Full House is one of the most iconic TV shows of the '90s. It was wholesome and funny — despite the fact that it relied heavily on the use of the laugh track.
There was just something about the sitcom that worked and continues to work, with the series gaining a new generation of fans each time the reruns air.
It's often hard to create that kind of magic. We see it in series like Friends, for example, where the Hollywood stars just lined up perfectly. So, when Netflix announced that it was rebooting Full House for a new original series for its platform, we probably all thought the same thing: either this is going to be really good, or this is going to be really bad.
While we wouldn't want to see an old and fat Joey Tribbiani and a wrinkled up Rachel, we already feel like we grew up with D.J., Stephanie and Michelle Tanner (it doesn't hurt that John Stamos doesn't age). So, getting to see them in their adulthood peaks our interest — not to mention caters to our '90s nostalgia.
As much as we want to get on the Fuller House bandwagon, the reviews for the Netflix original series have already started surfacing on the Internet, and they are not good at all. In fact, the series sounds straight-up like a train wreck.
Of course we will all tune in to watch, because, well, it's the Full House reboot, but it kind of sounds like witnessing something that is painful to watch, yet you can't take your eyes off of it.
Just check out this review from Collider:
"It powers forth on a sea of '90s references and cameos, and the juxtaposition of then-and-now is played up heavily visually, not only through the split-screen credits, but in scenes where the cast replays exact moments from the original show, side-by-side, in creepy unison. It's so far into the uncanny valley that it produces both cringes and chills."
The reporter was able to barely make it through the season, but does not encourage rewatching, especially since it "turns into a Disney Channel series" and goes from "boring to fully intolerable."
Variety reporter Maureen Ryan questioned Netflix's decision to even revive the classic sitcom. While we expect to feel nostalgic watching the series, according to her review, Fuller House is dated and out of touch with modern times. Even worse, it's not funny.
"It'd be nice if Fuller House had taken the DNA of the original and freshened it up a bit for the era in which it finds itself, and it'd be even better if the new version had more lines that were actually funny, but effective jokes are few and far between," she writes.
If you think that is harsh, wait until you read the review from The Hollywood Reporter.
"It's doubtful that there will be a more painful 2016 TV episode than the Fuller House pilot, which takes an inexcusable 35 minutes to establish a plot that is just an inversion of the original Full House premise," reporter Daniel Fienberg writes.
However, viewers should know what they are getting themselves into when they go to press play and stream the series. Fuller House is the reverse story of the original, where D.J. Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron-Bure) moves back into her childhood home in San Francisco with her three sons after her husband dies. Sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and best friend Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) offer to help her raise her sons, with a little help from other original cast members Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, John Stamos and Lori Loughlin.
Our expectations for the show fell after learning that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen would not be reprising their role. Then, we saw the cheesy trailer that revealed the cast members dishing out those one-liners we all know and love. At this point, we already felt like it was a little played out and could already see how corny the series could probably quickly get. Who are we kidding? You know that we will all watch, anyway. Maybe all the references to the original is the reason why we will be streaming it.
If you are imagining the adorable Stephanie say, "how rude" as you read the bad reviews, Mashable and the AP both found that Fuller House will please fans.
"There's a good chance you'll find this aggressively retro, unabashedly cheesy exercise in nostalgia bait charming in spite of yourself," Hilary Busis from Mashable writes.
Fuller House premieres on Netflix on Feb. 26.
