Mrs. Garrett from 'Different Strokes' comes on over to Eastland as the new house mother.
I'm reviewing seasons 2 and onwards because that's truly when the series began for me. However, after I do a rewatch of the first season I may come back and edit in a paragraph for the first season.
I just finished doing my rewatch. Just have to watch one more movie and the first season. I grew up watching this series and loving it. I forgot much of the series, and now upon a rewatch as an adult, I have to say this series was very forward for its time. They covered many social issues and did so very thoughtfully. The covered sexual assault, rape, suicide, income inequality, book banning. They covered toxic masculinity, tho Natalie called it "macho-malpractice." Lol. They covered male fragility, tho it wasn't called that at the time. They covered the death of one of the parents. There's probably a lot I left out. Most of this took place in the first five seasons. In the last four seasons, things became less focused on societal issues and became a little lighter. The show was really a dramedy. Somehow they had the magic of covering serious subjects and yet managed to include comedy, and yet kept its dignity.
Mrs. Garrett was wise and fun, quirky, and dignified. Charlotte Rae should have won an Emmy. I notice a lot now that I'm older, her facial expression and body language, and different vocal tones she used. Beverly Ann was kind of a different wise and wacky character. Cloris Leachman was a lot of fun to watch.
Jo, played superbly by Nancy Mckeon, came on as the poor, tough but vulnerable girl who had a lot of pride. She was my favorite growing up. She was a tomboy and just so cool to me when I was little. I'd never seen a kid girl character like that before. She was really funny especially where a lot of her humor was directed as Blair, usually as an insult, but funny.
Blair, played wonderfully by Lisa Whelchel, may actually be the funniest character. I didn't realize when I was little, but upon a rewatch as an adult, she became my favorite. She's rich, snobby, vain, shallow, but, here's what makes her special: she is also kind and compassionate, and a lot deeper than she lets on. The reason I think she may be the funniest is that her snobby, shallow, vain lines were actually hilarious, and delivered so matter-of-factly by Whelchel making it even more funny.
Natalie, played excellently by Mindy Cohn, was the easy-going friendly mischievous one. Her machinations at times had me in stitches. She also had a lot of funny sarcastic/ironic one-liners that were hysterical. She seemed so natural as Natalie with her passion for writing. I think for me, she near-ties Blair as the funniest.
Tootie, the baby of the family, played amazingly by Kim Fields, was cute and funny. Both the character and actress grew up on the show. All the girls did, but it was very noticeable with her. Tootie was the sunshine character, always very enthusiastic. I love when she used to give the deadpan stare and say what she was really thinking.
I wanted to mention Geri, Blair's cousin, played wonderfully by Geri Jewell. She was very funny. She has cerebral palsy and did a wonderful job on the show.
I loved the friendships and the fun interactions with the girls. Sometimes I think the insults were a little ott. My favorite friendship was between Blair and Jo. Two polar opposites. Yet somehow they bucked their difference and were friends. Best friends. I found their friendship very touching, and the writers must have noticed the magic because more and more later on it was Blair and Jo that talked to each other about an issue instead of Mrs. Garrett. I mean they still kept their insults but were friends. I believe they are the type that likes to insult each other, you know akin to the saying, "you always tease the ones you love." My favorite episode is when Blair and Jo graduate college in 'Rites of Passage: Part 1' in season 8, and Blair reads Jo's crumpled-up speech at the ceremony. That was so awesome! I think that as a viewer you come to love the characters. You like coming back and seeing those familiar faces. You feel like you know them and you care about them and want to see their stories.
The show wasn't without problems. The spinoff attempts, of which there were many, were horrid. Wasted budgets, IMO. There were some other lemons too. The last season wasn't that great and they wasted the opportunity to do a grand and heartwarming series finale because TPTB were trying to do spinoff attempts. Because of this, we go zero in a proper ending to the beloved series.
The Facts of Life had 9 seasons, 201 episodes. That's nothing to balk at. That's quite an achievement actually. I see they are going to do 'Live in Front of a Studio Audience: 'The Facts of Life' and 'Diff'rent Strokes' (2021) (TV).' I plan on watching it and doing a review. I hope they do this show justice and give it its due with a proper tribute. I see they are going to have some secret guest appearances. I hope it will be Lisa, Mindy, Nancy, and Kim. But I wouldn't be surprised if they go for George Clooney instead, as the "aha, look at the a-lister bigtime Hollywood star," who was only in 17 episodes. I hope I'm wrong. I mean it would be ok to see him too, but I'd rather have the four main actresses there.
I'd like to leave off by saying I checked the four actresses' social media, Nancy Mckeon, Lisa Whelchel, Mind Cohn, and Kim Fields. They are all still friends and keep in touch and even hang with each other sometimes. They refer to each other as sisters. I said in one of my reviews that the girls(characters) were essentially being raised as sisters despite that word not being used. Anyway, I found it very touching to see their references to each other on social media. Maybe they should revive the series for a limited run to show what 'Facts of Life' the girls face now in their older age. 8/10.
Edit: I did finish watching the first season. It was ok. I can see why they changed it in the second season, and I'm very glad they did. Even the opening song was an improvement. I definitely think they made the right decision and kept the best characters.
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