This afternoon I finished my first full watch through of Full House and, after a quick cry, I picked up a pint of chocolate and peanut butter ice cream and started my first watch through of Fuller House. Growing up as a major Olsen twin fan, I always wanted to watch the show that gave my two favorite idols their names. But younger me just never got hooked like I always wanted to.
Well, I can now proudly say that I have gone bananas for Full House and have blown through all eight seasons of the show in the span of two months. So what better way to fill the Full House-sized hole in my heart than to spend hours researching the greatest show in American history and to share everything I have learned with the people of the internet?
It has been a long time since Full House first premiered on our television sets. Thirty-one years, in fact. A lot can happen in thirty years. From secret trips to Vegas to a plethora of continuity issues that proved that 20th century sitcoms were not made for the modern day binge cycle, Full House has amassed quite the repertoire of secrets, behind the scenes facts, and tidbits over the past thirty years and I am here to reveal them all to the internet. So without further ado, here are 25 fun facts that you might not have known about the classic family sitcom that is Full House.
25 All Grown Up
Hold onto your thinking caps because I am about to blow your minds. It turns out that Full House was never meant to be the family fun romp that we all know and love. The original pitch for the show was much more grown-up orientated than even the most risque episode of the final product could ever even dream of being. The show was originally going to follow the trials and tribulations of three single stand-up comedians who all cohabitated while trying to break into the industry.
The title was going to be “House of Comics” and it was supposed to be a grown-up orientated wild adventure for the ages. However, that was just not the sort of show that was in demand at the time. Family oriented shows such as The Cosby Show and Family Ties were absolutely slaying it in the ratings game, so the network decided to rework the show. The final version of the show was worked to include family morals and lessons in the majority of its episodes and the name was officially changed to Full House to reflect that shift.
And thank goodness they made that change. Though it seems like the market was a bit oversaturated with family sitcoms in the late 20th century, I have to say that I am thankful that Full House made a few changes and became the show that we all know and love.
24 Public School Drop-Out
Have you ever attempted binge watching an old sitcom? If you have, you might notice that these shows were absolutely rife with continuity errors. And it’s no one's fault. I mean, when you only see one episode a week and it’s been years since you’ve seen the show's pilot, there is no way that you could remember little details like someone's last name, character traits, or aspects of their backstory.
Now, I don’t like to quibble over these changes but sometimes it can be fun to examine and briefly expose them. For example in the later seasons of the show, Jesse admits that he is a high school drop out and there is a huge arc where he goes back to school and finally is able to get his secondary school diploma.
However, in the episode “One Last Kiss” which aired in 1990, there is a flashback sequence which shows Jesse riding a motorcycle through his school's gym. When his girlfriend reprimanded him, Jesse shook off her worries by saying that he graduates tomorrow so there was nothing they could do. He also reveals that he refused to wear his graduation cap because it would have messed up his hair. This completely goes against the later established backstory which states that he dropped out of school due to the mockery dealt his way by his English teacher.
23 Visions Of A Fuller House
We all have heard of, had an opinion on, and maybe even have seen the Full House revival entitled Fuller House, which stars all of our favorite characters back in… the same old house again. For some people, this reboot seemed to come right out of left field. Some have even accused it of being a cash grab or a way of restarting several long-lame careers (which is not only wrong but is also kind of mean).
But what if I were to tell you that this revival was a long time coming?
There was an episode of Full House where Stephanie and DJ repeatedly and deliberately take advantage of the kindness of their caretakers. And when those caretakers try to take revenge on them by treating them exactly how they were treating them, the men all fear that their attempts at discipline were too late and picture how “pathetic” (Danny Tanner's words, not mine) it would be if they and the girls all still lived in that same house in thirty years. Cue futuristic dream sequence filled with bratty grown-ups and an absolute smoke-show named Kimmy Gibbler. Well, jokes on them (or is it us) as they took this one-off idea and ran with it with surprisingly enjoyable results. I was hesitant at first but now I am fully on team Fuller House.
22 Fiction Imitates Reality
If you’ve ever watched any behind the scenes specials which detail the lives of any well-known comedians, you’ll know that pretty much every single LA-based comedian that made it big in the 80s and 90s has lived together at some point or another. Hey, the comedy world is a small place and it helps to make sure that your peers have your back if needed. It turns out that Dave Coulier and Bob Saget were thick as thieves back in the day.
The pair met each other in 1979 and Saget told Coulier to hit him up if he was ever in Los Angeles. Six months after their initial meeting, Coulier decided to accept Saget’s kind offer and ended up crashing on his couch for a while. And since life imitates art, this setup was resumed in fictional form when Bob Saget accepted the role of Danny Tanner on Full House and Dave Coulier took up the role of Joey Gladstone (thanks to a failed audition for SNL).
The two came full circle when filming the pilot episode which featured Joey moving into the Tanner home in order to help Danny with his three girls after his wife passed away. There is something sort of beautiful about the way that their lives came together like that and was reflected in their work.
21 No Twin To See Here
For some weird reason, the crew behind Full House did not want audiences to know that there were two people behind the role of Michelle Tanner. So when the credits rolled, only one name was to appear. In order to make sure that neither girl was stiffed in the credit department, the girls' names were relatively portmanteau'd in order to keep Michelle’s real identity a secret. The name “Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen” was featured on the opening credits in all seasons except the original show's final season.
In the show's eighth season, both girls individual names appeared on screen separately.
And now the real question remains: why did the crew want audiences to think that the Olsen twins were two people? Near the time that the show’s final seasons began to hit the air, the twins had built up enough of a reputation and fandom that it was much more profitable to advertise the girls as separate entities. But that still doesn’t explain why they didn’t want anyone to know that the Michelle was played by two different people in the first place. Sure, it’s common knowledge nowadays that all small children in film are played by twins but maybe the inner workings of the industry weren’t well-known yet and the crew didn’t want to burst the public's little bubble.
20 A True Power Couple
Alright, now it is time for a fun fact that will cause you to want to jump on Netflix and rewatch the first season of Full House right now (but I urge you to finish reading this article first. I have mouths to feed you know. Okay, my own mouth to feed but I do eat a lot for a person my size).
In every episode of the first season of Full House in which Joey’s mannequin can be seen, both it and Joey will be wearing the exact same shirt. Don’t believe me? Just examine the above image and prepare to be amazed. It’s true. In every single episode that features that mannequin in the alcove, the shirt that is worn on its plasticky body is an exact replica of the one which Joey will be wearing on his own more fleshy body. I wonder if anyone in that house ever noticed it. If we are searching for an in-universe explanation, I am convinced that Joey woke up early each and every morning in order to coordinate himself and his mannequin. I bet you anything that Joey spent every single day waiting for someone to notice his hard work. And, for his sake, I hope that someone eventually did.
19 A Slightly Less Full House
The thing about long-form sitcoms with large casts like Full House is that not every single actor will be available to appear in every single episode. Things happen, people get sick, and sometimes the character simply isn’t relevant to the overall story and doesn't need to be shoehorned in.
So they get left out for an episode or two and odds are, no one will notice the occasional absence. I mean, did you notice when Candace Cameron Bure did not appear in the sixth season episode “Subterranean Graduation Blues” which depicts the gang getting trapped in the subway system and missing Jesse’s long-awaited high school graduation? Did you notice when Michelle was only played by one girl rather than two? Chances are you didn’t notice.
The only members of the main cast that were in every single one of those 193 episodes taped for the original show were John Stamos, Dave Coulier, and Jodie Sweetin. Bob Saget did not even appear in every episode and he was the main character of the show (at least, in the earlier seasons). Bob Saget was only absent for the unaired pilot due to the fact that he initially turned down the role of Danny Tanner. But that pilot was stored away in a cold basement somewhere and will never be mentioned again. So let’s all just forget it ever happened.
18 Changing Personalities
It’s time for another episode of “point out continuity errors in 20th-century long-form family-oriented sitcoms with Zooey Norman.” Man, this segment needs a much catchier name because boy, that was a mouthful. Let’s delve into this next issue that only someone as pedantic and neurotic as me could notice and take issue with.
In the first season of the show, each and every one of those three men were absolute disasters.
In fact, there was actually an entire episode entitled “The Return of Grandma” whose entire plot circled around the idea that the men were such total pigs that they needed their mothers to come sort them out. But, for some reason, Danny suddenly becomes a total cleaning fanatic in the show's second season. Yet, it’s treated like he has always been that way. There are even several references to how much of a clean freak he was as a child. But I have to give Full House a bit of a break. I mean, it was only the first season. The show was still testing the waters and hadn’t really figured itself out yet. It needed time to figure out what worked and what didn’t work. And by the second season, the show was on the track to being an instant classic.
17 Name Changer
Speaking of continuity issues, let’s talk about Uncle Jesse’s constantly changing name. Originally, the character was going to be named Uncle Adam. However, John Stamos decided that he simply liked the name “Jesse” better for his character. Jeff Franklin, the shows creator, had no issue with this change due to the fact that Elvis Presley had a twin brother (who sadly passed away shortly after their birth) who was named “Jesse.” This shared name would work well with the characters intense Elvis obsession so Adam was thrown out and Jesse was in.
But that was not the only change that Jesse underwent. In the first season of the show, Jesse’s last name was Cochran but it was quickly changed to Katsopolis by the time the second season aired in order to bring John Stamos’ real life Greek heritage into his Full House characters backstory. Though it is important to note that this is explained by stating that he went by the stage name of “Cochran” in order to have better rockstar appeal.
Jesse’s final name change occurred in the fifth season when it was revealed that Jesse was not Jesse’s birth name at all. It turns out that his mother named him Hermes and that the bullying that name inspired caused him to change it as soon as he was able to.
16 A Real Life Disney Prince
I have a philosophical question to pose. If a family-oriented sitcom which was popularized in the 90s does not feature an episode in which the cast travels to either Disneyland or Disney World, did that show truly exist? Luckily, we don’t have to worry about a single season of Full House disappearing into the ether due to the fact that there is a two-part spectacular which features the entire cast galavanting about Disney World.
And, for fans of both Full House and the many films that exist within the vast lexicon that is the animated Disney film franchise (which, if we’re being honest is pretty much every single person on the face of the planet- or at least in North America) then buckle your seatbelts for some Easter Egg magic. When DJ becomes possessed by love and ends up seeing Steve everywhere [she] looks (did y’all catch that subtle theme song pun?) she ends up meeting eyes with a shirtless boy who bears a striking resemblance to a certain street rat. And there’s a reason for that. It turns out that Scott Weinger (the boy who brought the infamous Steve to life) was the voice behind the beloved character of Aladdin. So the crew slapped an Aladdin costume on him and threw a little "wink wink" moment at the audience.
15 A Budding Bromance
Sometimes chemistry comes naturally between actors. A few takes of back and forth and you would think that these actors were old childhood friends reconnecting after years apart. And sometimes, you have to work at it. Nothing ruins a good show like a lack of chemistry between the members of the cast. You can have the greatest script in the world, the best actors on the planet, and the best special effects that money can buy; but if there is no chemistry then the project is doomed from the start.
Though Bob Saget and Dave Coulier knew each other from their adventures in the West Coast comedy circuit, John Stamos was new to the party and there was a tangible sense of awkwardness in the show's first season. So, in order to eliminate that awkwardness and to make some memories doing some good old fashioned male bonding, the boys organized a road trip to Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, Bob Saget stayed home.
But his absence just made the other two boys grow fonder for each other. The two even went on several double dates together and ended up becoming the best of friends. The writers loved this new dynamic that existed between John Stamos and Dave Coulier and decided to include it in future episodes of the show. This is why the pair are often employed in a partnership with each other and why their shared scenes greatly increased over time.
14 Straight Out Of High School And Into The Nursery
There is a never-ending list of things that fans of 20th-century sitcoms love to squabble, fight, and whine about. One of the biggest complaints of the previous century was the fact that there was no way that the gang from Friends would be able to afford that apartment even though the show continually explained that rent control, excellent jobs, and roommates, made the whole arrangement possible.
Other people loved to complain about how unrealistic it was that Cory and Topanga of Boy Meets World would meet as children and then spend the rest of their lives together (even though “high school sweethearts” are totally a thing and we all know at least one couple that could put that fictional pair to shame).
The most common fan complaint that circled around Full House was the fact that Danny was “too young” to be DJ’s father due to the fact that he often talks about his teen years taking place in the 70’s. However, if you crunch the numbers you’d realize that Danny was only 19 when DJ was born and having children around that age is quite common in North American society. And, does it really matter if Danny was a tad younger than one would expect when he fathered his first child? I mean, if you're a good father who can provide for his children, what difference does a couple years either way make?
13 Name That Catchphrase
You know, something that I truly miss from older sitcoms was the whole institution that was catchphrases. You just don’t get shows with good catchphrases anymore. Now, I’m not one of those “everything since the year 19-- is absolute garbage” people, however, I have to admit that sitcoms were in their prime in the late 20th century and struggled to live up to that success after the dawn of the new millennia. Things didn’t really pick up again until they went back to the drawing board, shook things up, and stopped attempting to recreate the same show over and over again.
Let's play a little game, shall we? Do you think that you can master the Full House trivia challenge? I pass the gauntlet onto you, my dear readers. It turns out that all of the main characters (with the exclusion of Danny, Steve, Rebecca) had catchphrases. So, without further ado allow me to share some of the most common catchphrases from the original shows eight-year run.
Can you match the catch phrase to the correct owner? Who says “Have Mercy?" What about “Cut it out?” “Oh My Lanta,” “How Rude,” “You got it, Dude,” ”You’re in big trouble, mister,” and “Hola, Tanner-renos?” If you guessed Jesse, Joey, DJ, Stephanie, Michelle, and Kimmy (in that order) then congratulations, you are the lucky winner of today’s useless trivia challenge! Your prize is the ability to impress your friends with completely outdated yet amusing references. Welcome to the club!
12 Dress To Impress Your Cellmates
Anyone who owned a television set in the 90s will know that Full House was a show that promoted proper behavior, morals, and good old fashioned family values. So it might surprise you to know that there were two episodes during the shows original run that features the main characters ending up imprisoned in a jail cell.
That’s right, there are two Full House episodes which feature our favorite family-friendly characters locked up behind bars.
But the weirdest thing about these episodes is that, for the cast of Full House, going to prison is a formal occasion. When Danny and Joey were arrested, they were dressed in women's formal wear due to a failed attempt to seek revenge on their former fraternity's rival sorority. And when Jesse found himself behind bars, he was wearing a rather spiffy tuxedo due to the fact that he was arrested on his wedding day for offending a man in tomato country. You know, I have never been arrested (nor do I intend to be) however, I, personally, do not think that I would dress up for the occasion. I don’t know, there’s just something about incarceration that does not put me in the mood to dress up.
11 Can You Keep It Down?
Listen, working with children can be an incredibly difficult task. It turns out that those little people have rights and you have to respect them. I know, it was news to me too. There are so many rules and regulations surrounding child actors that it’s honestly a wonder that people ever include anyone under the age of eighteen in any film-related project ever created. And those limits, laws, and regulations only get stricter as the child gets younger. And since the youngest member of the Full House cast was supposed to be a little baby girl, the crew needed to make sure that they found a baby (or pair of babies) that were up to the job.
They needed to ensure that whoever played Michelle was a well behaved tiny human that could keep quiet during filming and who wouldn’t muck up takes with unnecessary crying and other things that naughty babies tend to do when tired, hungry, or just plain bored. Nearly a dozen sets of twins were auditioned for the coveted role of Michelle Tanner but the role ended up going to Mary-Kate and Ashley because they were the only babies that did not cry at their auditions. Not a single peep. The rest of the babies who auditioned were essentially nothing but glorified noisemakers in cute onesies.
10 Talented Little Hounddog
Alright, now it is time to clear up a bit of misinformation. It’s no one's fault. Sometimes these things happen. Misinformation spreads across the internet like a grotesque digital wildfire and the truth rarely gets the same treatment. You may have seen this fact pop up on the internet over the years and I am here to clear it up. Note: As a warning, I will state that this fact might cause the hearts of a few 90s kids to shatter. So all I am asking is that you please do not wish harm upon the messenger for I am solely the bearer of bad news and am not responsible for the harsh truth which I am about to drop.
There’s no sense in beating around the bush so I am just going to come right out and say it.
The dog that plays Comet is not the same dog that played Air Bud. I’m sorry to say so but it’s true. Though it is important to note that the dog who played Air Bud did make a cameo appearance in a single episode of Full House but he was not a regular on the show. The Air Bud dog was only used for the basketball-themed episode of Full House as his skills were necessary to the plot. But the rest of the time, Comet was played by another dog.
9 Ashley Is A Serious Actress
When children are babies, there is pretty much nothing discernible between them. In my opinion, each and every single baby could be easily swapped out for another one and very few people could be able to tell the difference. I mean, they are essentially just squirming, screaming, toilet-machines for the first six months, right?
However, once they get a little older and quieter, they stop screaming long enough for a personality to develop. By the time that they hit their toddlers years, you can already see little traits, likes, and dislikes developing. Though it is important not to judge what kind of person they will grow up to be based on their actions until they are at least seven-years-old (due to the whole “not fully grasping right/wrong/morality yet” thing).
When Mary-Kate and Ashley first got the role of Michelle, the two actresses were pretty much interchangeable. However, by the time that the final season rolled around, the girls were practically little people and they began to favor certain types of scenes over others. Ashley preferred to act in more serious scenes while Mary-Kate preferred the silly and comedic ones. Funnily enough, this sorting would stick throughout their careers as Ashley would continue to play serious characters while Mary-Kate favored the free-spirited ones until they retired from their acting careers.
8 Going, Going, Gone... And It's Back
I have never been the kind of person who goes out of their way to visit the sets and filming locations from my favorite shows (especially when the set is an actual house). It’s just that I wouldn't want to disturb the filming process nor the people who live in that home (or on that street). I would just feel so rude doing so (no offense if you are a person who loves to visit filming locations. This is just my personal opinion and I will not judge you based on your actions relating to this activity). But just imagine having constant and neverending hoards of tourists taking selfies on your front porch all hours into the night. No thank you.
But luckily, I can visit the Full House/Fuller House house without fear because creator Jeff Franklin purchased the house himself in order to allow fans to travel to the location without fear of irritating the residents. The house's previous owners ended up selling the home when fans of the show made unscheduled, unwanted, and constant visits to the popular tourist location. Now I can visit the set without worrying that I am being a nuisance! Boys, pack your bags. We are headed to San Francisco to have a picnic in front of the Full House house in the attempt to recreate the title sequence. I call being Michelle.
7 Never Kissed, Twice Shy
When you grow up in front of the cameras and on the big screen, a lot of firsts happen in front of an audience. Now, I have to admit that I am incredibly relieved that I got to go through every awkward phase and first in the privacy of my own middle school so that the only people that got to witness my misery were as equally awkward as I was so there was no room for anyone to judge each other.
But a little lady who goes by the name Candace Cameron Bure was not so lucky.
It turns out that Candace experienced her first kiss on stage in front of an entire crew, a live studio audience, and millions of viewers at home. Luckily, it was scripted and staged so there was little room for it to go catastrophically wrong. But that fact did not calm down Candace. In fact, she was so embarrassed and nervous about her lack of experience that she approached Lori Loughlin behind the scenes and asked for tips on her upcoming and nerve-wracking big scene. Luckily, she made it through the scene and now she has yet another memory caught on tape to look back on as she grows older.
6 Not So Family Friendly
Many people who grew up watching Full House end up being shocked to find out the exact nature of Bob Saget’s pre-Full House comedy routines. I would describe them as being the exact opposite of what one might consider “family friendly” but I feel as though that description does not capture how mature some of his jokes can get.
However, anyone that spent any time on the set of Full House knew just how racy Bob Saget could get. The moment the cameras stopped rolling, Bob would begin launching into his grown-up stand-up routine in order to amuse the audience, the crew, and whoever was listening. However, Bob was often scolded for this action due to the fact that there were often children on set. Bob Saget found himself in hot water quite often on the set of Full House for cursing or making mature jokes. But the jokes did not stop with Saget. Since the main three actors of the show were quick and comedic minded, the Olsen twins revealed that John, Bob, and Dave would often stay on set for hours after filming began, trying different jokes and takes (and getting dirtier as the night progressed). Don’t worry, the kids (and the audience) were long gone by that point. I’m sure that keeping them on set would have broken some sort of child labor laws.