The Facts Of Life - General Discussion

[Egg McMuffin]

On 3/8/2021 at 5:51 PM, Snow Apple said:

I hated that episode and I hated that friend.

Me too. Even though she was played by acclaimed Broadway actress Anne Jackson. I thought it was ridiculous at the end that Edna just turned on a time and forgave and forgot in about 15 seconds. I would have had a tough time doing that after how nasty Gwen was.

 

Beverly Ann got a mention or two in the middle of season 7, when Edna went to stay with her when she was going through her divorce. This was the reason for Charlotte Rae’s absence in the latter half of that season.

[Snow Apple]

2 hours ago, Kyle said:

Me too. Even though she was played by acclaimed Broadway actress Anne Jackson. I thought it was ridiculous at the end that Edna just turned on a time and forgave and forgot in about 15 seconds. I would have had a tough time doing that after how nasty Gwen was.

 

Beverly Ann got a mention or two in the middle of season 7, when Edna went to stay with her when she was going through her divorce. This was the reason for Charlotte Rae’s absence in the latter half of that season.

What I’m surprised of is that they remembered Beverly’s name from season 1 of Different Strokes. Season 7 is a lifetime on tv.

[ifionlyknew]

20 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

What I’m surprised of is that they remembered Beverly’s name from season 1 of Different Strokes. Season 7 is a lifetime on tv.

This show kept continuity from one show to another many years later when more recent shows couldn't keep continuity from one episode to the next.

[Egg McMuffin]

I caught “The New Girl” parts 1 and 2 over the weekend. I have to give the producers credit - this is one of the strongest examples of a series revamp that I’ve seen. Of course, the bar was low - season 1 is corny and embarrassing, and some of the performers are downright amateurish (Sue Ann, this means you). I thought they were smart to make Mrs. Garrett a more authoritative and intelligent character starting with season 2. Lisa Whelchel, a talented performer, had better material starting with that episode, and a decent sparring partner in Nancy McKeon. Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields were still pretty green as performers, but you could see the potential there. There was pretty much a new writing staff too and that helped a lot. Even poor Molly, relegated to a glorified cameo, came off better.

[Wonkabar5]

Aww, I have a sort of “guilty pleasure,” watching Season 1.  There is a sort of time capsule nostalgia (good and bad memories) thing going for it- ie Nancy trying to fit into her literally skin-tight jeans.  Blair waxing lyrically about Prince Charles being the most dreamy of eligible bachelors.  LOLOL! Ha-ha!

  I *know* the short-shorts are icky here, but I just had a look at my 5th grade yearbook from that same year.  We did have a strict dress code at my school against such attire, but there she is. A classmate of mine in a candid shot with very *tight* short-shorts and cringeworthy, in satin no less. She probably was sent home to change, lolol.

I enjoyed seeing Molly W with her *natural, original* hair color. I had seen her earlier in real life, live version onstage as “Pepper,” one of the orphans in the production of Annie. We are the same age. 

The Emily Dickinson episode is one of my favorites, from that season.

As an adult, I can only endure the series in very small quantities, though.  

ETA: The Tootie and the teenage prostitute episode disturbed/scared the you know what out of me in real time when I first watched. 

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Wonkabar5

[Egg McMuffin]

8 hours ago, Wonkabar5 said:

ETA: The Tootie and the teenage prostitute episode disturbed/scared the you know what out of me in real time when I first watched. 

 

Aka “Prostitootie“

[Mrs. Landingham]

On 5/12/2020 at 5:42 AM, Snow Apple said:

I watched a marathon on Antenna TV last weekend and found it hilarious Tootie brings up her love for Michael Jackson in multiple episodes but it was Jermaine who guest starred and Tootie went insane to the point of scaring Mrs. Garrett. I mean seriously, Jermaine?! 

I watched a behind the scenes type special of The Facts of Life recently where they interviewed the cast, crew, producers, etc. They said Michael was invited to appear on the show but declined. Jermaine agreed to do it. So the show pretended that Jermaine was the one Tootie adored all along. 

[ljenkins782]

So, in my quest of more 1980s programming that I was too young to watch when it aired, I checked out the first episode of Cagney & Lacey on the Roku channel. They were undercover as prostitutes and the first thing that struck me was that Tyne Daly was wearing the same striped fur-like coat that Kristy the prostitute wore in the episode where Tootie almost gets lured into prostitution. Part of her "super new clothes" bought by Mike the pimp. :p 

Was that the jacket of choice for hookers in the 80s or what? 

ETA:

Also randomly clicking around Disney+ brought up a Mouseketeers live from Disney special from 1977 and who was there but Lisa Whelchel and Julie Piekarsky (aka Sue Ann from S1). 

Lisa was adorable and elevated some seriously cheesy material but Julie Piekarsky was even worse than she was on FoL. The whole episode opens on her hamming it up to Zippity Doo Dah and you kinda hope the other kids will just push her over the side of the steamboat.

The whole thing is as cheesy and 70s as can be, but Lisa Whelchel stands out as both adorable and talented. Not surprising that she was the one to really make it in acting after that.

Edited August 16, 2021 by ljenkins782

[Egg McMuffin]

That sounds like it’s worth seeking out just for the cheese factor.

The best move the show made was getting rid of Sue Ann after season 1.

[Maverick]

21 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

Was that the jacket of choice for hookers in the 80s or what? 

 White fur jacket is the international symbol for hooker.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

Lisa and Julie being Mouseketeers wasn’t new to me as I watched the Micky Mouse Club as a kid.

[JAYJAY1979]

Of the girls dumped after season 1, which one would you have spared for season 2 to be a 5th lead?

[Egg McMuffin]

Molly. She was irritating as hell during season 1, but during her lone appearance in season 2, she had calmed down and I could have seen that version of Molly continuing. While the actresses playing Nancy and Cindy weren’t awful like Sue Ann was, neither could deliver a decent comic punchline like the girls who continued into season 2. They were just dull.

[ljenkins782]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:51 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Lisa and Julie being Mouseketeers wasn’t new to me as I watched the Micky Mouse Club as a kid.

I knew Lisa was, but never actually saw a full episode, it was before my time.

Quote

That sounds like it’s worth seeking out just for the cheese factor.

It is. Plus, it’s basically a long commercial for Disney World as it was in 1977, so that’s interesting too.  Big River Country was a new attraction then that doesn’t even exist anymore.

Quote

Of the girls dumped after season 1, which one would you have spared for season 2 to be a 5th lead?

I think I’d keep Nancy, but give her more to do than talk on the phone to Roger. Felice Schachter had some promise in the very, very few opportunities she got to do anything at all besides waiting for a call from Roger or waiting for her date with Roger, etc.

cindy was pretty awful and Sue Ann was the worst. Molly might have been okay if they gave her better material too, but there was no saving Sue Ann and Cindy.

[Katy M]

On 8/17/2021 at 8:17 PM, JAYJAY1979 said:

Of the girls dumped after season 1, which one would you have spared for season 2 to be a 5th lead?

I think maybe Cindy.  I guess I'm in the minority, but I liked Cindy and Sue Ann.  I couldn't stand Molly.  She shouted all of her lines and how she became the biggest star of the group is beyond me.  I actually unapologetically don't like any of her movies, but that also has to do with script and plot and doesn't all fall at her feet.

[Bort]

26 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

I think I’d keep Nancy, but give her more to do than talk on the phone to Roger. Felice Schachter had some promise in the very, very few opportunities she got to do anything at all besides waiting for a call from Roger or waiting for her date with Roger, etc.

I suspect that part of the reason for the cast shakeup was the similarity in looks and trying to avoid confusion over who was who. Keeping Lisa Whelchel was a gimme (she was easily the best actress amongst the S1 group and that includes Molly Ringwald). So the other blondes had to go. Hiring Nancy McKeon was about giving Blair a foil in Jo. So similarly looking brunette Felice Schacter was consequently out as well.

[Snow Apple]

Cindy was my favorite outside the season 2 core group. I’m not sure about her acting but most of the girls didn’t have good acting direction during that time. But Cindy had a few interesting stories and showed it’s ok for a pretty girl to be an athletic tomboy. 

A Natalie scene I loved is when Cindy was jump roping and Natalie shouted “Let me in or cut it out!”

[ljenkins782]

11 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I suspect that part of the reason for the cast shakeup was the similarity in looks and trying to avoid confusion over who was who. Keeping Lisa Whelchel was a gimme (she was easily the best actress amongst the S1 group and that includes Molly Ringwald). So the other blondes had to go. Hiring Nancy McKeon was about giving Blair a foil in Jo. So similarly looking brunette Felice Schacter was consequently out as well.

Yeah, I can see that. There were a lot of characters in S1 and while it's not their faults that the writing/storylines were so weak that their characters weren't distinguishable. 

Nancy, Molly, Sue Ann, Cindy also seemed to be in a certain class segment that overlapped with Natalie and Tootie's. Not the millionaire that Blair was, but still wealthy, privileged backgrounds. Natalie and Tootie were distinguishable for solely physical reasons, then they brought in Jo with her working class background that didn't resemble anyone else's to make a foursome of characters that weren't easy to confuse with one another.

The DVD sets had some interviews where they talked about the behind the scenes and Felice was actually the first hired and was supposed to have a more visible role, but for some reason, they relegated her to being on the phone with her boyfriend and Lisa stole the show. 

Quote

Cindy was my favorite outside the season 2 core group. I’m not sure about her acting but most of the girls didn’t have good acting direction during that time. But Cindy had a few interesting stories and showed it’s ok for a pretty girl to be an athletic tomboy. 

I don't know, I'm not sure life was really that tough for a pretty girl who was also athletic or tomboyish. Nowadays anyway, that would be valued pretty highly. 

Cindy's worst performance was much later on, when they made her into a fashion model in The Little Chill episode and dressed her in the most ridiculous getup ever, which she doesn't have the personality to pull off. She clearly still wasn't comfortable with herself and woodenly stood around in this flashy outfit, looking like a dog in a dress. 

Someone mentioned Molly shouting all her lines (which is 100% true) but Sue Ann and to a lesser degree, Cindy, did that as well. Child actors in that era seemed to think that the key to acting was volume and facial expressions. Like they'd all started in plays and never realized that there is no "back row" to project to on television, everything is up close and everyone can hear you just fine. 

[JAYJAY1979]

I think Sue Ann was originally supposed to be the foil to Blair.  She would do put downs to her, plus she was from a small town (i.e. fish out of water).

Molly was the feminist, and I think maybe there would have been some use keeping her as a main cast member season 2 and beyond.

[Bort]

There were just too many of them in season 1. I don’t think there was enough time to develop that many characters. Paring it down to four really did help with tightening it up.

[CeeBeeGee]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:09 PM, ljenkins782 said:

Also randomly clicking around Disney+ brought up a Mouseketeers live from Disney special from 1977 and who was there but Lisa Whelchel and Julie Piekarsky (aka Sue Ann from S1). 

Lisa was adorable and elevated some seriously cheesy material but Julie Piekarsky was even worse than she was on FoL. The whole episode opens on her hamming it up to Zippity Doo Dah and you kinda hope the other kids will just push her over the side of the steamboat.

The whole thing is as cheesy and 70s as can be, but Lisa Whelchel stands out as both adorable and talented. Not surprising that she was the one to really make it in acting after that.

I totally remember the New Mickey Mouse Club! I absolutely loved it--my best friend and I used to make up our own choreography to the songs.

Shawnte Northcutte, one of the Mouseketeers, was also a guest on one of the episodes.

 

On 8/20/2021 at 12:30 AM, JAYJAY1979 said:

I think Sue Ann was originally supposed to be the foil to Blair.  She would do put downs to her, plus she was from a small town (i.e. fish out of water).

Those attempted put-downs never worked--in no universe is someone as gorgeous and rich and sophisticated as Blair is, in any way intimidated by a midwestern middle-class girl like Sue Ann. It just rang completely false. They kept trying to make Sue Ann a big deal--she was the best track runner, she was the smartest, she developed an eating disorder--and it was annoying mainly because Julie Piekarski wasn't a good actor.

Just watched the episode where Tootie writes a ply about Eleanor Roosevelt--oh my God, I think I've reached peak Annoying Tootie saturation levels. She pesters Natalie to read her play, asks for feedback, and Natalie tells her it needs a lot of work. So Tootie is snotty about it, treats Natalie coldly and Natalie backtracks and says it's great. Then Tootie performs the play on stage, it and she suck, and she blames Natalie for not telling her it sucked! I just--she did! And you were a snotty entitled b**** to her! In no way did she take any responsibility for her embarrassment, it was somehow all Natalie's fault. My palm was itching to reach through the screen to slap her.

[ljenkins782]

35 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

I totally remember the New Mickey Mouse Club! I absolutely loved it--my best friend and I used to make up our own choreography to the songs.

Shawnte Northcutte, one of the Mouseketeers, was also a guest on one of the episodes.

Those attempted put-downs never worked--in no universe is someone as gorgeous and rich and sophisticated as Blair is, in any way intimidated by a midwestern middle-class girl like Sue Ann. It just rang completely false. They kept trying to make Sue Ann a big deal--she was the best track runner, she was the smartest, she developed an eating disorder--and it was annoying mainly because Julie Piekarski wasn't a good actor.

Yeah, the Sue Ann character could have worked if Julie Piekarski could have tamed down some of her shouty, over-projecting ways, but also if they'd written her character a little differently. I could absolutely see her being a mean girl, second-rate queen bee wannabe type looking down her nose at some of the other girls, but putting her up against Blair, a natural queen bee, didn't make sense.

Re: that Mouseketeers special, Disney+ left in the original commercials for some reason, those were a hoot. 

Quote

Just watched the episode where Tootie writes a ply about Eleanor Roosevelt--oh my God, I think I've reached peak Annoying Tootie saturation levels. She pesters Natalie to read her play, asks for feedback, and Natalie tells her it needs a lot of work. So Tootie is snotty about it, treats Natalie coldly and Natalie backtracks and says it's great. Then Tootie performs the play on stage, it and she suck, and she blames Natalie for not telling her it sucked! I just--she did! And you were a snotty entitled b**** to her! In no way did she take any responsibility for her embarrassment, it was somehow all Natalie's fault. My palm was itching to reach through the screen to slap her.

That episode sucked, but yes, Tootie's attitude throughout was ridiculous. That was in the stretch of really strange episodes discussed earlier in this thread where I have to wonder if the writers were on drugs. Tootie writes a one-woman play about Eleanor Roosevelt...alrighty then.

[JAYJAY1979]

1 hour ago, CeeBeeGee said:

I totally remember the New Mickey Mouse Club! I absolutely loved it--my best friend and I used to make up our own choreography to the songs.

Shawnte Northcutte, one of the Mouseketeers, was also a guest on one of the episodes.

 

Those attempted put-downs never worked--in no universe is someone as gorgeous and rich and sophisticated as Blair is, in any way intimidated by a midwestern middle-class girl like Sue Ann. It just rang completely false. They kept trying to make Sue Ann a big deal--she was the best track runner, she was the smartest, she developed an eating disorder--and it was annoying mainly because Julie Piekarski wasn't a good actor.

Just watched the episode where Tootie writes a ply about Eleanor Roosevelt--oh my God, I think I've reached peak Annoying Tootie saturation levels. She pesters Natalie to read her play, asks for feedback, and Natalie tells her it needs a lot of work. So Tootie is snotty about it, treats Natalie coldly and Natalie backtracks and says it's great. Then Tootie performs the play on stage, it and she suck, and she blames Natalie for not telling her it sucked! I just--she did! And you were a snotty entitled b**** to her! In no way did she take any responsibility for her embarrassment, it was somehow all Natalie's fault. My palm was itching to reach through the screen to slap her.

I think the show realized that..and corrected those mistakes with Jo.

I loved Jo and Blair's relationship...would put one another down..but would defend each other if anyone was mean to them.

And I loved Jo's reluctance to admit she liked Blair in the Take my Finals episode to opting not to listen to the computers advice to end her friendship with Blair.

It was the best example of a friendship that grew gradually in time.

[CeeBeeGee]

2 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

I think the show realized that..and corrected those mistakes with Jo.

I loved Jo and Blair's relationship...would put one another down..but would defend each other if anyone was mean to them.

And I loved Jo's reluctance to admit she liked Blair in the Take my Finals episode to opting not to listen to the computers advice to end her friendship with Blair.

It was the best example of a friendship that grew gradually in time.

I agree--the growth of Jo and Blair's relationship throughout the show was very well done. New York, New York is one of my favorite episodes on that theme.

[greekmom]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:09 PM, ljenkins782 said:

Was that the jacket of choice for hookers in the 80s or what? 

Yep. I remember some random 80s movie of the week where the grown up daughter finds her real mom who is a hooker.  White fur jackets.

CTV.ca has all the seasons. I rewatched the one from season 1 where Blair's mom visits Eastland and meets an old friend. She says to Blair to give the man a kiss after Blair only shook hands with him.  Gave me an ick factor watching it now as an adult than when I was a kid.

Moving along to season 3 where Blair has a visit by the IRS. I don't think that was legal given the fact that Blair (even though she was employed by daddy) is still a minor.  The IRS would have had to contact the Warner accountants.

[Egg McMuffin]

In season 8, Jo nonchalantly introduces Blair to someone as “my best friend, Blair”. It’s a nice moment. Unfortunately, they regressed the relationship a bit during the last season, but then again, that last season focused mostly on the girls individually as opposed to a group of friends.

[Egg McMuffin]

Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes: Live in Front of a Studio Audience

FOL and DS are getting the same treatment that All in the Family and The Jeffersons has gotten in the past. For some odd reason, a 42-year-old is playing Gary Coleman’s role.

[Snow Apple]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes: Live in Front of a Studio Audience

FOL and DS are getting the same treatment that All in the Family and The Jeffersons has gotten in the past. For some odd reason, a 42-year-old is playing Gary Coleman’s role.

Why are middle aged men playing the boys? They are talented but what the heck? Wonder who will play Kimberly.

Can't they find teenagers to recreate one of the later episodes?

[Egg McMuffin]

I think they just want promotable names, ages be damned. From the casting, it sounds like they are going The Rerun Show route. I have a feeling that the Facts of Life actresses won’t be the right age either.

[Maverick]

On 11/20/2021 at 4:43 AM, Kyle said:

I think they just want promotable names, ages be damned. From the casting, it sounds like they are going The Rerun Show route. I have a feeling that the Facts of Life actresses won’t be the right age either.

 Jennifer Aniston is playing Blair and Gabrielle Union is playing Tootie, so that'd be a no.  

[Kiki777]

I wonder what episode they’ll do.  Probably post-Eastland unless they’re really gonna put a bunch of 40- and 50-something actresses in school uniforms.

[Bort]

I think putting 50 year olds in school uniforms is part of the gimmick they’re going for.

[Maverick]

 I saw a picture of Kevin Hart in the Super Arnold tights so Eastland uniforms for the ladies would be mild by comparison.

 It's most likely going to be from the Eastland era.   It's what the show is most remembered for and more often than not most of the scenes take place in the dining room or the girl's dorm room.    My guess would be Take My Finals, Please or The Four Musketeers.    Both episodes feature all 4 girls.  Take My Finals takes place mostly on a single set and Musketeers has the physical comedy bit at the end they'd surely love to try to recreate on TV.   It'd be fun to watch them do the Germaine Jackson episode though.  

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Maverick said:

It'd be fun to watch them do the Germaine Jackson episode though.  

With Germaine Jackson playing Germaine Jackson.

[CeeBeeGee]

The Jermaine Jackson episode is such a camp classic--periodically my ex-roommate will just text me out of the blue "I'm goin'." Even that "documentary" about the show had Assaad Kelada mentioning Kim Fields's, um, acting in it. That tantrum. (Although she still acts circles around poor Jermaine.) But it really only highlights her and the above posters are right, they're going to go for an episode that features all four.

 

I CAN'T WAIT.

[Egg McMuffin]

Oh yeah, it’s gonna be the cafeteria era. I saw from one of the posters that you could see the cafeteria set in the background. They certainly wouldn’t do an episode from godawful season 1, when no one watched.

[madpsych78]

I'm OK with the actresses being a bit older, but I don't think Jennifer Aniston is the best choice to play Blair. It should have been Candace Cameron Bure.

But Ann Dowd as Mrs. Garrett is PERFECT. 

[Katy M]

On 12/3/2021 at 4:52 PM, Kyle said:

Oh yeah, it’s gonna be the cafeteria era. I saw from one of the posters that you could see the cafeteria set in the background. They certainly wouldn’t do an episode from godawful season 1, when no one watched.

I loved season 1.  And I'm not ashamed of it.

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I loved season 1.  And I'm not ashamed of it.

Neither am I. I actually loved it. 

[Mrs. Landingham]

Ann Dowd was incredible! She nailed it. The dinner box episode was an interesting choice. Did anyone catch Jennifer Aniston’s little flub? At the end, when she and “Jo” were fighting over which of them was going to do the right thing and have dinner with Rocky Price, Jennifer pulled the box out of Jo’s hands and said “he paid to have lunch with ME!” “Lunch” was wrong. Then she quickly repeated the line and said it correctly “he paid to have dinner with me!” I’ve seen the original episode so many times, my ears perked up when she mistakenly said “lunch” the first time. Haha.

Loved seeing Mindy, Kim, and Lisa at the end with Lisa wearing the Eastland uniform! 

[Maverick]

 In Carl's first scene, Jennifer was trying to lose it.   She had to turn her back to get her composure back.  Sean Astin should have been playing one of the Bates guys.

 I have to give Lisa credit, she still looks good in that uniform.   Kim is looks very good as well.   Mindy...needs a hairstyle intervention.   Kim seemed very quiet.   What is Nancy's deal?   Would it have killed her to show up and say a couple of words like Kim and Mindy?   Maybe she legitimately had something else going on but since she's always the one who never does anything related to the show I'm assuming she just wouldn't do it.

 I just watched a few minutes of Diff'rent Strokes.  The beginning was sad with just Todd there, knowing he's the only one of the principal cast left.  I guess Danny Cooksey is still around, but does anyone really want to revisit Sam?

 If they do FOL again, I wish they'd do one of the Christmas episodes or do it in October with the Halloween episode.  But they probably never would since it's in the post-Eastland era.  

[Egg McMuffin]

Mary Jo Catlett (Pearl) is still around too, but like Danny Cooksey, she’s not one of the principal players.

I just can’t get into these re-creations. I just find them corny and campy and sort of embarrassing. I got halfway through this one and bailed. It was nice to see the original cast briefly, but I’d rather see them acting in a new production - not necessarily one that is Facts-related.

Nancy McKeon is pretty much done with the show. Not everyone wants to relive past memories or experiences. I get why she might not want to keep revisiting a job she did 40 years ago. Lisa Whelchel clearly enjoys it but not everyone is like her.

[Katy M]

6 hours ago, Kyle said:

Nancy McKeon is pretty much done with the show. Not everyone wants to relive past memories or experiences. I get why she might not want to keep revisiting a job she did 40 years ago. Lisa Whelchel clearly enjoys it but not everyone is like her.

I'm definitely in the camp that actors are doing a job and they don't owe fans any more than to do the job they were paid for.  It's like with Eve Plumb and the Olsen twins. If they are over The Brady Bunch and Full House, then that is their choice.    I don't do anything regarding any of my former jobs.

[greekmom]

On 12/3/2021 at 5:32 AM, Kiki777 said:

I wonder what episode they’ll do.  Probably post-Eastland unless they’re really gonna put a bunch of 40- and 50-something actresses in school uniforms.

I saw it and was cringe. I can't believe they chose these older actors to do an Eastland episode.  They could have done one from season 6 and probably gotten away with it.

Ann Dowd (and John Lithgow as Mr. Drummond) were both well cast.

Jon Stewart sporting a beard and headgear playing Carl/Rocky had me running for bleach for my eyes.  In the original episode Carl had an acne issue. 

The only good thing was the 80s spoof commercials with Jennifer Beales and Alfonso Ribeiro.

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, greekmom said:

I saw it and was cringe. I can't believe they chose these older actors to do an Eastland episode. 

I didn't see it, but I'm assuming they weren't acting like people in their 50s were actually passing for young teens.  It's not much different than a high school putting on a play where all the teens are playing middle-aged people.

 

2 hours ago, greekmom said:

They could have done one from season 6 and probably gotten away with it.

I don't think they would pass as old teens either.  Natalie and Tootie were still in high school in 6.

[GHScorpiosRule]

That was just...HORRIBLE.

Ann Dowd was the best and only talented one. The actress who played Natalie was a good runner up. But the rest? UGH.

 

[ljenkins782]

13 hours ago, Maverick said:

 In Carl's first scene, Jennifer was trying to lose it.   She had to turn her back to get her composure back.  Sean Astin should have been playing one of the Bates guys.

 I have to give Lisa credit, she still looks good in that uniform.   Kim is looks very good as well.   Mindy...needs a hairstyle intervention.   Kim seemed very quiet.   What is Nancy's deal?   Would it have killed her to show up and say a couple of words like Kim and Mindy?   Maybe she legitimately had something else going on but since she's always the one who never does anything related to the show I'm assuming she just wouldn't do it.

 I just watched a few minutes of Diff'rent Strokes.  The beginning was sad with just Todd there, knowing he's the only one of the principal cast left.  I guess Danny Cooksey is still around, but does anyone really want to revisit Sam?

 If they do FOL again, I wish they'd do one of the Christmas episodes or do it in October with the Halloween episode.  But they probably never would since it's in the post-Eastland era.  

Lisa looks amazing, when she walked through those doors in that uniform and with that hair, it could have been 30 years ago. The singing was awkward, but the look was pitch perfect. Kim also looks great, but Mindy's hair was...oof. And it looks like she had a bad face lift, like there are 2 cuts across the middle of her face. 

I was surprised to find that I genuinely enjoyed this. Maybe because I love Jason Bateman and Jon Stewart, I found it entertaining. I didn't think anyone took it too seriously, so it didn't get cringe-y for me. 

Ann Dowd certainly embodied the spirit of Charlotte Rae.

I enjoyed the Diffrent Strokes one a little less (and agreed that it was sad to see Todd Bridges there alone), but Snoop in the 70s costume tickled me. He actually looked like a guy straight out of that era, like an extra from What's Happening. 

[Maverick]

 I don't fault Nancy for not doing the reunion movie or interview specials and the like.   But this was apparently meant as a thank you to Norman Lear as well and all they had to do was stand there a few minutes and answer a question or two.   I know actors move on from roles and most don't like being associated with them, but often it's what made their careers.  Nancy didn't land her turn on Dancing With the Stars because they were trying to pull in fans of that cop show she was in.  

[CeeBeeGee]

On 12/8/2021 at 2:36 PM, ljenkins782 said:

Lisa looks amazing, when she walked through those doors in that uniform and with that hair, it could have been 30 years ago. The singing was awkward, but the look was pitch perfect. Kim also looks great, but Mindy's hair was...oof. And it looks like she had a bad face lift, like there are 2 cuts across the middle of her face. 

I was surprised Lisa's singing was kind of weak--she was one of the new Mouseketeers, of the '70s versions of the NMMC. (Which I watched religiously and whose cast list ably filled the needs of the Facts of Life casting director. Lisa, Julie Piekarski and Shawnte Northcutte all appeared on FOL.) Plus she sang "I'll Be Home for Christmas" quite beautifully in the Christmas with Convicts episode.

And a friend of mine has worked with Mindy Cohn---he says she's worried about how she's ageing. Oh Mindy. We love you no matter what.

Edited December 10, 2021 by CeeBeeGee
typo

[JAYJAY1979]

Well Jennifer Aniston's bad take on Blair proves that Blair was iconic and memorable because of Lisa Whelchel.

Gabrielle Union was not annoying enough to be Tootie.

The lady playing Mrs Garrett...wow!  She had her down !

Edited December 9, 2021 by JAYJAY1979