This is the first of three Christmas episodes from the eight-season run of Full House. If you’re looking for general info about the episode, you can find a lot of it here. The basic plot is that the family is heading to Colorado for Christmas, yet everyone ends up snowed in at an airport.
To me, as a fan of the show, this is definitely a classic episode. Although it’s one of the rare moments (and maybe the first?) where the family leaves San Francisco together, that’s part of what makes it great. Even on an airplane or in an airport, the show still works. It’s also a chance to see the Tanners interact with a whole bunch of strangers, which is also kind of fun. (On a side note, my kids think it’s funny that Jesse and Joey are always just included in “The Tanners,” when they clearly have different last names.)
Although it’s kind of weird that Jesse’s parents (the Katsopolises) are joining them for a “Tanner” family trip, they’re really here to encourage Jesse’s pursuit of Becky, which feels OK. In fact, going back and watching all of the episodes, I guess I never realized that there wasn’t a whole lot of courting. For most of the first half of this season, Jesse doesn’t seem to stand a chance. Yet after their first kiss in this episode, things go pretty quickly, and the season ends with them almost getting married. So this episode is clearly the turning point for Jesse and Becky.
Of course, the highlight happens when Santa appears, and everyone later realizes it wasn’t actually Joey. See, you guys? Christmas came after all.
9/10
Snow in Southtown Christmas Podcast 