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Favorite Episodes: You Take The Good

sev

By sev
in The Facts Of Life [V]

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sev

sev

4×22 “Take My Finals, Please”
This is the episode I'd suggest to anybody who has never seen the show: is extremely funny and a good portrait the dynamics between the girls, including Mrs G.

8×12 “Seven Little Indians”
To me the funniest episode of any show ever, cheesy, silly, surreal...and one more thing: “Tootie”!

Following:

6×09 “Dear Apple”
Blair's accounts of Helen of Troy wrestled to ground by Louie the Langley Lion: what an Oscar performance!

6×12 “The Rich Aren’t Different” (aka Blair’s Watch Project)
Because sometimes Jo is dense, too. One great line after the other and everyone is great in this ep, up to the traffic court Judge.

7×08 “Come Back to the Truck Stop, Natalie Green, Natalie Green”
It's like Natalie writing an episode – “cuanto le gusta le gusta le gusta le gusta…”

6×05 “Cruisin’ ”
Less is more: just the four of them in a car... and it works.

6×08 “E.G.O.C.”
That Shakespeare class is a hoot.

6×22 “The Last Drive-in”
Coz' Blair did do the decking.

4x01 “Ain’t Miss Beholden”, 8×04 “Another Room”, 8×23 “Rites Of Passage (1)”
Jo sticks to her principles while Blair, at the end, finds a way to give moral support.

... and a few more.

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ShadowDenizen

ShadowDenizen

(edited)

My 2 favorite episodes are both "Dream-Sequences". (And I think sev captured them both!)

The first one is later in the series, when Natalie gets stranded at a diner, and envisions a murder-mystery taking place all around her, where Blair is a jilted heiress, Tootie is a crop-duster pilot, and Jo is a kind-hearted waitress. (The image of Blair slinking around the diner with a gun in her hand never fails to make me smile.)

The other was an mid-series episode where the gang ends up getting killed-off one by one. (And Blair again gets the line of the show when she pops out of a closet with her hair all teased-up and shrieks "Dippty-Doo'ed"!" Her delivery of that line was priceless.

Edited by ShadowDenizen
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sev

sev

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Indeed, the first one is  “Come Back to the Truck Stop, Natalie Green, Natalie Green”, the latter  “Seven Little Indians”.
So many great and hilarious moments in both eps.

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Lakewood27

Lakewood27

(edited)
8×12 “Seven Little Indians”

To me the funniest episode of any show ever, cheesy, silly, surreal...and one more thing: “Tootie”!

My sister and I still quote the line about the thermos. And we will sometimes end a sentence with "Tootie",  just for giggles.

There was a period when every other episode was Tootie having a colossal meltdown. The screeching was unbearable.

Edited by Lakewood27
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sev

sev

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My sister and I still quote the line about the thermos.

"It keeps hot things hot, and cold things cold. The question is: how do it know?" XD

Yes, Tootie had some annoying moments in earlier seasons. I like her from s6 on, when she lost the whiny in favor of attitude, and her melodramatic side was played for humor.

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Lakewood27

Lakewood27

Yes, Tootie was always a favourite, but there were some episodes during the mushroom cut years that I cannot bear because she was just overly emotional and had to be talked off a ledge over the silliest things.

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Stinger97

Stinger97

Lakewood27, the episode in which Tootie (pardon the term) freaks the fuck out because Mrs. Garrett doesn't want to let her meet Tito Jackson immediately comes to mind. She screamed and cried as if Mrs. Garrett just punched her in her braces. The other girls rightly rolled their eyes and were pissed when Mrs. Garrett stepped away from her original position and decided Tootie could go to the concert. 

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sev

sev

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I think that everybody ends up holding their ears while watching that episode ("Starstuck" with Jermaine Jackson).

But as far as Tootie whiny episodes, I prefer "Growing Pains". It has some great lines.

Blair: "Natalie, have you been writing to prisoners again?"

Jo: "Ooh, booze!"
Blair: "Booze? You heathen, that's [something French]."
Jo:"Gesundheit."

Jo: "I'll get beer."

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love21

love21

(edited)

I love so many episodes. I pretty much love every episode that isn't a spinoff attempt. Some of my all time favorites are:

Season 6 "Working It Out"- Everyone worries about Blair's excessive dating after she broke up with Cliff.

Season 3 "Fear Strikes Back"- Natalie gets attacked on her way home from a costume party.

Season 5 "A Death In The Family"- The one where Natalie's father dies.

Edited by love21
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humdrum

humdrum

I've got a few from Season 8:

"Post-Christmas Card": Natalie getting her first credit card, and everyone doing the whole New Year's resolution thing.

"62-Pick Up": I loved the cheesy singing/dancing! "Hot rod lover..." lol

"This is Only a Test": Blair/Jo cramming for Blair's test so she can get admitted to law school. I loved the dynamics of their friendship.

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sev

sev

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Yes, humdrum, those three are also good. Especially "Post-Christmas Card": Jo's crankiness and palpable frustration, while trying to keep her resolution to not insult Blair, is quite revealing. XD

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CeeBeeGee

CeeBeeGee

Oh God, the Jermaine Jackson episode. Every one I've ever shown that to has, without exception, made the same comment. "Tootie's getting all worked up Jermaine? Really?"

Kim Fields was very precocious as a young comic actress but she was pretty terrible when she had to handle the drama. She would do this head-shaking thing to indicate intensity that was just embarrassing, and the mushroom cut only highlighted it. The episode that really did her no favors was the one where she runs away to NYC to join the other 3 who've gone to see a Broadway show (she's been left behind because she's too young in yet another iteration of the Tootie Is The Baby theme that they kept exploring in seasons 2-4). (A young Lauren Tom, who was later a regular on Friends, plays Miko the Japanese student at Eastland in this episode.) Naturally she loses her purse and coat and ends up in this sketchy diner near the theater where she meets a young girl ("an actor and model," she says) who helps her out. Eventually the girl's pimp orders her to kidnap recruit Tootie for his posse and the girl, naturally terrified, tries to obey. Tammy Lauren played the young hooker and she blew Kim Fields out of the water. There was so much subtext in her delivery, so much she wasn't saying. She did a great job. "You have to get me off the hook with Mike...he gets so mad..." And there was an HILARIOUS scene earlier where Jo the hardened Bronx denizen explains to Blair and Natalie that the other people at the diner are all prostitutes and their pimp. "Aaaaaaand....there she goes."

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JAYJAY1979

JAYJAY1979

I loved the last Drive In episode especially Blair's method of fighting a bully, and New York, New York where both Jo and Blair visit their homes only to find that both have evolved while their friends haven't changed.

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TaraS1

TaraS1

(edited)

Jo was my favorite, so I always loved any Jo-centric episodes, especially ones that highlighted the Jo/Blair friendship.  I always think of the one where Blair gets in a car crash and has a scar on her face (which I think magically disappeared by the next episode) and Jo helps her through it - love that one!

 

But yeah, you can't have a favorite Facts list without Blair being dippity-do'd.

Edited by TaraS1
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spanana

spanana

Take My Finals, Please is probably my all time favorite episode.  In fact, a lot of my favorite episodes were ones that mostly involved just the four main girls with minimal involvement from Mrs. Garrett and the outside world.  I didn't have an issue with Mrs. Garrett, but she wasn't always needed.  Plus the main four just had really good chemistry with each other and they all played off each other extremely well. 

 

Early dramatic Tootie episodes make me cringe.  The Jermaine Jackson episode has to be one of my least favorites of all time, minus any intended backdoor pilot type episodes that they threw in now and again for shows that never got picked up.  KIm Fields did struggle with the drama in those early episodes and she was just so whiny and shrill.

 

The Sexy Lingerie episode with El Debarge is my favorite guilty pleasure episode.  Because in theory the whole thing is so stupid, but yet I find it laugh out loud funny.  Again it's a situation where they all just played off each other so well in terms of their line delivery and of course they all had their characters down by then.   Plus of course you get an assist from Andy and George.  I know some people didn't like the inclusion of Andy, but he didn't bother me too much.  When they got to the whole Beverly Ann adopting him thing, that was too far.  But at that point I think they were just trying to figure out a way to explain why Andy would spend so much time hanging around these college age women that made any sort of feasible sense.  

 

 

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KFC

KFC

Take My Finals, Please is probably my all time favorite episode.  In fact, a lot of my favorite episodes were ones that mostly involved just the four main girls with minimal involvement from Mrs. Garrett and the outside world.  I didn't have an issue with Mrs. Garrett, but she wasn't always needed.  Plus the main four just had really good chemistry with each other and they all played off each other extremely well. 

 

I've been binging on the Logo FOL marathon today, and you said exactly how I feel. So many of my favorite episodes (Take My Finals, Please and Cruisin' among others) kept the central action limited to the four girls. The core four had an ensemble banter that wasn't nearly as good when there was a lot of interference from outside forces or when their storylines were split into two.

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GalvDuck

GalvDuck

"Less Than Perfect" - the one where Blair gets in the car accident and has a scar.

"The Four Musketeers" - the one with the famous paint fight scene

"Adventures in Baileysitting" - the Christmas episode where Bailey gets lost and Andy/Pippa bring home the wrong kid.  Bailey's best line:  "They losted me."  

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Dee

Dee

On 8/13/2014 at 7:09 PM, spanana said:

The Sexy Lingerie episode with El Debarge is my favorite guilty pleasure episode.  Because in theory the whole thing is so stupid, but yet I find it laugh out loud funny.  Again it's a situation where they all just played off each other so well in terms of their line delivery and of course they all had their characters down by then.   Plus of course you get an assist from Andy and George.  I know some people didn't like the inclusion of Andy, but he didn't bother me too much.  When they got to the whole Beverly Ann adopting him thing, that was too far.  But at that point I think they were just trying to figure out a way to explain why Andy would spend so much time hanging around these college age women that made any sort of feasible sense. 

Blair singing 'My Boyfriend's Back,' ala Julie Andrews, cracks me up. Every time.

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Bort

Bort

13 minutes ago, Dee said:

Blair singing 'My Boyfriend's Back,' ala Julie Andrews, cracks me up. Every time.

That one scene with Blair's falsetto singing makes the whole episode. 

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txhorns79

txhorns79

Quote

Or when their hair went totally 80s.  Any time you see Joe without her ponytail watch out.

Poor Jo.  I always thought she must have done something to really piss off the hair people on set.  By the last season, her hair is just some kind of long-ish, giant mess. 

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Aja

Aja

8 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Poor Jo.  I always thought she must have done something to really piss off the hair people on set.  By the last season, her hair is just some kind of long-ish, giant mess. 

Ahhh, it might seem that way to you now, but I remember a time when Jo's ultralong, perfectly feathered mullet was HIGHLY sought after. My hair STILL retracts back into my head whenever it sees a can of Aquanet. 

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CeeBeeGee

CeeBeeGee

Yesterday they aired the S5 ep where Jo tries to reunite her parents, and today they aired the one where Tootie befriends the latckkey kid next door. What--WHAT--did Nancy McKeon do to piss off the makeup people?! She is literally orange. Her makeup is absolutely awful--it looks as though she's put on too much fake tanner which is the LAST thing Jo would be doing. Ugh, how did the show runner allow this?

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Tenarife60

Tenarife60

(edited)
On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2014 at 12:21 PM, ShadowDenizen said:

And of course, who can forget the "Sexy Lingerie" episode, where the girls form a rock group?

 

Oh yes, I always loved that one and the one where they sing "Bad Girls in Trouble (We're the trash you didn't throw out)" in a dream sequence.  I don't remember the name of the episode, though.

Edited by Tenarife60
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GalvDuck

GalvDuck

On 3/16/2018 at 11:13 AM, Tenarife60 said:

Oh yes, I always loved that one and the one where they sing "Bad Girls in Trouble (We're the trash you didn't throw out)" in a dream sequence.  I don't remember the name of the episode, though.

"Let's Face The Music," season 9, episode 17.  It should be coming up soon on MeTV because they're into the 9th season.  It guest-stars Tuesday Knight from "Nightmare on Elm Street 4."  That's the same episode where Blair and Jo go to the spa and Jo comes out looking more like Blair (blonde) and Blair ends up with green hair.  

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

(edited)

So I’m zipping through the final season and i think my brain purposefully bleached my memory of how hideous this last season was. And I don’t mean the big hair. The only positive I can come up with is that Natalie and Jo look great.

If there was banging head against a brick wall in my cache of emojis on my phone, I’d be filling this comment with them! First is Blair being dressed as if she’s going to a fancy dinner or cocktail party in every scene-law school, staying at home, etc. And Tootie’s following the same path! Who, in their ever lovin’ Minds goes to a BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN concert dressed in formal wear????!!!! Like Tootie and Jeff were? Natalie wasn’t nearly as bad, but Snake was wearing the typical normal clothes you do. I’d forgotten that Tootie had gotten engaged at 19! Jeff turned into a snob; I don’t know if that’s worse, or the same level as Beverly Ann acting as if Natalie had committed a HUUUUGE sin, when Nat revealed she and Snake had sex. With the stuttering and pearl clutching, you’d think it was the ‘50s!!!! And that Natalie was a minor; worse, like 16!??????

I think Mrs. Garrett would have reacted a lot better.

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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GalvDuck

GalvDuck

10 hours ago, Dee said:

What was the point of Pippa?

I always thought it was to help bridge the connection for the spin-off that never happened?  Remember, she was one of the students at Eastland, so she was there when Blair took over as headmaster.  It's sad that it didn't take off.  They had Seth Green, Mayim Bialik, Meredith Scott Lynn, and Juliette Lewis.  

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Bort

Bort

Pippa was around long before that, though. I always thought the point of her was to capitalize on the Australian craze the '80s had going on due to the Crocodile Dundee movies.

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psychoticstate

psychoticstate

On ‎4‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 11:35 PM, Dee said:

What was the point of Pippa?

I always thought it was to try and bring in the 14 year olds.   Most of FOL's audience had grown up with the original "girls" by that point and I think they were trying to attract the teen crowd.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

12 minutes ago, psychoticstate said:

I always thought it was to try and bring in the 14 year olds.   Most of FOL's audience had grown up with the original "girls" by that point and I think they were trying to attract the teen crowd.

They FAILED. Miserably.

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GalvDuck

GalvDuck

"Best Sister" and "Take My Finals, Please" are both coming up in the next couple of weeks.

I loved "Best Sister" because of Blair's response to Jo when she says, "How do you know?"  I think it was me fangirling as Lisa was able to talk about her faith (as Blair).  

TMFP cracks me up.  

Can't wait to see them both.  It's been forever!

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psychoticstate

psychoticstate

I may have said this before - - apologies if I have, but I am rewatching epis on my DVD set and happened to watch this episode.  The one in season 3 where Natalie is assaulted while coming back after a costume party, I think it's one of the best of the entire series.  It handles a very serious issue and, for once, doesn't make it all about Tootie.  The show demonstrates teen girls doing the nervous laughing thing and wanting to pretend the rape just didn't happen.  I also think Natalie being afraid of the world outside was realistic and well done.  Of course it's never brought up again but . . . 

I also thought the episode in either season 2 or 3 with Cynthia beating out Blair as student body president was well done.  I do wish the show had introduced Cynthia to us at least one episode prior so we'd have a little more invested in her when she commits suicide but, oh well.  I think where the show dropped the ball on this one was making it about how TOOTIE responded to her death.  It should have been Blair, who was biting and snippy to her.  But of course it had to be all about Tootie.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

1 hour ago, psychoticstate said:

I may have said this before - - apologies if I have, but I am rewatching epis on my DVD set and happened to watch this episode.  The one in season 3 where Natalie is assaulted while coming back after a costume party, I think it's one of the best of the entire series.  It handles a very serious issue and, for once, doesn't make it all about Tootie.  The show demonstrates teen girls doing the nervous laughing thing and wanting to pretend the rape just didn't happen.  I also think Natalie being afraid of the world outside was realistic and well done.  Of course it's never brought up again but . . . 

What I didn’t like about that episode was the condescension from the guy who was teaching them self-defense. Couldn’t stand the actor, and yet, I could tolerate him as Lee Stetson’s snitch, Auggie on Scarecrow & Mrs. King. Barely. But I always laugh at Jo’s response when asshole gets her in a chokehold and she says her keys/wallet are in her pocket.

And just like they never  brought that up again, neither did they ever address Blair’s pity party/whining fear about not being perfect as a result of that “scar” that I’m sure was fixed by plastic surgery from her car accident. That thing was HUGE!

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psychoticstate

psychoticstate

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

What I didn’t like about that episode was the condescension from the guy who was teaching them self-defense. Couldn’t stand the actor, and yet, I could tolerate him as Lee Stetson’s snitch, Auggie on Scarecrow & Mrs. King. Barely. But I always laugh at Jo’s response when asshole gets her in a chokehold and she says her keys/wallet are in her pocket.

And just like they never  brought that up again, neither did they ever address Blair’s pity party/whining fear about not being perfect as a result of that “scar” that I’m sure was fixed by plastic surgery from her car accident. That thing was HUGE!

I love how Jo walked up to him and totally gave him the stink eye.  It was amazing.  It's why Jo was and always will be my favorite character.  Nancy was just perfect in that role.

TPTB definitely dropped Blair's scar, as they did with other things as well.  Was Blair's mother's breast cancer ever mentioned again?  Did we ever see Natalie's grandma Mona again?  Speaking of Natalie, she was so into poetry when Mrs. Garrett's son visited that she wanted to drop out of school and write music but did she ever mention poetry again?  Was Alex ever mentioned again?  Jo and Eddie split up, in part, because Jo's attracted to her Bates Academy "husband" Bob but we never see him again, or even hear a word about his name.   

This is a crazy question of sorts but I always think of these stupid things when I'm watching the show.  Nearly all the girls board at Eastland.  You would assume breakfast, lunch, and dinner are part of the deal.  When does Mrs. Garrett get any time off?  How does she take Tootie to NYC when Tootie catches that "famous" photographer's eye?  How does she have time for anything?  No wonder she considered leaving Eastland for night manager at HoJo.  

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

26 minutes ago, psychoticstate said:

TPTB definitely dropped Blair's scar, as they did with other things as well.  Was Blair's mother's breast cancer ever mentioned again?  Did we ever see Natalie's grandma Mona again?  Speaking of Natalie, she was so into poetry when Mrs. Garrett's son visited that she wanted to drop out of school and write music but did she ever mention poetry again?  Was Alex ever mentioned again?  Jo and Eddie split up, in part, because Jo's attracted to her Bates Academy "husband" Bob but we never see him again, or even hear a word about his name.  

Actually I think that Blair’s mom’s cancer episode was about her getting the biopsy to determine if it was Cancer. I’m guessing it wasn’t because as you stated, the show never followed up on that.

As for Eddie? We did see him again—in season five. He’s married and DOESN’T TELL JO.????? Tootie finds out and tells her when Eddie fails to do it.????

 Nope. Never saw Nat’s grandma again.  Nor did we ever see the twice mentioned sister of hers! And when her father died, we only saw her mom.

I thought the whole poetry ploy was stupid so didn’t pay any attention to that lack of follow up.

33 minutes ago, psychoticstate said:

I love how Jo walked up to him and totally gave him the stink eye.  It was amazing.  It's why Jo was and always will be my favorite character.  Nancy was just perfect in that role.

So do I! And agree. And Jo was my fave too! Nancy was just such a natural. 

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psychoticstate

psychoticstate

21 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Actually I think that Blair’s mom’s cancer episode was about her getting the biopsy to determine if it was Cancer. I’m guessing it wasn’t because as you stated, the show never followed up on that.

As for Eddie? We did see him again—in season five. He’s married and DOESN’T TELL JO.????? Tootie finds out and tells her when Eddie fails to do it.????

 Nope. Never saw Nat’s grandma again.  Nor did we ever see the twice mentioned sister of hers! And when her father died, we only saw her mom.

I thought the whole poetry ploy was stupid so didn’t pay any attention to that lack of follow up.

So do I! And agree. And Jo was my fave too! Nancy was just such a natural. 

In the Monica-cancer episode she got the diagnosis and it was cancer.  She and Blair discussed, kind of, her options with Blair saying they were more playmates than friends or mother-daughter.  

My bad - - when I posted I meant we never saw or heard from Bob again.  I always loved when FOL brought Eddie back.  Clark Brandon used to be quite the thing in the 70s and early 80s.

I had forgotten that Natalie had a sister!  I always thought of her as the only, adopted child of the Greens.  I am grateful the writers chose Natalie's character to be the one to lose her father rather than Tootie.  What an unmitigated whinefest that would have been.

I'm glad there was consistency with Natalie's writing and it wasn't just dropped.  Same with Tootie's acting.  Blair's interest in the law kind of came out of left field.  I always figured they would have had her go into fashion.  Too bad they didn't really push Jo's interest in teaching more.  Of course they were kind of limited, since they attempted to keep the action centered around the house and store (by that time.) 

Honestly, I have a girl crush on Jo/Nancy.  She was just awesome.  Her one-liners were terrific and her side eye is classic!

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JAYJAY1979

JAYJAY1979

Jo was ok, but I love it when she had to grovel to Blair when she was wrong (which was quite a bit).  It's funny, but Jo's disdain for wealthy people was never really touched on except in one episode where Jo liked a guy that ended up being wealthy and she was a jerk about it.  

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