Fuller House is a blast of 90s nostalgia mixed with humdrum plot — yet we find ourselves wanting to watch more.
The moment has arrived. The now formulaic recipe for turning a classic 90s television show into a reboot is boiling over with Fuller House coming to Netflix on February 26. And while the excitement is at a fever pitch with fans as well, we regret to inform you that the highlight of the first few episodes of Fuller House might be the opening credits.
Episode one of Fuller House does exactly what you might expect: it delivers on nostalgia. Carly Rae Jepsen has recorded an updated version of the theme song which plays over the opening credits (which gave us goosebumps when we watched for the first time). From nearly the first line, Fuller House beats you over the head with all the classic one-liners, subtleties and established relationships from over 20 years ago that, for adults watching, will leave you grinning with anticipation.
We’re introduced to the barrage of new children, but they are mainly set aside to establish and remind the viewer why they logged on to Netflix to begin with: the original cast. And in case you hadn’t heard, it’s not even the entire original cast. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who shared the part of Michelle in the original series, are nowhere to be found. And though it was widely reported in the press that they would have no involvement in the show, a surprise cameo appearance would have been exactly what this first episode needed. After a while, the nostalgia factor we all expected turns out to be just a bit too much, even for a show that has been extinct for 20 years. The first episode really feels more like a live musical than the first episode of a television series. Between the applause cues, throwback one-liners, the breaking of the fourth wall (you’ll cringe), and the actual musical performance by uncle Jesse, it didn’t really feel like television. Eventually, we wanted to get to whatever it was about this new series that would keep us hooked. Sadly, we’re not sure that ever came.
Episode two is all about the kids. The older guys take a back seat so that DJ, Kimmy and Stephanie can establish their newly-formed living situation. Considering that the kids are relatively unknown child actors, they end up doing a great job at blending in to the tall order of working with the iconic adults. In Full House, Michelle played the adorable child who had just the right balance of sass and charm. You’ll find that trope in Fuller House with the hilarious Max played by Elias Harger. He’s the youngest speaking character on the show (if you don’t count baby Tommy Fuller Jr. played by twins Fox and Dashiell Messitt, and yes, they did the Olsen twins thing again). Max, who steals almost every scene he is in, arguably has the best comedic timing of anyone on the show.
And as it pertains to comedic timing, credit must be given to Andrea Barber’s Kimmy Gibbler. On Full House, she was the comedic relief: the background Steve Urkel to the Tanners, if you will. However, on Fuller House, as a main character, Barber’s nuances as Kimmy Gibbler remind you how great the character is even all these years later. We found ourselves looking forward to her interjections in every scene.
As far as the first few episodes go, Fuller House struggles to find who its playing to: is it long-time superfans who are now in their 30s, or is it younger kids who will connect more directly with the children and their melodrama? That being said, the show has just enough spark that we will be sure to watch every episode when it’s available February 26. Netflix has hit a home-run with almost every one of its original programming titles, but can it manage to do it with a rebooted series with such high expectations?