Full House: D.J. Tanner

Donna Jo Margaret “D.J.” Tanner is the oldest girl in the Tanner household. She has blond hair, and her wanting to be the best in everything came from her mother, Pam Katsopolis-Tanner. When Pam died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, D.J. was ten, Stephanie was five and Michelle was a baby.

Shelly: I’ve got to tell the guys this one.

D.J.: And I’ve got to find a new school.

Being the big sister isn’t always easy, but she pulled it off with aplomb.

D.J. handles many tough situations with general ease. Though she gets upset at times over her father prying into her affairs or otherwise embarrassing her (and usually runs off to isolate herself in her room), she is always quick to apologize when she has acted rudely.

Sometimes D.J. gets very mad about the limits her father places on her; in many episodes, she ignores these limits. Nonetheless, however, she does eventually learn her lesson (usually the hard way). This structure of one of the “Tanner sisters” learning a life-important lesson is shown in many episodes.

Full House: Back to School Blues

Oh, the tween angst! It’s the first day of junior high for D.J. Tanner (Candace Cameron Bure) and she’s learning the hard way that she’s not in elementary school anymore.

The new school year is starting. Stephanie, who is entering 2nd grade, is the only Tanner left in her school, and she expects a bad day at school. But instead, against her expectations, it turns out to be a good day for her (including being chosen as the Room 7 official fish feeder).

The same can’t be said for D.J., who is entering 7th grade, which is a step closer to becoming a teenager. On her first day at Van Atta Junior High, D.J. is separated from her best friend Kimmy except for sixth period Spanish, humiliated by a mean girl Colleen and her gang, a squad of girls dressed like tarts, discovers that she’s wearing the same outfit as Mrs. Agbabian, the annoying lunch lady, and has to eat lunch in a phone booth.

The next morning, D.J., along with Kimmy, decides to put on makeup. The reason why is because she believes the only way to fit in among the other students is to do what virtually the other 7th graders are doing when they put on makeup - look twice as old as she really is. Danny thinks D.J. is overdoing it, so he lets Rebecca help D.J. with the makeup.

The next day, Kimmy’s schedule changes so that she and D.J. can have the same lunch, especially with D.J.’s new friends from her English class, Karen Sykes and Susan Ericson, who are sitting at Colleen’s gang’s table. Colleen refuses to sit with scrubs (her name for people like D.J.), saying, “I’d rather eat in a phone booth”. So she and her gang split up and go eat at different tables.

Meanwhile, Joey tries to teach Jesse how to play golf in order to impress a golfing client.