Full House and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper


Full House (1987-1995)
Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (1992-1997)
Type: Crossover
Group 30

   ABC must have reeeeally wanted fans of its other family shows to at least try out its new family sitcom Hangin' With Mr. Cooper. Within its first two episodes the show did two crossover-ish stunts. Two for two! Out of the gate! That's crazy.

   Okay, the first episode wasn't a full on crossover and their may have been extenuating circumstances if the what was said at the start of the show is to be believed. The first episode had former pro B-baller Mark Cooper getting a job as a high school basketball coach and moving into a new house in Oakland, California with his old friend Robin Dumars and hottie hot Vanessa Russell. Only in that initial episode the house they move into wasn't really their house. It was the Seaver family house from the recently cancelled Growing Pains. The episode started with the show's star Mark Curry talking with Growing Pains star Alan Thicke. Now this is important: Alan Thicke and Mark Curry were appearing as themselves and NOT as their TV characters so, strictly speaking, this was not a real full on crossover (so stop writing). Mark thanks Tim for letting them use the Growing Pains set for the initial episode of Hangin' With Mr. Cooper since their regular sets are not yet ready. Alan Thicke then wishes Mark well and the show goes on... on the Growing Pains set. Again, if the intro is to be believed it was probably just a production issue. But it certainly didn't hurt to have Alan Thicke do a cameo. And if you were flipping the dial and saw a new group of people in the Seaver house you might be more likely to stop and watch if only to figure out what the heck was going on.

   All of which has almost no bearing on our main topic but kinda needed addressing.

   So right on the heels of this Growing Pains weirdness, episode two had Mark getting a job in nearby San Francisco substitute teaching a first grade class. And, wouldn't ya know it? Who should be in his class but cute little Michelle Tanner from Full House played by the - at the time - inescapable Olsen twins. They were everywhere!!! Michelle and her friends basically torture and abuse Mark to his wits end. He literally bust his arse getting them to behave. In trying to gain some control of the class he tries to do a trick for them that ends up hurting his heinder. Hilarity ensues as Mark tries to woo a beautiful woman while coping with his bum... uh... bum.

   Balancing out the comedy of Mark dealing with his tushy trauma (I have no shame) was that of Michelle's feeling guilty over what happened and coming over to Mark's house to try and help him out (along for the ride it should be mentioned was Full House's Uncle Jesse played by John Stamos). See, if you're going to have "cheeky" humor, you have to have someone learn a valuable lesson so ya don't get complaint letters. Aspiring writers, note that down.

Other Full House Crossover Links
Full House and Family Matters
Full House and Fuller House

Click here to return to main Crossover List

Buy these shows on Amazon.com and support this site at the same time! Check out Full House on DVD!




Poobala.com Main Page/ Email Me