"The Facts of Life" (1979) TV series 1979-1988

Creators:

Dick Clair
Jenna McMahon

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

24 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life...

Plot:

A group of girls attending a boarding school experience the joys and the trials of adolescence under the guiding hand of housemother Edna Garrett...

Plot Keywords:

Housemother | Boarding School | Tolerance | Uniform | Bad Girl

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Lisa Whelchel	...	Blair Warner (200 episodes, 1979-1988)
Kim Fields	...	Dorothy 'Tootie' Ramsey (200 episodes, 1979-1988)
Mindy Cohn	...	Natalie Green (200 episodes, 1979-1988)
Nancy McKeon	...	Joanne 'Jo' Polniaczek / ... (186 episodes, 1980-1988)
Charlotte Rae	...	Edna Garrett (145 episodes, 1979-1986)

Also Known As:

Garrett's Girls (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (209 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Embassy Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Eastland was located in the Westchester County town of Peekskill, New York, which is located roughly forty miles north of Manhattan. With a commute of less than forty five minutes to Manhattan, this explains the relative ease in which Manhattanite Blair and Bronx-born Jo are able to go home as often as they do, and also helps to explain the continuous interaction between the Drummond family and Mrs. Garrett after her departure from their household.

Quotes:

Jo Polniaczek: [to Blair] You're so spoiled that if you were milk the date on the carton would be B.C.!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Just Infatuation (#1.24)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

The Facts of Life

When books are what you're there about and looks are what you care about...

The Good: Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Garrett (who was also the housekeeper on Diff'rent Strokes). She was kooky and goofy but she was sweet and there was something warm about her. She ran the boarding school, took good care of them, and was always there to talk to them. Even when they got in trouble, she'd punish them but still be understanding. They were all different characters you could relate to probably because they were realistic. I remember the opening the most: Mrs. Garrett holding a broom and the girls teaming up on her, the paint throwing scene, Tootie with her huge braces and Blair with her hair dryer. Jo rode a motorcycle and had that NY accent and she'd always give Blair a hard time. Natalie had that hat with the lightning bolts and Tootie had mushroom hair.

The Bad: When they changed the theme by putting that stupid rock guitar in it which was cheesy and annoying. Unfortunately in later seasons the show's appeal began to decay. I forget what happened exactly but eventually Mrs. Garrett had that shop in the later episodes and then George Clooney was hanging around with excessively long hair. And then Mrs. Garrett wasn't on the show anymore and Cloris Leachman stepped in as her sister. She just didn't do it for me. Maybe because Mrs. Garrett was there for so long, or maybe because she had those little clips in the opening of season one.

Take them both and there you have: a good first season, bad following seasons and the cheesiest ending to a comments post ever. And of course, the Facts of Life.