The Internet Needs a Facts of Life Blog, and I’m Here to Provide It
I am an unrepentant devotee of The Facts of Life, a television show that ran from 1979 through 1988. I’ve seen every episode multiple times. I have most of them on VHS, although I recorded them mostly from TVLand when they were in syndication in the 90s, so there are bits missing (in syndication, bits were cut to make time for more commercials). I have seasons one through five on DVD; I would love to have to complete collection but Sony has only released the first five seasons. In fact, one of my hopes in starting this blog is to unite the Facts of Life community (or, indeed, make one) so that we can pressure Sony to get the rest of the episodes out already!
Although I don’t know if lobbying for DVDs is a move that’s hopelessly behind the times. Are DVDs already passe?
Regardless, one thing I’ve found almost impossible to find online is a Facts of life community. There’s a Wikipedia entry, of course an IMDB page, tv.com, a People magazine “where are they now” article, and a page with frames at sitcomsonline.com that’s a little hard on the eyes. And that’s it, except for one news article.
According to a recent article, Lisa Whelchel (Blair) and Kim Fields (Tootie) are costarring in a Hallmark Channel movie on Sunday. I’m sure it will be terrible. But I will watch it, because FFS, it’s BLAIR and TOOTIE. If that’s not a sign that I should finally start the Facts of Life blog/recap repository I’ve been wanting to start for years, I don’t know what is.
Recaps will be forthcoming. From memory, here are some highlights of the series:
Notable guest stars:
Everyone knows about George Clooney, but do you remember when Helen Hunt was on the show? How about David Spade? Seth Green? Eve Plumb, Jami Gertz, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Richard Dean Anderson, Jean Smart, Moon Unit Zappa, and Crispin Glover all made appearances. How about the fact the Molly Ringwald was in the entire first season? Jermaine Jackson, Bobby Rydell, Fabian, Stacey Q, and El DeBarge all played themselves at various times that the show tried to have a musical bent.
Serious Issues Covered:
Not all of the episodes covering serious issues were Very Special Episodes; in fact, most of the episodes covered some kind of something that mattered, which made it extremely progressive for its time. Issues covered included: eating disorders, adoption, rape, teen suicide, abortion, drunk driving, poverty, teen prostitution, teen pregnancy, racial identity, disabilities, virginity, adult illiteracy, adultery, shoplifting, child exploitation, sexual assumptions and slut-shaming, holocaust survivors, and many others, including, in a classic, teh DRUGS.
International adventures:
The Facts of Life did two TV movies: The Facts of Life goes to Paris (which appears on the Season 4 DVD); and The Facts of Life Down Under, which was in season 8 or 9. 8, I think.
Character firsts:
Natalie was the first to lose her virginity. Jo was the first to get married. Natalie was the first to decide to move out (although she moved back. Then she moved out again, then she moved back again).
Cast reality show appearances:
Mindy Cohn (Natalie) was made over on an episode of What Not to Wear. Lisa Whelchel (Blair) was the runner-up in season 25 of Survivor.
How is Jo’s last name spelled?
It’s usually Polniaczek, but I’m almost certain that in a season 8 episode, the one in which Jo tries her hand at teaching, she writes “Polniaczeck” on the chalkboard.
This is a work in progress, but something I’m excited about adding to. Please comment with memories, questions, recap requests or anything else!
4 Comments
hobbywizard
Your passion for TFoL is apparent, and I look forward to revisiting this show, which was a favorite of mine when I was a teen, through future posts. The idea of living away at school was a fascinating one to me when I was a teenager in the 80s, so I was fairly keen on the program for several years even when it was on the wane in its last two or three seasons. Interestingly, I don't recall having a crush on any of the girls, and I think I most closely identified with Natalie. She seemed the coolest of the group.
Recap posts are an understandable way to go, but might I suggest you consider posting entries touching on other thematic aspects of the show? They don't need to be super serious. For instance, am I misremembering this, or did the four girls basically keep the same hairstyles throughout the show's run? Also, I don't recall any of them having boyfriends…ever. Of course, I haven't watched the show since it was airing in primetime, so perhaps I've forgotten, but it seems like these were four girls who couldn't be bothered to date or change their hairstyle! What were they up to all those years? What was the core of each young woman. What spurred them to leap out of bed each morning to face the challenges for prep school?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading more. I've bookmarked your blog!
p2c/kenneth doll
Vikki
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vikki
I hope by now you've seen that my reply to your recollection of no boyfriends made an entire blog post. As far as the hairstyles, they changed, oh they changed, and I can cover that in the future. Thank you for giving me post ideas!
Vikki
Ugh, I only deleted the above comment because it was supposed to be a reply to hobbywizard's, not a standalone comment. It looks so shady when it reads, "This comment has been removed by the author." I'll figure this thing out eventually.