I’m going to start off by telling a story. The date was February 25. It was 11:55 p.m. I turned on my laptop and immediately went to Netflix and began refreshing the page every minute, just waiting for the show to finally be available. "Fuller House" is the Netflix exclusive sequel/spin-off of the late ‘80s, early ‘90s show "Fuller House"
Time went on. It was 12:05 a.m. when I really started to get upset. They said it would be available on February 26, which was now the date. I had even seen a post from one of the cast members that seemed to indicate that i would be available at midnight. However, when I realized no amount of reloading the page would help, I headed on over to Twitter only to find out the worst news of the night: the show would be up at midnight pacific time which would be 3:00 a.m. eastern time.
Now, I still had some homework to finish up and I figured it would take me until three o'clock anyway, so I decided I would finish my homework and see if I was awake enough to watch a few episodes. It wasn’t that I would necessarily be tired when I finished my homework, but I had a 7:45 class that morning that I was not going to let myself miss.
Finally, the time came and the show was available to watch after so much anticipation. Like I said, I didn’t end up feeling that tired. So I watched an episode. Then another. And then eight more after that. I would have kept going, but I had to get to my class. After class, I rushed back to my room and watched the remaining three episodes. (Fun Fact: Due to this decision of watching the whole season in one night, I have only had one hour of sleep in the past 38 hours at the time of this writing.)
You may now be wondering what I thought about the show. Short answer: I loved it. It exceeded my expectations.
Long answer (the only “spoilers” here include info announced prior to the premiere): The first episode was a reunion episode. All of the main characters returned to the home of Danny Tanner only to announce that they were moving to various locations. Well, everyone except Michelle (portrayed in the original series by both Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen). They make a pretty awkward, but funny joke about that so that we as an audience knew that Michelle was not forgotten, just “unable to make it.” I loved the premiere because it was pretty much an exact retelling of the original pilot with the obvious changes in who the show will center around.
As I watched the episodes, I texted my sleeping friend everything that made me freak out. So here are just a few of the instances where I freaked out:
Would I recommend this show to someone who has never seen the original "Full House?" No, I would not. As much as I love this new series and want it to be seen by everyone, it very much depends on references to the old show. There are catchphrases, love interests, and inside jokes that someone would only understand if they’ve seen the original. However, I would recommend that if you have any interest in watching "Fuller House," you should definitely rent the original eight seasons and start there so that you can fall in love with the characters and then see their lives 29 years later on the Netflix Original.
And if you’re interested in other Netflix Original Series, March 18 is the premiere of "Daredevil" Season 2 and April 15 is the second season of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." Although neither of those are as family friendly as Fuller House, they are still excellent shows in my opinion.