The Fifth Season

Full House is a feel good family sitcom that tackles the daily lives of three dads and three young girls living with each other and getting by in life. While the series isn't particularly innovating, it is enjoyable. With half of the cast so young and innocent, the situations they got into came off as cute and fun. The format of this series is very simple. The stories are told in an episodic manner. In each one, the family gets stuck in a few sticky situations. Most stories are about the cast learning to raise the three girls or one of the adults dealing with the specifics in their lives. This season continues in the same manner as past seasons and offers twenty-six fun episodes. For more information about the series, please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, season three, and season four.

In the season premiere "Double Trouble", the full house gets a little fuller. Becky and Jesse discover they are going to have twins! This episode is pretty kooky by itself. As the season progresses, the twins are revisited as a primary storylien several times. The two-part episode "Happy Birthday, Babies" is about Michelle's special birthday, which happens to be the same day the twins are born. In "Nicky and/or Alexander", Jesse finds out he can't tell the twins apart. The episodes that have the twins in the fore are pretty fun episodes. The Jesse-Rebecca dynamic is always fun, add twins and it gets better! There is also another aspect with Rebecca's hormones taking over--which is worth some laughs.

While the twins offer some solid stories, the overly neurotic Danny is the clear winner this season. The stories that feature him are great. In "Matchmaker Michelle", Michelle tries to fix up Danny with her kindergartner teacher when she decides she wants a new mommy. Then there is "Bachelor of the Month". Danny is picked as the hottest guy in town and it goes straight to his head. The guy is already a goofball and with an inflated ego, he is a riot. But the best episode about Danny is "The Trouble with Danny". He tries to be a messy guy. It is so not like him and it is great for laughs.

D.J. finds herself in the middle of a lot this season. Mostly dealing with boys in episodes like "Five's a Crowd", the three dads join D.J. on her date, and "Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Girl Gone", someone at school spreads rumors that she is a bad kisser. Other fun episodes with D.J. include "Driving Miss D.J.", which has the overly neurotic Danny doing everything he can to keep her from driving.

Other fun stories dealing with the characters include Joey in "The Legend of Ranger Joe", Joey is hired to replace cartoon show host Ranger Roy and makes a fool of himself by thanking the guy who hired him, Stephanie wears herself out in "Gotta Dance" and also shows off her fierceness in a spelling bee competition in "Spellbound", and Michelle in "The Devil Made Me Do It" faces her conscious, the good and the bad.

Overall, what the season five episodes really do well is continue the tradition started by earlier seasons. The cast is goofy and over-the-top, but they manage to do it in a manner that is enjoyable and fun. In the end, Full House continues to be a great family-oriented comedy by mixing in valuable lessons into good old fashion goofiness.

Episode Guide

1. Double Trouble: The good news from the doctor is twice as nice: Becky and Jesse are expecting twins.
2. Matchmaker Michelle: Have I got a girl for you! Michelle thinks her kindergarten teacher should be the next Mrs. Danny Tanner.
3. Take My Sister, Please: Stephanie beds down in the bathtub when neither D.J. nor Michelle is willing to share a room with her.
4. Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Girl Gone: The big kiss-off. D.J. refuses to pucker up for a boy at school, so he spreads a rumor that she's a lousy kisser.
5. The King and I: A family spat has Jesse all shook up. Then an Elvis lookalike tells him he'll check in to Heartbreak Hotel if he doesn't make it up.
6. The Legend of Ranger Joe: Howdy-ho, junior rangers! When beloved cartoon host Ranger Roy retires, Joey auditions for his job.
7. The Volunteer: D.J. strikes up a friendship with a n elderly gentleman at the Golden Gate Nursing Home.
8. Gotta Dance: Stephanie really, really, really wants extra dance lessons...until she gets them and has no time for family, friends or fun.
9. Happy Birthday, Babies Part 1: Remember when Jesse had long hair and Michelle had hardly any hair at all? Michelle's fifth birthday gets everybody reminiscing.
10. Happy Birthday, Babies Part 2: Birthday boys for the birthday girl: Jesse and Becky's twins are born on Michelle's birthday.
11. Nicky and/or Alexander: Meet my son, What's-His-Name. Proud new papa Jesse can't tell his twin boys apart.
12. Bachelor of the Month: A local magazine names Danny Bachelor of the Month. Too bad his swelled head turns him into Jerk of the Year.
13. Easy Rider: She's pedaling, she's moving, she's - splat! – in the bushes. Joey teaches Michelle how to ride a two-wheeler.

14. Sisters in Crime: D.J. has a hot date with a cool classmate. There's only one, er, two problems: Stephanie and Michelle tag along.
15. Play It Again, Jesse: Becky returns to Wake Up, San Francisco, leaving Jesse pulling diaper duty as a stay-at-home dad.
16. Crushed: Heartthrob heartache. Stephanie is razy for her birthday guest, rocker Tommy Page. But he only has eyes for D.J.
17. Spellbound: How do you spell "relentless?" A spelling bee brings out an ultracompetitive streak in Stephanie.
18. Too Much Monkey Business: Jungle love. A chimpanzee named Ginger thinks Jesse is the human of her dreams.
19. The Devil Made Me Do It: "Stick a sock in it, Good Pants!" Bad Michelle (in biker black) and Good Michelle (in a fairy-princess dress) duke it out when she misbehaves.
20. Driving Miss D.J.: D.J. gets her learner's permit. As far as Danny's concerned, that means she's permitted to sit in the backseat while he takes the wheel.
21. Yours, Mine and Ours: Danny's cure for a bickering household: a Tanner Family Fun Night out. Yeah, right.
22. The Trouble With Danny: Who's the grubby guy trailing potato chip crumbs and drinking milk from the carton? Danny makes a 180 from his Mr. Clean image.
23. Five's a Crowd: When D.J. and Pete go on a date, they get some uninvited company: Jesse, Danny and Joey.
24. Girls Will Be Boys: A playmate claims girls have cooties, so Michelle turns herself into a swaggering, shoulder-punching, pint-sized Uncle Jesse.
25. Captain Video Part 1: B is for boss...and Beach Boys. Michelle joins the Honey Bees. And the rock group gives Jesse's music career a boost.
26. Captain Video Part 2: Jesse finally gets his shot at stardom, if he'll stop being himself and start being rappin', dancin' Jess man.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality is good considering its age. The image is a bit soft at times. For the most part, it looks good with a slight grain and no noticeable issues attributed with video compression.

Audio:
The audio in this release is in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo. The quality is quite good. The audio is fairly flat, which is due the show being dialogue driven. This release also supports closed captioning and has subtitles in Spanish and French.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this release.

Final Thoughts:
Full House is a fun family-oriented television series that details the daily lives of a neurotic household. In this season, the full house gets fuller with twins. There are some fun stories dealing with the twins and the pregnancy, as well as the cast in general. Overall, if you enjoyed Full House's previous seasons, then season five is a going to be twenty-six episodes of pure fun.