DVD Review: The Facts of Life: The Complete Series

DVD Reviews, Reviews, Top Story

All girl boarding schools were once a place where imaginations ran wild and mostly toward the gutter. There’s an entire genre of filmmaking dedicated to this form of elite education. Mostly these films were complete exploitation flicks that featured young girls that were the objects of lust from the nearby All Boys Academy. Quite a few of these films focused on two dorm mates exploring their forbidden emotions. In August of 1979, the perception would change as The Facts of Life began a nine season run on NBC. The girls were not completely wild at Eastland School. This show featured plenty of risky behavior, but they were quickly reeled back to proper standards by a familiar character.

A lot of time a hit sitcom runs a few years before the network wants to spin-off a character. This was not the case for Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) on Diff’rent Strokes. Her sassy maid became an immediate hit with audiences. NBC had been ratings starved for quite a while so it made sense for them to want to get a second show out of their rare hit. The final episode of the first season sent Garrett and Kimberley Drummond (Dana Plato) to Eastland School for Girls. The mixing of Mrs. Garrett and out of control teens in school uniforms was a natural mix. The next season, Rae had pretty much moved out of Mr. Drummond’s apartment and into an Eastland dormitory. This is rather strange to realize her tenure of Diff’rent Strokes was so short since most people would swear she was around for most of that show’s eight seasons.

The Facts of Life does a fine job of bringing up rather adult subjects without being too shocking. “Rough Housing” starts off the series with Blair (Lisa Whelchel) running for the Harvest Queen. She doesn’t want to lose the crown so she hints that her more tomboyish might be into girls. While there was no visual proof presented on camera, the fact that the topic was raised is rather daring. “Like Mother, Like Daughter” puts Blair on the spot again since her often married mother arrives for a visit. Things get embarrassing when mom hits on the Headmaster. How can she live this down? Everyone loves Mrs. Garrett except the father of Tootie (Kim Fields). He thinks she’s a bad influence on his roller skating daughter. “Adoption” has Natalie (Scooby-Doo‘s Mindy Cohn) upset that she really can’t do a family tree since she has no clue of her background.

The first season is noted for Molly Ringwald playing the precious Molly Parker. She would flunk out after the freshman term. In the end it was probably good that she didn’t come back for the second season since it allowed her a chance to become the John Hughes’ superstar of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink. She didn’t have much of a role in the 13 episodes, except for “Molly’s Holiday.” She gets the shocking news that her parents are divorcing and dad drops by the school with his new girlfriend. The first season ended ratings were tht were growing. But it wasn’t quite a hit. The solution was to cut the cast in half. Along with Molly, a few other lesser girls were expelled from Eastland. The producers brought in a character that would truly grab viewers by the eyeballs.

The second season starts with the two parter “The New Girl.” This is not another child of privilege being dumped off at the fancy boarding school. Jo Polniaczek (Nancy McKeon) is a street-wise wild child. She’s ready to turn her socialite classmates into her party pals. She hotwires a van and takes her classmates to a bar. But trouble comes quick for the troubled gal. It’s up to Mrs. Garrett to show her the way. The girls also have to figure out how to get themselves out of a sticky legal situation. Jo continues to be trouble. She shoplifts a birthday gift for Mrs. Garrett and might get married. Jo amped up the danger level of the episodes. But the season isn’t completely about the new girl. Blair’s cousin Jeri ((Geri Jewell) visits in “Cousin Geri.” What makes her visit unique isn’t just that she’s a stand up comic, but she deals with cerebral palsy. Geri wasn’t just an actress. She really was a stand up comic.

The Facts of Life does a fine job putting the girls into odd situations. There is a touch of reality in the series by not making them eternal teenagers. After a few years in school, the girls join Mrs. Garrett in making a gourmet shop called Edna’s Edibles. Is there a store in Denver with that same name now? It’s kind of strange thinking parents who just spent a fortune on private high school would be cool letting the kids burn their youth selling snacks instead of going to an Ivy League school. During season six Tootie finally removes her braces. This was a major shock for viewers. The biggest boost comes during season seven when Oscar winner George Clooney arrives as a George Burnett. Why is he necessary? Because Edna’s edibles has been burnt to the ground. George must use his hammer to rebuild their empire. He’s dreamy. Someday he’d be Batman. The eighth season featured the departure of Mrs. Garrett. She finally got hitched and rode off to sitcom nirvana. In her place would be Beverly Ann Stickle (The Mary Tyler Moore Show‘s Cloris Leachman). The final season features the specialist of “Very Special” episodes called “The First Time.” Natalie must decide if she’s ready to go all the way with her boyfriend named Snake. Seriously, the guy was called Snake and he wanted to knock her boots. When this episode was about to air, it was major news in 1988. David Letterman talked about the event. The show wraps up with Blair buying Eastland school. In a bit of casting fun, Blair must act as a mentor to Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers).

Revisiting Eastland is a fun nostalgic jaunt. Sure this wasn’t quite the tawdry dreams of what goes on behind the gates of an all girl boarding school. But the show rarely disappointed. Blair was always a touch snooty. Jo had her hardcore attitude. Tootie skated around. Natalie was…Natalie. And Mrs. Garrett always wanted to appear in control even when her shop burned down. Ultimately the show is a testament to the talent of Charlotte Rae. She proved her comedy chops on The Phil Silvers Show and Car 54, Where Are You? But she had to wait a few decades for the role that would make her a pop icon. Even when she left the show, her imprint on the girls. The Facts of Life: The Complete Series

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The series was shot on standard definition video so there’s a softness. The ’80s style still shines. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The episodes are Closed Captioned.

“Girls School” from Diff’rent Strokes (24:01) is the backdoor pilot episode. A few of the girls at the school would return with Mrs. Garrett for the real show.

Remembering The Facts of Life (18:27) explains why Tootie wore roller skates. This covers the first season and the changes that led into the second season.

The After The Facts lets us know what happened to cast members. One of the early students went to Brown so Eastland could lead to an Ivy League entry.

The Facts of Life Goes to Paris (96 minutes) was a made for TV movie from 1982 that took the girls to Eiffel Tower. This was shot on film and in France. They didn’t resort to a backlot covered in berets and mimes.

The Facts of Life Down Under (96 minutes) was a made for TV movie from 1987 that put a shrimp on their barbies. Mario Van Peebles plays Tootie’s love interest. There are kangaroos.

Cast Reunion at the Paley Center (44:15) is so recent that the cast talks about this boxset being put together. All the girls and Charlotte Rae take part in the panel. However Fields has pre-taped a piece since she couldn’t fly down for the event. There’s plenty of stories out of school. Nancy McKeon still looks ready to hotwire a van.

The Facts of Life Pop Quiz is just that. Can you remember all about Eastland?

The Facts of Life: The Complete Series covers the joy and heartbreak found inside a girls boarding school. There’s an odd joy in watching Blair, Tootie, Natalie and Jo grow up from school girls to small business owners.

Shout! Factory presents The Facts of Life: The Complete Series. Starring: Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon. Boxset Contents: 201 episodes on 26 DVDs. Rated: Unrated. Released: January 13, 2015.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.