Warner Home Video presents

Full House: The Complete Third Season (1989)

"This is Danny Tanner reminding you that disco will never die."- Danny Tanner (Bob Saget)

Stars: John Stamos, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier
Other Stars: Candace Cameron, Jodie Sweetin, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Lori Loughlin
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 09h:12m:00s
Release Date: 2006-04-04
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
C-	B-	C+	C-	D+

 

DVD Review

In the late '80s/early '90s, ABC cornered the market on Friday night programming with their "TGIF" lineup. The cornerstone of this weekly event was the hit show Full House. Starring Bob Saget, and introducing the world to the Olsen twins, the show enjoyed an eight-season run before finally shutting its doors. With two seasons already available on the format, Warner Home Video brings Full House: The Complete Third Season to DVD.

The further adventures of the extended Tanner family continue, with patriarch and widower Danny (Bob Saget), still living in harmony with his daughters, DJ (Candace Cameron), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and Michelle (played by both Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen). Still under the same roof are Danny's brother-in-law, Jesse (John Stamos) and best friend, Joey (Dave Coulier), a pair who get along great with the Tanner kids and are seen as part of the family.

Season Three begins with the Tanner's on vacation in Tanner's Island. They made the trip to celebrate the two-year anniversary of Joey and Jesse living at the house, and the vacation is a blast. This instantly brought to mind the classic Brady Bunch episode in Hawaii, which was a landmark installment for that series. The next four episodes (Back-to-School Blues, Break Up is Hard to Do, Nerd For a Day, and Granny Tanny) are pretty basic, formulaic sit-com stories, but the next two installments are quite good. In Star Search, Joey competes on the titular show and meets Ed McMahon, while a dog enters the Tanner house in And They Call it Puppy Love.

The non-linear storylines continue in Divorce Court, Dr. Dare Rides Again, and The Greatest Birthday On Earth. Things get somewhat serious again, though, when an earthquake occurs in Aftershocks. This event really gets to Stephanie as Danny can't be reached and she has awful thoughts about going through life without both of her parents. Joey & Stacey and...Oh, Yeah, Jesse, No More Mr. Dumb Guy, and Misadventures in Babysitting are more fluff pieces, while Lust in the Dust focuses on Danny's reluctance to get back into the dating game.

After Bye, Bye Birdie, DJ plays "Spin the Bottle" for the first time at her 13th birthday party in 13 Candles. Joey's back on center stage hosting the Mr. Egghead show, and the girls trade places with the guys in hilarious fashion during Those Better Not Be the Days. Stephanie finds herself in hot water after driving the car through the house in Honey, I Broke the House, and DJ's got problems of her own when the boys discover she's been drinking in Just Say No Way. Aside from some cross-dressing in Fraternity Reunion, the third season ends with a whimper, as that episode and the ones that bookend it (Three Men and Another Baby and Our Very First Telethon) aren't anything special.

Full House will go down in TV history as one of the safest successful family programs. While a few touchy subjects are broached as the Tanner girls get older, this is as harmless as family TV gets. The acting, especially the joke delivery, is excruciatingly forced, though, but kids (my 10-year-old daughter included) love the easy laughs, despite overly critical parents' groans. If the adults can look past the corniness and horridly dated fashion (including the hairstyles), they'll enjoy the essence of Full House; that family means everything, regardless of its size and scope.

Rating for Style: C-
Rating for Substance: B-

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The 24 episodes are presented in their original full frame format, and they have been cleaned up a bit. Image clarity doesn't approach that of more recent programming, as softness is a constant. However, the colors are much brighter than I remember, and don't suffer from bleeding or other blemishes.

Image Transfer Grade: C+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Mono	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The mono soundtrack is typical sitcom fare, with everything staying up front. The dialogue is nice and crisp, mixing in flawlessly with the rest of the audio, including the always-annoying laugh track.

Audio Transfer Grade: C- 

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 24 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish with remote access
Packaging: Nexpak
Picture Disc
4 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Joey's Impersonations - Season 3 Montage

Extras Review: The only extra feature is Joey's Impersonations, a four-minute montage of Joey's "best" comedy bits from Season 3. This segment is only for the biggest of Dave Coulier fans.

Extras Grade: D+
 

Final Comments

One of the founding members of ABC's "TGIF" lineup, Full House was still going strong after a couple of years. The Complete Third Season gathers 24 episodes in a nice four-disc set. Unfortunately, there's only a single, throwaway extra, but the adequate audio and video matches, if not slightly improves upon, the original broadcast quality.

Chuck Aliaga 2006-04-03