‘Fuller House’: Why The First Episode Title Is So Special To Fans
The title of the first Fuller House episode should ring a bell in the minds and hearts of Full House fans and critics alike.
According to the title page of the episode’s script, which was tweeted by several of the show’s cast members, the first episode is titled “Our Very First Show, Again.”
Here’s a Look at Each FULLER HOUSE Castmember’s First Episode Script http://t.co/OGomPpmaPH pic.twitter.com/hBSNsNV9j9
— Popculturology (@pop_culturology) July 20, 2015
Longtime fans of the original sitcom, Full House, might find that particular title to be oddly familiar — especially when comparing the two series to one another. That is because the first episode of Full House, which aired in September of 1987, was titled “Our Very First Show.”
The cast of Lifetime’s #FullHouse movie looks nothing like the original: http://t.co/FiFFZNei5K pic.twitter.com/dSJf9fI1mj
— NYLON (@NylonMag) July 29, 2015
Written by Jeff Franklin and directed by Joel Zwick, the pilot episode introduced TV viewers to the Tanner family on September 22: a newly widowed father Danny Tanner and his three daughters Donna Jo (D.J), Stephanie, and Michelle.
Jesse Katsopolis, the brother of Danny’s deceased wife, and his childhood friend, decided to move in and help out after his sister’s death — especially since it seemed like the perfect place for him to be at the point of his life.
Danny and Jesse’s mutual childhood friend and struggling comedian, Joey Gladstone, moved in as well — turning a family home into a “full house.” What quite a few fans and critics don’t know is that there was a version of the pilot episode that never made it to air. Actor John Posey was originally added to the cast as Danny Tanner since Bob Saget (the producers’ first choice) had other commitments at the time.
This was Danny on the unaired pilot of Full House. pic.twitter.com/cglDLdZJ7l
— brandi ?? (@burrannedee) July 20, 2015
In an April, 2014, interview with Yahoo! TV, John Posey had a chance to open up about what happened behind-the-scenes long before the pilot episode was even filmed.
“From what I was told, they were looking all over the country for people and couldn’t find a guy, although I later found out that Bob Saget and Paul Reiser were the two guys they were after first, and they were both unavailable. They were obligated to other shows. How you go from those guys to me is kind of a mystery, because we couldn’t be more different.”
Posey admitted that he felt a little out of place while filming the pilot episode — especially since it was not necessarily the type of comedy that he was used to performing professionally.
“I have no idea whether I was good in that pilot or not. It was all very new to me. We were doing ‘Saturday Night Live’-type, Second City comedy, very physical comedy, and ‘Full House’ was very, you know, sweet and different and unlike the sitcoms that I was watching when I was growing up… This show was quite different… Overall, I thought everything was pretty decent. And the show went. [ABC] picked it up with me, and everything was fine, until about a month or so later when I heard otherwise.”
Bob Saget eventually did come on board and the rest was history. Eight seasons and over 190 episodes later, Full House came to an emotionally-stirring end during its series finale which aired on May 23, 1995.
Over twenty years later, Fuller House is bringing the Tanner and Katsopolis families back together again on the small screen. Therefore, it’s only right that the episode title pays tribute to that first pilot episode which first aired nearly 28 years ago.
[Image Credit: Bob Saget Twitter]
