Full House [TV Series] (1987)

Debuting September 22, 1987, the ABC sitcom Full House was set in San Francisco, specifically the rambling townhouse of local TV sports host Danny Tanner (Bob Saget). Following the sudden death of his wife, Pam, Danny assumed full responsibility of raising his three daughters: oldest girl Donna Jo, (aka D.J., played by Candace Cameron), who was ten years old at the outset of the series; middle child Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), who went from age 5 to 13 in the course of events; and the baby of the family, Michelle, a role shared throughout the show's run by twin child actresses Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen (who'd have thought these two precocious youngsters, both two years old when the show debuted, would remain stars into adulthood, and even one day grace the cover of Rolling Stone?). Helping Danny survive the trials and tribulations of single parenthood were his brother-in-law Jesse Cochran (John Stamos), a fun-loving would-be rock singer, and his best friend, Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier), a zany aspiring comedian. During the series' third season, Jesse married Rebecca "Becky" Donaldson (Lori Loughlin), Danny's co-host on the daily TV show "Wake Up San Francisco." Around the same time, Jesse reverted to his Greek heritage by adopting his family's name "Katsopolis," and Becky followed suit. In season four, Becky gave birth to twins, Nicky and Alice, played by real-life siblings Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit. Other secondary characters included Becky's temporary replacement, Vicky Larson (Gail Edwards), with whom Danny fell in love (though they amicably ended the relationship before plunging into matrimony, reportedly because the series' producers didn't want to tinker with their successful "single father" premise); D.J.'s best friend, Kimmy Gibler (Andrea Barber), and her slightly older boyfriend (during seasons six and seven, at least), film student Steve Hale (Scott Weinger); Stephanie's wisecracking pal Gia (Marla Sokoloff); and Michelle's classmates Denise Frazier (Jurnee Smollett) and Teddy (Tahj Mowry). A steady and reliable fixture of ABC's Friday-evening schedule (except for a brief Tuesday-evening stay in the summer of 1988), Full House was at one juncture America's seventh most popular program. The series lasted until August 29, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi