-run) 1995"2000 (reruns)	Três é Demais (Three Is Too Much)
	SBT	2000"2006 February 12, 2013"present (reruns)
	Warner Channel
	BNT		????? ??"?? (palna kashta)
	CTV	1987"1995 (first-run)	Full House
	CTS	1998"present
	Prime	1997"2003
	Comedy Gold	2010"present
	Kanal 2	1988"1995	Fuldt hus, later renamed to Hænderne fulde
	Kanal 2	?"present	Lastega kodus
	RFO		La Fête à la maison
	TF1
	RTL Television	1992"1999	Full House
	RTL II	1999"2008
	Doordarshan	1987"1994	Full House
	Zee Café	1993"2007 (first-run) 2012"present (reruns)
	Star World	January 2007"2009
	RTE2	1988"1995
	Israeli Educational Television		??? "??""?? "??"??
	Arutz HaYeladim
	Italia 1	1996"2002	Gli amici di papà
	NHK	1987"2000	"???"?"?
	LNT	2002"present	Pilna m?ja
	TV5	2001"2005
	Channel 2 (Latvia)	2012"present
	TV3	1992"1998	Full House
	Azteca 7	1987"1995	Tres por tres
	RTL 4	1991"1999	Full House
	Veronica	1999"2001
	Yorin	2001"2005
	TV 2	1990"1995	Full House
	TVNorge		Under samme tak
	Pakistan Television Corporation		Full House
	Frecuencia Latina		Tres por tres
	RPN 9
	TVP2	1992"1995	Pe"?na chata
	TVP2 and TVN and TVN7	unknown
	TV Puls	2011"present
	ORT 1		????"?? ??? (polnuy dom)
	Kanal A		Polna Hi?a
	M-Net		Full House
	[[Canal+]]		Padres Forzosos
	RTVE
	TV4	(original run)	Huset fullt
	Kanal 5	(syndication)
	TV4 Komedi	2010"2011
	Kanal D		Bizim Ev
	[[1+1]]	1997"present
	ICTV	1996"2002
	Ukrainian Television and Radio	2006"present
	Channel Four	1988"1992	Full House
	Sky One	1992"1996

Reunions

During Bob Saget's final season of America's Funniest Home Videos, seven of the Full House cast members (including Saget himself) reunited on the episode that aired on May 9, 1997. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen did not attend.

In a December 2008 news story, it was reported that John Stamos was planning a reunion movie. Reports, however, indicate that this idea was quickly withdrawn, because most of the cast was not interested.

In 2009, Stamos announced that a feature film based on the show is still on. Stamos told The New York Daily News, "I'm working on a movie idea, but it wouldn't be us playing us. I'm not 100% sure, but it would probably take place in the first few years." Stamos has Steve Carell and Tracy Morgan in mind for the roles of Danny and Joey respectively.

In 2012, eight of the Full House cast members reunited in Los Angeles for their 25th anniversary. Publicists for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen said that they "weren't able to attend, given their work schedules."

Other media

DVD releases

Warner Home Video released all eight seasons of the series on DVD in Region 1 between 2005"07. A complete series set containing all 192 episodes was released on November 6, 2007. The complete series set is now out of print and can only be bought by sellers on Amazon, eBay, etc. It is unknown if another complete series set will be released. The first four seasons were also released on DVD in Region 2 and Region 4.

Title	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season 1	February 8, 2005	2007	November 16, 2005
Season 2	December 6, 2005	2007	April 5, 2006
Season 3	April 4, 2006	2007	August 9, 2006
Season 4	August 15, 2006	2007	September 5, 2007
Season 5	December 12, 2006	N/A	N/A
Season 6	March 27, 2007	N/A	N/A
Season 7	August 7, 2007	N/A	N/A
Season 8	November 6, 2007	N/A	N/A
The Complete Series	November 6, 2007	N/A	N/A

Book series

Books based on Full House are geared toward children primarily ages 8"14. Warner Brothers, the owners of Full House, would not permit others to use their characters, and selected who could write books based on the TV series. As such, the books are generally considered canon, but take place in a separate continuity or fictional universe known to fans as the Book Universe.

The series include the following:

• Full House Stephanie: These 33 books were written from the point of view of the Tanners' middle daughter, Stephanie Tanner. They take place with Stephanie in a different middle school, likely because of a slightly different redistricting plan compared to the one mentioned in season seven's Fast Friends. She has different best friends, Allie Taylor and Darcy Powell, as well. Though these are book creations, she has known Allie since kindergarten, and there are several places in the first five seasons of Full House where fans think an unnamed extra could be Allie. The first ten of these books overlap with seasons seven and eight of the TV series, though the school is not the only difference; there are a number of differences in the Tanners from the series. This series begins with Stephanie being pressured to join a clique called the Flamingos, by completing a series of dares. She almost does the last one, though she's not sure if she wants to, before D.J. catches her trying to steal Danny's phone card. Stephanie explains tearfully what was happening, and D.J. helps her to understand what the Flamingos were really up to: they wanted the phone card to use to call boyfriends. Stephanie and the Flamingos become fierce rivals, though not all books surround this rivalry or even show the Flamingos.
• Full House Michelle: These 41 stories are told from Michelle's point of view. The first 27 feature more of her, and the other Tanners', home life than others, though some focus on events at school, whereas the last 14, the "Michelle and Friends" series, focuses mostly on Michelle and her classmates. Unlike Stephanie, Michelle goes to the same elementary, but is in a different class. The first four books in the Michelle series overlap with season eight of Full House, though these, too, take place in this Book Universe. Two stories were translated and published in Japan in February 2007.
• Full House Sisters: These 14 books focus on Michelle and Stephanie's friendship and comical situations that occur between them. The sisters often alternate points of view in the story.
• Full House: Dear Michelle: These 4 books were published several years after the others stopped being produced. They take place with Michelle in the third grade, where she writes an advice column for her class paper. It is a different third grade class from either the first four books or the TV universe, though the class contains several of the same friends as in the other books.

Awards and nominations

Kids' Choice Awards

Year	Award	Result
1994	Favorite Television Actress " Candace Cameron Bure
1995	Favorite Animal Star " "Comet"

TV Land Awards

Year	Award	Result
2004	Quintessential Non-Traditional Family " cast
2007	Favorite Elvis Impersonation " John Stamos

Young Artist Awards

Year	Award	Result
1989	Best Young Actress Under Ten Years of Age in Television or Motion Pictures " Jodie Sweetin
	The Most Promising New Fall Television Series
1990	Best Young Actor/Actress Under Five Years of Age " Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen
	Best Family Television Series
	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Comedy Series " Candace Cameron Bure
	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Comedy Series " Jodie Sweetin
1991	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series " Jodie Sweetin
	Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Television Series " Andrea Barber
	Outstanding Performance by an Actress Under Nine Years of Age " Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen
	Young Artist Award Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series " Candace Cameron Bure
1992	Best Young Actress Supporting or Recurring Role for a TV Series " Andrea Barber
	Young Artist Award Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series " Candace Cameron Bure
	Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series " Jodie Sweetin
1993	Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress Under Ten " Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen
	Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Television Series " Andrea Barber
	Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Under Ten " Tahj Mowry
	Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series
1994	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series " Candace Cameron Bure
	Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series " Jodie Sweetin
	Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Television Series " Andrea Barber
	Best Young Actor Guest-starring in a Television Series " R.J. Williams
1995	Best Youth Actor Guest-starring in a Television Show " J.D. Daniels
1996	Best Youth Comedienne in a TV Show " Andrea Barber