For all D & G's broad comedy, there are a lot of culturally specific notes the sitcom got right when it came to certain San Francisco types and nuances. Here are five qualities Dharma and Greg totally captured about San Francisco in ways Full House never could.

Parenting Styles

The drastically different parenting styles the Finkelsteins and Montgomerys employed are frequently cause for disagreement between Dharma and Greg early in the show. Greg went to a private day school (we've always guessed Town among my friends) and then onto Exeter and Harvard (not unpopular choices in "society" circles). Dharma was home schooled on alternative histories and organic craft making. Greg's parents were slightly neglectful gala hoppers who forgot to supervise him (although Greg never took the liberties absentee parenting afforded him). Dharma's parents were touchy feely, "talk about it" types who had elaborate ceremonies for her rites of passage and allowed their daughter to call them by their first names. Most people who grew up or went to school in San Francisco probably knew a handful of kids who were the products of both types of parenting. At my neighborhood Whole Foods, I could probably round up a dozen of each on any given day. The episode where Dharma's parents reenact her birth in front of a roomful of party guests is especially poignant for me after having sat through a two and a half hour "coming of age ceremony" that ended in much the same way. When cultures clash, the laughs keep coming.

Hippie Health

What were probably big laughs in other parts of the world about the strangeness of the hippie food and health values on the show were knowing "ah, I know what wheat grass is!" understanding laughs from kids who grew up with typically health-minded Bay Area parents. Granola, tofu, vegetarianism, locavorism and community farming were all the butts of jokes on the sitcom (as was yoga, meditation, alternative fuels, composting and even recycling), but as these things have been mainstreamed into supermarkets and everyday life, it looks like the organic parents are having the last laugh. It's quaint now to go back and watch the characters on the show get gently mocked for asking who grew their produce or argue about pesticide in urban gardening.

Over-sharing

In a city (and post new age culture) where talking about feelings and sharing were a significant part of most childhoods, there was a constant danger of too few boundaries in regular conversation ("how are you?" potentially had many long answers growing up) and the dreaded over-sharing. Dharma was the 200% percent embodiment of the San Francisco over-share as is evidenced by the above discourse to her parents about Greg and her sex life. I don't think anyone I knew made an over-share that profound, but such are the dangers of starting children on preventative talk therapy from the age of birth.

Multiculturalism, Inclusivity and "Villages"

The show's cast of supporting characters was incredibly specific to different San Francisco types. Dharma's best friend Jane was a Burner meets riot grrl type (this is the late '90s, remember?) and, in the later seasons, Dharma's work life teaching yoga at a co-op brings in a cast of alternative lifestyle practitioners including acupuncturists, nutrition consultants and past last regression specialists. There were also some memorable reoccurring guest stars. Dharma's backingpacking early freegan boyfriend makes an appearance in the first season, and in one episode the couple befriend a Native American who wants to die on his ancestral homestead in the Montgomerys' SOMA apartment (doesn't that just sound like a plausible headline?). When Dharma and Greg accidentally almost adopt a baby (as one does), Dharma calls on her "village" to help care for their bundle of joy. Since this is Dharma and Greg, the village is a very San Francisco multicultural mix including a mute performance artist who has taken a vow of silence, a butch lesbian lactation expert, and an African high priest. "Village" is just another way of saying "community," which remains the buzz word of choice for San Francisco alternative schools.

Larry's "Memory Problems"

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5 Ways Dharma and Greg Was More About San Francisco Than Full House