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The Facts of Life (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC
television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off
of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes
, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae
) as she becomes a housemother (and after the second season, dietitian
as well) at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious all-female boarding school
in Peekskill, New York
.
), Blair's cousin who had cerebral palsy. Other recurring characters included the judgment-impaired Miko Wakamatsu (Lauren Tom
), the snobbish Boots St. Clair (Jami Gertz
), and the royal princess Alexandra (Heather McAdam
). Shoplifter Kelly (Pamela Segall) was billed as a regular during the fifth season. Other guest roles included the boyfriends of the girls; Jo's parents, played by Alex Rocco
and Claire Malis
; Blair's parents, played by Nicolas Coster
and Marj Dusay
(Blair's mother was played by Pam Huntington in one episode during the first season); Tootie's parents, played by Kim Fields' real-life mother, actress Chip Fields
, and Robert Hooks
; and Natalie's parents, played by Norman Burton and Mitzi Hoag. (Natalie's grandmother was played by Molly Picon
, and appeared in two episodes.) A 1984 episode was built around Natalie coming to terms with the sudden death of her father. Characters from Diff'rent Strokes also appeared in some episodes of both season one and season two.
of Diff'rent Strokes
, the series featured the Drummonds' housekeeper, Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) as the housemother
of a dormitory at Eastland School, a private all-girls school. The girls in her care included spoiled rich girl Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel
); the youngest, gossipy Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey (Kim Fields
); and overweight, impressionable Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn
). In the second season, Mrs. Garrett was promoted to school dietitian
, and all the original cast members were dropped except for Blair, Natalie, and Tootie. Nancy McKeon
joined the cast as tough, streetwise-but-vulnerable Jo Polniaczek.
The pilot for the show originally aired as the last episode of Diff'rent Strokes first season and was called "The Girls' School (aka Garrett's Girls)." The plotline for the pilot had Kimberly Drummond requesting that Mrs. Garrett help her sew costumes for a student play at East Lake School for Girls, the school Kimberly attended in upstate New York, as her dorm's housemother
had recently quit. Mrs. Garrett agrees to help, puts on a successful play, and also solves a problem for Nancy. Mrs. Garrett is asked to stay on as the new housemother
but states she would rather remain working for the Drummonds at the end of the pilot.
Following the pilot, the name of the school was changed to Eastland and characters were replaced, with Natalie, Cindy, and Mr. Bradley becoming part of the main group featured. Although Kimberly Drummond is featured as a student at East Lake, her character did not cross over to the spinoff series with Mrs. Garrett.
In the show's first season, episodes focused on the troubles of seven girls, and the action was usually set in a large, wood-paneled common room of a girls' dormitory. Also appearing was the school's headmaster, Mr. Stephen Bradley (John Lawlor
). Early episodes of the show typically revolved around a central morality-based or "lesson teaching" theme. The show's pilot episode attracted controversy due to the character of Blair Warner insinuating that her schoolmate Cindy Webster is a lesbian
because she is a tomboy and frequently shows affection for other girls. Other season one episodes dealt with issues including drug use, sex, eating disorder
s, parental relationships, and peer pressure. An oddity of the first season was that despite the fact that some of the girls were clearly older than others, the plotlines would have all the characters taking classes together.
After the first season, the show was retooled extensively. The producers felt that there were too many characters given the limitations of the half-hour sitcom format, and that the plotlines should be more focused to give the remaining girls more room for character development. Four of the original actresses—Julie Anne Haddock
(Cindy), Julie Piekarski
(Sue Ann), Felice Schachter
(Nancy), and Molly Ringwald
(Molly)—were written out of the show (although the four did make periodic appearances in the second and third seasons, and one "reunion" in the eighth season). Mr. Bradley's character was also dropped and replaced with a generally unseen headmaster named Mr. Harris. (Mr. Harris actually appeared in an early second season episode, "Gossip", played by Kenneth Mars
) and Mr Parker for the rest of the series. In addition to being housemother
to the remaining girls, Mrs. Garrett became the school dietitian
as the second season began. Jo Polniaczek, a new student originally from the Bronx
, arrived at Eastland on scholarship. A run-in with the law forced the four to be separated from the other girls, and work in the cafeteria, living together in a spare room next to Mrs. Garrett's bedroom.
In 1983, Jo and Blair graduated Eastland Academy in the season four finale "Graduation", which ranked fifth among prime time shows for the week, with 20.2 rating and 32 share. To keep the four girls under one roof, Mrs. Garrett went into business for herself and opens a gourmet food venture named Edna's Edibles. The four girls come to work for her and live in one of the rooms in the house attached to the store.
The show became part of NBC's much-watched Saturday night lineup in 1985, but by this time, the main actors were now in their late teens and early twenties, and public interest was beginning to wane. In an attempt to increase ratings, Mrs. Garrett's store Edna's Edibles was burned to the ground in the season seven premiere "Out of the Fire", placing #11 for the week—giving the series a strong start for the season. The follow-up episode "Into the Frying Pan" had the girls band together to rebuild the store with a pop culture-influenced gift shop that the girls ran together, called Over Our Heads. By the end of the season, TV Guide reported, "Facts success has been so unexpected that scions of Hollywood are still taken aback by it. ... Facts has in fact been among NBC's top-ranked comedies for the past five years. It finished twenty-third overall for the 1985–1986 season, handily winning its time slot against its most frequent competitors, Airwolf
and Benson
. Lisa Whelchel stated, 'We're easily overlooked because we've never been a huge hit; we just sort of snuck in there.'"
Charlotte Rae initially reduced her role in seasons six and seven, and later decided to leave the series altogether. In season eight's heavily promoted one-hour premiere "Out of Peekskill", Mrs. Garrett married the man of her dreams and joined him in Africa while he works for the Peace Corps
. Mrs. Garrett's convinces her sister, Beverly Ann Stickle (Cloris Leachman
), to take over the shop and look after the girls. Beverly Ann later legally adopted Over Our Heads worker Andy Moffett (Mackenzie Astin
) in the episode "A Boy about the House."
In the final season, even though the series still usually won its time slot, it placed last among the programs in NBC's Saturday Night lineup (which, at the time, had Top 20 hits in The Golden Girls
and 227
). At 8 p.m. it was now in TV's most unforgiving time slot. NBC still had confidence in the series, however, and placed it as the 8 p.m. anchor, kicking off one of the network's highest-rated nights (second to Cosby Thursdays). The show's writers created a storyline in this season for the episode titled "The First Time" in which Natalie became the first of the girls to lose her virginity
.
In an article titled "Ratings Top with Teens" appearing in the January 19, 1988 edition of USA Today, The Facts of Life was ranked as one of the top 10 shows in a survey of 2,200 American teenagers.
On November 18, 2001, The Facts of Life Reunion
aired, in which Mrs. Garrett and the girls are reunited in Peekskill, New York, for the Thanksgiving holiday. It airs sporadically in the U.S. on the ABC Family Channel
.
on and off from September 13, 1993 to September 11, 1998. In August 1995, the network celebrated the show's 16-year anniversary with a weekend-long marathon of 14 episodes featuring new interviews with Rae, Whelchel, and Cohn.
Episodes aired on Nick at Nite
from September 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001, although the network did not air certain episodes that contained highly controversial content during prime time (including the first season episode "Dope"), instead opting to air episodes with more serious topics at late night/early morning times. TV Land
aired 48 hours of The Facts of Life episodes on its "Fandemonium Marathon Weekend" on November 17–19, 2001.
The Hallmark Channel
aired The Facts of Life from July 1 to November 1, 2002. To date, this was the last time The Facts of Life has aired nationwide in the United States. Episodes were available on Comcast
's Video-On-Demand
service from August 8, 2005 to July 31, 2006 and again from the August 6, 2007 until Tube Time's shutdown date on December 31, 2009.
On July 16, 2008 full episodes and short "minisodes" of The Facts of Life became available online via Hulu. Several minisodes are also available for free online via Crackle
.
as Vivendo e Aprendendo (Living and Learning, in English).
In Italy, seasons one through five were aired in 1983–1986 (dubbed as usual in Italian), on the terrestrial TV Canale 5
, the first Italian commercial network, and later on other local commercial TV networks. The Italian version was named L'albero delle mele, which means apple tree (the word 'apple' is popularly used euphemistically in Italian as a reference to teenage girls).
In France, seasons one through three (dubbed in French and titled Drole de Vie) aired in 1987 on the terrestrial TV La Cinq
, and seasons eight and nine aired on TF1. Unlike Diff'rent Strokes
, The Facts of Life has never aired on terrestrial TV in the United Kingdom. A few seasons aired on the UK BSB
satellite channels and after BSB merged with Sky Television plc
, the entire series was shown on Sky One
.
In Canada, The Facts of Life aired on CTS
, a Christian-based network, from September 2006 to 2009. Beginning on September 15, 2007, The Facts of Life aired weekends at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on CanWest's
digital specialty channel, DejaView
. In March 2010 episodes moved to weekdays at 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm on DejaView.
released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1
on May 9, 2006 with new interviews with most of the cast, including season one originals Felice Schachter and Julie Anne Haddock. To promote the DVD's release, McKeon, Whelchel, and Cohn appeared together on various TV shows such as Entertainment Tonight
, Today Show and CNN Showbiz
to reminisce about their time on the show and talk about their lives presently; unfortunately, Fields was unable to take part due to other commitments. The third season was released on October 24, 2006. This release failed to match the success of the first and second seasons, sales-wise.
The first and second seasons were also released in Region 4 on March 7, 2007.
On January 26, 2010, it was announced that Shout! Factory
had acquired the rights to the show (under license from Sony Pictures
) and subsequently released the fourth season on Region 1 DVD, May 4, 2010. Special features include The Facts of Life Goes To Paris, a made-for-TV-movie, which originally aired a few days prior to the fourth season debut, and a "Know The Facts: Trivia Game." The fifth season was officially released on November 2, 2010. It is as yet unknown if the remaining four seasons will be released.
On April 21 and 22, 2001, Columbia House
released The Facts of Life: The Collector's Edition, a 10-volume "Best of" the series on VHS (40 episodes in all). With the advent shortly thereafter of TV on DVD and Columbia House's eventual move from the direct marketing model of exclusive series, the tapes were discontinued and are only available at auction or secondhand sales sites at a high markup above the original price.
was the first person with a disability to have a regular role on a prime time series. In an interview as part of an episode of E! True Hollywood Story
, Jewell stated that she believed her character "cousin Geri" was going to continue as a recurring character on the show during the sixth season, but the producers offered her only one episode for the season because viewers would immediately assume that any episode with cousin Geri would be a "very special episode
". Jewell stated that she stopped appearing on the show for that reason.
to dub them "The Fats of Life" during the cast's appearance at the Emmy Awards; the producers eventually restricted what the actors could eat while on set.
Mindy Cohn
, in the E! True Hollywood Story, stated that the situation was the exact opposite for her. She had been losing weight during this period, and the producers asked her to stop because much of her character's identity hinged on the fact that she was overweight. Cohn said the producers compromised with her regarding her weight by dressing her in baggy clothing to make her appear heavier than she was.
, and her then-husband, Alan Thicke
. The well-known opening lyric "You take the good, you take the bad..." came later as the first season lyrics, some of them performed by Rae, differed from those that followed. The original lyrics eventually shifted to the closing credits before being dropped entirely. Burton, Loring, and Thicke had previously composed the theme to Diff'rent Strokes, which was sung by Thicke.
, followed by Embassy Television
(Norman Lear's production companies), and then by Embassy Communications, and Columbia Pictures Television
(through ELP Communications) on the final two episodes of the series. Sony Pictures Television
currently owns the distribution rights to the sitcom.
From 1979 to 1982, the show was produced at Metromedia Square
in Los Angeles, California. In 1982, production moved to Universal City Studios and then to Sunset Gower Studios
in 1985.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae
Charlotte Rae
Charlotte Rae is a prolific American character actress of stage, comedienne, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life...
) as she becomes a housemother (and after the second season, dietitian
Dietitian
Dietitians supervise the preparation and service of food, develop modified diets, participate in research, and educate individuals and groups on good nutritional habits. The goals of dietitians are to provide medical nutritional intervention, and to obtain, safely prepare, serve and advise on...
as well) at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious all-female boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Peekskill, New York
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
.
Cast
- Charlotte RaeCharlotte RaeCharlotte Rae is a prolific American character actress of stage, comedienne, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life...
... Mrs. Edna Garrett (1979–1986) - Lisa WhelchelLisa WhelchelLisa Diane Whelchel is an American actress, singer, ventriloquist, and writer best known for her role in the television series The Facts of Life as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner.-Life and career:...
... Blair Warner - Nancy McKeonNancy McKeonNancy Justine McKeon is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life.-Early life & career:...
... Joanna Marie "Jo" Polniaczek (1980–1988) - Mindy CohnMindy CohnMindy Heather Cohn is an American actress, comedian known for her role as Natalie Green, the smart, overweight student of Edna Garrett , on the TV show The Facts of Life, and also being the current voice for Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise, which she has held since 2002.She currently...
... Natalie Green - Kim FieldsKim FieldsKim Victoria Fields is an American actress and television director. She is known for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, and as Regine Hunter on the Fox sitcom Living Single...
... Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey - Cloris LeachmanCloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
... Beverly Ann Stickle (1986–1988) - MacKenzie AstinMackenzie Astin-Biography:Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His older half-brother is actor Sean Astin. He attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and University High School in Los Angeles, California...
... Andy Moffett (1985–1988) - George ClooneyGeorge ClooneyGeorge Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
... George Burnett (cast member 1985–1986, recurring 1986–1987) - Pamela Segall ... Kelly Affinado (1983–1984)
- Jenny O'Hara ... Miss Emily Mahoney (1979)
- Molly RingwaldMolly RingwaldMolly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, singer and dancer. Having appeared in the John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , and Pretty in Pink , Ringwald has been frequently named the greatest teen star of all time...
... Molly Parker (1979–1980) - Todd HallowellTodd HallowellTodd Hallowell is an American film producer. His credits include The Da Vinci Code, Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, and Apollo 13.-External links:...
... Jeff Williams (occasional, 1984–1988) - Alex RoccoAlex RoccoAlex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
... Charlie Polniaczek (occasional, 1981–1988) - Woody Brown ... Cliff (occasional, 1983–1984)
- John LawlorJohn LawlorJohn Lawlor is an American actor. His best known roles are Supervisor Leonard Marsh on the television series Phyllis from 1976–1977, and later of Headmaster Steven Bradley on the television series The Facts of Life from 1979 to 1980....
... Steven Bradley (1979–1980) - Julie Anne HaddockJulie Anne HaddockJulie Anne Haddock is a former American actress best known for her role in the television series The Facts of Life as tomboy "Cindy Webster." Though she has had other roles in both film and television, her acting career effectively ended after the first season of The Facts of Life, when her...
... Cindy Webster (cast member 1979–1980, recurring 1980–1987) - Geri JewellGeri Jewell-External links:*...
... Geri Tyler (occasional, 1981–1984) - Felice Schacter ... Nancy Olsen (cast member 1979–1980, recurring 1980–1987)
- Sherrie Krenn ... Pippa McKenna (1987–1988)
- Julie PiekarskiJulie PiekarskiJulie Anne Piekarski is best known for her role on the popular 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life....
... Sue Ann Weaver (cast member 1979–1980, recurring 1980–1987) - Roger PerryRoger PerryRoger Perry is an American film and television actor whose career began in the late 1950s.In the 1960-1961 television season, Perry portrayed a handsome young attorney, Jim Harrigan, Jr., in the ABC and Desilu Studios sitcom Harrigan and Son, with co-stars Pat O'Brien, Helen Kleeb, and Georgine...
... Mr. Charles Parker (1981–1983)
Recurring characters
A key recurring character was Geri Tyler (Geri JewellGeri Jewell
-External links:*...
), Blair's cousin who had cerebral palsy. Other recurring characters included the judgment-impaired Miko Wakamatsu (Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom is an American actress and voice actress perhaps best known for her roles as Lena St Clair in The Joy Luck Club, Julie in the TV series Friends, and for providing the voices for both mother and daughter characters on two animated TV comedy series: on Futurama she voices Amy Wong and her...
), the snobbish Boots St. Clair (Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz
Jami Beth Gertz is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films Sixteen Candles, Crossroads, The Lost Boys, Less Than Zero, the 1980s TV series Square Pegs with Sarah Jessica Parker, and 1996's Twister, as well as for her role as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing...
), and the royal princess Alexandra (Heather McAdam
Heather McAdam
Heather McAdam is an American actress and yoga instructor.McAdam's major acting projects have included the roles of Catherine "Cat" Margolis in the television series Sisters , Dwana Pusser in Walking Tall , and Michelle Ryan in Salvage 1...
). Shoplifter Kelly (Pamela Segall) was billed as a regular during the fifth season. Other guest roles included the boyfriends of the girls; Jo's parents, played by Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
and Claire Malis
Claire Malis
Claire Malis is an American actress. In later years she is often credited as Claire Malis Callaway....
; Blair's parents, played by Nicolas Coster
Nicolas Coster
Nicolas Coster is a British-born American actor, most known for his work in daytime drama and as a character actor on nighttime television series.-Biography:...
and Marj Dusay
Marj Dusay
Marj Dusay is an actress known for her roles on American soap operas...
(Blair's mother was played by Pam Huntington in one episode during the first season); Tootie's parents, played by Kim Fields' real-life mother, actress Chip Fields
Chip Fields
Laverne "Chip" Fields, who is sometimes credited as Chip Hurd or Chip Fields-Hurd, is an American singer, actress, television director, consultant, and dialogue coach, who has appeared in popular films, television shows, and Broadway theatre...
, and Robert Hooks
Robert Hooks
Robert Hooks is an American actor of films, television and stage. With a career as a producer and political activist to his credit, he is most recognizable to the public for his over 100 roles in films and television, as well as his political and civil rights activities...
; and Natalie's parents, played by Norman Burton and Mitzi Hoag. (Natalie's grandmother was played by Molly Picon
Molly Picon
Molly Picon was an American actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller....
, and appeared in two episodes.) A 1984 episode was built around Natalie coming to terms with the sudden death of her father. Characters from Diff'rent Strokes also appeared in some episodes of both season one and season two.
Premise
A spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, the series featured the Drummonds' housekeeper, Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) as the housemother
House mom
A house mom can be a paid staging coordinator in a strip club or gentleman's club. The term was used more commonly, especially in pre-1970s writing, for a woman who supervised a fraternity, sorority or dormitory at a college .In the adult entertainment context, the house mother...
of a dormitory at Eastland School, a private all-girls school. The girls in her care included spoiled rich girl Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Diane Whelchel is an American actress, singer, ventriloquist, and writer best known for her role in the television series The Facts of Life as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner.-Life and career:...
); the youngest, gossipy Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey (Kim Fields
Kim Fields
Kim Victoria Fields is an American actress and television director. She is known for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, and as Regine Hunter on the Fox sitcom Living Single...
); and overweight, impressionable Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn
Mindy Cohn
Mindy Heather Cohn is an American actress, comedian known for her role as Natalie Green, the smart, overweight student of Edna Garrett , on the TV show The Facts of Life, and also being the current voice for Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise, which she has held since 2002.She currently...
). In the second season, Mrs. Garrett was promoted to school dietitian
Dietitian
Dietitians supervise the preparation and service of food, develop modified diets, participate in research, and educate individuals and groups on good nutritional habits. The goals of dietitians are to provide medical nutritional intervention, and to obtain, safely prepare, serve and advise on...
, and all the original cast members were dropped except for Blair, Natalie, and Tootie. Nancy McKeon
Nancy McKeon
Nancy Justine McKeon is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life.-Early life & career:...
joined the cast as tough, streetwise-but-vulnerable Jo Polniaczek.
The pilot for the show originally aired as the last episode of Diff'rent Strokes first season and was called "The Girls' School (aka Garrett's Girls)." The plotline for the pilot had Kimberly Drummond requesting that Mrs. Garrett help her sew costumes for a student play at East Lake School for Girls, the school Kimberly attended in upstate New York, as her dorm's housemother
House mom
A house mom can be a paid staging coordinator in a strip club or gentleman's club. The term was used more commonly, especially in pre-1970s writing, for a woman who supervised a fraternity, sorority or dormitory at a college .In the adult entertainment context, the house mother...
had recently quit. Mrs. Garrett agrees to help, puts on a successful play, and also solves a problem for Nancy. Mrs. Garrett is asked to stay on as the new housemother
House mom
A house mom can be a paid staging coordinator in a strip club or gentleman's club. The term was used more commonly, especially in pre-1970s writing, for a woman who supervised a fraternity, sorority or dormitory at a college .In the adult entertainment context, the house mother...
but states she would rather remain working for the Drummonds at the end of the pilot.
Following the pilot, the name of the school was changed to Eastland and characters were replaced, with Natalie, Cindy, and Mr. Bradley becoming part of the main group featured. Although Kimberly Drummond is featured as a student at East Lake, her character did not cross over to the spinoff series with Mrs. Garrett.
In the show's first season, episodes focused on the troubles of seven girls, and the action was usually set in a large, wood-paneled common room of a girls' dormitory. Also appearing was the school's headmaster, Mr. Stephen Bradley (John Lawlor
John Lawlor
John Lawlor is an American actor. His best known roles are Supervisor Leonard Marsh on the television series Phyllis from 1976–1977, and later of Headmaster Steven Bradley on the television series The Facts of Life from 1979 to 1980....
). Early episodes of the show typically revolved around a central morality-based or "lesson teaching" theme. The show's pilot episode attracted controversy due to the character of Blair Warner insinuating that her schoolmate Cindy Webster is a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
because she is a tomboy and frequently shows affection for other girls. Other season one episodes dealt with issues including drug use, sex, eating disorder
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
s, parental relationships, and peer pressure. An oddity of the first season was that despite the fact that some of the girls were clearly older than others, the plotlines would have all the characters taking classes together.
After the first season, the show was retooled extensively. The producers felt that there were too many characters given the limitations of the half-hour sitcom format, and that the plotlines should be more focused to give the remaining girls more room for character development. Four of the original actresses—Julie Anne Haddock
Julie Anne Haddock
Julie Anne Haddock is a former American actress best known for her role in the television series The Facts of Life as tomboy "Cindy Webster." Though she has had other roles in both film and television, her acting career effectively ended after the first season of The Facts of Life, when her...
(Cindy), Julie Piekarski
Julie Piekarski
Julie Anne Piekarski is best known for her role on the popular 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life....
(Sue Ann), Felice Schachter
Felice Schachter
Felice Schachter is an American actress who is known for her role as Nancy on the sitcom The Facts of Life for its first season, appearing sporadically afterward.-Early life and career:...
(Nancy), and Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, singer and dancer. Having appeared in the John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , and Pretty in Pink , Ringwald has been frequently named the greatest teen star of all time...
(Molly)—were written out of the show (although the four did make periodic appearances in the second and third seasons, and one "reunion" in the eighth season). Mr. Bradley's character was also dropped and replaced with a generally unseen headmaster named Mr. Harris. (Mr. Harris actually appeared in an early second season episode, "Gossip", played by Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars was an American television, movie, and voice actor. He may be best-remembered for his roles in several Mel Brooks films: the insane Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in 1968's The Producers, and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp in 1974's Young Frankenstein...
) and Mr Parker for the rest of the series. In addition to being housemother
House mom
A house mom can be a paid staging coordinator in a strip club or gentleman's club. The term was used more commonly, especially in pre-1970s writing, for a woman who supervised a fraternity, sorority or dormitory at a college .In the adult entertainment context, the house mother...
to the remaining girls, Mrs. Garrett became the school dietitian
Dietitian
Dietitians supervise the preparation and service of food, develop modified diets, participate in research, and educate individuals and groups on good nutritional habits. The goals of dietitians are to provide medical nutritional intervention, and to obtain, safely prepare, serve and advise on...
as the second season began. Jo Polniaczek, a new student originally from the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, arrived at Eastland on scholarship. A run-in with the law forced the four to be separated from the other girls, and work in the cafeteria, living together in a spare room next to Mrs. Garrett's bedroom.
In 1983, Jo and Blair graduated Eastland Academy in the season four finale "Graduation", which ranked fifth among prime time shows for the week, with 20.2 rating and 32 share. To keep the four girls under one roof, Mrs. Garrett went into business for herself and opens a gourmet food venture named Edna's Edibles. The four girls come to work for her and live in one of the rooms in the house attached to the store.
The show became part of NBC's much-watched Saturday night lineup in 1985, but by this time, the main actors were now in their late teens and early twenties, and public interest was beginning to wane. In an attempt to increase ratings, Mrs. Garrett's store Edna's Edibles was burned to the ground in the season seven premiere "Out of the Fire", placing #11 for the week—giving the series a strong start for the season. The follow-up episode "Into the Frying Pan" had the girls band together to rebuild the store with a pop culture-influenced gift shop that the girls ran together, called Over Our Heads. By the end of the season, TV Guide reported, "Facts success has been so unexpected that scions of Hollywood are still taken aback by it. ... Facts has in fact been among NBC's top-ranked comedies for the past five years. It finished twenty-third overall for the 1985–1986 season, handily winning its time slot against its most frequent competitors, Airwolf
Airwolf
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....
and Benson
Benson (TV series)
Benson is an American television sitcom which aired from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986, on ABC. The series was a spin-off from the soap opera parody Soap ; however, Benson discarded the...
. Lisa Whelchel stated, 'We're easily overlooked because we've never been a huge hit; we just sort of snuck in there.'"
Charlotte Rae initially reduced her role in seasons six and seven, and later decided to leave the series altogether. In season eight's heavily promoted one-hour premiere "Out of Peekskill", Mrs. Garrett married the man of her dreams and joined him in Africa while he works for the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. Mrs. Garrett's convinces her sister, Beverly Ann Stickle (Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
), to take over the shop and look after the girls. Beverly Ann later legally adopted Over Our Heads worker Andy Moffett (Mackenzie Astin
Mackenzie Astin
-Biography:Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His older half-brother is actor Sean Astin. He attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and University High School in Los Angeles, California...
) in the episode "A Boy about the House."
In the final season, even though the series still usually won its time slot, it placed last among the programs in NBC's Saturday Night lineup (which, at the time, had Top 20 hits in The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
and 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
). At 8 p.m. it was now in TV's most unforgiving time slot. NBC still had confidence in the series, however, and placed it as the 8 p.m. anchor, kicking off one of the network's highest-rated nights (second to Cosby Thursdays). The show's writers created a storyline in this season for the episode titled "The First Time" in which Natalie became the first of the girls to lose her virginity
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
.
In an article titled "Ratings Top with Teens" appearing in the January 19, 1988 edition of USA Today, The Facts of Life was ranked as one of the top 10 shows in a survey of 2,200 American teenagers.
Broadcast history
| Date | Network | Timeslot |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 1979-Sep 1979 | NBC | Fri 8:30-9:00PM |
| Mar 1980-May 1980 | NBC | Fri 8:30-9:00PM |
| Jun 1980-Jul 1980 | NBC | Wed 9:30-10:00PM |
| Aug 1980-Oct 1980 | NBC | Fri 8:30-9:00PM |
| Nov 1980-Oct 1981 | NBC | Wed 9:30-10:00PM |
| Oct 1981-Aug 1985 | NBC | Wed 9:00-9:30PM |
| Sep 1985-Jun 1986 | NBC | Sat 8:30-9:00PM |
| Jun 1986-May 1987 | NBC | Sat 8:00-8:30PM |
| Jun 1987-Jul 1987 | NBC | Wed 9:00-9:30PM |
| Jul 1987-Sep 1988 | NBC | Sat 8:00-8:30PM |
Ratings
- 1979–80 (First season): #74
- 1980–81 (Second season): #26
- 1981–82 (Third season): #24
- 1982–83 (Fourth season): #32
- 1983–84 (Fifth season): #27
- 1984–85 (Sixth season): #36
- 1985–86 (Seventh season): #27
- 1986–87 (Eighth season): #28
- 1987–88 (Ninth season): #37
Made-for-television movies related to the series
The Facts of Life Goes to Paris, a two-hour TV movie in which Mrs. Garrett and the girls travel to France, aired September 25, 1982. The movie was later added to the U.S. syndication package, broken up into four half-hour episodes; however, the original cut of the film appears on the 2010 Season 4 DVDs (the syndicated versions do not). The Facts of Life Down Under, another two-hour TV movie, aired February 15, 1987, and was also syndicated as four half-hour episodes in later U.S. airings.On November 18, 2001, The Facts of Life Reunion
The Facts of Life Reunion
The Facts of Life Reunion is a 2001 made-for-television movie based on the 1979-1988 sitcom The Facts of Life reuniting original cast members Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields thirteen years later...
aired, in which Mrs. Garrett and the girls are reunited in Peekskill, New York, for the Thanksgiving holiday. It airs sporadically in the U.S. on the ABC Family Channel
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
.
Attempted spin-offs
The various attempts at spin-offs were backdoor pilots, which were shown as episodes of The Facts of Life.- "Brian & Sylvia" — A season two episode in which Tootie and Natalie go to Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
to visit Tootie's Aunt Sylvia, a black woman (played by Rosanne KatonRosanne KatonRosanne Katon is an American model, actress, comedian and activist. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1978 issue...
) who has recently married a white man, played by Richard Dean AndersonRichard Dean AndersonRichard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver...
(the future star of MacGyverMacGyverMacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
and Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
). Ja'net Dubois of Good TimesGood TimesGood Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
played Ethel, who was both Tootie's grandmother and Sylvia's mother. The episode never developed into a series, and in the season five episode "Crossing the Line", Tootie mentions Brian's and Sylvia's interracial marriage, and says that the two have since gotten divorced. - "The Academy" — A season three episode set at Stone Academy, an all-boys military school that was near Eastland. In this episode, the girls at Eastland attended a dance with the boys from the military school. The boys included actors Jimmy BaioJimmy BaioJames Joseph "Jimmy" Baio is an American actor. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the cousin of actor Scott Baio.Baio first appeared onscreen in 1975 at age 13...
, Ben Marley, David AckroydDavid AckroydDavid Ackroyd is an American actor, who first came to prominence in soap operas such as The Secret Storm and Another World. He was born in Orange, New Jersey, a suburb of Newark.-Career:...
, Peter FrechettePeter FrechettePeter Frechette is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Born and raised in Coventry, Rhode Island, Frechette earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from the University of Rhode Island.- Career :...
, and John P. Navin, Jr. - "Jo's Cousin" — Another season three episode, in which Jo visits her family in the Bronx, including her cousin Terry, a fourteen-year-old girl (played by Megan FollowsMegan FollowsMegan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows is a Canadian/American actress. She is most known to international audiences for her role as Anne Shirley in the acclaimed 1985 Canadian television miniseries Anne of Green Gables and its two sequels.-Biography:Follows was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the...
) going through adolescence in a family full of men. The family included actors Grant CramerGrant CramerGrant Cramer is an American actor who has starred in films and on television. He is the son of actress Terry Moore.Grant's first feature film role was in 1980, when he starred in the horror film New Year's Evil. It wasn't until 1984, his big role came in the 1984 cult comedy film Hardbodies in...
, John MengattiJohn MengattiJohn Mengatti is an American actor primarily famous for his role as Nick Vitaglia, Salami's cousin, on the CBS television series The White Shadow. Mengatti joined the cast midway through the second season and was a fan favorite with his distinctive New York-style accent...
, Donnelly RhodesDonnelly RhodesDonnelly Rhodes is a Canadian actor. He recently starred as Doctor Cottle on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica. Before Battlestar Galactica he was probably best known to American audiences as the lovestruck, hapless escaped convict "Dutch Leitner" on the 1970s soap-opera...
, and D.W. BrownD.W. BrownD. W. Brown is the co-owner and head instructor at the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Santa Monica, California. He began his acting career early at the age of 15 in his hometown theater company in Tucson, Arizona Starring in "Desire Under The Elms"...
. - "The Big Fight" — A season four episode set at Stone Academy, a boys' military school. Natalie comes to visit a boy who tries to impress her with his boxing. This episode includes the same cast from the season three episode "The Academy."
- "Rumor Has It..."/"Peekskill Law" — Two season nine episodes which center around Blair's law major at Langley College. In the first, Blair's law professor Richard Katt (Franc LuzFranc LuzFranc Luz is an American actor of stage, film and television, seen in popular leading dramatic film roles in the 1980s and 1990s. These credits were supplemented with TV guest appearances and several regular roles in TV series...
) is introduced, a teacher whose ethic in the classroom stood in contrast to his reputation for sleeping around with many of his students. Blair and Katt were sharp debaters in and out of class, but nothing could prevent Blair from becoming nervous about the time she spent with him in his office after hours. Katt's wife subsequently walked in on one of his sessions with Blair, assumed they had fooled around with each other, and threatened to leave her husband. In the second episode, after Katt had resigned from the college in the wake of his rumored affair with Blair, he was now working as an attorney at a law firm where Blair was coincidentally working as an intern. The two found themselves working together on a high-stakes financial fraud case, with their sharp, aggressive banter a centerpiece yet again. - "Big Apple Blues" — A season nine episode in which Natalie spends the night with a group of eccentric young people living in a Soho loft, and decides to remain in New York to begin her life. Two of the tenants in the loft were played by David SpadeDavid SpadeDavid Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
and Richard GriecoRichard GriecoRichard John Grieco, Jr. is an American actor and former fashion model.-Early life:Richard Grieco was born in Watertown, New York, the son of Carolyn and Richard Grieco. He is of Italian and Irish descent. Grieco played football for Central Connecticut State University.-Career:Grieco worked as a...
. - "The Beginning of the End/Beginning of the Beginning" — The two-part series finale sees Blair buying Eastland to prevent its closing. Blair finds that the school is in such dire financial straits that she is forced to make the school co-ed. Blair then essentially adopts the Mrs. Garrett role as she presides over the school, and is forced to deal with the trouble-making students in a plot line that is highly reminiscent of the season two premiere. The new Eastland students included Seth GreenSeth GreenSeth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
, Mayim BialikMayim BialikMayim Hoya Bialik is an American actress who also holds a PhD in neuroscience.Her most notable TV roles have been as Blossom Russo on NBC's Blossom and as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:...
, and future Oscar-nominee Juliette LewisJuliette LewisJuliette Lewis is an American actress and musician. She gained international fame for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress...
.
Syndication
NBC aired daytime reruns of The Facts of Life from December 13, 1982 until June 7, 1985 at 10:00 AM (and later 12:00 noon) on the daytime schedule. Episodes aired on the USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
on and off from September 13, 1993 to September 11, 1998. In August 1995, the network celebrated the show's 16-year anniversary with a weekend-long marathon of 14 episodes featuring new interviews with Rae, Whelchel, and Cohn.
Episodes aired on Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
from September 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001, although the network did not air certain episodes that contained highly controversial content during prime time (including the first season episode "Dope"), instead opting to air episodes with more serious topics at late night/early morning times. TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
aired 48 hours of The Facts of Life episodes on its "Fandemonium Marathon Weekend" on November 17–19, 2001.
The Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
aired The Facts of Life from July 1 to November 1, 2002. To date, this was the last time The Facts of Life has aired nationwide in the United States. Episodes were available on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
's Video-On-Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
service from August 8, 2005 to July 31, 2006 and again from the August 6, 2007 until Tube Time's shutdown date on December 31, 2009.
On July 16, 2008 full episodes and short "minisodes" of The Facts of Life became available online via Hulu. Several minisodes are also available for free online via Crackle
Crackle
Crackle is a digital network and studio, featuring commercially supported streaming video content in Flash Video format. It is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and its content consists primarily of Sony's library of films and television shows...
.
International
In Brazil, the show aired on Nick at NiteNick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
as Vivendo e Aprendendo (Living and Learning, in English).
In Italy, seasons one through five were aired in 1983–1986 (dubbed as usual in Italian), on the terrestrial TV Canale 5
Canale 5
Canale 5 is an Italian private television network of Mediaset, the media branch of Fininvest. Canale 5 was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980, based on a local channel, TeleMilano 58, founded in 1978....
, the first Italian commercial network, and later on other local commercial TV networks. The Italian version was named L'albero delle mele, which means apple tree (the word 'apple' is popularly used euphemistically in Italian as a reference to teenage girls).
In France, seasons one through three (dubbed in French and titled Drole de Vie) aired in 1987 on the terrestrial TV La Cinq
La Cinq
La Cinq was France's first privately owned free terrestrial television network. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the network broadcasted from 1985 to 1992....
, and seasons eight and nine aired on TF1. Unlike Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, The Facts of Life has never aired on terrestrial TV in the United Kingdom. A few seasons aired on the UK BSB
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
satellite channels and after BSB merged with Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated its four-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989...
, the entire series was shown on Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
.
In Canada, The Facts of Life aired on CTS
Crossroads Television System
Crossroads Television System, or CTS, is a privately held Canadian television system.CTS airs predominantly Christian-based religious programming, most notably 100 Huntley Street, The Michael Coren Show and LIFE Today with James & Betty Robison, as well as other religious and faith based...
, a Christian-based network, from September 2006 to 2009. Beginning on September 15, 2007, The Facts of Life aired weekends at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on CanWest's
CanWest Global Communications
Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate brand Canwest, was a major Canadian media company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place...
digital specialty channel, DejaView
DejaView
DejaView is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. It airs television shows from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.-History:In November 2000, Global Television Network Inc...
. In March 2010 episodes moved to weekdays at 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm on DejaView.
DVD and VHS releases
Sony Pictures Home EntertainmentSony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
on May 9, 2006 with new interviews with most of the cast, including season one originals Felice Schachter and Julie Anne Haddock. To promote the DVD's release, McKeon, Whelchel, and Cohn appeared together on various TV shows such as Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, Today Show and CNN Showbiz
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
to reminisce about their time on the show and talk about their lives presently; unfortunately, Fields was unable to take part due to other commitments. The third season was released on October 24, 2006. This release failed to match the success of the first and second seasons, sales-wise.
The first and second seasons were also released in Region 4 on March 7, 2007.
On January 26, 2010, it was announced that Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
had acquired the rights to the show (under license from Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
) and subsequently released the fourth season on Region 1 DVD, May 4, 2010. Special features include The Facts of Life Goes To Paris, a made-for-TV-movie, which originally aired a few days prior to the fourth season debut, and a "Know The Facts: Trivia Game." The fifth season was officially released on November 2, 2010. It is as yet unknown if the remaining four seasons will be released.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First and Second Seasons | 29 | May 9, 2006 |
| The Complete Third Season | 24 | October 24, 2006 |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 23 | May 4, 2010 |
| The Complete Fifth Season | 26 | November 2, 2010 |
On April 21 and 22, 2001, Columbia House
Columbia House
The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by the Columbia Records division of CBS, Inc. as an umbrella for its mail-order music clubs, the primary incarnation of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. It had a significant market presence in the 1980s and early...
released The Facts of Life: The Collector's Edition, a 10-volume "Best of" the series on VHS (40 episodes in all). With the advent shortly thereafter of TV on DVD and Columbia House's eventual move from the direct marketing model of exclusive series, the tapes were discontinued and are only available at auction or secondhand sales sites at a high markup above the original price.
Geri Jewell
The Facts of Life was one of the first television shows to feature a person with cerebral palsy as a recurring character. Indeed, actress Geri JewellGeri Jewell
-External links:*...
was the first person with a disability to have a regular role on a prime time series. In an interview as part of an episode of E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures...
, Jewell stated that she believed her character "cousin Geri" was going to continue as a recurring character on the show during the sixth season, but the producers offered her only one episode for the season because viewers would immediately assume that any episode with cousin Geri would be a "very special episode
Very special episode
"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television commercials to refer to an episode of a sitcom or television drama that deals with a serious or controversial social issue...
". Jewell stated that she stopped appearing on the show for that reason.
Weight
Another issue during the show's early seasons concerned the stars' appearances. Lisa Whelchel has stated in various interviews, including on E! True Hollywood Story, that the cast spent a lot of time on set doing nothing, so the natural inclination for many of them was to eat, as food was readily available all over the set. This noticeably affected the girls' appearances, leading Joan RiversJoan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
to dub them "The Fats of Life" during the cast's appearance at the Emmy Awards; the producers eventually restricted what the actors could eat while on set.
Mindy Cohn
Mindy Cohn
Mindy Heather Cohn is an American actress, comedian known for her role as Natalie Green, the smart, overweight student of Edna Garrett , on the TV show The Facts of Life, and also being the current voice for Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise, which she has held since 2002.She currently...
, in the E! True Hollywood Story, stated that the situation was the exact opposite for her. She had been losing weight during this period, and the producers asked her to stop because much of her character's identity hinged on the fact that she was overweight. Cohn said the producers compromised with her regarding her weight by dressing her in baggy clothing to make her appear heavier than she was.
Awards and nominations
- Emmy Nomination for Best Actress (1982)—Charlotte RaeCharlotte RaeCharlotte Rae is a prolific American character actress of stage, comedienne, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life...
- Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Technical Direction/Electronic Camerawork/Video Control for a Series (1986)—For episode "Come Back to the Truck Stop, Natalie Green, Natalie Green".
- Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series (1987)—For episode "'62 Pickup".
- TV Land Award Won for Pop Culture Icon in 2011.
Theme music
The show's theme was composed by Al Burton, Gloria LoringGloria Loring
Gloria Loring is an American singer and actress.- Career :Loring began her music career at age 14, singing with a folk group known as "Those Four". Gloria Loring released her first album in 1968. It was titled "Gloria Loring, Today" on MGM Records...
, and her then-husband, Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains.- Early life :...
. The well-known opening lyric "You take the good, you take the bad..." came later as the first season lyrics, some of them performed by Rae, differed from those that followed. The original lyrics eventually shifted to the closing credits before being dropped entirely. Burton, Loring, and Thicke had previously composed the theme to Diff'rent Strokes, which was sung by Thicke.
Production
The Facts of Life was produced first by T.A.T. Communications CompanyTandem Productions
Tandem Productions, Inc. was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear.-Tandem Productions:...
, followed by Embassy Television
Embassy Television
...
(Norman Lear's production companies), and then by Embassy Communications, and Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
(through ELP Communications) on the final two episodes of the series. Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
currently owns the distribution rights to the sitcom.
From 1979 to 1982, the show was produced at Metromedia Square
Metromedia Square
Metromedia Square was a radio and television studio facility located at 5746 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on the southeastern corner of Sunset and Van Ness Avenue. For decades it was recognizable by the white, ladder-like snake on the building's roof...
in Los Angeles, California. In 1982, production moved to Universal City Studios and then to Sunset Gower Studios
Sunset Gower Studios
Sunset Gower Studios is a television and movie studio at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. It continues today as Hollywood's largest independent studio and an active facility for television and film production on its twelve soundstages.The studios were...
in 1985.
External links
- The Facts of Life Site At Televisionhits.com