Recap / Full House S 7 E 11 The Bicycle Thief

"The Bicycle Thief" is an episode in the seventh season of Full House.

When Michelle complains of her bicycle being stolen, the entire Tanner household start their search for it, with Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers also on alert. Trouble ensues when Jesse, Danny, and Joey take a bicycle home each, under the mistaken belief that the bike belonged to Michelle, and the entire Tanner household, with Steve in tow, must return the now-stolen bicycles to their respective owners without being found out, all while Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers are stationed in the kitchen.

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Tropes seen in this episode include:

• Aesop Amnesia: Once all of the bicycles are returned and the cases closed, Michelle apologizes^note  (for Jesse only; everyone else has just left the house for ice cream a minute ago) for getting everybody into her mess and swears that she'll remember where she places her things, only to jump to the wrong conclusion about her jacket.
  Michelle: Next time I'll try to remember where I put my stuff.
  Jesse: Very good. Now come on; let's go get some ice cream.
  Michelle: Hey, where's my jacket? It's right there. Somebody stole it.
  Jesse: *point to her waist* Michelle...
  Michelle: *notices her jacket wrapped around her waist* Oh, never mind.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: This episode turns out to be a case of this. Michelle loses her bicycle and assumes someone must have stolen it, getting the whole family — plus Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers, the neighborhood "crime catchers" — tangled up in the whole affair, only for Derek to return her bike at the end of the episode, reminding her that she left her bike at his residence last week while his mother gave her a ride back due to the rainy weather taking place at the time. Had she asked her peers, of whom Derek is one, about her bike, instead of jumping to the wrong conclusion and getting others for help based on said wrong conclusion, the whole mess in this episode would have been averted. Not surprisingly, everyone else reacts to the news by giving Michelle a look of utter annoyance.
• Crazy Enough to Work: D.J.'s idea of getting the stolen bicycles out of the house, after both the living room and the kitchen are blocked off due to unwanted outsider presence (the father of the boy Jesse took the bike from being in the living room while Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers are in the kitchen) involves getting the bicycles out of the house by tying them to various pieces of sheets and clothing and lowering them out of the bedroom window and into the backyard, with herself and Steve returning said bicycles back to their respective owners, while Danny, Stephanie, and Michelle keep Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers distracted with Stephanie's (non)-magic card trick. It actually works.
• Disapproving Look: After Derek returns Michelle's bike late in the episode and reminds her that she left her bicycle at his place last week while his mother gave her a ride back home due to the rainy weather at the time, Michelle realizes that she forgot this bit of fact and says "Isn't it funny?". Everyone else looks at her with a look of utmost annoyance instead of laughing.
• The Dreaded: Played with. The father of the kid Jesse steals the bike from justifiably earns the fear of Jesse and anyone who meets him and recognizes his extremely muscular physique solely due to fearing for Jesse's life. He's quite chummy once the bicycles are returned and the cases closed.
• Facial Composite Failure: Jesse insists that the sketch of him in a "Wanted!" Poster looks nothing like his real face.
  Jesse: It doesn't look anything like me! The sideburns are totally unbalanced!
• "Fawlty Towers" Plot: Danny tries to conceal his (and Jesse's and Joey's) involvement in bicycle thefts to Mrs. Carruthers, but he's not very good at it. The only reason his lies don't implode in his face is because others manage to get the bikes away before he could be incriminated.
• First-Name Basis: Nicky and Alex address Jesse and Rebecca this way ("Becky" in the latter's case) in this episode. It's also plot-relevant, as Jesse's last resort in hiding his true identity from the father of the boy he took a bike from comes undone when one of them addresses Jesse this way right in front of said father.
• From Bad to Worse: Played for comedy and drama, as the episode starts out with Michelle claiming her bicycle has been stolen, which prompts everyone in the family to look for it, made worse by Jesse, Danny, and Joey each taking a bike under the mistaken belief that the bicycle in question was hers, so they end up with three stolen bikes in the house that they must return to their respective owners.
• Gratuitous French: In Jesse's desperate attempt to prevent the father of the boy he took the bike from beating him up, he addresses himself as "Joey" while calling Joey "Danny" as Joey enters the living room. Because Joey is not informed beforehand of Jesse's ploy, his reaction to it is "Pardonnez-moi?" out of sheer confusion.
• Hypocritical Humor: Rebecca claims it's cute upon Nicky and Alex addressing Jesse on the First-Name Basis, but she protests and tries to correct them the moment they call her "Becky".
  Jesse: I thought it was cute.
  Rebecca: It was cute when they did it to you.
• Ironic Echo: Upon Rebecca trying to correct Nicky and Alex for calling her "Becky" after claiming that their calling Jesse by his first name as "cute", Jesse reminds her that she thought it was cute.
  Rebecca: It was cute when they did it to you.
• Jump Scare: Accidental versions, and they're Played for Laughs.
  • Overlaps with Tempting Fate occurs while Jesse and Joey watch Danny's attempt to avoid self-incrimination behind a door, unaware that Rebecca, having woken up from a nap, is approaching them from behind.
    Joey: *to Jesse* Okay, don't panic. All we have to do is just remain, cool.
    Rebecca: Guys?
    [Jesse and Joey scream out of shock]
  • While Stephanie's (non-)magic card trick that's actually intended to keep Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers too occupied at said card trick to notice Steve hoisting the stolen bicycles that are attached to pieces of clothing to D.J. down into the backyard, Steve accidentally drops them and causes the bikes to land on a ceramic planter. The planter shatters as a result, the noise from which gives Mrs. Carruthers a jump.
    Steve: Mr. Tanner? Look, I hope you weren't too attached to that big ceramic planter. *runs out to the backyard*
• Papa Wolf: The father of the boy Jesse took the bike from doesn't just look quite burly; he's also proven himself perfectly willing to wreck the person responsible for the theft, too. It's for this reason Jesse resorts to using a fake name ("Joey" in this case) when addressing himself to avoid incurring his wrath.
  Stephanie: (to D.J. and Steve) You should see this guy. Hoof. There'll be nothing left but a puddle of mousse.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story:
  • When a kid Jesse confronts insists that the bike he's riding belongs to him (or, more specifically, his sister, as his own bike has a flat tire), he secures the bicycle with a chained lock wrapping around a parking meter, only for Jesse to lift the bicycle, chained lock and all, off the meter.
  • Jesse's last resort in hiding his true identity from the father of the boy he took a bike from via calling himself "Joey" comes undone when one of the twins addresses Jesse on a First-Name Basis.
  • Michelle's belief that her bike was stolen kick-started the whole episode, and it ends with Derek returning it to the Tanner household and reminding her that she left her bike at his residence last week while his mother gave her a ride back because of the rainy weather occurring back then.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • As Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers inform the Tanner adults that they're on the lookout for the bicycle theft case, Kimmy asks Danny... whether he wears a hairpiece.
    Danny: What does that have to do with a stolen bike?
    Kimmy: Nothing. I've always just been curious.
  • While the whole bicycle theft case is ongoing, Mrs. Carruthers' topic of interrogative interest towards Danny is... whether Joey ever mentioned her.
  • Jesse's reaction to a "Wanted!" Poster with his face is to remark that the sideburns are totally unbalanced.
• Take a Third Option: Late in the episode, when Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers occupy the kitchen for their crime-stopper operation and the father of the boy Jesse took the bike from is staying in the living room, D.J. comes up with the idea of getting the bicycles out of the house by tying them to various pieces of sheets and clothing and lowering them out of the bedroom window and into the backyard, with herself and Steve returning said bicycles back to their respective owners, while Danny, Stephanie, and Michelle keep Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers distracted with Stephanie's (non)-magic card trick. It actually ends up being Crazy Enough to Work.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Stephanie attempts a card trick in front of Joey, Jesse, and D.J., only to fail in said trick.
    Stephanie: Prepare to be amazed. Arise, o ten of hearts.
    [pulls out a card, which turns out to be four of clubs]
    D.J.: Not even close.
  • Jesse, Danny, and Joey all claim to have found Michelle's bicycle upon returning home. Their claims fall apart the moment each of them finds the other two with a bike as well, and it gets worse when Michelle confirms that none of the three bikes belongs to her.
  • As Jesse and Joey secretly watch Danny trying to lie his way out across the door between the living room and the kitchen, Joey attempts to calm himself and Jesse down, only to scream in shock when Rebecca greets them from behind.
  • While D.J., Stephanie, Joey, and Steve try to get the stolen bikes out the front door, Joey wonders whether they can pull it off. Jesse assures them... right before another person rings the doorbell.
    Joey: So, uh... Jess, you think we can pull this off?
    Jesse: Absolutely.
    [the doorbell rings]
    Jesse: NOT!.
• "Wanted!" Poster: One such poster is made with a sketch of Jesse's face, though Jesse, upon seeing a copy of it, insists that it looks nothing like him because, in his words, "the sideburns are totally unbalanced".
• We Need a Distraction: D.J.'s plan of getting the stolen bicycles out of the house, after both the living room and the kitchen are blocked off due to unwanted outsider presence at the usual paths, involves having Danny, Stephanie, and Michelle keep Kimmy and Mrs. Carruthers distracted with Stephanie's (non)-magic card trick while she herself and Steve get the bikes smuggled through the bedroom window and out of the house. Luckily, it ends up being Crazy Enough to Work.