It is no surprise I grew up with Full House. Like most people my age it was a staple of our television set. Unlike most TV shows, however, this one was special for a specific reason. It was the only TV show my entire family could agree on. We all sat down to watch Full House. It wasn’t just for the kids, the girls only or a show just mom would watch, it was something we all enjoyed together. That was rare for us.
I won’t talk about my specific memories related to the show. It would be impossible to sort them out as we literally watched every single episode from pilot to finale as a family. I will instead discuss what I am feeling now knowing a major player in that show has passed away.
Unlike so many countless other celebrity deaths, this one felt personal. Danny Tanner was America’s dad throughout the entire decade of the 90s and well into reruns. The strength of the popularity of those reruns is what prompted Netflix to reunite the original cast for a revival series called Fuller House, to which Saget participated of course despite his years since distancing himself from Full House.
It was that role as America’s dad I will always remember him as. He kept his house well clean. Something my dad borrowed from the show as a lesson to us messy kids. The show taught us life lessons how to get along with our sisters or how not to care what other kids think. It has since become somewhat of a meme online but back then we welcomed the comforting wisdom Danny Tanner and his adult house guests imparted upon the world each week.
I have stated before the show had a deep personal impact upon me. I chose the name Stephanie because of Stephanie Tanner on that show. I could relate to her on so many levels. She was always my favorite of the three sisters. I picked the name for my female self when the show was still airing. I tried it on in my bedroom once when I was merely 11 years old and it fit so well it has stuck now forming my legal name.
I moved a lot as a kid. I never made friends. I was bullied so much I grew angry and resentful towards other people, including adults. We were poor so contended with the woes that come with not having money. Yet none of that mattered those evenings we had Bob Saget on the TV comforting us along with his co-stars. Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the void left behind in his absence.
I never knew the man but from what I have read or heard from those who had, the world is a lot less kind without his spark in it. He wasn’t a perfect man nor did he portray the perfect TV dad but he was *our* best TV dad and damn it that meant something. His death is a reminder time marches on. The passing of time will best all of us eventually. His life’s work was a beacon of hope for many of us. Now that hope has turned into a reminder we all lose in the end. Farewell, dad, you will be missed dearly.
Stephanie Bri 