Michelle Tanner is the youngest member of the Tanner family and is notable in the series for saying a string of precocious catchphrases such as "you got it dude," "puh-lease," "you're in big trouble, mister," "no way, José!," and "aw nuts!" Raised by her father Danny Tanner, her uncle Jesse Katsopolis and her father's friend Joey Gladstone after her mother Pamela's death in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, Michelle debuted during her character's infancy, maturing throughout the progression of the series. She is depicted as being slightly mischievous, though her status as the youngest daughter of the family leaves many of her misdeeds undisciplined and spares her from punishment – much to the chagrin of her older sisters. Michelle is quite playful, being a young child; however many episodes end with her realization of a vital moral. Having never interacted with her deceased mother, Michelle occasionally yearns for a mother of her own and episode plots have surrounded her desire for a mother and her plans to attempt to gain one through her father Danny remarrying. She forms a very strong familial bond with Jesse (her uncle) and enjoys his company and playful teasing. She was the flower girl at his and Becky's wedding. Their relationship is so strong that she becomes crestfallen upon learning of Jesse's intended relocation from the Tanner household after his marriage to Rebecca Donaldson in the season four episode "Fuller House". She holds a tendency to scheme when met with a new desire as an enhancement to the comedy of the series but she eventually realizes the errors of her ways by the episode's conclusion. From seasons six through eight (as first established in "Lovers and Other Tanners"), Michelle is a "Honey Bee" in an organization which her sisters D.J. and Stephanie had previously participated in. Michelle attends Meadowcrest Preschool through seasons 4-5 and later, Frasier Street Elementary School through seasons 6-8. In the show finale, she gets
amnesia from falling off her
horse, but she recovers.
Friendships In the season three episode "Bye, Bye Birdie," on Michelle's first day of
preschool, she meets a boy named Aaron Bailey, who, that day, is able to wear the sharing crown because he brought his toys in. That day, the teacher calls the kids to the reading carpet for story time and Michelle tells the class bird to come to participate, opening the cage and consequently resulting in the bird flying out the open window. A saddened Michelle desperately attempts to get the bird back but at the end of the episode, Danny gets her a new bird for her class. When she brings it in, all the kids love it and Aaron lets Michelle wear the sharing crown for bringing the bird to be the class pet, the two eventually become friends and stay friends throughout the series. In seasons five and six, she is friends with a boy named Teddy, whom she meets on her first day of kindergarten in the season five premiere "Double Trouble." The two enjoy doing many things together; it is revealed in "The Long Goodbye" that they enjoy dotting each other's "I"s on their papers. When the two are in
first grade, Teddy reveals his father got a new job and thus he and his family have to move to
Amarillo, Texas. Michelle, saddened by the news, ties him up in her room tricking him into thinking she was teaching him how to jump rope. He is eventually untied by Joey and he gives her his special toy, "Furry Murray" and she gives him her special stuffed pig, "Pinky." Later, the two decide to write to one another. At the end of that same episode, Michelle makes a new friend named Denise Frazier, who then sits in Teddy's old seat and learns how to cross "T"s. The two become friends through the seventh season (Denise does not appear in season eight due to her portrayer
Jurnee Smollett's commitment to the short-lived sitcom
On Our Own). She, at first, does not want a new best friend but she does like Denise. Michelle also makes many other friends throughout the series, including shy but intelligent Derek Boyd (
Blake McIver Ewing) and tough-girl Lisa Leeper (
Kathryn Zaremba). In the season seven episode "Be Your Own Best Friend," Teddy moves back to San Francisco and attends Michelle's school once again, rejoining her class. Michelle, Teddy and Denise get into an argument when Danny comes into class for Parent Volunteer Day. He gives an assignment to trace each student's best friend, leading Michelle to believe that a person could only have one best friend. The three then have trouble deciding whom to trace, allowing Michelle to take advantage of the situation. She says that she would pick the one who gives her the best stuff but she did not say it explicitly (Teddy offers to give her his lone-star
bolo tie and some Snickles candy – a parody of
Skittles and Denise offers her hair scrunchie and pencil case; Michelle takes them up on the offers, not realizing she is accepting bribes, which ultimately make Teddy and Denise angry when they understand what is actually happening). The three eventually make up in the end after Michelle picks Comet the dog as her best friend and traces him and Danny helps them to understand that they could all be best friends. ==Comet the Dog==