THE PLOT THUS FAR
In this much loved and long running series, four girls, each with their own divergent backgrounds and personalities, become inseparable friends when they are brought together at the prestigious Eastland School for Girls. Under the gentle guidance of housemother Mrs. Garrett, the girls face the trials and tribulations of adolescence as they hurry their way towards young adulthood. Long Synopsis: You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have THE FACTS OF LIFE! A spin-off of the tremendously popular “Diff’rent Strokes,” THE FACTS OF LIFE is the hilarious series that follows Mrs. Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) and her mission as housemother to instill values in the girls of Eastland School. The large cast for the first two seasons included John Lawlor, Jenny O’Hara, Lisa Whelchel, Felice Schachter, Julie Piekarski, Kim Fields, Molly Ringwald, Julie Anne Haddock, Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon. By the second season, the show focused on Mrs. Garrett
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“The Facts of Life” started life as a rough spin-off from “Diff’rent Strokes”. I appreciate the marketing minds that believed that Charlotte Rae had the ability to anchor a show. But, I wish they would’ve put some real world life experience into the program. I get that it was NBC Primetime during the late 70s/80s, but these ladies would’ve been more Jo and Natalie and a lot less everyone else. They’d also be listening to a lot more “Indigo Girls”.
The first two years of the show were rough, but we eventually got the show that everyone remembers. Molly Ringwald was basically playing White Tootie, but Kim Fields knew what she was doing. Hell, the show had too many girls running around and having very special episodes. Streamlining the program was the best thing that they could do. Most people that watch programs about private all-girls school expect something more like that Phoebe Cates movie. This isn’t that.
The DVD comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is typical for standard definition. The transfer is flat with little punch-up. But, the Dolby track kicks up where needed. In the end, I’d recommend a rental or streaming it.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!