The Kids Were All Right

Goodbye, goodbye to Blossom and Full House, as each finishes out its series run this week. Blossom was a sweet little nothing of a show with one big something going for it: Mayim Bialik, a skillfully perfect embodiment of gawky adolescence, in the title role. The show also yielded a bona fide teen idol in Joey Lawrence, whose Joey Russo was a likable teenage moron who came complete with a catchphrase (''Whoaaaa!''). After a couple of mildly entertaining seasons following its premiere in 1991, Blossom fell into the trap of ''message'' episodes: Hey, kids, don't drink, don't do drugs, don't have sex. (On a recent episode of Friends, Matthew Perry makes a sarcastic reference: ''Tonight, on a very special episode of Blossom....'') But Bialik always remained admirably unfazed, unmannered.

For eight seasons, Full House was one of those shows invisible to adults but circuit-wired into the brains of millions of children and preadolescents. Its original premise — a trio of guys (Bob Saget, John Stamos, and Dave Coulier) raising a trio of little girls (Candace Cameron, Jodie Sweetin, and one moppet played by twins Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen) — was little more than a Three Men and a Baby rip-off, gleaning laughs from the fact that men don't know diddly about kids. But by the time the underrated Lori Loughlin joined the show during the second season, Full House had become a crack ensemble sitcom; you didn't have to chuckle at its preadolescent punchlines to appreciate the skill that went into delivering them. You can't ask much more from a family show.

You Might Also Like

• TV Review The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air;Blossom | Ken Tucker
• Cover Story NBC Winter TV preview -- We tell you about ''Seinfeld,'' ''Blossom'' and more | Mark Harris, Ken Tucker
• Television News Mayim Bialik: the young feminist | Meredith Berkman
• SPOTLIGHT The EW Pop Culture Personality Test: Joey Lawrence | Mandi Bierly
• Television News Catching up with Mayim Bialik | Whitney Pastorek