Full House - S1E1 - "Our Very First Show"

Full House

Season 1

Episode 1

"Our Very First Show"
Original Airdate: 9/22/1987

Opening Teaser: No Teaser

Synopsis: Following the credits, we open with the shot of the inside of the house as a woman is coming down the stairs.  We then see Danny Tanner come in with D.J. in one hand, and Stephanie in another.  The woman is revealed to be Danny's mom.  She has just put baby Michelle to sleep, and is waiting on her taxi to arrive so she can return home.  She keeps giving final hugs as the kids continue to side step Danny and get to their grandmother.  She lets Danny know that she doesn't have to go home so soon (much to the kid's delight).  Danny sends the kids away and has a frank conversation with her about being ready to move on.  He lets her know that he has friends moving in to help and will be alright.  As she goes to leave, she steals one more hug back to the kids before leaving.

Danny sits down with D.J. and Stephanie, and lets them know about Uncle Jesse, and Danny's best friend Joey will be moving in with all of them.  

Jesse makes a loud entrance, calling out the girls and giving Danny an update on how his night went.  As his story gets more and more provocative, Danny subliminally changes the context to a more culinary code as their are girls listening in on every word Jesse says.  Jesse then picks up Stephanie and plays around with her.

This prompts a huge pile of laundry to enter in the door way.  Underneath is Joey who has finally arrived to move in.  Joey comes in, jokes around with the guys, and does some jokes and pranks on the kids.  After this, D.J. asks if it's still too late for Grandma to come back from the airport.

We then shift to the upstairs scene where Danny shows Jesse his new bedroom.  Jesse mocks the new digs while Danny gets a bit emotional about what Jesse and Joey are doing for him.  After playing off his cool self, Jesse has a heart-to-heart with Danny where he lets him know Pam was his big sister, and he would do anything for him and the kids.

We cuts to the kid's room where D.J. is taping off her half of the room, and reading off a list of rules Stephanie must follow.  Steph climbs on top of the curtains, and attempts to cross over D.J.'s side, but is pulled back over by D.J.  Danny and Jesse come in and ask what is going on, before helping Steph down.  Joey comes in thinking the tape is a limbo, because unsuccessfully attempting it.  Danny explains to D.J. that she has to share.  He then states that he has to go to work, and leaves Jesse and Joey in charge of the house.  D.J. looks on disappointed.

We then go to a scene where Michelle is lying in her crib crying.  Joey tries to entertain her with baby noises, while Jesse displays his annoyance.  Jesse then tries a more fierce method, by yelling at Michelle to shut up.  Joey then attempts to do impersonations to calm her down.  As she continues to cry, the men soon realize she needs to be changed.  They rush her down the stairs to change her in the kitchen.  Steph watches on for amusement.  They use kitchen utensils to clean her up, followed by spray her down with sink water, drying her off with a fan, get wrapped up in paper towels, and overdress her.

Moving to that night, Jesse and Joey are beat.  Danny arrives home to find them both passed out on the couch.  The living room is a mess with baby clothes.  The doorbell rings, and one of Jesse's girlfriends arrives.  As they catch up, Steph comes running out and asks Jesse to play ballerina, Jesse tells her to go and ask D.J. to play.  Steph mentions that she can't do that because D.J. has run away.  Danny asks her what she means by that, and Steph explains how D.J. just packed her stuff, and ran off when Jesse and Joey weren't looking.

Everybody runs upstairs to the D.J. & Steph's bedroom.  There they find evidence that D.J. has packed up and run away.  Danny demands an explanation.  As Danny finishes lecturing them, he sends Joey to call the police, Jesse to drive around the neighborhood, and announces he will call her friends.  Steph then declares that she will go and get D.J.  This prompts all 3 men back into the room to question her on D.J.'s whereabouts.

Danny finds her hanging out in the garage.  She's talking to Kimmy Gibbler on the phone.  Everyone else shows up, and Danny demands Donna Jo to go back into the house.  Each of the adults take their turns trying to convince D.J. to go back upstairs.  Danny then has to attend to Michelle, and Joey needs to take care of the formula, so Jesse takes the initiative to talk her back upstairs.  

When he heads back up to get back to Vanessa, he learns that Danny and Steph said somethings that forced her off.  Jesse responds shocking and frantically.  That's when D.J. comes back up the stairs, and Jesse demands his money back.  Danny then scolds Jesse for bribing D.J.  D.J. declares that she will have a garage sale to raise money, and promptly leaves the room.  Jesse holds on to Michelle and takes to her.

Danny rushes back into the kitchen and has a heart-to-heart with D.J.  He asks how Pam would have handle this.  D.J. responds that her mother knew everything she did.  She would even know what she was going to do before she even did it.  D.J. lets out how stressed she is with losing her mom, having strangers moving in, and experiencing the growing pains of life.  Danny assures her that everything is going to be alright.  

Everyone meets back up in the living room where Jesse has taken a huge liking to Michelle.  He gets her to smile, and the rest of the family comes in to join them.  When Michelle looks fussy, Jesse asks what's wrong, and Danny informs him that she isn't fussy, but happy, she loves music.  The family breaks out into a rendition of the Flintstones Theme song as the episode comes to a close. 

Character Introductions:

Mrs. Tanner - Danny's mother.  She has been staying with the family in the aftermath of the death of Danny's wife Pam.

Danny Tanner - Patriarch of the Tanner family.  He is father to D.J., Steph, and Michelle.  Brother-in-Law to Jesse, and Best Friends with Joey.  He is very structured, organizational, and anal-retentive when it comes to cleaning.

Donna Jo (DJ) Tanner - Older sibling of the Tanner children.  She is orderly and direct, much like her father.  She is the most responsible one of the three.

Stephanie Tanner - Middle child of the Tanner children.  She marches to the beat of her own tune, tries to beat D.J. in matching of wits, and takes a more rebellious manner.  She allows people to know her disdain for impoliteness by saying "How Rude!" to people that annoy her.

Michelle Tanner - Youngest of the Tanner children.  She is the most spunky, and knows how to get people to take her side.  She is sweet, adorable, and always there to spark a laugh.

Pamela Tanner - Unseen character who is referenced many times in the episode and rest of the series.  She was Danny's wife, Jesse's sister, and the Tanner children's mother.  She died in a car accident when she was hit by a drunk driver.

Jesse Katsopolis - Rock 'n' Roller Uncle of the Tanner children and Danny's Brother-In-Law.  He was Pam's brother, and moved in to help the family get back on their feet.

Joey Gladstone - Best friend of Danny.  He has moved in along with Jesse to help get the family back on their feet.  A comedian by trade, he's always chiming in with jokes, impersonations, or physical comedy that feed the humor of the family.

Jesse Girlfriend Counter #1: Vanessa - Showgirl whom Jesse met at Razzle Dazzle '87 at a casino in Reno.  She was supposed to go to the Philippines to do a Bob Hope Special but the airport got fogged in.  She is asking to take Jesse up on his offer to stay with him anytime.  She leaves are household drama has held up Jesse, and she is informed she would have to sleep on the couch.

San Francisco or Bust:

The majority of Full House episodes take place inside the house, so I'll add locations from in there

1 location:
- Tanner Household

    - Living Room

    - Front Porch

    - Jesse's Room

    - D.J. & Steph's Room

    - Danny's Room

    - Kitchen

    - Garage

Best Jokes:

Danny: "But Dad needs you too.  You remember Dad don't you?  Your husband, kinda balding and glasses.  Wears his boxer shorts up around his neck?"

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Jesse: D.J.!!  Did that took come in yet?

DJ: No

Jesse: That's ok!  One less to brush!

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Jesse: (Describing Vanessa) Our eyes meet.  Ba-Boom!  This lightning bolt of passion shoots across the casino.  Turns out Vanessa's on her way to the Philippines to do a Bob Hope special, and is dying for one last night of good old American...(prepares to make thrusting motion)

Danny: (Interrupts) FOOD!!!  Food.  She was--She was hungry, right?

Jesse: (Noticing D.J. and Stephanie listening to his story) Oh, yeah, she was starving.  Only we never got a chance to eat because she had to turn her feathers in.

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Danny: (Showing Jesse his room with light blue walls, and pink rabbits) Nice, huh?

Jesse: *Shocked Look*

Danny: Roomy!

Jesse: *Looks on in awe and disgust*

Danny: Not...Overly...Masculine?

Jesse: Oh, golly, it's swell.  *Drops bag down* Know what would look great over here by the window?  Barbie's Dream House

Danny: We've got one.

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Danny: Oh, God Bless You!  *Hugs Jesse*

Jesse: (Looking uncomfortable) You're hugging me in a room with pink bunnies.

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Jesse: (Walks over and opens closet to see short spaces for clothing) Oh, Great!  I live in Webster's Room.

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Joey: (Walks into room and sees caution tape around D.J. & Steph's room) Alright!  Limbo! *Begins chanting random words, before making a bird call and suddenly stopping* No.  Way.

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Danny: Watch my sports report this afternoon.  Today starts my two-part series entitled "Boxers: Highly Skilled Athletes or Bullies in Shorts?"

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Joey: I'm a comic.  It's my non-paying job to cheer people up.

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(Jesse and Joey are carrying Michelle down the stairs while both holding her)

Jesse & Joey: Step One!  Step Two!  Step One!  Step Two!  Step One!  Step Two!  Step One!  Step Two!  Stop One!...Ok!  Good!  Look Out!

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(Jesse and Joey are attempting to change Michelle)

Jesse: Where do we put the child?

Joey: The Pot!  Over here!

Jesse: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Joey! This is a living thing.  You don't just stick it in a pot...use a meat rack!

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Danny: Vanessa's not upstairs

Jesse: (Makes an about-face back down the stairs) Where's Vanessa?

Danny: Well...

Steph: ...She's history!

Jesse: (Jumps over couch and covers Steph's ears) What the hell did you do with Vanessa?

Danny: I didn't do anything with her.  I just told her that with 3 little girls in the house, I thought it would be better if she slept on the couch

Jesse: You hate me, don't you?

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Danny: Is this working out great or what?  These girls are crazy about you!

Jesse: Sure, I dance around and give them money

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Danny Freak-Outs: 6

1. When Jesse continues his untamed version of how his night went

2. When Joey mentions the clothing he's carrying and hands off to Danny is not clean

3. When Danny sees Steph hanging from the curtains

4. When Danny gets home and sees Joey & Jesse passed out on the couch and the living room a mess

5. When Steph mentions that D.J. has moved out while Jesse and Joey were not watching

6. When Steph hints that she knows where D.J. is

Joey Impressions & Impersonations: 6

- Popeye the Sailor

- Munchkin Voice

- Kermit the Frog

- Pee-Wee Herman

- "The Sprinkler"

- Bill Cosby

Have Mercy Counter: 1

- When Vanessa arrives at the door

Popeye References: 1

Waterworks Moment:

- Steph asks Jesse to play ballerina with her, and he says he doesn't know until she asks with a sad face

How Rude! Counter: 0

Cut-It-Out Counter: 0

Elvis References: 0

Times People Mess With The Hair: 0

Notable Notations:

- Episode Runtime: 24:44

- The episode uses the original opening sequence for the series with the White Letters as opposed to the more common Yellow letters.

- DJ's rules for sharing a room: 

1. Never Touch My Stuff

2. Never Set Foot on My Half of the Room.

A window and a tree will be granted to accommodate those on the other side of the room.

- Jesse & Joey's Steps for changing a Diaper:

1. Set the baby down on a meat rack

2. Remove the diaper

3. Spray the baby off with the sink hose

4. Air dry in front of a fan

5. Spin the baby around in some heavy-duty paper towels

6. Wrap them up in a mesh bag

Conclusion:

Full House leapt into viewer's homes full of heart, comedy, and with a feel-good story emerging from tragedy.  The show would go on to span 8 seasons, and a spin-off show 20 years later.  This was a great first show that illustrated several dynamics, Danny-Jesse-Joey, Danny-D.J.-Steph, Jesse-Joey-Michelle.  The first one showcased the dynamic of the three adults in the film, and how they work to parents three young girls.  The second one showed the family dynamic, and how the 3 oldest work to make the family stick together during this hardship.  The last one shows how lacking Jesse & Joey's domestic skills are, and set the tone for many adventure in the oncoming years.  Overall, great first start, and a look to the future from here.

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