Vivendo e Aprendendo

I watched "The Facts of Life" Saturday nights on NBC while I was growing up and I looked forward to each and every episode. When the show ended I cried and thought "How will I ever get along without them?" Well, I had totally forgotten the reruns that had been playing in the afternoons for the past four years. So I was happy re-watching the old shows. In 1994 I heard about the "Facts" marathon on USA network and I had to tape it. It was commemorating the 15th anniversary of the shows original starting date (back in 1979-the year I was born). The marathon was hosted by Mindy Cohn (Natalie), Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett) and Lisa Welchel (Blair). All three of them shared memories of what it was like working on the set and what each of them had been doing since the show had ended. It was great seeing how well all three of them had gotten on with their lives. It was too bad that Nancy McKeon (Jo), Kim Fields (Tootie), Sherrie Krenn (Pippa), Cloris Leachman (Beverly Ann), Pamela Segall (Kelly), George Clooney (George) and MacKenzie Astin (Andy) didn't come on the show too. I still watch that video recording every once and a while (about once or twice a year; especially around the holiday season) and I'm so glad that I taped it. My favorite episode (which, unfortunately, wasn't included in the marathon) was the one where they were running a pizza take-out service which was a total disaster...especially when Natalie lost control and got flour all over the room and on everyone else. I am hoping that USA will start re-running the show again soon. They were last year. What happened?

I LOVE this show! It's dramatic and funny simaltaneously. The Facts of Life focuses on serious issues that teens have to face and it also has a humorous twist.

Mrs. Garret, who is played by the very talented Charlotte Rae, is a housekeeper turned housemother turned dietician. She watches out for four girls, Blair (Lisa Whelchel), Jo (Nancy McKeon), Tootie (Kim Fields) and Natalie (Mindy Cohn). She plays the peacemaker and always tries to resolve problems that the girls are dealing with. She calls them "her girls" and is always there for them when they need her.

The episodes with Mrs. Garret are the best. However, the ones later on into the show where she is gone and her sister Beverly Ann is around are horrible. And the cast additions that took place in the last two years of the show, Makenzie Astin as Andy and Sherry Krenn as Pippa, totally ruined The Facts of Life.

I suggest that you watch the episodes that are from the first several years of this show because they feature an excellent cast. But don't watch the last two years of this show because the new cast was horrible, with the exception of the four original girls that remained on The Facts of Life from the very beginning.

This show aired when I was just entering my teens, and I can't think of a better time to have had such a wonderful show to watch. It was as if someone had asked my little-girl imagination what it's dream show would be, and then made it just for me. I've enjoyed the re-runs on USA, but can't quite understand why they never show the earliest episodes from 1979. Observant fans will remember those as the ones with the girls living in the dorm, prior to working in the cafeteria. Those were my favorites, and it seems like they never show them. Please get a clue USA. That's when the show was at it's best!

If you want to see another example of why the 80's were the greatest decade of the 20th century, here's a prime example. Although I was a male, me and my brothers loved this show. I don't why, I guess it was a "what were we thinking" kind of deal. I guess as fans of "Diff'rent Strokes", we would watch the spin-offs. Granted, no one in the cast of females would cause the S Club 7 girls to lose sleep in the beauty department (sorry Lisa), but the character development was superb. Natalie Green, Jo Polnochek, Tootie Ramsey, Blair Warner, and the young girls that would come and go were all so appealing. You cared about them all. Charlotte Rae's Mrs. Garrett was the kind of women we all wish we could have known and befriended. Heck, I even miss Pippa, she was a cute, headstrong kind of girl. The acting was always good, it felt like it was real life instead of an act. I would like to check this show out again, just to see why I watched it. Oh, and Mrs. Garrett, Oingo Boingo's music is still very cool.

I grew up in the 80's, proud to say, and this show never failed to draw me in, even the somewhat trivial early "yup, that's Molly Ringwald" episodes. Of course, the show became a lot more interesting after "Jo" (Nancy McKeon) arrived sporting her motorcycle helmet and her tough-girl personality which almost immediately conflicted with Blair (Lisa Welchel). I love both characters, and it is easy to see Jo and Blair liked each other more than they ever admitted to. In all honesty, I can't put my finger on why this show was, and still is, so addicting! I guess it has something to do with the chemistry between the girls and Mrs. Garret, she was more like a mother to them than their own mothers were, especially because Mrs. Garret always took care of them when their parents could not. I watched episodes many late nights when I was going through hard times, it pulled me through. So for that reason, I am grateful to everyone involved with the show. I still prefer to watch The Facts of Life late at night out of tradition, leading back to Nick At Nite memories. If I had to pick favorite episodes, it would be the Christmas episodes (which appear to be top rated here on imdb). In fact, I think all of the Christmas episodes were interesting and well-produced. They were just so heart-felt. Rest In Peace Charlotte Ray, and thank you for the memories!