The Facts Of Life......

[Brian37]

I was about the same age as the the actors who played the students at "Eastland" back then. I was just watching a rerun this morning, and the irony of the lesson of the episode would be lost on 45. Blair if anyone remembers, was the rich spoiled girl, but not a total douche, convinced Natalie to buy expensive beauty kits she could not afford, which in turn lead Natalie to lie to her mother to cover the money she should have spent on school supplies. Kinda like 45's lying to his "university" investors with high pressure sales pitches to even people they knew couldn't afford it. Ms Garrett told Blair success was ok, but not if it meant stepping on people and hurting them. Blair understood and apologized and refunded Natalie's money.

As an aside, my favorite character was Jo Polniachek whom didn't take shit from anyone. Having been bullied, I wanted to be tough like her.

[Brian37]

Watching a rerun this morning, keeps reminding me how much I love the character of Jo. Ms Garrett's son came to visit, bragging about all the famous music artists he had connections with. Blair smelled BS, wanted to confront Ms Garrett about what she thought were lies. Jo stopped her and said, "Where I come from if you stick your nose in family business you end up eating through your ears."

Not to worry in this sitcom everything gets resolved. I just loved that line. If I had had Jo as a friend growing up I never would have been bullied.

[Brian37]

Check this shit out, I remember this episode but didn't realize whom had played the part. Looking back now, it was obvious that the show was leading to a spin off that never took off. Ms Garrett took Natalie and Tootie to visit Tootie's aunt, the bulk of the episode was focused on the aunt and her mixed marriage. In it the aunt divulges that she had a major job offer at a NYC TV station but the husband doesn't want to move. The husband was played by the original Macgyver Richard Dean Anderson. That episode was most likely intended as a spin off but never took off.

[Brian37]

This morning's rerun Jo was taking a journalism class, got her first story rejected by the teacher, in the lunchroom Jo expresses her frustration that she has to find a new story, Blair responds, "Why don't you write about something you know about, mob violence."

[Brian37]

Watching another rerun this morning Jo's friend takes her motorcycle without her permission, but she cant see it but hears it, and from her room, hearing the rumble she says, "HEY, that's my bike."

Another girl asks, "How do you know that?"

Jo says, "A mother knows."

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Watching another rerun this morning Jo's friend takes her motorcycle without her permission, but she cant see it but hears it, and from her room, hearing the rumble she says, "HEY, that's my bike."

Another girl asks, "How do you know that?"

Jo says, "A mother knows."

And she was one bad mother.

[Brian37]

Watching another rerun this morning Jo's friend takes her motorcycle without her permission, but she cant see it but hears it, and from her room, hearing the rumble she says, "HEY, that's my bike."

Another girl asks, "How do you know that?"

Jo says, "A mother knows."

And she was one bad mother.

Jo was my favorite character. I would have loved to have had her as a friend growing up when the bullies picked on me.

I always like how she rolls her eyes at Blair. Of course they didn't hate each other, but Jo as a character wasn't living in as much of a bubble as Blair.

[Brian37]

I has been so long since I watched this show, I had forgotten how serious some of the episodes were. Yesterday was about Natalie's dad having an affair. Today was about Tootie sneaking away from school to meet the older girls in NYC, but almost gets snared by pimp.

[Brian37]

Jo had another zinger of course, talking about Blair,

"You are so spoiled if you were the date on a carton of milk it would read, B.C."

---

Blair and Jo go to NYC to meet their friends, of course Blair's friend is a stuck up snob, and Jo's friend she is from the streets. So all for of them meet, and Blair's friend says, "What are you two going to do this weekend, knock over a couple candy stores?"

Good thing by the end of the episode the rich kid Blair and the street kid Jo both realize their friends, they had not seen in years turned out to be real assholes.

Blair's stuck up friend yelled at her maid for leaving for having a tooth ache. I know it was just a show, but I did scream at the TV. Jo's friend was angry that foreigners were moving into the neighborhood, and Jo basically told her to f-off. By the end of the episode Jo and Blair realize how much they liked each other....... SAPPY SHIT, really made me cry.

[Brian37]

This morning's rerun is so relevant today.

Natalie gets upset because she found out the school library pulled 4 books, like Slaughter House 5. So she writes an editorial criticizing the school for doing it, then suddenly she is no longer the school paper editor.

HUMN, sounds suspiciously like an orange asshat doesn't it?

Anywho the other students decide to stick up for Natalie and so they mail news letters to all the students parents about the board meeting over the banned books. 

So turned out all the parents of the main characters were showing up for the meeting over the banned books, and Blair said, "Yea my mom is taking a limo." But also said she'd be picking up Jo's parents too on the way, Jo responded, "Your mother's taking a limo into my neighborhood? They're never going to make it."