Entertainment

Don't Mock Uncle Jesse, Kids

by Mallory Schlossberg

Full House never intended to be the most thought-provoking or educational show on television. It was simply intended to be a family-friendly show, as the saccharine sitcom was filled with hugs, platitudes, and Danny Tanner-isms. So, when a Huffington Post blogger accused Full House and other sitcoms of the '90s, like Friends, of filling her with disillusionment, John Stamos responded to her Full House critique. Because, hey: just as Uncle Jesse was pure and total fiction, the sitcom wasn't supposed to be an accurate reflection of reality. So bloggers, take heed: be aware that John Stamos can read your work!

But, c'mon. Do you move into New York City thinking your life will be like Friends? When I lived in Brooklyn, did I wander around my neighborhood in search of Adam Driver lookalikes? (Okay, maybe, but that's a different story.) Do high schoolers ask their chem teachers how their meth labs are going, a la Breaking Bad? Life has no vampires! Help me! Television told me there were VAMPIRES!

You get the point.

Blogger Annelia Alex wrote a piece called "The Lies I Learned From Dumb TV," which reads like an A-plus high school paper: Guys! I discovered something totally obvious, but will dissect it! Did you know that television...is fake!?!? Props to her for writing — here's one writer high-fiving another for being brave enough to voice her thoughts on a very highly trafficked forum — but it goes without saying that it doesn't take a PHD to realize that Full House was not meant to be a place for you to learn lessons (except those cleaning tactics of Danny Tanner. A is for A-jax forever!). Most of us are also capable of identifying fiction.

So John Stamos found this article, since he is a purveyor of the Internet as many of us are, and he posted the article to his Facebook, with the following comments:

annelia, if you hadn't watched those check mix shows like FULL HOUSE you wouldn't have been open minded and bright enough to write an article like you just did- on the other hand - don't blame the way your life turned out because of TGIF - if you're lucky enough to have kids - maybe you should have them watch re-runs of Breaking Bad- see how that turns out. i get what you're saying - i agree we did some silly unrealistic stuff-and maybe it's not the way everyday families are today - ALTHOUGH - more so now then when we made the show - meaning, more broken families, same sex parents- let's focus on that and not the unrealistic stuff - because the happiness that these shows have brought to peoples lives - i've felt that more first hand than i'm sure you have.... also - i bet more good than bad came out of those shows. sorry it didn't turn out that way for you annelia or you simply just weren't bright enough to take the good from what we did and laugh at the rest. JOHN STAMOS

You don't often expect that lengthy of a response from a celebrity! The real takeaway, though, is that John Stamos reads the Huffington Post — but more so, that he will come to the defense of Full House, even if it was silly, trite, warm-and-fuzzy show. That was Uncle Jesse — a tad rebellious and confrontational but totally loyal.