The Tanners went through a lot during Full House’s eight-year run on ABC, and some of their experiences were really dark for a family sitcom.
For a family comedy, Full House tackled a lot of dark storylines throughout its eight-year run. The iconic late ’80s/early ’90s sitcom followed the Tanners as they live an unconventional home dynamic in San Francisco. Single dad Danny Tanner was left to raise his three young daughters: DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle. He recruited his brother-in-law, Jesse Katsopolis, and best friend, Joey Gladstone to help him with the endeavor. especially since he also had the responsibility of financially supporting his kids. Eventually, the adult trio was tasked with raising the Tanner daughters, which resulted in a lot of memorable moments.
As a sitcom, Full House already had a unique premise. Its long form allowed ABC to tackle a spectrum of storylines, highlighting the highs and lows of parenting from both sides of the equation. In 2016, around two decades after the original show wrapped up its run, the Tanners returned to the small screen via the spin-off sequel, Fuller House, on Netflix. Despite essentially copying the premise of the original show, subjecting DJ to the same experiences that her dad went through years ago, the offshoot wasn’t able to recapture the magic of Full House. It surely also didn’t deal with as many dark storylines as its predecessor did.
10 Pam Tanner’s Death Kicking Off Full House
The events of Full House were kicked off by the death of Pam, Danny’s wife. By the time the show started, it had already been a while since she passed away and the family was starting to settle into a routine after a period of deep mourning. Not much was revealed about Pam initially, but it was eventually established that she died in a car accident after a drunk driver crashed into her. Launching a family sitcom with a tragedy was a big risk, especially since Pam’s death and accident continued to be a recurring theme throughout Full House’s run. Luckily, the show was able to handle it quite impressively.
9 DJ Tanner Being Obsessed With Dieting
As the eldest Tanner daughter, DJ was the first to deal with teenage growing pains. While Full House featured creative storytelling, it mostly leaned on reality, which meant that a lot of its plots are rooted in real-life, making it very relatable. When DJ started to become more social as a young teen, Full House surprisingly tackled the dangers of promulgating unhealthy beauty standards. Insecure about her body, she went on a hard-core diet that involved her snacking on ice. She wanted to keep her plan secret from her dad and the rest of the family, but after she passed out, she had to come clean about it.
8 Stephanie Dealing With Peer Pressure
DJ wasn’t the only one to struggle with societal pressure in Full House. While Danny’s daughters were undoubtedly smart, they weren’t immune to some of the most common difficulties that a teenager goes through. For Stephanie, her issues used to come from being mixed with the wrong crowd. At one point, she had to prove herself to a couple of her schoolmates by smoking a cigarette. She did consider doing it to make new friends, but the Tanner middle child knew better than that. Seeing how uncomfortable it was for her to be surrounded by girls pressuring her to smoke was difficult.
7 Papouli Unexpectedly Dying
Deaths in sitcoms weren’t exactly new when Full House was on the air. The show itself started with the demise of Danny’s wife. That being said, Papouli passing away in season 7 was arguably one of the most gut-wrenching moments in the series. What made his death so much worse was the way it played out. Jesse’s grandfather from Greece visited San Francisco and immediately endeared himself to everyone in the Tanner family and their audience. Just as he was getting settled in, however, Papouli unexpectedly dies, shocking everybody. His demise was particularly hard on both Jesse and Michelle, who bonded over their shared loss.
6 Stephanie Experiencing PTSD
Not long after losing her mom, Stephanie developed PTSD after experiencing an intense earthquake in San Francisco. Rooted on her fear of also losing her dad, Stephanie became really worried about Danny, to the point that she wouldn’t even want him to leave for work. With the help of Jesse and Joey, the Tanner patriarch decided to seek medical help for his daughter’s condition. While Full House didn’t get to delve deeper into Stephanie’s experience with PTSD, the fact that a sitcom even tackled the disorder, especially from a little girl’s perspective, was impressive.
5 Kimmy’s Drinking Problem (& DJ’s Intervention)
Full House didn’t bring up Pam’s death as frequently as some may have hoped, but her demise loomed over the show, especially on her daughters. In season 8, Kimmy got drunk at a party, resulting in DJ intervening and stopping her from driving back home. The incident caused the best friend conflict, but after the eldest Tanner daughter explained that her mom died due to a drunk driving accident, Kimmy immediately realized the error of her ways.
4 Stephanie’s Almost Drunk Driving Accident
Kimmy wasn’t the only one who was almost involved in a drunk driving incident in Full House. Despite her mom dying in a car crash, Stephanie wanted to ride shotgun with her friends. Luckily for her, DJ was there to forbid her from going with them. Understandably, she was pissed at her sister, feeling like DJ was meddling with her life. That being said, after learning that Gia was in a car accident, Stephanie immediately realized the error of her ways and apologized to her sister.
3 DJ Makes Friend With An Alzheimer’s Patient
In Full House season 5, DJ volunteered in a nursing home where she befriended an elderly gentleman named Eddie as part of the Adopt-a-grandparent program. The pair became quite close, with DJ even inviting him back home for Stephanie and Kimmy’s dog competition. Sadly, as Eddie started acting odd around the Tanners, DJ eventually found out that he has early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Eddie only appeared once in Full House, but it was heartbreaking enough to see him during his spells, especially when he mistakenly thought DJ was his daughter.
2 Stephanie Being Trapped In A Make-Out Party
Throughout Full House’s run, Stephanie had found herself in tricky situations. However, as much trouble as DJ got from being friends with Kimmy, at least the oldest Tanner daughter had a reliable friend. Stephanie, on the other hand, had to sift through several friend groups, and not all of them were great influences. At one point, she was trapped in a make-out party. Her friend tried to convince her that it wasn’t a big deal, but Stephanie was wise enough to call DJ to pick her up, only for Danny to show up instead.
1 Stephanie Discovering That Her Classmate Is Being Abused
The Tanner kids losing their mom was tragic, but at least they have three parental figures who loved them unconditionally in Full House. While Danny, Jesse, and Joey had some slip-ups over the years, it was clear that they were always acting based on good intentions. Stepanie learned in Full House season 6 that not all kids grow up in loving homes after she discovered that her schoolmate, Charles, was being abused by his father. It was Full House’s take on domestic violence — a sensitive subject to tackle for a sitcom. Luckily, the series did it with a lot of care.
Throughout Full House’s run, Stephanie had found herself in tricky situations. However, as much trouble as DJ got from being friends with Kimmy, at least the oldest Tanner daughter had a reliable friend. Stephanie, on the other hand, had to sift through several friend groups, and not all of them were great influences. At one point, she was trapped in a make-out party. Her friend tried to convince her that it wasn’t a big deal, but Stephanie was wise enough to call DJ to pick her up, only for Danny to show up instead.
1 Stephanie Discovering That Her Classmate Is Being Abused
The Tanner kids losing their mom was tragic, but at least they have three parental figures who loved them unconditionally in Full House. While Danny, Jesse, and Joey had some slip-ups over the years, it was clear that they were always acting based on good intentions. Stepanie learned in Full House season 6 that not all kids grow up in loving homes after she discovered that her schoolmate, Charles, was being abused by his father. It was Full House’s take on domestic violence — a sensitive subject to tackle for a sitcom. Luckily, the series did it with a lot of care.
