"To Joey, With Love" is an episode in the eighth season of Full House.
Joey takes up the substitute-teaching post in Michelle's class when the primary teacher is still too sick to teach, but tension arises when Joey's no-nonsense and professional demeanor as a teacher is far from his usual, laid-back persona that Michelle and her classmates expect, especially after Joey sends Michelle to the principal's office. In the meantime, Jesse decides to audition local musicians for a new guitarist for his new band but isn't pleased when Danny decides to vie for the spot.
Michelle, meanwhile, constantly does whatever she wants with little to no consequences for her actions, the adults virtually catering to her every whim, and even her sisters are made to look wrong or insignificant in contrast to anything she does. This is especially prevalent between the time she's a baby and when she's just starting school. As she got older and had more instances of actual punishment, such as Jesse refusing to give her the lead in the school play and substitute teacher Joey disciplining her for acting up in class, she got very little sympathy from the audience, in spite of the use of "Aww" track and the show trying and failing at making her appear as undeserving of this.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Curse Cut Short: This happens during Viper's guitarist audition for Jesse's band, as Danny doesn't appreciate Viper's stated interest in tattooing D.J.'s name on his arm.Danny: Hi, I'm D.J.'s father Mildew, and you can tattoo that name on your —-Jesse: Hey ho ho ho! Mildew, take five.
- Dreadful Musician: As shown during the audition, one particular audition participant, "Splinter", is so bad at his guitar performance that Jesse and Rebecca badmouth him the moment he's out of earshot.Jesse: How come there's never a power failure when you need one?
- Exact Words: Subverted. After Joey has to raise his voice when Michelle's class continually becomes rowdy refusing to take him seriously, he states that the next person to make a peep will be sent to the principal's office. Immediately, Michelle tells Joey to lighten up, causing her classmates to gasp. When Joey calls out, she claims she didn't "peep". Joey doesn't take that as an excuse and tells her to go the principal's office.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Jesse nearly faces this dilemma when auditioning for a guitarist for his new band and Danny is the best candidate by far, which Rebecca and Jesse both agree on, but Jesse is much more reluctant because Danny is too squeaky-clean for the image Jesse prefers. Luckily for Jesse, D.J. comes in at that moment with Viper, who turns out to be better than Danny, as evidenced by Jesse after Danny concedes defeat to Viper and leaves after the audition.Jesse: (hugs Viper) Thanks for being born.
- Hands Go Down: When Rebecca is about to give Nicky and Alex ice cream while the house is filled with guitarists auditioning for Jesse's new band, she employs this trope to make sure she only has to serve ice cream to the twins.Rebecca: Who wants ice cream?
[hands go up]
Rebecca: Let me rephrase that. Who wants ice cream but can't read yet?
[only some hands go down]
Rebecca: How about this — who wants ice cream, can't read yet, and has no tattoos?
[only Nicky and Alex's hands stay up]
Rebecca: We have two winners! - I Gave My Word: When Michelle's class becomes too rowdy for Joey to resume his role as teacher, he sternly claims that the next person speaking out of turn will be sent to the principal's office. Michelle, downright disgruntled by the extent Joey takes his substitute teaching job seriously, tells Joey to lighten up. Unfortunately for her, Joey meant what he said, and so he sends her to the principal's office, which Michelle does not appreciate.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title for this episode is one such example to "To Sir, with Love", (one of) Lulu
's best-known songs. - "Shaggy Dog" Story: Viper serves this role in this episode, as his guitar performance gives a legitimate reason for Jesse to save face from a potential Friend-or-Idol Decision.
- Tempting Fate: After Splinter's lousy audition performance, Rebecca opines that no one can be as bad as he. Enter Danny. That being said, this trope is played with in that Danny is actually the best candidate thus far and that Jesse's unwillingness in accepting Danny is due to Jesse believing that Danny's squeaky-clean persona clashes with Jesse's preferred band image.Rebecca: Honey, they've all been bad, but nobody can be worse than Splinter.
Danny: [enters the basement studio] Here's Mildew.
Jesse: (to Rebecca) You were saying? - Verbal Backspace: Rebecca's feedback on Danny's guitar-playing skill after witnessing it contains this part.Rebecca: Danny, that was killer! All these years working with you, who knew you actually had talent? [Danny casts her a bewildered look] I mean, on the guitar.
