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The anchor of ABC's once-mighty "TGIF" Friday-night sitcom line-up, Full House, in fact, was once king.
Was it a good show? Hell no. Did it ever have even the most moderate sheen of being anything more than a pitifully cheesy, outrageously saccharine excuse to have characters chuckle, do something cute, get in a minor fight and then make up with a hug (cue laugh track and applause)? Of course not.
Even for those who have a vague recollection of Full House being a fun, if vacant, situation comedy will be all but appalled by the 22 episodes from the series' first season on this DVD box set. Plots are inconceivable, character motivation changes without reason at the drop of a hat, and while the three comic actors driving the S.S. Full House - John Stamos, Dave Coulier and Bob Saget - certainly have a fair amount of endearing shtick to them, they're all but completely wasted by constantly forcing the lovely infant Michelle to "pop a wheelie" or say "turkey" or something equally demeaning.
But for a generation of television sitcoms, Full House was the base template, the standard by which other comedies were based. Look at Family Matters or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - or even Friends, for that matter. These mass-entertainment, half-hour entities are less narrative comedies than they are adorable reminders that TV isn't for intellectual engagement, it's for relaxing and relaxing only. And Full House taught us this.
Full House's success convinced TV executives that snappy, smart comedies - All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show - were antiquated, out-of-tune, wastes of time for late-80s television. Cute became the new smart thanks to Full House.
And unlike more enjoyably giddy fare like Punky Brewster or the wonderfully goofy Perfect Strangers (when's that one hitting DVD?), Full House seems to purposefully and uncomfortably go out of its way to be, well, cute. While Soleil Moon-Frye's antics were "cute," at least her character arcs were surprisingly rooted in pre-adolescent truth. Full House turns all of its character into veritable sitcom androids, spouting catch phrase after catch phrase, then reverting them to caricatured stereotype just in time for the laugh track to kick in.
However, even if the lesson is a tough one to own up to, this first season of Full House allows for us kids who grew up with the series to recognize that the undeniable king of "TGIF" television success was indeed a clear case of the Emperor's new clothes: As popular as it might have been, there's really nothing here.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Full House looks fine. Color contrast is manifested moderately well - especially considering the restraints of its taped format - and while line quality often errs toward the soft side (especially in wide shots), black levels are moderately thick. Not too bad.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The monaural track here is passable. Dialogue sounds fine, music is placed in the mix appropriately and there are virtually no examples of notable effects work, but that's the way Full House sounded, man. For what this is, it's fine.
Also included are English, French, and Spanish subtitles, and English closed captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Most fascinating - and, boy, it's mesmerizing - is the unaired original pilot of the series with John Posey in the role that Bob Saget would eventually take over. Say what you will about Saget, compared to poor Posey - who just can't make the funny ha-ha shtick of Full House work for himself - he's Peter Sellers. And you get to compare the two, because the first official episode of this season is a virtual re-creation of that unaired pilot. Freaky.
Then there are two screen-specific audio commentary tracks from Full House creator Jeff Franklin on "Our Very First Show" and "Mad Money". While Franklin's insights into the show are earnest and affectionate, one really gets the impression upon listening to him that he thought the show was a lot more artistically adventurous than it was. Oh, well . . . Franklin can bemoan the fact that us critics don't like his show all the way to the bank.
Last, but not least, is a trivia track that appears during "The Miracle of Thanksgiving." This is actually an interesting extra - while most of the information is about cast member birthdates (and astrological signs), there are some unique tidbits to be found here. And if nothing else, it makes the sting of this particularly odious episode a little less pungent.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?
There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.
Final Thoughts
If you remember loving Full House when it first arrived on the scene, this first-season box set will take you on a hug-filled trip down memory lane. But with so-so transfers (and even a moderate amount of extra features), this isn't the easiest reason in the world to drop thirty bucks.
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