Cutting It Close

Cutting It Close
Season 2, episode 1
Air date	October 14, 1988
Writer(s)	Jeff Franklin
Director	Joel Zwick
Previous	D.J. Tanner's Day Off
Next	Tanner vs. Gibbler

Cutting It Close is the season two premiere of Full House. It originally aired on October 14, 1988.

Opening Teaser

See #Quotes.

Synopsis

Jesse is in his room playing his guitar when Stephanie comes in and shuts off his amp (see Quotes). She is playing a pretend game of "hairdresser" as Mr. Stephanie and has come to collect her next "client" (Jesse). Jesse does not want to play but gives in to his niece and the two go to her "salon" (aka her bedroom) where Joey is seated after his appointment. Jesse sees the scissors and panics and agrees to keep playing after reminding her to be careful with them. As Stephanie "cuts" Jesse's hair, Joey asks Jesse if he can babysit that evening so he can try out his new Roger Rabbit impression at a comedy club, even begging in the character's voice. "Mr. Stephanie" is enjoying the impression and is sidetracked when she accidentally cuts off a chunk of Jesse's hair. It forces him to go to his hairdresser, Alejandro.

Heading back home on his motorcycle, Jesse was so upset about having to get a (real) haircut, he did not see a road sign that said "Severe Tire Damage", resulting in him wrecking his bike and breaking his arms. He comes home wearing casts, much to the shock of the family, and Stephanie frowns. Despite his pleas, they want to see his new haircut, so they remove his helmet to reveal it. And while Stephanie is happy to see that he is okay, she tries to hug him, only for him to yell due to his injury's extreme pain. He then goes into the kitchen to fix himself a bowl of cereal. As he heads into the kitchen by using his whole body to open the door, Michelle's crying is heard, leading the guys to question whether that was a wet cry or a hungry cry. Danny says it was a hungry cry, leading Joey to help him.

Jesse gets creative with making a bowl of cereal and trying to eat it (see Quotes). Those broken arms disable his ability to move them and thus cause him to have trouble doing things such as dressing and undressing, getting in and out of bed, brushing his teeth, shaving, stamping envelopes, playing his music, and even making himself breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. Stephanie feels responsible for Jesse's accident, and it takes the combined efforts of her dad Danny, her older sister D.J., and the rest of the Tanner household, to persuade her otherwise.

When Danny catches Jesse kicking his trashed motorcycle from the wreck, he brings Stephanie out to help him feel better. As usual, she refuses because she says he hates her. He explains to "Stephanie Judith Tanner" that he doesn't hate her, and that everyone learns from their mistakes... eventually; giving examples from this episode: his missing that sign was not going to stop him from riding a motorcycle, and so her cutting off a huge chunk of his hair should not stop her from playing "hairdresser" with him. He says that if he can't write any music in his current shape, she can help him by writing lyrics, and she accepts. And with that, he hugs her, and does not feel any pain at all! That means she can spend more time with him.

In Michelle's room, Jesse asks her what he thinks of his new hairdo (see Quotes). He realizes that the new hairdo means a new chapter in his life, and promises to be more open to change from here on out and become more mature. He jokingly asks Joey, who served him four glasses of iced tea earlier, to serve him another glass. Joey grants him his wish, and Michelle gives a goodbye wave to Jesse as he and Joey head downstairs.

Background notes

The opening credits for this episode contains a lot of footage from season one because creator and executive producer Jeff Franklin did not want to give away that Jesse would be getting his hair cut.

John Stamos had his hair cut during the hiatus before the production of season two. So he actually wore a wig during the first part of the episode.

Quotes

[Opening teaser: in the living room, Joey holds Michelle, hoping she understands the "We all fall down" line of "Ring Around the Rosie" after practicing it with her all day long.]
Joey: Trust me, Michelle, you are ready. OK, come on down, guys! Everybody come on out to the living room! Hurry up! We're gonna do this right now! Hurry up! We're gonna do this right now!
[Danny and Jesse come downstairs, while D.J. and Stephanie emerge from the kitchen.]
Stephanie: What?
D.J.: What?
Danny: What is it? OK, what?
Joey: Michelle is ready for another try. [They all groan at this and walk away, but Joey's not gonna have any of it.] Freeze! [They do.]
Stephanie: She's gonna do it to us again.
Joey: No, she won't. I've been working with her all day. Believe me, the kid is psyched.
Jesse: OK, let's give the little ankle-biter one more try. Come on everybody, hold hands.
[They do, and get in the usual circle formation, per the game's rules.]
Joey: Here we go. Come on, Michelle!
All: [singing] Ring around the Rosie/A pocket full of posies/Ashes, ashes/We all fall down! [They're all sitting down on the floor....except Michelle, who sticks her tongue out.]
Stephanie: She did it again.
D.J.: The kid's got a real mean streak.

---

[Jesse is busy playing his guitar when Stephanie comes in and shuts off his amp, and he's not happy about it.]
Jesse: First rule of rock 'n' roll: Never cut a guy's power off when he's duck-walking.

---

[Rhonda, the nurse, brings Jesse into the house.]
Rhonda: Hi. Come on in, Jesse.
D.J.: Uncle Jesse, what happened?
Danny: Jesse, what happened?
Joey: Tell us what's going on.
Jesse: I started to m--
D.J.: Wait. Okay, what happened?
Jesse: I'll tell you exactly what happened. Thanks to Mr. Stephanie's pretend haircut, I was forced to get a real one. Which I hate. After that, I hopped on my Harley and raced out of the parking lot.
Guess I was so upset, I failed to see that little tiny sign that says: "Severe tire damage." I wrecked my bike. Next thing I know, concrete sleeves. Thanks for helping me, Rhonda.
Rhonda: My pleasure. Here's my number. If you need a sponge bath, give me a call.
Joey: And if you need a sponge bath....Well, you look like a shower person.
Danny: Oh, Jess, does it hurt much?
Jesse: Only when I think about the next six weeks. What am I gonna do with two broken arms?
Joey: Well, I think you can scratch bowling off the list.
D.J.: I think you can scratch scratching (the back) off the list.
Stephanie: I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse. It's all my fault.
Danny: Oh, Steph, it's not all your fault.

---

[Jesse heads for the kitchen.]
Danny: I'll get the door.
Jesse: I got it. Takes more than a couple of broken bones to slow down Big J. [And he uses his whole body to get through the door.]

---

[In the kitchen, Jesse tries to get the cereal box off of the fridge. But with his arms in casts, he can't reach it.]
D.J.: Uncle Jesse, I'll help you.
Jesse: D.J., I'm perfectly capable of making a simple bowl of cereal. [He walks over, grabs a broomstick, and knocks the box off the fridge. Then he uses a meat fork to stab the box.]
D.J.: It's dead. I think you can eat it now. [He takes the box, using the fork as a handle, to the table. Danny comes downstairs, carrying Michelle.] He's fine. He's 'perfectly capable of making a simple bowl of cereal'.
[Jesse walks over to the cabinet to get a bowl... using his mouth.]
Danny: Let me give you a hand.
Jesse: Now, do I look like someone who needs a hand? [as he manages to slide the bowl onto his head]
Danny: You look good in that hat. [Jesse walks over to the table, dumps the bowl on the table, and as he pours the box of cereal...] Jesse, don't make a mess. Let's get you into your highchair, Michelle. Thatta girl. Keep Uncle Jesse company. I'm gonna change for work. Here you go. You might need this [as he hands Jesse the carton of milk].
Jesse: Thank you.
Danny: Michelle, keep an eye on your uncle Jesse for me.
Jesse: Okay, Michelle, watch your uncle J in action here. We simply pour in the milk [the whole carton]. Perfect. Now, we add my favorite part: the bananas, or, as you would call them, "nanners." [He grabs the bananas.] And we simply shake [until all but one falls down]. This is too easy. Now, we slice and peel... We slice and peel, but how...? I got it. Observe this, Michelle. Observe this. [He puts his cereal bowl in the chair, gets a rolling pin, sticks the banana at the end of the table, and moves the rolling pin down on it until the edible portion comes out of the peel and into the bowl! Michelle giggles.] What are you laughing at? [He puts the bowl back on the table.] All right, now, grab a spoon... and I'm ready to enjoy a nice bowl of Oat Boats. [But when he tries to get the wooden spoon to his mouth, it just won't reach and flings it onto the floor.] If you liked that, Michelle, you'll love this. [He puts his whole face into the bowl just as Danny comes downstairs all dressed for work.] What's the matter, you've never seen a grown man eat cereal before?
Danny: Not like a Great Dane. Jesse, face it. You got two broken arms. Let us help you.
Jesse: All right. If it'll make you feel better, help, help.
Danny: Michelle, I think your uncle needs this more than you do. [He transfers the bib to his brother-in-law and prepares to feed him.] Open up.

---

Danny: Am I interrupting something?
Jesse: I don’t wanna talk about it right now. I’d leave, but I can’t reach the gate hook.
Danny: Jesse, there is nothing you can do about your arms. But there is something you can do about Stephanie.
Jesse: What are you talking about?
Danny: Steph is scared to death to go near you. She’s afraid she’s gonna hurt you again.
Jesse: Well, tell the little rug rat she’s wacko.
Danny: [a little angry] I think you should tell the little rug rat she’s wacko. [Jesse looks at him, while Danny changes his tone to sound calmer] In maybe a... nicer way.
Jesse: You’re right.

---

Jesse: You're hugging me, and I'm not even hurting.
Stephanie: You're right. The curse is broken!
Both: Have mercy!

---

[That night in Michelle's room...]
Jesse: Michelle. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So, what do you think of my new haircut? Better than Garry Shandling's?
Michelle: No.
Jesse: All right, how about Don King's?
Michelle: No.
Jesse: Thanks, I feel a lot better. Michelle, I've had a lot of time to think. Because let's face it, there's not much else I can do. You know how I'm always saying that things happen for a reason? Well, maybe the reason all this is happening to me is because it's time to make some changes in my life. You know about changes, don't you, Michelle? You realize that since I've been 16 years old I've had the exact same haircut? I've ridden the same Harley, I've dressed the same...I've listened to the same music. Had the same boring job, killing bugs. You know, for a guy who likes to live his life on the edge, I've been living on the edge of a rut. No. You know something, Michelle? Starting right now, I'm gonna start shaking my life up a little bit. Oh, what? You think I'm afraid to change? I get it. You think I'm caught up in this whole rebel thing and I refuse to grow up. From now on, I'm gonna be a lot more open to change. I'm gonna start acting like a mature adult.

Trivia

• The first episode to use the new Lorimar Television logo, but the only time the logo is silent
• The last episode to use the season one intro – however, two images are changed: The guys trying to attract the ladies at the park is replaced by Danny and Michelle napping in a rocking chair in her room in the opening (this would normally be seen in the closing for this season and the next), and Stephanie riding in the banana seat of Danny's bike is replaced by the guys hanging out at the park from the season one closing credits
• The first episode in which Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (Michelle) are credited with the rest of the cast
• The last episode where Jesse has long hair
• The first episode to use the new electric guitar-backed theme song (which would be used until the end of the series)
• The first episode to open with a teaser
• In all the scenes where the family helps Jesse with his basic chores, the Beatles' 1965 song "Help!" plays throughout; it was the title song for both their film and its soundtrack album, and was a number-one hit for three weeks
• The second episode where Stephanie's full name is addressed; the first being "Sisterly Love"
• Goof: When Danny takes the bib off Michelle and then puts it on Jesse, they pan to a shot of Michelle, and she still has the pink bib around her neck

Gallery

Michelle sticks out her tongue instead of falling down after playing Ring Around the Rosie

Stephanie pouts in an attempt to get Jesse to play hairdresser with her

Picture-41.png

Stephanie absentmindedly cuts off a piece of Jesse's hair

Jesse displays his two broken arms after his motorcycle crash

Jesse's helmet is removed to reveal his new haircut

Jesse tries to make himself cereal, refusing any help from the family

Michelle in her high chair

Jesse tries to eat his cereal without his arms

Danny and Joey help Jesse get dressed

Danny stops Jesse from kicking his crashed motorcycle

Jesse forgives Stephanie

Jesse and Joey

File:Full House Theme Season 2 (from "Cutting it Close")