The return of nostaglia programming has made for some odd choices.  Critics have viscerated the return of Full(er) House.  Let’s jump back to the 80’s people.  Was Full House ever a critic’s darling?  Nope.  Was it popular with the viewing public?  You bet.  We all remember the programs of TGIF.  Can a reboot of Perfect Strangers be far behind?

Watching Fuller House was like stepping into a pair of comfortable sneakers.

In order for the show to be successful – and relatable – to original Full House viewers and to new viewers, you needed a strong pilot that ties the two together.  The writers have done a great job working in every Full House catchphrase and the sly references to the original series: the chicken, Steve’s eating, the Flintstones theme are thoughtfully woven in.  Some have complained its gratuitous, but I’m ok with it.

Props for the opening credit sequence that shows our original characters in their original poses, mimicking them for today.  And does Lori Loughlin ever get old?

The pilot premise is simple.  Danny Tanner is selling the house (note: all SF sitcom families are required to live in a painted lady); Danny and Rebecca are moving to LA to start a new national talk show; Jesse is moving to LA as well to be the sound guy on General Hospital (thats where Stamos got his start as Blackie Parrish); Joey is traveling back and forth from Vegas.

Steve still pines for DJ.  We get a visit from the Katsopolis twins too.

DJ is now a widower raising three kids; Stephanie is a globe-trotting DJ; Kimmy Gibbler is an event planner who is also a single mom.  Can we see where this is going from miles away.  You bet.  Do we care?  No.  Stephanie, DJ and Kimmy are all now living together, helping DJ raise her kids.

I actually laughed at out loud during the show.  Andrea Barber’s Kimmy is still as goofy as ever (best line in episode #2 to Macy Gray:   I love your music and your Thanksgiving Day parade).  Sweetin’s Stephanie comes across as a little less than wholesome.  I almost gagged when young Jackson made an “innocent” comment to her about “exploding his volcano.”  And Cameron-Bure’s DJ demonstrates the challenges of being both a single mom and a professional.  The kids here are pretty good as well.  Campion and Bringas (who looks a lot like Barber) are just rascally enough that they don’t venture into annoying sitcom kid-land.  Harger is a little over the top with his clean freak routine; he’s a mini Danny Tanner.  If I was going to ditch anyone, it would be Kimmy’s ex, Fernando.  He’s not needed (and he’s a bad stereotype).  I’ve only seen the first three episodes, but bring back Steve full time (to Fuller House).

What I liked most about Fuller House is that it is as good family entertainment as the original.  Moving out of TGIF land to Netflix has allowed it to become a little more edgy.  The proximity of all of the originals in LA allows them to pop up to San Francisco and back.

Even better: the original theme song is back!

Funniest line: “You can sit with us at our table at lunch.  We’re next to the Future Billionaires of Silicon Valley.  We used to call them geeks before the self-esteem assembly.”

I won’t lie: I’ll keep checking in on the goings on at Fuller House.

Cyd and Shelby use time travel to attend two different events on the same night; the plan backfires when they meet boys at both events.  Meanwhile, an errant laser beam switches Bret and Chet’s bodies.

I’m sure its a challenge for the writers of BFW to keep coming up with stories that require time travel.  They somehow manage to keep doing it.  I hope they’ll be able to keep it up.

In this episode, Shelby wants to sell her new jewelry line at the craft fair while Cyd wants to host her MMA party.  Surprise, surprise … they are the same night!  Surprise, surprise … Shelby and Cyd seem incapable of doing anything independently.  I know they are best friends (whenever) but that doesn’t mean best friends (inseparable).  The two need to exist in worlds outside each other.  They also seem to have no other friends (whenever) except for Barry and Naldo (Marcy seems to have disappeared).

Their solution to the problem.  Cyd will have her MMA party; they’ll go back in time and then Shelby can head to her jewelry show in a new time.  But some glitches pop up.  Cyd meets Blake in her timeline; Shelby meets Joaquin in her timeline.  But because two timelines cannot exist at the same time, Shelby’s timeline wipes out Cyd’s.  So they do some time traveling finagling to fix it.

In the end, Cyd ends up with Joaquin and Shelby ends up with Blake (nope, we didn’t see that coming at all).  And we are back to happy every after.

In the B story, Barry zaps Chet and Bret with the laser and they switch bodies.  We get a whole bunch more information on their personalities that we’ve ever gotten before.  One is the hip ladies man (I guess), and the other is more philosophical and cerebral.  I’m not sure which is which, and as Barry notes, “What difference does it make?”  Their story involves trying to get Bret and Chet back into their original bodies.  The solution: a whole bunch of static electricity.

This episode wasn’t so bad.  I actually find Barry and Naldo much more interesting characters than Cyd and Shelby.  But at least we know they’ll all be best friends … whenever.

Here’s my one pet peeve about the show.  Cyd and Shelby time travel all over the place, but often, Barry and Naldo’s timeline never changes.  This leads to the question: does everyone else continue on with their lives but only Cyd and Shelby’s timelines change?

When Hank raises the stakes of family game night to a new high, each member of the family will do whatever it takes to win the grand prize. (imdb.com)

Interesting fact: Other than the driving in the new car scenes, no scenes are filmed beyond the Thundermans’ house.

The best Thundermans episodes are ones where there’s competition between Max and Phoebe.  In this episode, its Family Game Night and the family gathers to play “Who Arted?” (How could you not love that name!), complete with flashing sign and Wheel of Fortune type wheel.  When the wheel mysteriously (well, as a result of a little deviousness from Max and Colosso) lands on “New Car!” the stakes are raised.  Now everyone wants the new car (but exactly how will Billy and Nora use it?)  Max dumbs Colosso for “girlfriend” Allison, while Barb and Hank try to make sure no one wins the car (since they spent 1/2 their money on their Family Game Night costumes).

But this episode is not really about Family Game Night .  It’s about Max’s relationships.  His relationship with Colosso is believable – two evil minds conspiring as one. Colosso’s jealousy when Max dumps him as a partner for Allison is believable as one.  We do get to see an adult, human Colosso again.

The most charming part of the episode is Max’s relationship with Allison.  The fact that Griffo and Newman are dating in real life adds some genuineness to the relationship.  I loved when Allison said to her mom on the phone, “Yes, I’m his girlfriend” and “I’m finally getting to meet his family.”  One can imagine Newman saying that to herself in real life. It was also nice to see Max finally realize Allison was his girlfriend, after so many failed “relationships” or attractions in the past.

What was also equally appealing about this episode was that it relied very little on super powers.  Sure there was the humanizer, the large magnet to stop the wheel and a little kinesthetic deviousness, but the competitiveness of the family is really what drives the episode.

He Got Game Night was a nice, surprise addition to Nick’s Crush Night celebration of Valentine’s Day.  The Thundermans is back and its good to welcome them back!

The friends plan to meet their idols, but when their carefully laid plans begin to unravel they realize the importance of patience.

I’m not going to lie.  I love this show in the same way I loved Ned’s Declassified Survival Guide.  The themes of acceptance, individuality and uniqueness are universal.  The writing is creative, the acting spot on.  There’s just enough weirdness woven through typical tween adventures to make for a great show.

Here, Mr Roberts encourages our trio meet their idols.  Its a diverse group: Fenwick wishes to meet Neil DeGrasse Tyson; Crispo wants to meet snowboarder Louie Vito; and CJ wants to meet pop sensation Anthony Del Rey (nope, never heard of him; he’s played by Anthony De La Torre, in a role created especially for him).

Crispo decides to enter a cereal contest – he needs to make a commercial and Vito will star in his commercial.  His first couple of entries are woeful – but also woefully funny.

Fenwick wants to use a “shady website” to get Tyson’s phone number but,  in the end, uses Roberts’ computer (its a laptop with an external keyboard – odd) to hack into Tyson’s home webcam.  This leads to the FBI showing up and “arresting” Roberts.

CJ realizes Mindy has tickets to the Del Rey concert so she becomes a Minion for a day to earn the second ticket.  Mindy’s dad pulls the ticket so CJ works with her mom to hang out at the concert exit.  CJ’s mom’s story about being “hungry like the wolf” to meet John Taylor from Duran Duran is a hoot.

CJ’s mom ends up suggesting the old “secret security exit” to disperse the other fans.  Sadly, Mindy has her scissors and attacks Del Rey.  CJ’s dad, the foot doctor, ends up mending Del Rey’s broken foot, and in exchange for his services, CJ’s dad arranges for a private concert at their house.

Meanwhile, Fenwick gets Tyson, who knows the formula to making a good breakfast cereal commercial, to help out with Crispo’s commercial.  Apparently he wins the contest, as Louie Vito appears at the end of his commercial.

The most touching scene is when CJ realizes that her dad is really her idol.  Did we see this coming from the beginning of the episode?  Yep.  So there’s no surprise at the end she admits it publically.

It’s always tough to weave celebrity guests into a sitcom but it’s admirably – if not somewhat believably done here.