How To Build A 'Full House' Very Special Episode

There aren't many '90s sitcoms that did the "very special episode" quite as well as Full House , and I mean that in the most loving way possible. Sure, Full House might be a comedy, but it's also an inspirational story about family. After Danny's wife dies (in a horrific car accident caused by a drunk driver, just in case you forgot) he enlists the help of his deceased wife's brother and his best friend from college to help raise his three girls. The show proves that it really does take a village to raise a child — or, in the Tanner family's case, three — and the life lessons that the Tanner girls (and sometimes their next door neighbor, Kimmy) learn from the adults are also meant to be lessons for the audience — usually very unsubtly. (But hey, since when was "subtly" a thing any of us wanted from our '90s sitcoms, anyway?)

There were plenty of these special episodes, each with their own unique theme. We learned about body image issues when D.J. started an extreme dieting regime, only to realize in the end that she was already beautiful — inside and out — exactly as she was. We learned the dangers of alcohol after Kimmy imbibed just a little too much, and why rushing into make out parties before you're ready for make out parties does way more damage than it's worth. Each episode may have been different, but they all had some things in common — namely a methodical, "scientific" formula.

And since I'm a Full House superfan with a platform to share things on the Internet, I broke it down for you in even more scientific terms. You're welcome.

Image: Warner Bros. Television; Caroline Wurtzel/Bustle