A weak return with Fuller House

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What should have been a show full of nostalgia turned out to feel more like a bad Disney Channel show.

Nostalgic and quirky are two words that best describe the first season of the long-awaited Fuller House. The classic “Everywhere You Look” theme song traditionally performed by Jesse Frederick was replaced with a modernized (yet horrendous) version performed by Carly Rae Jepsen.

The season includes things that no Full House fan could have seen coming, like Danny Tanner taking selfies and saying “you girls should be more like Kimmy Gibbler.”

The series follows DJ Fuller (formerly known as DJ Tanner) who now has two sons and has been recently widowed. DJ’s younger sister Stephanie Tanner, her childhood best friend Kimmy Gibbler and Kimmy’s daughter all move in to help DJ raise her boys. Many of the episodes mirror plot points of the original show. Basically, Stephanie is the new Jessie and Kimmy is the new Joey, but divorced and with a kid. The show tries hard to replicate the cheesy family fun that fans had with Full House, but with more of an edgy adult feel. With references to alcohol, partying and sex, it attempts to appeal to a more mature audience.

The first three episodes were almost unbearable, but it got a little better as my expectations came crashing down. However, no real plot starts developing until the last couple episodes where DJ has to choose between her first love, Steve Hale, and her co-worker at the vet clinic.

The show makes many references to Full House as well and acknowledges the fact that it is a reunion show. They also reference the Olsen twins, who declined returning as Michelle for the series, with perhaps one too many jabs about how they are too busy with their “fashion empire.”

Jackson and Max Fuller, DJ’s kids, were the worst thing that came out of this revival show. Unlike the cute and charming kids we got from Full House, these kids were annoying and a pandering reminder of the millennial audience it’s trying to reach.

Fuller House has some nice and even some enjoyable moments that are downright nostalgic and fantastic. However, most of the time it feels like a bad Disney Channel show, with forgettable and weak characters. As a fan who grew up watching Full House, this Netflix reboot was a complete disappointment but held promise for redemption in the already confirmed season two.