As you would expect, Fuller House got very nostalgic for its final season, which included an ambitious triple wedding, and some very surprising guests. Not among those to arrive for the special day, however, were Kimmy’s parents, simply known as Mr. and Mrs. Gibbler. The couple has long-eluded the franchise, so why did Fuller House not introduce them, even after bringing them up in the midseason premiere? Candace Cameron Bure has some insight about that.
On paper, you would think Kimmy’s parents would come to witness their daughter and son get married. (To different people, of course, with Kimmy’s younger brother Jimmy having married Stephanie Tanner during the triplet of nuptials.) But like the Olsen twins unrealized return as Michelle, it never happened, and as Bure explains, for a good reason. On Fuller House’s decision, Bure told Insider:
It was something that they thought about and because we knew it was the last season, I think it was hard for the writers to introduce what would have been two very significant characters. . . . Because they would be so significant, I think they thought it would detract from the wedding.
Some could argue that NOT seeing the Gibblers was also a distraction, considering the magnitude of the event they failed to arrive for on Fuller House. Missing your kids’ weddings is a pretty big deal in any family, so for them (and Aunt Becky and Michelle) to miss the wedding bonanza was an equally large and glaring faux pas.
If Fuller House had introduced Kimmy’s parents, it would have not only been a huge moment for the spinoff, but the entire franchise. Fans of Full House (the original series) never got to meet the Gibblers either. They were commonly talked about, sort of, but were never seen. What was known is that Kimmy spent a lot of time at the Tanners, a sign that she wasn't exactly spending tons of time with her parents, and they apparently did not mind. (No clue what happened to the three sisters Kimmy had, though.)
The issue of the Gibblers’ absence was not ignored during Fuller House’s final season. As Candace Cameron Bure pointed out, their absence actually led to that awesome bonding scene between Joey and Kimmy, in which he volunteered to walk Kimmy down the aisle. Had the Gibblers been introduced, that moment wouldn't have happened. Bure said:
I think if you bring the Gibbler parents on, those characters are so extravagant and they're so big and bold that it's almost like there wasn't room. We already have so many cast members on our show. That's another part of it. It's very hard to serve such big characters that would actually need their own story lines when you already have so many others to service.
It would seem that Fuller House (and Full House) fans will not ever get to meet the Gibblers. Sadly, the Netflix series is over, as Candace Cameron Bure and her understandably emotional reaction can attest. However, John Stamos has had hopeful things to say in the past about another potential spinoff. Could the Gibbler-inos show up there? It's tough to say.
For those interested, Andrea Barber told TVLine that she always thought of someone along the lines of actress Jane Lynch playing Kimmy’s mom. I would have really loved for that dream casting to have happened because Lynch would have nailed every second. And if her dad would have been played by someone else from Christopher Guest's stable of actors, that would have been awesome, too.
Goodbyes are never easy, and going out without having met Kimmy’s parents carries a little sting to it. During the show’s run, Kimmy was the surrogate who carried a baby for her brother and Stephanie, and not even THAT was enough to earn a visit from the elders. Fuller House also revealed they never even met Kimmy’s daughter Ramona. I guess missing the wedding was just par for the course.
Check out who did make it onto the final season when you binge Fuller House’s last episodes on Netflix. The remainder of Season 5 is one of 2020’s premieres. If you need something else to consider watching after realizing you will never see the Gibblers on Fuller House, peruse this summer’s sizzling schedule.
