Bobby Keller in Dream a Little Dream

“I’ll be by. Don’t fall asleep.”

Wow. Bobby Keller is definitely one good-looking guy. I wish he had the ability to to sweet-talk the villainesses (or femme fatales) into a trance-like state with just a few compliments that are both well thought-out and delivered in a sultry manner, kind of like Vicki Vale in the 1989 film Batman when she spoke to the Joker in Gotham Cathedral.

In my mind, that could be a great and awesomely useful ability for him to have. ;) I also wish Bobby had been a vampire in Dream a Little Dream. However, he would definitely be one of the ethical daywalking ones, though. He could take on a bully who’d be picking on Dumas (portrayed by Matt Adler) (who’d be the former school bully, as he’d begun to rethink his bully image after Bobby — who’d been facing Joel (portrayed by William McNamara), who’d been holding Dumas at gunpoint in an alley) — had said, “Twenty years from now, I’m gonna look back on all my old school friends, and I’m gonna think of Dumas,” before adding that Dumas wasn’t exactly a nice guy and pointing out, “So what? We were still friends” before turning to Dumas and asking, “Aren’t we, Dumas? Aren’t we still friends?” which Dumas didn’t have an answer for, as he was silently wishing he’d been nicer to Bobby), and drain the bully of half of his blood and all his money. That could be so cool!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dracula

Dracula: You are magnificent.

Buffy: I bet you say that before you bite all the girls.

Dracula: No, you are different — kindred.

Buffy (to Dracula after staking him a second time): “You think I don’t watch your movies? You always come back.”

Nostalgia and the Good Old Days

It’s easy to become nostalgic for what people refer to as the “good old days,” when almost everyone was trusted.

Back then, children would play for hours in the neighborhood — and in other people’s homes and yards — unsupervised. Back then, children would walk to school, head gleefully to sleepovers, and participate in overnight camps, all without an ounce of parental concern.

But those times are past (meaning long since over) now. We are a sadder but wiser society. The knowledge we have about child molesters has come at a heavy cost and is often shared by people out of the pain of their personal experiences. It’s time we heeded this information and did all we can to protect children.

Full House: D.J. Tanner

Donna Jo Margaret “D.J.” Tanner is the oldest girl in the Tanner household. She has blond hair and azure eyes. 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 years old, Stephanie was five years old, and Michelle was six months old.

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 quite angry about the limits her father places on her; in many episodes, she ignores these limits. Nonetheless, 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.

The Great Outdoors (1988): My Thoughts

Nostalgic about the good old days in the honeymoon cabin, the patriarch Chet Ripley and his family set off to the idyllic woods of Wisconsin for the summer vacation. However, their plans for a peaceful family bonding in the heart of the untamed nature will be thwarted when Chet’s high-rolling brother-in-law Roman Craig and his family decide to crash the party. Eventually, as the two families try to have a good time together, a seemingly endless series of misfortunes and mini-disasters — including thirsty leeches, cunning raccoons and a mythical wild bear — threaten to ruin the vacation. What will it take to salvage the weekend?

It is summertime, and Chicago citizen Chester “Chet” Ripley (John Candy), his wife Connie (Stephanie Faracy) and their two sons, Buckley “Buck” (Chris Young) and Ben (Ian Giatti), are on vacation at a lake resort in Pechoggin, Wisconsin. All is going as planned until Connie’s sister Kate (Annette Bening), Kate’s husband Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd) and their twin daughters Mara and Cara (Rebecca and Hilary Gordon) show up, thus crashing the vacation.

Among the ghost stories told at the family BBQ is one about a man-eating grizzly bear that Chet met face-to-face one day when he was younger. Chet says that, while he and Connie were honeymooning at the same lake they are at right now, he was attacked by a giant grizzly bear. When Chet fired at it with a shotgun, the buckshot shaved the hair off the top of the bear’s head, and from that day on, it was known as the ‘Bald-Headed Bear’ of Claire County.

After Roman pulls Chet around the lake on an impromptu water ski ride with his rented speedboat, tensions between families erupt. Chet is ready to pack up his family’s things and go home — even as teenager Buck tries to romance a local girl named Cammie (Lucy Deakins).

However, while the budding romance between Buck and Cammie goes well, Chet, Roman and their families don’t get along, whether they are fighting over what type of boat to rent, how to wrinkle newspaper in order to start a fire or what to grill for dinner — until one night, when they go to Paul Bunyan’s Cupboard. Roman inquires about the Old 96’er, and is informed that it is “a 96 ounce prime-aged beef steak” which lands them all a free meal if it’s consumed entirely. Chet decides to take the challenge and manages to stuff it all down — or so he thinks. He is then confronted with a pile of fat and gristle, which he finds out he is required to consume; not only does he do it, he also gets a dessert down, earning them some free hats. However, Chet’s taking the challenge of eating said steak causes Buck to break his date with Cammie. Buck tries to apologize to Cammie for being late, but Cammie refuses to speak to him.

While at a local bar, Connie and Kate bond with each other when the conversation drifts to Kate’s challenges of being wealthy. Later, just at the peak of tension between families, a revelation of sorts emerges. Roman had spent some of the time flaunting his wealth and success and encouraged Chet to give him money for a deal; when they are leaving, Kate mentions how that was a lot for them. Roman feels his conscience eating away at him and stops the car, saying he has to go back, and Kate wonders if he forgot something; he turns the car around and heads back to the cabin. When Kate asks if he’s all right, Roman replies with “I’ll be all right once I settle this.”

At the cabin, Roman tears up the check that Chet had given him (symbolizing his decision to be honest with Chet and Kate). Finally, Roman makes a confession: he is actually broke and has been living beyond his means for some time in order to keep up appearances, because he has lost his job as a commodities trader and everything else after a deal went bad. When Kate asks why he didn’t tell her, thinking he felt she wouldn’t understand, Roman explains that she would have understood — but he also knew she wouldn’t let him “come up here to put the bite on Connie and Chet” because Chet was Roman’s “only last hope.” Chet replies that Roman knows he “would never turn (his) back on family,” and Roman agrees with that.

Later, during a thunderstorm, the twins leave the car and wander off; they eventually fall into a mine shaft. Chet and Roman eventually find them, but the claustrophobic Roman is reluctant to descend into the tiny mine shaft. After some encouragement from Chet, Roman summons up all his courage while Chet goes in search of a rope to pull them out. When he realizes the mine is stocked with old dynamite, Roman takes his daughters and manages to climb out of the shaft on his own.

When Chet returns with the rope, he is horrified to discover the ‘Bald-Headed Bear’ lurking in the mine. It chases him back to his house, where it smashes through the door; as it rampages through the house, Roman, Kate, Connie and the others are shocked when they realize the ‘Bald-Headed Bear’ is actually real. Roman attempts to ward the bear off with an oar and a fire poker. Wally (Robert Prosky), the cabin owner, bursts into the house with a loaded shotgun; Chet takes the gun and shoots the bear’s rear end, blowing off the fur and leaving the bear’s rump exposed. Roaring in embarrassment, the bear runs out of the house and heads into the woods.

The next morning, the two families part on good terms. However, unbeknownst to Chet, Connie has invited Roman’s family to stay with them until Roman is financially able to get back on his feet. Cammie and Buck make up and end their summer romance right before Buck and his family head back to Chicago.

I cannot find any more good and positive things to say about this film. As Chet Ripley, John Candy gives one of his best performances in this film, and he does a phenomenal job as well.

According to the film’s trivia, in real life, there is a restaurant called Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty in northern Wisconsin; however, the Old 96’er isn’t on the menu.

If I had to pick a favorite scene, it would be this one:

Roman: Chet, I’m gonna level with ya. I’m a phony, I’m a fraud, I’m a fake — from my fifteen-dollar imitation Bally slip-ons to our replicated Rolex’s. (Kate looks at her watch, and is shocked, realizing Roman is right) We’re broke. We’re bankrupt. We’re busted.

Kate: We’re busted?

Roman: We were living well, right? (Kate nods, mouthing “Yeah” soon after) Well beyond our means. (he then turns to Chet) I’m full of (nonsense), Chet. I haven’t been trading in over two years. (sighs) This deal came up; it looked good. I got overextended. Couldn’t meet my calls. I lost my seat on the Exchange. I got to work every morning — but now I wear a blue runner’s jacket and fetch coffee. I lost everything.

Kate: Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think that I wouldn’t understand?

Roman: Oh, baby, I knew you’d understand. But I also knew you wouldn’t let me come up here to put the bite on Connie and Chet. He was my only last hope.

Chet: Now, look, Roman. Now you know I never turn my back on family.

Roman: I know. That’s why I came up here.

Plus, the film shows a good message: helping your family out if they need it is a good idea.

I highly recommend this film to all John Candy fans — and I give it five stars as well.

Degrassi: Heat of the Moment

Teenagers and kids of all ages have probably been bullying and pushing each other around since the beginning of time. But now, since the invention of the Internet (which happened on January 1, 1983), with texting and IMing and MySpace and YouTube, bullies no longer have to face their victims on the school yard, like they did in the days before computers were invented; instead, they’re able to hide in the shadows and torture their victims online. The term for that is “cyberbullying” — and has since become very widely known ever since it entered the English language.

The Season 8 episode Heat of the Moment from Degrassi proves how hurtful cyberbullying can be. And in the case of Megan Meier, who was 13 years old when she killed herself in 2006, cyberbullying can also be harmful.

Holly J’s watching the Power Squad practice, and Allia “Alli” Bhandari notices this while walking by with her friend Clare Edwards (the younger sister of Darcy Edwards). She then remarks about how bitter Holly J must be for getting kicked off the Power Squad (which happened in Money for Nothing), and Holly J tells her to shut her mouth. Alli replies that maybe now Holly J can use her free time to find true love. Holly J says Alli wouldn’t know anything about romance, which makes Alli admit she’s going out with Johnny DiMarco. Holly J doesn’t believe it, so she goes up to Johnny and asks him if he and Alli are dating in front of his friends. Johnny denies this before breaking up with Alli, and Alli is heartbroken.

Hurt by what Johnny did, Alli then snaps at Holly J for ruining her relationship and that she can’t be mean to her. Holly J says she doesn’t need a reason to be mean to Alli. 

Alli then goes on Facerange (which is the Degrassi version of Facebook) and starts a group called “I Hate Holly J”, which many people sign up for. Holly J sees the site, and confronts Alli, insulting her. Alli then sees threatening comments about Holly J from people who had joined her group. However, instead of noticing that her dislike for Holly J has gone too far, she feels excited enough to write this post:

“Holly J is a dirty ginger virus infecting Degrassi. She needs to be eliminated. I’D LIKE TO STRANGLE HER WITH MY BARE HANDS”.

Then, the next day, Clare is stating that Alli’s actions are going way too far, but Alli disbelieves her. In the most famous scene of the episode, Bruce (aka Bruce the Moose), along with Derek Haig, takes what he views as an opportunity to lead the the other students in chanting “I Hate Holly J”. However, Clare is the only one that does not join in (as she is shown to be severely disappointed in Alli).

Angered and hurt, Holly J proceeds to storm out of the cafeteria after yelling “Like I care what you losers think!” She then decides to not return to school or her work at The Dot, out of her fearing the growing hatred towards her.

Alli then randomly gets called to the office by Mr. Simpson and her father, where they discuss that her actions were unethical. Even though she gets suspended from school, she still refuses to believe that her actions were wrong, and even states to her older brother Sav (who also knows that she should not have done what she did, even though he himself is implied to have something against Holly J) that “it was totally worth it.” Suddenly, he gets a call from their father, who says the Sinclairs called the police on her for the threats on the group. Alli still believes that Holly J is just trying to make her life miserable, even after the cops explain to her clearly that her actions were illegal (as well as mean), and that she now has a criminal record.

Anya and Alli go over to Holly J’s house and, after seeing what a depressed mess Holly J is, Alli has an epiphany and finally sees that what she did was wrong. Holly J reveals that she did not hate Alli, and adds that she is not returning to Degrassi, and that Alli got what she wanted.

A few days later, the group is deleted, and Alli apologizes to the school and Holly J about her actions. Plus, Anya reveals that she convinced Holly J to give Degrassi another chance. However, Derek shows up and shows Alli the rope (in reference to the comment “Want to strangle her? I’ll bring the rope” about Holly J), which embarrasses Holly J.

From my perspective, this episode is really good and inspiring, as well as very well-written, too. Plus, in the words of Steve Barkin (voiced by Patrick Warburton) in the Season 1 episode Downhill from the Disney Channel cartoon show Kim Possible, cyberbullying is “sick and wrong” (and I couldn’t agree more there).

If you won’t say something in person, why say it online? Cyberbullying must be stopped!


What do you think about this? I hope you agree that cyberbullying is bad, too.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

On the morning before his twelfth birthday, Alexander wakes up to find gum in his hair, and cuts it out with a pair of scissors. Then, he gets an email about Phillip Parker’s expensive birthday being on the same day as his. He tells his family that he couldn’t compete, but they don’t listen. On his way to school, a boy is seen photo-shopping Alexander’s face onto the bodies of women in photos, and then posting them online.

By the time he got to school, not only is he humiliated, but he learns that his best friend Paul is going to Phillip’s party. He tries to ask his school crush Becky Gibson, but she refuses as well. Afterwards, Alexander accidentally burns down the periodic table with her notebook and gets blamed for it. While waiting for a long time outside of school, Alexander is put in charge of Melvin, the class guinea pig.

Later that night, Alexander tries to talk to Anthony about his bad luck. While Alexander thinks that Anthony loved him as a brother, Anthony is actually talking to Celia on the phone. While Anthony is talking to Alexander, Celia, thinking that Anthony is trash-talking to her, then abruptly hangs up, and Alexander hears Anthony calling him an “idiot brother.” 

At midnight, Alexander makes himself a birthday sundae and tells Melvin he wishes that his family would see what it was like to have a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”

The next day, Alexander is the first one to wake up. While heading down the hallway, he sees Emily having a cold, and then wakes up his parents, who were oversleeping. As Alexander leaves the bathroom, Anthony comes in, and reacts in horror when he looks in the mirror and sees a zit on his forehead.

At school, Alexander hears from Paul that Phillip’s birthday party is cancelled, as Phillip has caught the chicken pox (which is shown in a picture that Paul got in a text from Phillip, which he shows Alexander on his phone). This implies that Alexander’s party was back on. (As Paul puts it: “His pox is your gain.”) Becky even mentions showing up. Alexander even hears that Becky’s brother Elliot Gibson, the boy who made the mean photoshops about him, had gotten suspended.

Throughout the day, while attempting to convince his family that their bad luck was his fault, Alexander learns that Trevor got green ink all over his face. Alexander and his family later see Anthony accidentally trashing their van, which resulted in failing his driving test. Emily gets drunk because of drinking too much cough medicine, and ruins the Peter Pan play as a result.

By the time the Coopers picked Celia up for the prom, Alexander and most of his family play music by using their fists and their mouths. At a Japanese restaurant, he sees his father catching food into his mouth eight times in a row, and then accidentally set his sleeves on fire (which he put out using water from a lobster tank). While Ben walked out, feeling disappointed (and trying to hide it), Alexander follows, along with the rest of the family. After realizing that they got to spend the worst day together, they begin kicking trash cans around.

After going home, they discover a vicious lizard in the living room. In the backyard, Alexander sees his parents had rented an Australian petting zoo for his birthday party. During the party, he learns that Paul and Becky have shown up. 

During the credits, they are seen pretending to surf.

Popularity and Unpopularity

You hear all those stories of cliques and the popular people. There’s a group of them in almost every school. And then, of course, there’s everyone else. Everyone else would usually fit into two basic categories: the ones who completely hate them, and the ones who would do absolutely anything to be a part of them. Luckily, that doesn’t happen all the time. When you are everyone else, there’s no median or go-between within the groups. When you happen to be a hater, you are disliked as well.

It’s seemingly simple, but it really isn’t. Also, the whole “You don’t like me? I don’t like you” concept makes for good drama. And when you’re a worshiper — well, you are hated too. There is something about the stalking and strange obsessions that turn the “in-crowd” to hatred.

Almost every teenager has been the victim and the predator — the one who taunts and the one who is humiliated. It seemingly can’t be helped. But those who are different, they must somehow have to be “punished” because that is supposedly the society of high school. And those who befriend the different (and are different themselves), are viewed as lower than the low in the eyes of judgmental teenagers.

And the social ladder is a frustrating thing. The popular students control the student body — or try to, at least, because some of the students believe they have had it with being mean to others. So, these students try being popular and nice simultaneously.

However, it’s not always like that. The ones below the popularity circle listen — listen and nothing else.

What do you think about popularity and being popular?

Full House: Little Shop of Sweaters

It’s Valentine’s Day, and Danny has bought D.J. the royal blue sweater that she wanted. D.J. puts on the sweater and goes to school. At recess, she removes her sweater so she won’t get it all sweaty, but after she puts the sweater on the ground, the school’s gardener runs over it with a lawn mower, and the sweater is shredded. D.J. doesn’t want Danny to know about this, so she and Stephanie go to the mall to buy a replacement royal blue sweater. However, the sweater is priced at $80 (and, as per the sales clerk, Julie, won’t be going on sale anytime soon, much to D.J.’s disappointment).

Stephanie sees a sign on the checkout counter that says, “Buy now, pay later.” Not realizing that a credit card is required to do what the sign says (or even how a credit card works), she grabs the sweater in an effort to help D.J., but this gets Stephanie accused of shoplifting. Stephanie tells D.J. the whole story, and D.J. decides to wear the sweater (provided that they hide all the evidence) while she and Stephanie go out for dinner with Danny.

The next morning, the girls return to the mall to send the sweater back, but the store clerk catches them upon the sound of the alarm and calls Danny, Jesse, and Joey. The store does not press charges on any of the girls.

**************************

Stephanie: Hey, where’s your new sweater?
D.J.: (pulls parts of her now ruined sweater out of her backpack as she speaks) Right here... and here... and here.
Stephanie: What happened? Did it blow up?
D.J.: I was so stupid! I was playing soccer at recess, and I took my sweater off so it wouldn’t get all sweaty. Next thing I know, the gardener drives his stupid lawn mower right over my sweater.
Stephanie: Daddy is going to freak out.

***********************

Danny: Girls, I really like that you tried to help each other. (turns to D.J.) But why didn’t you just come to me when you were in trouble?
D.J.: Because I thought I could handle things on my own.
Danny: D.J., you always think that. But to be honest, you’re much better at getting into trouble than you are getting out of it.
D.J.: Well, is there any way to practice getting out without getting in?
Danny: Well, no. But once you get in, you have to come to me, or Uncle Jesse, or Joey and let us help you. Because no matter what happens, we’re always on your side.
D.J.: Thanks, Dad. (hugs Danny)

Tom and Huck: My Thoughts

In my mind, the 1995 Disney film Tom and Huck is very awesome, as well as very inspiring, especially for a fanfiction writer like myself, of course.

If there was one scene I wish had been in Tom and Huck, it would be this one:

Becky (Rachael Leigh Cook) gets separated from Tom (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) in the caves. Unfortunately for her, she runs into Injun Joe (Eric Schweig), who abducts her. As a result, Tom faces a dilemma: save Becky or keep looking for Murrell’s lost treasure.

Tom rescuing Becky was an important plot in the Nintendo video game “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” where Tom dreams that he has to rescue Becky from Injun Joe’s clutches, as well as in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: The Musical”, where Injun Joe grabs Becky after Tom leaves her alone for a moment in McDougal’s Cave, where they have gotten lost.

I also wish they had made a sequel to Tom and Huck; in the sequel, Becky is haunted by visions of Injun Joe, which causes her to fear for her life. So, she enlists the help of Tom and Huck in order to get rid of the visions.

Anyway, I also like this speech given by Judge Thatcher (Charles Rocket) to the group of men around him:

“Gentlemen, my daughter Rebecca and Tom Sawyer are both lost in the caves, and Injun Joe has come back to take his revenge on Tom. Now be on your guard. Injun Joe has already killed twice. The sheriff and I believe that he will not hesitate to kill again.”

From my perspective, that speech is very awesome, as well as very brilliant and creative, too.

Full House: Beach Boy Bingo

D.J. ends up winning two free tickets to a Beach Boys concert in a radio contest, but then has to make a decision consisting of who she brings with her. She wishes she could take her family with her, but, according to the rules of the contest, she is allowed to bring only one guest. 

Naturally, her dad Danny assumes that he will be D.J.’s choice, since he also likes the Beach Boys. But, much to Danny’s dismay, she selects Jesse instead, although she changes her mind later and tells Danny to go with Jesse (although Jesse changes his mind after a talk with Danny, and tells her to go with her father). 

Danny says that D.J. is going to the concert. However, D.J. corrects him, saying that she isn’t going, since she feels it isn’t worth hurting someone else’s feelings.

“This concert was supposed to be fun. Now everybody’s either hurt or disappointed. It’s just not worth it. I’m not going.”

In the end, however, everybody is satisfied, thanks to some surprise visitors at the Tanner household.

Full House: D.J.’s Very First Horse

Wake Up, San Francisco is broadcasting an episode from a horse stable, where D.J. meets a horse named Rocket. She desperately wants a pet, and thinks that he will fit the bill. However, the only way that she will get him is if she has enough money to make the payments needed ($100) every two weeks, so she and her best friend Kimmy pool their money together in order to start making Rocket’s stable payments, without Danny knowing it. D.J. thinks he will not let her have Rocket unless she proves to him that she can handle the responsibility that comes with owning a pet. Her plan consists of secretly keeping up the payments for a couple of weeks, and then telling Danny about Rocket, as she figures that two weeks is enough to prove to Danny that she can handle the responsibility so he will not refuse.

When Kimmy blows her half of the money on shopping at the mall, D.J. cannot make the next stable payment. So, in a desperate effort to make sure she does not lose Rocket, she takes him to the house with her. Danny is shocked when he comes home and sees Rocket in the house. He tells D.J. to take him back to the stable. While there, D.J. bids him farewell, thinking that she will lose him. However, what she is delighted to discover is that Becky has decided to become Rocket’s new owner and make the stable payments, because she misses the times when she and her family had horses in Nebraska. Danny agrees to let D.J. help Becky take care of Rocket.

Kimmy: Well, I asked my mom about the horse.

D.J.: What did she say?

Kimmy: She said, ‘Kimberly Louise Gibbler, have you lost your mind?’ I didn’t really have an answer for that.

Full House: El Problema Grande de D.J.

D.J. has good grades (six As) throughout her report card, except for in Spanish class, where she was given a ‘D’ (while Kimmy had gotten a ‘C’). Danny decides to talk to her Spanish teacher, Senorita Linda Mosley, about the grade, and D.J. thanks him for that.

When Linda comes over to the house to have a private discussion with Danny about it, it starts as a simple parent-teacher conference (with Linda showing Danny some colored flash cards with Spanish words on them, such as “el sofa” for sofa (and Danny remarks, “The sofa is ‘el sofa’? How could she get a D in this language?” and Linda replies, “Well, they’re not all that easy.”) and “perro” for dog, respectively, in the living room with the blue-and-white checkered couch. It soon ends with an unexpected burst of passion as the smitten Senorita Mosley tries to show him how to roll the double R in Spanish (after telling him the importance of the letter ‘R’ in the Spanish language), only to plant a kiss on him. When she apologizes, Danny tells her it felt nice, and Linda feels better. So they kiss a second time; however, the second kiss is ill-timed because that is when D.J. and some of her friends walk through the kitchen door and into the living room, and they take notice of it. Much to D.J.’s utter mortification, the kiss is an event that the whole school is soon buzzing about.

D.J. soon becomes a target for highly unwelcome teasing, and she is absolutely furious at her dad for making her a target for teasing (and for not getting her Spanish grade changed).

Danny apologizes to D.J. for making her a target for teasing, and then eventually gets her to admit that the more difficult the Spanish class became, the more she just gave up on it, because she thinks she is no good at it. However, Danny manages to encourage his oldest daughter that he will be proud of her for trying as hard as she can, especially in something she finds to be hard to do, and D.J. thanks him.

Meanwhile, Mr. Malatesta gives Michelle a spot in a marshmallow commercial that Joey and Jesse have been assigned to work on. Joey and Jesse groom Michelle to star in the commercial. She is to sit on a cloud, eat a marshmallow, and exclaim, “yummy in the tummy.” However, she overpractices by eating too many marshmallows before the actual filming, and as a result, Michelle is full when the camera starts rolling.

Also, Stephanie has gotten a good report card, but her teacher writes, “Stephanie is a wonderful student, but she needs to control her talking in class.” When Danny makes the mistake of telling her she has to “stop being such a little chatterbox,” she says, “So, my own family thinks I’m a chatterbox? How rude.” When Danny says, “Steph...” she interrupts him, saying, “No, no, it’s fine. From now on, this chatterbox is all locked up” before making a motion of zipping her mouth and throwing away the key. With that, Stephanie stops speaking for about three days — which makes Danny feel a little regretful.

Full House: Tanner’s Island

Danny takes the Tanners and his co-host, Rebecca Donaldson, to Hawaii in honor of their second anniversary since becoming a family. Once there, however, Danny takes charge, being his usual controlling self, and marks all the families’ activities together on what he calls a “Clipboard of Fun.”

Among the various activities they do, he and the family decide to take an off-site trip to the Hawaiian island of Pua for a picnic and a Polynesian show. They stop for a rest on a (seemingly) deserted island. However, Danny realizes he did not tie up the boat correctly, which means that (for now) the family is stranded. Meanwhile, Joey thinks he is seeing an attractive hula girl, and Jesse and Rebecca have an argument about Elvis Presley (Jesse’s music idol), until they get over it in the end.

Thanks to a speech from D.J. after she gets their attention using a shell she finds near her feet as a horn, the adults set aside their differences, and the family builds a hut to stay in until they are found. That evening, Hawaiian inhabitants of the island find the gang and escort them to the Polynesian show on the other side of the island. It turns out that they really were on Pua, just the wrong side of it.

They end up dancing with everyone on the show. Joey, in fact, actually sees the hula girl he’d been imagining all day, and they both decide to dance together. At the end, Rebecca speaks with one of the musicians, and they’ve decided to play “Rock-a-Hula” by Elvis Presley, with Jesse singing lead.

Full House: Tanner vs. Gibbler

To celebrate Kimmy’s 12th birthday, D.J. plans a special party at the house with some of their closest friends.

When Stephanie slips up and mentions the surprise birthday party to Kimmy, Kimmy decides to bring her new karate class friends, Melissa and Nina, two older girls in junior high, to the party with her.

Upon arriving, however, all that the two girls want to do is invite a bunch of friends over to trash the house, so when D.J. kicks them out for even thinking about trashing the house, Kimmy decides to abandon the party and go to the mall with them. This begins a feud between the two girls. With help from Jesse and Joey, D.J. and Kimmy end their feud, as Kimmy realizes that D.J. refuses to let her forget who her real friends are.

Meanwhile, Danny panics when he finds out that he’s been removed from his job as a sportscaster at the TV station. Luckily for him, it turns out to be a blessing in disguise, because the station has created a new local morning talk show titled Wake Up, San Francisco, and they need two people to host the new show. Danny is named as one of the hosts, while his co-host for the new show is Rebecca Donaldson, who had moved to San Francisco from her hometown of Valentine, Nebraska, many years ago, after coming off her two-year success in A.M. Omaha.

*************************

D.J.: I’m D.J. I’m glad you could make it.
Nina: We wouldn’t miss a party for our new pal Kammy.
D.J.: Her name’s Kimmy.
Kimmy: D.J., they wear lipstick. They can call me whatever they want.

Full House: The Miracle of Thanksgiving

When his first Thanksgiving without Pam arrives, Danny is determined to make the day extra special for his daughters. When Grandma (Claire Tanner) is unable to make it as expected, because a snowstorm up north in Washington has stranded her at her home, the men are inspired to make restaurant reservations. However, D.J. and Stephanie encourage them to have the traditional festivities at home. The results involve a burned turkey, a smashed pumpkin pie, and lots of tears. But the biggest challenge of all is how Jesse has not yet come to terms with Pam’s death.

D.J.: (as she and Danny walk into Danny’s room and sit on the small table in front of the bed) Dad, you don’t have to tell me. I know I ruined Thanksgiving for everybody.
Danny: You didn’t ruin anything.
D.J.: I let Mom down.
Danny: Why? Because of the turkey? D.J., Mom knew Thanksgiving wasn’t about turkeys. It’s about family, and being thankful for what we have. I’m thankful I’ve got you. You’re the one who pulled us all together tonight.
D.J.: You’re just trying to make me feel better.
Danny: Is it working?
D.J.: No.
Danny: You think you feel bad? I feel worse.
D.J.: You couldn’t.
Danny: Oh yeah? Wait ‘till I tell you what’s been going on. I felt so bad about your frozen turkey that I offered those ladies $200 for theirs.
D.J.: Dad, that’s crazy. You should have just told me the truth and given me the $200. That would have made me feel better.