Uncle Jesse's Best Episodes Of Full House Ranked

"Full House" is a heartfelt and hilarious show about a found family coming together to raise children in San Francisco after their mother's sudden death. The show featured John Stamos as Uncle Jesse Katsopolis, Bob Saget as dad Danny Tanner, and Dave Coulier as family friend Joey Gladstone. Together, these men formed a trio of unlikely "dad types" raising the Tanner (Michelle, Stephanie, and D.J.) and later also the Katsopolis family (Nicky and Alex) formed by Jesse and his love, Aunt Becky.

"Full House" ran for eight seasons, and made its long-awaited return years later in sequel series "Fuller House." "Full House" is a multi-generational coming-of-age story and a classic modern sitcom. Part of the show's staying power can be attributed to a man with the face of a Greek god, the mullet of an '80s rock star, and a heart as big as his hair — Uncle Jesse.

Uncle Jesse loves music, his family, and Elvis in equal measure. He moves in with brother-in-law Danny after Pam (Katsopolis) Tanner dies, and this bad boy has no idea the good life he's getting into. While Jesse's tough-guy ego is quick to bruise, his impulse to put in the work to be a better man always wins out in the end. Read on to see, from most hilarious to most heartfelt, Uncle Jesse's best episodes of "Full House" ranked.

Uncle Jesse is shocked to inherit the Smash Club when its previous owner wills him the property. Jesse and Joey arrive to check the place out. While Jesse expects to find a hip and happening club that hosted many of his band's big nights, reality hits him like a rat in the face: The Smash Club is derelict, and barely fit to set foot in.

Still, Jesse and Joey quickly try to clean the joint up, but there's only so much spitshine can do when it comes to rotten wood and scurrying rats. The bank loan officer denies Jesse's loan request, but agrees to a second-chance meeting at the house. There, Jesse tries to give a perfect textbook answer to every one of the bank rep's questions — answers he has conveniently had the girls hide in sandwiches they keep interrupting the meeting to serve him.

The rep is about to deny him again — until Jesse admits he isn't prepared; he's just passionate about keeping the club alive because it means so much to him and so many musicians. Finally impressed with his honest answer, she grants Jesse the loan. This episode is a perfect example of Jesse's passion working for him instead of against him — and a reminder that the real reason we follow our dreams can't be contained on a single, salami-stained index card.

Uncle Jesse is a cool guy, but not always cool under pressure. Jesse is reopening the Smash Club and is stressed about the high cost — and afraid to fall short of the mark. But with the Tanner sisters stepping into roles as waitress (D.J.) and hype children (Stephanie and Michelle), an overly-caffeinated Danny tending bar, Aunt Becky wearing her hair big and shoulders bare, and Joey booking R.E.M. for the club's entertainment, what could possibly go wrong?

At the club, Jesse micromanages the event with the vengeful power of a wronged Greek god. He freaks that R.E.M. stands for "Renee, Esther, and Martha." He negs Kimmy's colorful additions to her waitress uniform. He snaps at D.J., and accidentally locks himself in the club's storage room with Kimmy. He discovers he's hurt Kimmy's feelings. In a lightning-fast moment of personal growth that is sadly limited to the realm of Friday-night family sitcoms, Jesse admits his perfectionism is making everyone miserable — and that it's his fault the club's napkins were misprinted to read "The Smush Club."

Jesse agrees to treat people as he wants to be treated, and escapes the storage area in style. As he descends into the club via spinning disco ball, "R.E.M." plays a killer cover of Devo's "Whip It" – and Jesse learns no nightclub owner is poor who has family like the Tanners.

It's hard to imagine Uncle Jesse with anyone other than Aunt Becky, but this episode shows off his romantic potential with a worthy "one who got away." Robin Winslow (Kristian Alfonso) is a journalist friend of Danny's, in town to audition for a job at Danny's station. Jesse is unaware of this connection, and meets her at the station — where he promptly uses baby Michelle as pick-up bait. While Robin is smart enough to know this move is ridiculous, Jesse is smooth enough (and Michelle is cute enough) that the pick-up works like a charm. The two set a date — but are shocked to see each other back at the house, hours later.

Robin is staying with the Tanners while she is in town. Jesse is delighted, until one of his fling dates shows up for dinner and the women discover Jesse picked them both up using Michelle. Robin cuts off any possible romance. She's been burned by guys like Jesse before. He takes offense to this, but still helps Robin with her audition by encouraging her to loosen up with his own hilarious news anchor act. Though Robin and Jesse have obvious chemistry, they agree to just be friends — even though sparks continue to fly through episode's end.

This "Moonlighting"-esque story occurs before Jesse meets Becky. It's tempting to think the pairing of witty, rough-around-the-edges Jesse with cool, intellectual and self-possessed Robin might have served as an inspiration for Jesse and Becky's ultimate dynamic.

Uncle Jesse doesn't deal with much rejection when it comes to love, but rejection with the "food of love" is a whole other story. Music is at the beating, tender heart of Uncle Jesse's character. He's held various day jobs throughout the show to support his dreams, from zapping bugs with his dad's exterminator business, to impersonating Elvis, to writing Kitty Krispies jingles with Joey. But like anyone with a big creative dream and a family to support, Uncle Jesse's starting to get a little desperate. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Desperate times call ... for "Vulture."

When a record label rejects Jesse and the Rippers for being too "soft," Uncle Jesse teams up with Joey to cook up a "hard" image for the band. The uncles start where anyone would when looking to project sheer rock-and-roll power: with a long, blond wig. While the "Cousin Itt" look doesn't fly with Jesse, Joey's pitch for a "vulture" persona does. Jesse gets excited, claiming Vulture is "dark, it's vicious, it's kinda like a buzzard, but it's got better hair."

Vulture takes flight at a gig — just not for long. Jesse gets stuck on a faulty flight wire over a packed club. Yet again, Jesse's music man dreams seem to be stuck floating in the breeze — only this time, with way more eyeliner. While Jesse traded in his tough leather fringe for more soft rock Beach Boys stylings, for this episode (and for all time) — Vulture lives.

The plot to this episode is as paper-thin as Jesse's Little Richard tickets, but it's still one of Jesse's best. Jesse is feeling pretty fresh and fancy for scoring Little Richard tickets for the whole family. He can't wait to take the girls to witness the founding father of rock and roll — but he needs to fix Michelle's sock drawer first.

Soon, Jesse discovers his twins, Nicky and Alex, have stolen his Little Richard tickets and cut them to pieces in the name of little-kid art. Jesse collapses at the table, heartbroken. Joey is just as bummed — he doesn't have an act for a PTA fundraiser he's throwing at the Smash Club. Michelle's buddy Denise (Jurnee Smollett) suggests her uncle play the show — he always plays at family parties and is coming over soon. Jesse cracks that her uncle is probably someone who drinks all the punch in the punchbowl at parties before wearing the bowl as a hat. But when Denise's uncle arrives, Jesse is shocked to see the man is none other than the icon himself, Little Richard!

Jesse and Little Richard noodle around Jesse's studio, and manage to stay friendly even after Denise repeats Jesse's punchbowl joke. Then the newfound chums hit the PTA fundraiser. They play a raucous version of "Keep A-Knockin" together, with Jesse on drums (and basically shirtless, should such details matter to you), Little Richard on piano, and everyone in the club on cloud nine.

No "best of" Uncle Jesse episode ranking would be complete without a nod to the one where Jesse deals with Stavros (also played by Stamos), his lookalike, womanizing, con-man cousin visiting from Greece. It would be easy to call Stavros a grotesque caricature and leave it at that, but the character veers between that term, total horror show, and sublime comedy. John Stamos clearly got a kick out of playing who is essentially Jesse's evil twin.

While the rest of the Tanners immediately clock that Stavros is a sleazy, mustache-twirling villain out to steal Aunt Becky and Danny's razor so he can shave his chest, all Jesse can see is the cousin who treated him like a brother back when they spent summers in Greece. Jesses refuses to believe the ugly truth when the Tanners share it with him. Instead, Jesse's big heart makes him an easy mark for Stavros.

Jesse buys Stavros' story that his hometown suffered a terrible mudslide, and hosts a fundraiser at the Smash Club. There, Stavros plans to steal the money for the fake mudslide victims — until Becky outs his plan with a fake seduction and a microphone planted in a flower vase. While Jesse's heart is broken by the cousin he trusted, he doesn't disown Stavros. He simply kicks him out of the Smash Club — and apologizes to his actually trustworthy family for not heeding their warnings. While he and Stavros share a face, Stavros has gold teeth — while Jesse has a heart of gold.

Jesse and the Rippers finally get the chance to be signed to a record label, as long as they make a video with Fat Fish Records. Jesse is thrilled to bring "Forever," his Beach Boys-penned ballad, to life — but not with meeting Fat Fish's demands to make a rap video for a dance called "The Jess-Man." Even though Jesse hates the direction the label is taking things and can't dance, he agrees to go along with it. 

It doesn't matter to Fat Fish that Jesse's blue suede shoes are on two left feet — the label is too busy dressing him up like a genie to notice. Finally, fed up with the gimmicks, Jesse acts like another label is willing to sign him. Scared to lose Jesse, Fat Fish lets him do the song — and the video — his way. And oh, what a video it is.

Lit by tons of candles and shot in what appears to be the ruins of a cologne ad, the "Forever" video features Jesse singing soulfully into the camera — when he isn't adoring his newborn sons. The video airs on MTV. The single sells out. Uncle Jesse is thrilled — and gives the entire family a copy of his sold-out single. There's even one for Comet, the dog.

It's no secret that Uncle Jesse left his fast-lane life in the rearview when he moved in with Danny Tanner, Joey, and the girls. But when a friend from Jesse's past drops in at the Tanner House, Jesse must confront how much of his old life he will truly never get to live again. Pete (Scott Baio) arrives ready to relive Jesse's wild days of motorcycle stunts and teaching senoritas about "the history of el pollo loco."

But when Pete realizes Jesse is in a different phase, he's happy to jam to "Louie, Louie" in Jesse's room and reminisce. Jesse, however, throws a party. Jesse and Pete's old band rocks out — until Danny and Aunt Becky return from their business trip, surprised to see everyone up in the middle of the night. Pete gently razzes Jesse for his new life as a family man, calling him "Dr. Seuss" instead of his old nickname of "Dr. Dare."

Jesse takes this as a challenge, and runs off to try a dangerous motorcycle stunt. Pete tries to talk him out of it, insisting that he respects Jesse's new life. Becky is furious. And Jesse realizes he has way too much life to live to throw it away on some stunt. Still, when Jesse returns home to his new, not-so-daring life, he can't resist playing a wild lick of guitar in the middle of the night to prove to himself and all of the children sleeping above him — he's still got it.

Uncle Jesse's a cool cat — most of the time. He's invulnerable when it comes to his good looks, gorgeous hair, easy charm, and Elvis impressions. But the stuff he has less experience with — like fine art, high culture, and reading anything other than sheet music — ouch, little mama. Insecurity, have mercy! So when Becky invites Jesse to a sophisticated party in Season 3, Episode 13, insecure Jesse hits the books. Literally. He checks out a massive stack of classics, mainlines opera, buys some Monet posters, but at the last minute chickens out of the party — until he learns Becky's handsome former professor, Eric Trent, will be attending.

Jesse fears he'll be in "a room full of champions from 'Jeopardy' and I'm from 'The Price is Right.'" Joey tells Jesse to just say "interesting, but terribly overrated" when he doesn't know what to say. Jesse arrives at the party looking the part of an elegant intellectual, but he mixes up famous book titles before arm-wrestling the pompous Professor Trent over a grand piano. While Jesse wins, Becky flees in embarrassment.

Jesse realizes the fool he has made of them both, and heads to Becky's to apologize and serenade her in a scene that looks more like something out of Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" than a family sitcom. It's a beautiful scene that reminds us Jesse is the "sensitive lunatic" Aunt Becky fell in love with — even if he's not some elegant egghead.

Something that might be disturbingly relatable about Uncle Jesse to audiences now (and during the show's initial run) is how surprised he is by the directions his life has taken. This rock star-wannabe with hair to die for and a face to match didn't ever think the prime of his life would be spent changing diapers and helping with math homework, but being "Mr. Mom" is as undeniably part of his personality as his love of Elvis.

Jesse's paternal instincts and anguish only intensify when he and Becky have their own set of twins, Nicky and Alex. Jesse finds himself taking on more household duties, much to his terror. When Jesse takes the twins, Michelle, and Stephanie for a routine grocery trip, he also gets a long, hard look at his future as a house husband — and some Elvis-themed peanut butter.

Somewhere in the midst of taping an air freshener to his child's dirty diaper and knocking over a display of paper towels, Jesse decides he needs to do something more. He wants to make money, and he needs to rock. While Becky makes Jesse confront his discomfort with her being the family's main breadwinner, Jesse asks Becky to understand he needs to contribute to his family his way, too. Which means doing household stuff — and playing oldies with The Diplomats, an airport lounge band.

Jesse's at his best when he's in "dad" mode or "rad" mode, and this episode features plenty of both. D.J. gets Jesse to play in the band for her school dance. Jesse is reluctant to play for tweenagers — until he's rocking "Wild Thing" with the marching band. But while Jesse is hitting his stride as band director, D.J.'s socially awkward date Kevin is hitting the sauce.

Kevin, nervous about D.J., relaxes with a beer. D.J. sees, and when Kevin and his brewski-drinking pal can't peer pressure her into joining them, she lectures them both about the dangers of drinking. Jesse steps out into the hallway at the exact moment D.J. waves around a can of beer for emphasis. D.J. insists she's innocent, but Jesse doesn't believe her. He comes down hard — and breaks her heart for not trusting her.

When Kevin finally tells Jesse the truth, Jesse apologizes to D.J. for being harsh. He knows a lot of experimentation is just around the corner, and he doesn't want her to lose her way like so many of his friends have. In a show powered by a good deal of fantasy (like those guys being able to afford that house on the combined salary of a newscaster, puppet comedian, and musician), Jesse's fears about D.J. losing her way ring more true than trite. D.J. accepts his apology, but Jesse's soulful eyes (and the somber soundtrack) remind viewers that sometimes very special episodes end on a downbeat.

Jesse, Becky, and the Tanner brood are in Lake Tahoe for a special episode of "Wake Up, San Francisco." In the first part of this two-parter, Jesse has proposed to Becky in a fit of passion.

This episode sees Jesse and Becky marching up the aisle of the Ali Baba Hotel & Casino for a quickie wedding. But as the two lovebirds race to the altar, Becky starts to get cold feet. Where will they live? What if she gets a better job offer away from Jesse's family? There's no time for answers, and Becky leaves Jesse at the altar. He is heartbroken. Jesse returns home, to mope in bed like any self-respecting romantic who has just had his heart ripped out of his chest.

But when he hears Becky's voice in the hall, he leaps to his feet and pretends to be on the phone with a date. He lets Becky catch him in the middle of his "call" — but then the phone actually rings. The jig is up. Jesse plays tough, but melts when Becky touches his shoulder. Becky apologizes and points out that their rush to the altar made her realize how they had many differences to work through, but since they love each other, she knows they can address them together. They come to an agreement to get married only when they are ready — because when Jesse does get married, he wants it to last ... forever.

This episode kicks off with Jesse, Danny, and Joey staring at a table piled high with food — and sadness. It's their first Thanksgiving after Pam's death, and the guys do not feel like they can pull off the holiday without her. Jesse is ready to grab a last-minute restaurant reservation, until the girls come downstairs and get excited to honor their mom's memory by cooking.

Jesse and the guys have a super-cute time for the girls' sake — until they realize the turkey D.J. has pinned her grieftastic Mom-memory hopes on is still stone frozen. Jesse tries to talk some women who show up at the house out of their turkey, but no dice. D.J. is heartbroken when she discovers the turkey truth. So is Stephanie, after she drops her mom's pie on the ground. Jesse comforts Stephanie by showing her a mistake of his own: a photo of a terrible haircut he let her mom give him back when they were kids.

Danny finds Jesse getting overcome by the old album, which Jesse hides away. Danny senses emotional danger, and opens the door to conversation. Jesse refuses, then struggles to find the words to describe what he's going through. His "When's it gonna stop hurtin', man?" is a simple, heart-wrenching expression of enormous grief. Together, he and Danny flip through the photo album and tell stories about Pam — and bad hair days — to keep her memory alive a little longer.

One reason Jesse is such a compelling character is how often he allows himself to be vulnerable. While he often fronts that he is an authority on all things, Jesse is quick to drop his tough-guy act when his emotions overcome him. Emotions wreak havoc on Jesse when his grandpa Papouli comes to visit the Tanners.

Papouli asks Jesse to do a Greek dance with him and Michelle for her school presentation. Jesse, a terrible dancer, refuses — but cleans up Papouli's earlier flour-throwing celebration. In the morning, Jesse discovers that Papouli died in his sleep. The loss hits the family hard. While Jesse keeps busy to distract himself from the pain, Michelle ditches school. Jesse finds her, and the two have a faltering, frank discussion about their pain and how confusing grief can be. Neither is sure what way is "okay" to act, and the little girl and the young man give each other permission to feel their feelings, even if they can't quite articulate them.

When Michelle asks Jesse if it's okay to cry, he can barely get the nod out before they both hold each other and weep for Papouli. Later, Jesse attends Michelle's dance presentation at school. Even though his grief-stricken feet have got no rhythm, Jesse dances with Michelle — and the memory of Papouli — one last time.

After Jesse and Becky return from their honeymoon in Bora Bora, Jesse must break the news to that he'll be moving out of the family home and in with Aunt Becky. While D.J. and Stephanie will miss him, they use the opportunity to change up their living situation. Michelle, however, takes the news hard — and worse when she realizes the entire family isn't moving, just Uncle Jesse.

Jesse tries to ease both his and Michelle's pain by giving Michelle his "pink bunny" picture — a framed piece of the wallpaper that hung in his room, and in Stephanie's back when it was hers. Michelle gives Uncle Jesse a stuffed pink pig. She asks for one more rendition of the "teddy bear" song, and the knife in Jesse's soul twists even harder as he recalls when he sang the song to her back when he and his mullet first moved in. Uncle and niece part with tears in their eyes, and uncertainty in their hearts.

While Jesse's stuff has been moved to Becky's, she arranges for them to spend one more night at the Tanner house — and then reveals to Jesse that she convinced Danny to let them convert the attic into an apartment for them. Jesse is elated to not have to move away from the family he's grown so close to, and that he can start another one in the same home. The tears and inspirational music flows, and everyone sings the "teddy bear" song to Michelle.