Despite essentially copying Full House’s premise, DJ’s tragedy in Fuller House is actually worse than Danny’s in the original ABC sitcom.
DJ’s (Candace Cameron-Bure) tragedy in Fuller House is ultimately much worse than Danny’s (Bob Saget) in Full House. The Netflix series debuted in 2016 and brought the Tanners back to the small screen. While Fuller House didn’t feature Michelle after Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen opted out of it, there was still a sense of deja-vu surrounding the spin-off, considering that the rest of the Full House core cast returned for the project.
Aside from its familiar cast of characters, Fuller House capitalized on the nostalgia factor by re-hashing its parent series’ premise. Like her father, the events of the Netflix project were kicked off by another tragedy after DJ’s husband, Tommy Fuller Sr., died while in the line of duty as a firefighter. This left DJ with three children to raise, and while the eldest Tanner kid had a stable job, she still needed help in the house. That was what prompted Stephanie (Jodie Sweeting) and Kimmy (Andrea Barber) to move in with her, the same way Jesse (John Stamos) and Joey (Dave Coulier) did in Full House.
While Fuller House doesn’t dwell on Tommy Sr.’s death, it is far worse than what Danny experienced when Pam died in Full House. Unlike the Tanner matriarch, who was able to deliver Michelle and even spend some time with her newborn, it seems like DJ’s husband died before she gave birth to their third son, Tommy Jr. Granted that the Netflix spin-off barely brought up the Fuller patriarch throughout its five-season run, every single time he was referenced, the stories about him never mentioned any connection to his youngest kid. On top of that, old photos and videos of the family only showed him with Jackson (Michael Campion) and Max (Elias Harger). There was even one homemade clip taken during Tommy Sr.’s last Christmas revealing a pregnant DJ. For context, Fuller House was supposed to start with DJ still carrying her third baby, but it was changed due to worries that it may be too dark for a sitcom. Just because it wasn’t shown on the series, however, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t the case in the narrative.
Why DJ’s Husband Was Killed In Fuller House
Knowing full well how popular Full House was, Netflix used it to the sequel’s advantage. This is why the streamer brought back all primary characters from the beloved ’80s/’90s family sitcom. Unfortunately for them, despite even on-screen pleading to the Olsens, the pair didn’t budge with their decision to skip the sequel. This move made sense as there was interest in seeing what the Tanner kids and their friends were up to now that they are fully grown adults. The sequel pushed it further, however, by giving DJ a similar arc as Danny’s by killing Tommy Sr. in Fuller House. This was a particularly divisive creative decision as the show could have found other ways to give her an equally compelling but fresh narrative. What makes this worse is how Fuller House just used the tragedy as a launching pad for the show. At least Full House properly showed Danny and her girls grieving the unexpected demise of Pam, but Tommy Sr. didn’t have that in the follow-up.
Overall, Fuller House failed to take advantage of the opportunity to create something as impactful and relatable as its parent series. While leaning on nostalgia isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it isn’t enough to tell a great story alone. The Full House spin-off copying the original series’ premise could have worked better if it followed through with a thorough exploration of DJ’s guilt and what it was like being a single working mother in this day and age. Instead, Fuller House focused on developing DJ’s love life to a more mixed reception than its predecessor.
