The Facts of Life

When I was 14, my favorite show was "Facts of Life".  The girls, recently reunited for the 9th Annual TV Land Awards.  Even Mrs. Garrett  and Geri were there!  Seeing them together really brought back memories for me.  My sister and I loved this show, and never missed an episode.  It made me wish that I went to their school.  During the first season, there were many more girls, including Molly Ringwald, whom me and my sister dubbed "just awful" as an actress back then.  Just watch those episodes from the first season and you'll see what I'm talking about!  She was incredibly annoying and over-acted in every scene...although she was much improved when years  later she appeared in "Sixteen Candles". 

Good Grief!  I see that photo of Molly and I want to punch her in the mouth!  Look at that fake smile!  GRRRR!!!!!  She was such a whiny little brat on that show!

By the second season, they got rid of half of the girls, including Molly, and brought in Joe, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, who get Blair, Tootie and Natalie into trouble and they have to be separated from the rest of the girls and forced to do labor in the cafeteria under the watching eye of Mrs. Garrett.  They also brought in Geri, who was a Blair's cousin, who had cerebral palsy...the first time I've ever seen someone with cerebral palsy on a TV show.

"The Facts of Life" had an incredible nine season run on NBC. Mindy Cohn, Geri Jewell, Cloris Leachman, Nancy McKeon, Charlotte Rae, and Lisa Whelchel were together on the red carpet. Unfortunately, Kim Fields arrived late, so she wasn't able to take a photo with her former cast-mates at the TV Land Awards....although Mindy is suspiciously missing from this photo...I wonder where she is?

Anyway, I grew up with these girls and could totally relate to their problems on the show.  I do have some episodes on VHS tape that I cannot seem to get rid of...guess I'll have to watch them sometime soon.  I think the reason for the popularity of the show is the fact that you could relate to the girls.  I never truly identified with just one of the girls, but there were aspects of each of their personalities that I could identify with, and I think that was true with many of the girls who watched the show when it aired.