The third season of ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television Situation comedy, sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best ...

'', an American family sitcom created by

Jeff Franklin Jeffrey Steven Franklin (born January 21, 1955) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He is best known for being the creator of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Full House'' and its Netflix sequel ''Fuller House (TV ...

, premiered on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in the U.S. on September 22, 1989, and concluded on May 4, 1990. The season was partially directed by Franklin and produced by Jeff Franklin Productions,

Miller-Boyett Productions Miller-Boyett Productions (or simply Miller-Boyett) is an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was responsible for family-oriented hit series such as '' Happy Days'' ...

, and Lorimar Television, with Don Van Atta as the producer. It consists of 24 episodes, most of which were directed by Bill Foster. Set in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, the show chronicles widowed father

Danny Tanner The American television sitcom ''Full House'' ran for eight seasons on ABC from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995. Its sequel series '' Fuller House'' followed 21 years later, airing on Netflix, beginning February 26, 2016; the two parts of ...

, who, after the death of his wife Pam, enlisted his brother-in-law

Jesse Katsopolis The American television sitcom ''Full House'' ran for eight seasons on ABC from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995. Its sequel series '' Fuller House'' followed 21 years later, airing on Netflix, beginning February 26, 2016; the two parts of ...

and his best friend

Joey Gladstone The American television sitcom ''Full House'' ran for eight seasons on ABC from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995. Its sequel series '' Fuller House'' followed 21 years later, airing on Netflix, beginning February 26, 2016; the two parts of ...

to help raise his three daughters, D. J.,

Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian "St ...

, and Michelle. In this season, Danny and Rebecca's talk show takes a spike in popularity, meanwhile Jesse and Rebecca continue dating while Jesse prepares to leave his rebellious ways in the past. Initially, it was planned that Becky would appear only in six episodes of season two, however, the producers found that the Tanner girls needed a mother figure. In the meantime, Joey searches for ways to launch his comedy career. The season also marks the first appearance of Comet, a dog the family adopts in "And They Call It Puppy Love". D. J. starts seventh grade and her first year of junior high and Stephanie enters the second grade. By this season, the series' viewership increased, turning ''Full House'' into the most popular series of ABC's block TGIF; also, for the first time the series figured among the 30 highest-rated programs of the year. Critical reception was mixed, with critics regarding the sameness of the program, and praising towards the characters and actors performance.

Cast

The season's main cast is John Stamos as Jesse,

Bob Saget Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget played Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' (1987-1995), and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel '' Fulle ...

as Danny, Dave Coulier as Joey,

Candace Cameron Candace Cameron Bure (; born Candace Helaine Cameron; April 6, 1976) is an American actress, producer, author and television personality. She is known for portraying D.J. Tanner on ''Full House'' and its sequel series '' Fuller House'', and a nu ...

as D. J.,

Jodie Sweetin Jodie Lee Ann Sweetin (born January 19, 1982) is an American actress and television personality. She is best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner in the ABC comedy series '' Full House'' and its Netflix sequel series '' Fuller House''. Ear ...

as Stephanie, and

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986), also known as the Olsen twins as a duo, are American fashion designers and former actresses. The twins made their acting debut as infants playing Michelle Tanner on the television s ...

as Michelle. Additionally, Lori Loughlin returned as Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson, and, from this season, she had left the recurring cast to become part of the main cast. She appears in thirteen of the season's episodes. The season's guest stars include

Bobbie Eakes Bobbie Diane Eakes (born July 25, 1961) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Macy Alexander on ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (1989–2000, 2001, 2002–2003) and for her role as Krystal Carey on '' All My Children'' ...

in "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (in 22 Minutes)";

Doris Roberts Doris May Roberts ( Green; November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which bega ...

as Claire, Danny's mother (replacing

Alice Hirson Alice Hirson (born March 10, 1929) is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She began her career on stage, before roles on daytime soap operas. She is best known for her roles as Mavis Anderson in the CBS prime time soap ope ...

, who played the role in

the first season ''The First Season'' is a Canadian drama film, released in 1989. The film stars Kate Trotter as Alex Cauldwell, a woman in British Columbia who, following the death of her fisherman husband Frank (Dwight Koss), tries to support herself and her dau ...

);

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...

as himself, in the episode "Star Search";

Scott Baio Scott Vincent James Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on ...

in "Dr. Dare Rides Again"; and

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

in "Our Very First Telethon".

Reception and release

Ratings

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' states in a December 1989 article that ''Full House'' was "the most popular series on Friday night and the most popular of all among the 2-to-11 year-old set" at the time, with an average of 28% of the TV audience in its time slot reported in March 1990. The season three ratings did enter in the Top 30 highest-rated programs for the first time, coming in at number 22 for the 1989–90 season.

Critical reception

David Hofstede in the guide ''5000 Episodes and No Commercials'' and Donald Liebenson of Barnes & Noble cited the fact that Michelle says her catchphrase "You got it, dude" for the first time as highlight of the season. It will become one of the most popular catchphrases in American television. Jeffrey Robinson from

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

said that season three did not included different things for the series, with exception of actors' "over-the-top performances, which alone would be bad, but together make for some fun jokes." Robinson stated, "Overall season three is a nice addition to the Full House series." Similarly, Currentfilm.com praised the characters development, and the actors performance, as well as the screenplay that offers "a nicer balance of snap and sap than prior seasons." BuzzFeed placed "Tanner's Island", "Our Very First Telethon", "Honey, I Broke the House", and "Fraternity Reunion" respectively at numbers 7, 8, 14, and 16 on its list of The 19 Most WTF Moments From ''Full House''.

Episodes

DVD release

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

released a DVD box set containing all third-season episodes on April 4, 2006 only on Region 1.

References

; Notes ;General references * * ;Specific references {{DEFAULTSORT:Full House 1989 American television seasons 1990 American television seasons 3