The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life
TV-PG | 24 August 1979 (USA)

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SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
    Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
    Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
    Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
    videorama-759-859391 FOL was really a cheesy spin off to what was a fine t.v. sitcom. That's the sad failing about this show of talentless and an unattractive cast. If you can get this, they didn't think George Clooney was eye catching at the time, when he did a stint in the show, which was a waste of that guys talents. Apart from Nancy Mckeon's feisty character Jo, the rest of the characters, you couldn't care one stink about. Lisa Whelchel's character, the bossy and prissy Claire was fun too, bit there were moments I really wanted to strangle her. The show was low on laughs too, each episode forgettable as the last. The show was set in a boarding school, run by, guess who, the popular Mrs Garrett. The show dealt with a lot of dramatic issues, the blows we suffer, of teen angst, that sort of thing, but none really that caught our attention. One show, I distinctly remember was Kim Field's character, trying to make it as an actress. The show had of course, good intentions, one plus for me was, it made boarding school look like a holiday. I myself, was in boarding school for a little while, and it wasn't. Please, take my advice, learn the facts of life from not watching The Facts Of Life.
    sonya90028 The Facts of Life premiered when I was already about 21. So I was past the issues that confront adolescents during their school years. But this show was so good, it could be enjoyed by those of all ages. It was warm, funny, and showed teenage girls in a positive light. Each episode had a moral to it, without being too preachy.The characters really were '80s'-types; meaning that they reflected the increasingly conservative mood of the country during the run of the show. In other words, they were more serious-minded, focused, and had a bit more faith in their teachers, than we who were teens in the 70s seemed to. When I was a teen in the early through mid 70s, kids seemed to be wilder (more inclined towards partying, drug-use, drinking, and casual sex). But then, I was a teen before the conservative Reagan-era of the 80s. Teens of the early-80s were entering a new era, where they were beginning to buckling-down, and take their futures seriously. And the characters in the The Facts of Life certainly did so. Of course, they had their basic insecurities, and conflicts, like all teens do.The Jo Polniaczek character was an especially positive role model for girls, since she seemed to be the most strong-willed and intelligent of the bunch. Mrs. Garrett was also excellent as the stern, yet understanding housemother/confidant/guardian for the characters. I do agree with some of the others who commented on the show, regarding how it was best during the first couple of years or so. It was still okay to watch when Mrs. Garrett left the show, but Cloris Leachman just didn't seem to cut it as their new 'mother-figure'. I would definitely recommend this show, both for the 80s nostalgia-factor, and the excellent characters. Just be aware that the first few seasons of the show are the best.
    steph_hhh83 This show is okay, it wasn't the best. It took place in a school. There is not story plot. Every episode something different happens. My favorite character was Jo who was played By Nancy McKeon. She did a good job. The other characters were really annoying to me.
    LiLPrincess I LOVE this show! It's dramatic and funny simaltaneously. The Facts of Life focuses on serious issues that teens have to face and it also has a humorous twist. Mrs. Garret, who is played by the very talented Charlotte Rae, is a housekeeper turned housemother turned dietician. She watches out for four girls, Blair (Lisa Whelchel), Jo (Nancy McKeon), Tootie (Kim Fields) and Natalie (Mindy Cohn). She plays the peacemaker and always tries to resolve problems that the girls are dealing with. She calls them "her girls" and is always there for them when they need her.The episodes with Mrs. Garret are the best. However, the ones later on into the show where she is gone and her sister Beverly Ann is around are horrible. And the cast additions that took place in the last two years of the show, Makenzie Astin as Andy and Sherry Krenn as Pippa, totally ruined The Facts of Life.I suggest that you watch the episodes that are from the first several years of this show because they feature an excellent cast. But don't watch the last two years of this show because the new cast was horrible, with the exception of the four original girls that remained on The Facts of Life from the very beginning.