Full House
Register
Advertisement
Good News, Bad News
Season 4, episode 5
Good news, bad news123
Air date October 19, 1990
Writer(s) Ellen Guylas
Director Joel Zwick
Previous Slumber Party
Next A Pinch for a Pinch

Good News, Bad News is episode five in season four of Full House. It originally aired on October 19, 1990.

Opening Teaser[]

Joey teaches Michelle her first joke, which happens to be the "Boo who?" knock-knock joke. Then he tries his own spin on it, hoping she gets the knack. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite get it, until Danny knocks on the door (for real) and she responds with "Who's there?" He says, "It's Dad," to which Michelle replies, "Dad who?" and Danny responds, "You don't know your own dad?" And Michelle says, "Don't cry, it's only a joke," the response to the "Boo who?" joke.

Synopsis[]

D.J. is named the new editor-in-chief of her school's newspaper, and she plays favorites by making Kimmy the editor of the sports page (as her best friend acts like a dog to get the gig), despite Jake Bitterman (from "13 Candles") accusing D.J. of nepotism (which isn't true, as she and Kimmy are not related) and asking why she did not hire him instead. When Kimmy turns in a report that looks like it belongs in the gossip column, D.J. tells her to rewrite the story, but when she refuses and subsequently accuses D.J. of being "Queen of the Paper", D.J. fires her, and that leads to a feud between them.

To get back at D.J., Kimmy decides to write her own newspaper, and she writes horrible things about her, and even pasting pictures of D.J.'s face on Freddie Krueger's body (see Quotes).

Meanwhile, after a gig where Jesse and Joey make Comet "talk", Double J Creative Services is hired by the TV station, which wants a commercial made for Wake Up, San Francisco, but working with Danny and Becky on the commercial turns out to be anything but fun. They use extras as "typical viewers" of the show, and while Danny and Becky are to bonk coffee cups, they unfortunately smash them. Per Jesse, it took 24 cups and 12 takes to finally get it right.

Later that day in the kitchen, in an attempt to trash her temporarily ex-best friend's reputation, D.J. is using a typewriter to type what appears to be an editorial filled with secrets about Kimmy stored up in her head since kindergarten (see Quotes). When she explains her problem to the adults, they all tell her that it does not take strength to hold a grudge, but to let go of one. They explain that the one important lesson in friendship is forgiveness, and Danny and Becky demonstrate this lesson with a hug and an apology for the ad's mishaps. Both realize that they're indeed way too mature to let even one little squabble come between them and aren't letting it happen again, and ask the same of D.J. and Kimmy.

And speaking of, Kimmy comes by to return everyone's stuff, such as Jesse's hairbrush (he remarks that she can keep the hair), Joey's car keys (for which she remarks he needs a new car stereo, and he remarks he needs a new car alarm), and Danny's answering machine beeper (to which he reminds her what it means to "borrow", meaning she needs to ask next time). After threatening to return each other's gifts (including Kimmy returning D.J.'s old retainer, see Trivia), D.J. and Kimmy later forgive each other and end up working things out, and D.J. gives Kimmy a different job on the paper — one that might suit her better.

Also, after finding out D.J. is too busy to play with her (because of her preoccupation with her new gig at the school paper), Michelle plays "Shadow" with Stephanie, and hearing Michelle repeat every word that Stephanie says is driving her crazy, so she tries to turn the tables on Michelle, even getting her to tongue-twist the Pledge of Allegiance, but it does not work. Even D.J. finds the game annoying despite not being directly involved; Stephanie then plays along until Michelle quits, only to have the tables turned back on her (see Quotes). She gets Kimmy to play it with Michelle at the end and is successful, and Michelle soon begins driving Kimmy crazy with the Shadow game (which continues as the audience applauds and the EP credits appear).

Quotes[]

[After Michelle picks Stephanie as her "favorite sister" (after initially choosing D.J., who then tells her roommate to "enjoy it while it lasts"...)]
Michelle: Let's play shadow.
Stephanie: No, thank you. [...] I said, 'No, thank you.' [...] Ooookay. [...] I'll do anything Stephanie says.
Michelle: I'll do anything what Stephie says.
Stephanie: Stephie says, 'Stop playing!' [...] It was worth a shot. [...] OK, copycat. I'm gonna go eat broccoli.
Michelle: OK, copycat. I'm gonna go eat some ice cream.


[Stephanie desperately tries to escape Michelle and the shadow game, so she dashes into the bedroom and runs into the closet.]
Stephanie: Hide me, hide me!
Michelle: [also dashing into the room] Hide me, hide me!
[D.J. & Kimmy point to the closet and Michelle locates her.]
Stephanie: [to D.J. & Kimmy – sarcastically] Thanks, you guys!
Michelle: Thanks, you guys!
[Stephanie glares at her.]


Full_House_Funny_Clip_-_Comet_does_Elvis_and_Stevie_Wonder_impressions

Full House Funny Clip - Comet does Elvis and Stevie Wonder impressions

[In the attic, Comet is shown on the TV monitor via the video camera wearing sunglasses as Joey makes the dog's head move side to side by using a treat.]
Joey: Alright, 'Stevie Wonder dog'! [singing] 'Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?' [gives him his treat] Good dog.
[Cut to a wide shot of their "studio".]
Jesse: This is great. We started our own production company so you could do Stupid Pet Tricks (see Trivia).
Joey: Shh! [puts his hands over Comet's ears] Don't insult our only client! As long as we're sitting here, waiting for the phone to ring... [lifts the dog's ears] 'Spock, the Vulcan retriever. See Spock run. See Spock live long and slobber.'
Jesse: This is so stupid! Two grown men sitting in an attic and wasting time... Wait! I got one. 'Elvis dog'. [singing, as Joey 'barks'] 'Well, since my poodle left me, I found a new place to smell. It's down at the end of Lonely Street, at Heartbreak Hotel.'
Danny: [coming upstairs with Becky] Well, I knew when I invested in this company, you boys would make me proud.
Jesse: Comet! Bad dog! Get away from the equipment.


[Kimmy turns in a report that D.J. thinks belongs in a gossip column.]
Kimmy: If you think I'm so bad, why'd you even give me the job?
D.J.: Because we're best friends!
Jake: That's nepotism!
D.J.: No, it's not! ...It's favoritism.
Jake: It's still an -ism.
D.J.: Look, Kimmy, I need a new article written right away.
Kimmy: Then write it yourself!
D.J.: That's your job.
Kimmy: What's your job – 'Queen of the Paper'? [To which, the rest of the staff go: oooh!]
D.J.: Look, I'm the editor and I'm telling you to do this over.
Kimmy: No way. I skipped my nap in algebra to write that. I'm not doing it.
D.J.: Then, I guess you're not sports editor.
Kimmy: Then, I guess we're not friends.
D.J.: Fine [gives her back her report].
Kimmy: Fine! [She throws her report away and leaves.]


[Coming home from school, Stephanie slowly sneaks in through the front door, ensuring there's no sign of Michelle. But Michelle slowly sneaks up behind her.]
Stephanie: Ah, no Michelle.
Michelle: Ah, no Michelle.
[Stephanie makes a disgusted growl and Michelle mimics back. Then, D.J. comes home from school, and her slamming the door suggests she hasn't had a good day.]
Stephanie: She is driving me bananas!
Michelle: She is driving me bananas!
D.J.: Steph, not now. I've had a horrible day. Kimmy and I are never speaking to each other again. [She heads into the kitchen.]
Stephanie: Gee, that's a shame.
Michelle: Gee, that's a shame.
Stephanie: OK, big shot. Let's see you try and handle this: [saying the "Pledge of Allegiance" as fast as she can] Try that.
Michelle: Try that [not even attempting the pledge].
[Stephanie goes and sits in a cushion chair and Michelle sits right beside her.]
Stephanie: Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi.
Michelle: Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi.
[Stephanie looks at her in disgust and then does a facepalm, and Michelle does the same.]


[In the kitchen, D.J. is making a PB&J for an afternoon snack, as her ex-best friend enters from the back door.]
Kimmy: D.J., I thought about what you said about me today, and that's why I wrote this.
D.J.: Oh, Kimmy, you did the re-write – on real paper. [But then she sees the title (see infobox photo).] The Gibbler Gazette?
Kimmy: [hands it to her] Read it and weep.
D.J.: [reads the headline:] 'Power-Hungry Editor Donna Jo Tanner Stabs Best Friend in Back'? 'Actual photo on page two'? [turns the page] You pasted my head on Freddy Krueger's body? How could you do that?! That's it. Now our friendship is really over.
Kimmy: [snapping a photo of her ex-best friend] Thanks! That face is gonna look great on Fred Flintstone's body. [She leaves, as D.J. crumples up the paper and tosses it aside before getting back to making her sandwich.]


Full_House_Clip_-_Angry_Wake_Up_San_Francisco_commercial_(smashing_cups)

Full House Clip - Angry Wake Up San Francisco commercial (smashing cups)

[Becky and Danny are filming a Wake Up, San Francisco promo with Joey and Jesse directing.]
Joey: Okay, let's rehearse this thing, beginning to end, just once with no stops, please.
Jesse: That's right. Danny, perk it up. Becky, perk it down. Here we go. And... action!
Becky & Danny: [popping up out of the bed] Wake Up, San Francisco!
Danny: I'm the perky Danny Tanner.
Becky: And I'm the stiff Rebecca Donaldson. And starting next week, you'll be seeing a brand new and improved Wake Up, San Francisco.
Danny: It's warmer!
[They start to literally upstage each other, and get more miffed each time.]
Becky: It's friendlier!
Danny: Let our happy home...
Becky: ...be a part of your happy home!
Danny: Get yourself comfortable.
[They hurry and sit on the sofa.]
Becky: And grab yourself a cup of coffee [which they do]...
Danny: ...and a Pop Tart. And join us at 9:00 every morning as we say...
Both: Wake Up, San Francisco! [Then, instead of gently clinking their cups, they do it forcefully, causing them to break. Becky looks shocked, while Danny looks mad.]
Joey: [to Jesse] That looked really good.
Jesse: Yeah, it works for me.


[At the dining table, D.J. is busy typing, with some crumpled-up pieces of paper behind the typewriter.]
Stephanie: [walks in from the laundry room side, with Michelle right behind her] Are you still typing?! [She gestures to...]
Michelle: Are you still typing?
[Steph looks at their older sister as if to say "She's still doing it".]
D.J.: Michelle, aren't you tired of the shadow game yet?
Michelle: No way, José!
Stephanie: [tapping D.J.'s shoulder] No way, José! [D.J. smiles.]
Michelle: Hey, that's my game!
Stephanie: Hey, that's my game!
Michelle: I quit! [She leaves.]
Stephanie: I quit! [thinking the coast is clear] I'm free!
Michelle: [re-emerges] I'm free!
Stephanie: [begging] Please give me my life back.
Michelle: Please give me my life back. [Stephanie leaves.] [to D.J.] I love this game. [And she goes back to follow Stephanie.]


[In her and her sister's room, D.J. reads the editorial she's typed so far.]
D.J.: 'By the second grade, Kimmy's diseased mind reached a new low: she faked the mumps by having two Hostess Sno-Balls stuffed in her cheeks.'
[Then her sister rushes in, hopefully having escaped her own worst nightmare.]
Stephanie: I did it! I lost her going through the doggy door! [Then a loud knock is heard on their door.] Oh, please don't let it be Michelle.
Kimmy: [from outside] It's Kimmy Gibbler!
Stephanie: Or Kimmy Gibbler.


[The BFFs' reconciliation is too much for Stephanie.]
Stephanie: Stop! You're killing me.
Michelle: [standing in the doorway] Stop! You're killing me.
Stephanie: [and that gives her an idea] Hey Kimmy, wanna play shadow?
Michelle: Hey Kimmy, wanna play shadow?
Kimmy: No, I hate that game.
Michelle: No, I hate that game.
Kimmy: [with a close-up of her now stern face] I said no. [...] I really mean it. [...] Stop it! [stooping to Michelle's level for the rest of the game] Stop it! [...] I'm getting annoyed! [...] [Then D. J. laughs at the game.] Michelle. [...] I'm not joking. [...] Enough! [...] Stop it! [...] I'm serious. [...] Stop it! [...] Stop it! [...]

Trivia[]

  • "Good news, bad news" is a comedy trope used in TV and movies wherein a character often uses the phrase "I have good news and bad news..."
  • The first episode where Comet "talks".
  • "Stupid Pet Tricks" was a regularly featured segment on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman.
  • The second episode where Kimmy's full name, Kimberly Louise Gibbler, is used (the first being "D.J.'s Very First Horse" in season 2).
  • The second episode where Stephanie messes up the Pledge of Allegiance, as she omits "under God"; in "The First Day of School", as D.J. picks her up and carries her over to her bed and tucks her in, she only gets as far as the first line before messing up the rest of the pledge.
    • On the other hand, the Pledge of Allegiance didn't have "under God" right from the beginning.
  • The only episode where D.J.'s full name is used alone.
  • The image upon returning from break (when Stephanie comes home from school) is the wide shot of San Francisco, taken from the opening sequence of the first three seasons.
  • When D.J. and Kimmy return each other's gifts, the audience can be heard going "Ugh!" before laughing when Kimmy returns D.J.'s old retainer.
  • The third of four episodes this season to use the Lorimar Television music in the closing credits.
  • There is an outtake from the scene where Kimmy and D.J. return each others' gifts as Stephanie says "Why are we laughing?" but Jodie Sweetin suddenly loses her voice, and follows the line with "Whoa, baby!"
  • After this episode, an extra episode followed Perfect Strangers (and in place of Going Places), namely the repeat of last season's "And They Call It Puppy Love"[1].

References[]

Full House Episodes
Season 1
Our Very First ShowOur Very First NightThe First Day of SchoolThe Return of GrandmaSea CruiseDaddy's HomeKnock Yourself OutJesse's GirlThe Miracle of ThanksgivingJoey's PlaceThe Big Three-OOur Very First PromoSisterly LoveHalf a Love StoryA Pox in Our HouseBut Seriously, FolksDanny's Very First DateJust One of the GuysThe Seven-Month Itch (Part 1)The Seven-Month Itch (Part 2)Mad MoneyD.J. Tanner's Day Off
Season 2
Cutting It CloseTanner vs. GibblerIt's Not My JobD.J.'s Very First HorseJingle HellBeach Boy BingoJoey Gets ToughTriple DateOur Very First Christmas ShowMiddle Age CrazyA Little RomanceFogged InWorking MothersLittle Shop of SweatersPal JoeyBaby LoveEl Problema Grande de D.J.Goodbye Mr. BearBlast From the PastI'm There for You, BabeLuck Be a Lady (Part 1)Luck Be a Lady (Part 2)
Season 3
Tanner's IslandBack to School BluesBreaking Up is Hard to Do (in 22 Minutes)Nerd for a DayGranny TannyStar SearchAnd They Call It Puppy LoveDivorce CourtDr. Dare Rides AgainThe Greatest Birthday on EarthAftershocksJoey & Stacey and... Oh, Yeah, JesseNo More Mr. Dumb GuyMisadventures in BabysittingLust in the DustBye, Bye Birdie13 CandlesMr. EggheadThose Better Not Be the DaysHoney, I Broke the HouseJust Say No WayThree Men and Another BabyFraternity ReunionOur First Telethon
Season 4
Greek WeekCrimes and Michelle's DemeanorThe I.Q. ManSlumber PartyGood News, Bad NewsA Pinch for a PinchViva Las JoeyShape UpOne Last KissTerror in Tanner TownSecret AdmirerDanny in ChargeHappy New Year BabyWorking GirlOld Brown EyesStephanie Gets FramedA Fish Called MartinThe Wedding (Part 1)The Wedding (Part 2)Fuller House (episode)The Hole-in-the-Wall GangStephanie Plays the FieldJoey Goes HollywoodGirls Just Wanna Have FunThe GraduatesRock the Cradle
Season 5
Double TroubleMatchmaker MichelleTake My Sister, PleaseOh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Girl Gone?The King and IThe Legend of Ranger JoeThe Legend of Ranger JoeThe VolunteerGotta DanceHappy Birthday, Babies (Part 1)Happy Birthday, Babies (Part 2)Nicky and/or AlexanderCrushedSpellboundToo Much Monkey BusinessThe Devil Made Me Do ItDriving Miss D.J.Yours, Mine and OursThe Trouble with DannyFive's a CrowdGirls Will Be BoysCaptain Video (Part 1)Captain Video (Part 2)
Season 6
Come Fly With MeThe Long GoodbyeRoad to TokyoRadio DaysLovers and Other TannersEducating JesseTrouble in Twin TownThe Play's the ThingNice Guys Finish FirstI'm Not D.J.Designing MothersA Very Tanner ChristmasThe Dating GameBirthday BluesBe True to Your PreschoolThe Heartbreak KidSilence is Not GoldenPlease Don't Touch the DinosaurSubterranean Graduation BluesGrand Gift AutoRoom for One MoreProm NightThe House Meets the Mouse (Part 1)The House Meets the Mouse (Part 2)
Season 7
It Was a Dark and Stormy NightThe ApartmentWrong-Way TannerTough LoveFast FriendsSmash Club: The Next GenerationHigh AnxietyAnother Opening, Another No ShowThe Day of the RhinoThe Prying GameThe Bicycle ThiefSupport Your Local ParentsThe Perfect CoupleIs It True About Stephanie?The TestJoey's Funny ValentineThe Last DanceKissing CousinsLove on the RocksMichelle a la CarteBe Your Own Best FriendA Date with FateToo Little Richard Too LateA House Divided
Season 8
Comet's Excellent AdventureBreaking AwayMaking Out is Hard to DoI've Got a SecretTo Joey, With LoveYou Pet It, You Bought ItOn the Road AgainClaire and Present DangerStephanie's Wild RideUnder the InfluenceArrest Ye Merry GentlemenD.J.'s ChoiceThe ProducerSuper Bowl Fun DayMy Left and Right FootAir JesseDateless in San FranciscoWe Got the BeatTaking the PlungeUp on the RoofLeap of FaithAll Stood UpMichelle Rides Again (Part 1)Michelle Rides Again (Part 2)
Advertisement