I really did not care for The Facts of Life once Mrs. Garrett left and that other lady took her place. It just lost something after that. Anyone else feel the same way?

My favorite seasons are actually seasons 8 and 9. I think I just got a little sick of Eastland and Edna's Edibles after a while... Over Our Heads was much more interesting/funny, but that's just my opinion. :)

Interesting observations. However, the show's premise was based around Mrs. Garrett and the happenings at a girls boarding school. By the end of the show, there was no Mrs. Garrett and no girls boarding school.

They did come up with some very contrived ways to keep Mrs. G and the girls together (Edna's edibles and the store), but by the time Mrs. G left the show, the girls were old enough to be on their own. I guess they threw in Cloris Leachman as the "surrogate mother" replacement, but it seemed by that point that the girls should be independent.

I could understand the girls still living together for the economics of it, but did they really need an adult to supervise them anymore? They weren't little girls anymore...

When Charlotte Rae left, they should've ended it with everyone moving on to new things in their lives.

I did not like Berverly Ann or whatever her name was. She was NO Mrs. Garrett.

I think the show got better in season 8 after BA joined the show. It seemed to be running out of steam in season 7. The last season was enjoyable although not as good as the season before. The last episode sucked though.

I still liked it when Beverly Ann joined the show, but it just wasn't the same without Mrs. G.

Beverly Ann stunk. I could at least believe Mrs. Garrett leaving Eastland to open her own little bakery in a small school town with the girls living there helping out and still going to classes.

When Mrs.G left I lost a lot of interest. I would seriously think Blair and Jo would want to move on with their lives and finally cut the cord. The show should've ended when Edna's burned down and everybody decided to go on their own path instead of rebuilding the place into a novelity store. I really hated George Clooney and Andy. puke: Annoying unecessary characters!! :2mad

I still liked it, it was just... different.

I think my favorite season was season 8 when Beverly Ann came on the show. I thought the Edna's Edible episodes got really stale and boring during the 84-85 season. By then the show needed a change and thank god the next season the place got burned down. I liked Over Our Heads and when Beverly Ann came on the show I think the show produced some of the best episodes in it's run. Beverly Ann didnt make the difference, but I think it was the more adult storylines that they gave the girls that helped the season out. I thought the changes made when BA came onto the show made it more exciting, the show needed a change and I think it was a good one. Not to say that I liked Mrs. G leaving, I just didnt mind it.

I like the show after Mrs. G left.

season 8 was awesome!! You couldn't expect the show to be the way it was in seasons 2-4 anymore, because frankly, the girls weren't 15 anymore. I think season 8 was the best season since season 3 IMO, the show was rejuvinated with Cloris. Granted, she was no Mrs. Garrett but she did a great job holding her own. Many of my all time favorite FOL episodes came from season 8.

Season 9 is another story. The addition of Pippa was the last straw and the show was just overcrowded, plus by that year, you could tell everyone was tired of doing it and ready to close that chapter of their lives. It seemed like all that happened in season 9 was the cast gathering around eating corn flakes. But when a show is in season 9, I think it's okay to have accepted they've run their course.

I like the show after Mrs. Garrett left. But I did miss her. I stilled watched becuase I liked the girls. They were so funny. I never liked Cloris Leachman. I also couldn't get into Beverly Ann. She was to weird to me.

I think the show got better after Ms. Garret left because it gave the show change. It was a new stage in the girls lives that was just as good or even better. I still love Ms. G, no one can replace her. I think it was because of her that the show was successful.

I just think the show should have ended once Mrs. Garrett left.

My favorite seasons are 2-5. So I guess the answer would be no. I still liked it, but NOT as much as when Mrs. G. was there.

I think the show ended at the right time. Cloris was a very capable substitute. Yes ,I would have liked Mrs G to stay. But she didnt. It would have been nice if Mrs G came back once or twice to visit. Some of my favorite episodes are Beverly Ann eps. So I guess my answer is Yes..

I loved the show til the end. For people saying the girls should have moved on, then there wouldn't have been a show. It was different after Mrs. G left but things can't stay the same even in TV life.

My favorite seasons are actually seasons 8 and 9. I think I just got a little sick of Eastland and Edna's Edibles after a while... Over Our Heads was much more interesting/funny, but that's just my opinion. :)
I like season 9 alot. That is one of my favorite seasons. I like the ones with Edna's Edibles, but I think that some of the ones with Beverly Ann were pretty good.

My favorite seasons are actually seasons 8 and 9. I think I just got a little sick of Eastland and Edna's Edibles after a while... Over Our Heads was much more interesting/funny, but that's just my opinion. :)


now THATS something you don't hear everyday!

I really did not care for The Facts of Life once Mrs. Garrett left and that other lady took her place. It just lost something after that. Anyone else feel the same way?
I felt it went downhill. Cloris Leachman could no more replace Charlotte Rae on THE FACTS OF LIFE than June Lockhart could replace Bea Benadaret on
PETTICOAT JUNCTION. Almost every time a key character leaves a series,
the show suffers, whether from death (CHICO AND THE MAN, BONANZA, etc.)
or otherwise (SANFORD & SON, ALL IN THE FAMILY, etc.). Fans become
emotionally attached to the relationships between the characters and are
reluctant to accept change.

I thought that the girls would be better livivg on their own

I know this is an old thread but since it was bumped I'll answer anyway. I thought there were some great Beverly Ann episodes so I did continue to enjoy the series at that point. Yes, I missed Mrs. Garrett but I thought the change did freshen the series up a bit. I also thought that as much as I love Charlotte, by that point the four girls were strong enough to carry the show. Heck, some of my favorite episodes have very little Mrs. G in them.

I don't think it was ridiculous for the girls to still live together at that point because they were college age and generally you live with roommates at that point of your life. If they lived in dorms they would be pretty much experiencing the same thing. I thought it was a bit ridiculous for all four to be crammed into one room, but they did something about that eventually.

The only thing that bothered me is that when it was treated as Beverly Ann having to look after them. The girls did not need supervision and were old enough to be completely independent. Especially since Mrs. Garrett was absent from many of the episodes from the season before and the girls were just fine. Then again, I think they needed somebody older and established to explain how the girls would be able to not only remain in the house financially but run the store with Mrs. Garrett gone.

;) its been a little while since i have seen season 8 the transition between Mrs Garret and Beverly-Ann moving in the girls were what 18-22 so I can see your point with the store.

Mrs Garret had pretty much left the show she appeared in half of season 7s episodes and wasnt a factor in their lives anymore.

I like Cloris Leachman in the Mel Brooks films, but I never loved her Beverly Ann character at all. Something about that character that irked me so much....Mrs. Garret all the way.

My favorite seasons are 2-5. So I guess the answer would be no. I still liked it, but NOT as much as when Mrs. G. was there.
you took the words out of my mouth;)
i really have a hard time watching any of the "Over Our Heads" episodes:(

It just wasn't the same when she left the school format was ok the shop was dull.

It was some of my favorite episodes that were made after Mrs. G. I have to admit though, I really loved Pippa.

I know this is an old thread but since it was bumped I'll answer anyway. I thought there were some great Beverly Ann episodes so I did continue to enjoy the series at that point. Yes, I missed Mrs. Garrett but I thought the change did freshen the series up a bit. I also thought that as much as I love Charlotte, by that point the four girls were strong enough to carry the show. Heck, some of my favorite episodes have very little Mrs. G in them.

I don't think it was ridiculous for the girls to still live together at that point because they were college age and generally you live with roommates at that point of your life. If they lived in dorms they would be pretty much experiencing the same thing. I thought it was a bit ridiculous for all four to be crammed into one room, but they did something about that eventually.

The only thing that bothered me is that when it was treated as Beverly Ann having to look after them. The girls did not need supervision and were old enough to be completely independent. Especially since Mrs. Garrett was absent from many of the episodes from the season before and the girls were just fine. Then again, I think they needed somebody older and established to explain how the girls would be able to not only remain in the house financially but run the store with Mrs. Garrett gone.

Totally agreed, especially the second paragraph. I think the roommate situation was ideal for the girls, and I'm glad they kept it the way they did.

[QUOTE=88survivor]I like Cloris Leachman in the Mel Brooks films


I JUST SAW HER IN THE MOVIE, "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN". THE MOVIE WAS VERY FUNNY, AND OF COURSE, SO WAS SHE. IT WAS HILARIOUS THAT EVERY TIME HER NAME, FRAU BRUEKKER WAS MENTIONED, THE HORSES WHINNIED.
FOR ANYONE WHO'S A FAN OF CLORIS, I RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE. HER SCREEN TIME IS GREAT:)

I LOVED THE SHOW WITH MRS. G & WITH BEVERLY ANN. THEY WERE COMPLETE OPPOSITES, AND EACH BROUGHT HUMOR AND WARMTH IN THEIR OWN WAYS.

I THINK CHARLOTTE AND CLORIS ARE SO VERY TALENTED, ALSO. THEY BOTH CRACK ME UP AND PUT A :D ON MY FACE WHEN I WATCH THEM.

When I first saw the show I didnt know a Mrs. Garret character then i watched the 7th season then the 8th and finally the 9th and it seems to me that Mrs Garrets role was diminished in the7th season only apperaring in half the episodes. I did like the show after she left but un a different way.

I think after Mrs. G left, I didn't think it was absolutely necessary for the girls to have a constant adult figure around. The girls were old enough to care for themselves and solve their own problems on their own. (Although it would be nice to have an older adult around at times). I like Cloris Leachman, I just didn't feel that BA "fit" in at times; but she did provide some comic relief and at least Mrs. G knew that the girls had someone "looking" after them.

Bev didn't really fit in at times, but the writers sort of played on that a bit at the beginning with her having to grow on the girls.

Logically, it is weird that the four early twenty somethings would be like for instance going on vacation with a random woman who was old enough to be their mother. It's not that BA was completely random to them, but how often do young women hang out with women twice their age--even for pure friendship. It's not wrong, just a bit odd. With Mrs. G at least there was a history of how and why she was included into the mix.

But the same was true for Andy which is why I think we got the whole sudden adoption plot. How else to explain why these four are constantly hanging out with a 13 year old boy with no real connection to them?

But like I've said, I think they just wanted to attempt to add a recognizable name and face to the show and have a logical reason for how the four could stay in the house and continue to run the business.

MRS. G was the show with season 3 to 6 being my favourites & having BEVERLY ANN come as a replacement was extremely absurd: the girls were just doing fine by season 8 (TOOTIE was 18, NAT 19 + JO & BLAIR 21 years old)so they could have had their own Sitcom as "How s life at college?", so no need for a supervisor at this point. Besides, MRS. G was like a mother to them, they v grown attached to her so if anyone had a say about their life it would be her & certainly not BEVERLY ANN!
The only reason i continued to watch the series was because of BLAIR & JO: BEVERLY ANN was just a nuisance, trying hard to be another MRS. G when it was obvious she didn t have her authority, as well as the closeness this 4 girls shared with MRS. G! It always amazed me, how the writers tried to have BEVERLY ANN bond with the girls, when it was obvious they had no chemistry at all (except for NAT maybe who seemed to like her) TOOTIE just ignored her; BLAIR & JO found her irritating at times (you could tell by how they reacted towards her).
To resume this, what these girls had with CHARLOTTE RAE was real (on & off screen) cos they met her when they were still kids: in a way she was like a "surrogate mother" to them on the sitcom + in real life, so there is no way that (when they became young adults) that a strange woman they just met, could bond with them just like that (it takes time for people to bond lol).
There s the proof in the "TV LAND AWARDS 2011": LISA WHELCHEL & NANCY MCKEON were side by side with CHARLOTTE RAE + you can see how close they still are. The only person by CLORIS LEACHMAN is MINDY COHN (she is the only one who seem to bond with her on the show), KIM FIELDS gave a lovely speech to CHARLOTTE RAE & you can feel all the admiration, love & respect those girls still feel for her......
COMMENTS ANYONE?