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

What a blast from the past! I loved The Facts of Life and was eager to see how this remake would pan out. Seeing Lisa Whelchel looking ageless was a thrill, Kim Fields was darling and Mindy Cohn was sassy as ever. If only Nancy McKeon would end her Facts of Life boycott and give her fans what they want!

Onto the new cast, Ann Dowd as the new Mrs. Garrett. Was a good fit. It really surprised me how well she slipped into the character. Katherine Hahn as Jo, was true to the spirit of the character also. Gabrielle Union made for a good Tootie, but. Allison Tolman was a standout as Natalie. Tolman nearly stole the show from the other actors which was a wonderful surprise. Unfortunately, Jennifer Aniston was a horrible disappointment as Blair. Blair's character needs a certain charisma for the role to really shine and Aniston, sadly just didn't have what was needed. And i must say Jon Stewart as Rocky Price was a hoot.

Onto Different Strokes. Kevin Hart as Arnold was an inspired choice, he embodied the essence of the late Gary Coleman. Damon Wayans made a great Willis, he truly captured the laid back style of Todd Bridges. And even though i doubt the casting choice, John Lithgow made a genius Mr. Drummond, i could almost see Conrad Bain in certain moments when Lithgow spoke. A wonderful flashback to a treasured sitcom.

I can't wait to see what LIVE does next!!

First, if like to apologize to my neighbors whom I'm sure we woke up while laughing as we watched this at 10p on Hulu. Second, this was amazingly funny. The adult child actors all did a great job and it was good to see some of the original actors, though things got briefly awkward when one actress mentions her current project and Jimmy Kimmel cut her off by rambling about cereal (sorry but this wasn't the time or the place to promote other projects). But wow, this was awesome!

I LOVED this episode of the "Live" series and I hope they come back and give us Maude and Sanford and Sons.

Can I just say how amazing Norman Lear looks and how incredibly funny and brilliant he is?

Thoughts on FOL: I swear I was watching Mrs. Garrett on the screen. Ann Dowd had her mannerisms down to a science. Jennifer Aniston was the only person that didn't flow well with the show for me but instead was a distraction. Gabriel Union and the iconic Tootie hairstyle was everything. Jason Bateman, John Steward and Will were perfectly cast and hilarious to watch. Allison was great at playing Natalie and Kathryn was the perfect Joe. Wow!! The only person that killed it for me was Jennifer. She didn't fit the role well as Blair IMO and instead took away from the flow. She literally played "Rachel" from Friends.

Thoughts on DS: I loved everything about this one except that Kimberly wasn't there. John Lithgow is always such a pleasure to watch. He is such a versatile actor. You could tell that everyone really got into their characters and seeing John and Kevin interact was really sweet, lol. And Kevin really did embody Gary Coleman which made it that much more enjoyable and funny. I'd watch another episode of this if they ever decided to do it again. Bring back Dudley next time.

I didn't take this as serious TV, nor should anyone. It was fun. The actors did a terrific job, and it was great entertainment. I can only speak for my house: we laughed from start to finish.

For folks that watched these shows and remember these characters, it's entertaining to watch these current and relevant actors playing the parts. For the younger folks that know these actors but have no context to the original show, funny! Spot on!!!... Greta job.