The reboot of Full House has been massacred in reviews.  The original version was never the critic’s darling so it’s no surprise the new version isn’t either. I won’t lie.  I loved the new version.  I’m sure my reviews do not carry as much sway as the national critics, but as your average TV viewer, its good stuff.

1. New decade.  New family.  Original version: Three male adults.  Three female children.  New version: Three female adults.  Three male children (+1 extra).  Same basic family dynamic.
2. Same showrunners.  Jeff Franklin and Bill Boyett know their characters.  The writers for the new version know the characters as well.  While the 2010s versions of DJ, Stephanie and Kimmy are more mature, the core of their characters hasn’t changed – and the core of their dynamic hasn’t changed either.
3. Same actors.  The show would not have worked without Cameron-Bure, Sweetin and Barber.
4. Same veteran actors.  The show would not have worked without Stamos, Saget, Coulier and Loughlin.  They appear just enough to remind us about the original series and their appearances are not gratuitous.
5. Its traditional.  I’ve had enough of the “quirky family” sitcoms on network television.  We get it.  Families are weird.  This is an old school sit-com with the awww moments, “this would never happen to my family” situations, and a regular rotation of predictable humor, one liners and zingers.
6. The season makes sense.  At the onset, it was clear that the main focus was DJ moving on after her husband died.  Each episode builds on that as she steps back into the dating pool.  Stephanie is seeking normalcy; Kimmy is still strange.  The stories evolve over time in ways that make sense to the viewer.
7. The kids can act (sort of).  Yep, they are still green and thats ok. Campion, Bringas and Harger held their own against the adults and more importantly, I believed them.  Their struggles were the struggles of real teens and tweens.  Max struggles with being the middle brother.  Ramona wanted her parents back together (but in the end she just wants Kimmy to be happy).  Jackson pines over a girl in the same way any 13 year old would.
8. The wackiness is still there.  Yep, it’s still there.  That chicken wrestling match was, well, odd.
9. The catchphrases were there.  They had to be. They are iconic.  No one will ever get tired of “How rude!” or “Oh my lanta.”
10. The referential humor was great.  We had nods to The View, Full House (and the iconic nature of the stars), child stars, Mary Kate and Ashley Olson, General Hospital.  Were some of them gratuitous.  Sure.  But we needed them to connect Full House 2.0 to Full House 1.0.
11. Its changed with the times.  We’ve had two same sex kisses. People are on Facebook and Instagram.  DJ, Stephanie and Kimmy are seeking out and dealing with relationships as independent strong women.
12. I laughed out loud.  And I laughed out loud in a way I hadn’t laughed watching a sitcom in a long long time.  The 13 episodes were a fun ride to take.

After I finished episode 13 (I won’t tell you how the season ends, but it makes sense to the viewer), I kept wishing there was an episode 14.  I guess we will have to wait (and hope for season #2).

So, John Stamos, Producer of Full House and everyone else associated with it, two enthusiastic thumbs up for a reboot done well.