Hey guys.
I was just thinking about something and I wanted to put a question to you. As I'm sure you all may have noticed, Mrs. Garrett is my favorite character. I do adore her for taking the time to be the REAL parent to those four girls since their own parents obviously weren't doing the job. (Sending them to boarding school, then summer camp in the summers, spending...what? Two whole weeks out of the year with them?!?! In the words of Jo, gimme a break! And for the record, I am sooooo NOT talking about Jo. I completely understand why Jo's mom started working her tail off to get Jo in a better school and neighborhood after she started getting into trouble in the Bronx.)

Anyway, it's been such a long time since I've seen a lot of the Edna's Edibles episodes (THANKS, Sony!!! :rolleyes: ) but to me, it seems like the character of Mrs. Garrett loses a lot of her strength and authority in season 5 when Edna's Edibles is born. I'll always prefer seasons 2-4 over the others anyway, but in the Eastland years when Jo comes in and Mrs. Garrett is put in charge of the foursome, Mrs. Garrett is seen as the ultimate authority. The girls understandably worship the ground she walks on (who doesn't???) and her word is obviously law. But in season 5 when Mrs. Garrett starts sharing the responsibility of Edna's Edibles with Jo, whom she sets up as a "watchdog" for the shop, is it just me or is it almost like Mrs. Garrett loses some of her...I don't know the right word....energy? Authority, maybe...strength, power. It's almost as if, in season 5, it could go either way....Mrs. Garrett's word OR Jo's word is law, and I for one hate that. I do love it in the episode where this deli in town starts trying to run Edna's Edibles out of business and Jo gets on a computer and hacks into the deli's owner's computer system and messes up his recipes, and when Mrs. Garrett finds out what happens and tells Jo that they're going over to his store to apologize, Jo starts out with this speech, "I had rather...blah, blah, blah" and Mrs. Garrett interrupts..."I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'D RATHER DO! I'M IN CHARGE HERE!" Yay!!! Good for Mrs. G. Jo was getting way too big for her britches, to use a very Southern expression, and it was high time Mrs. G. yanked her back down to size. I don't know...maybe it was the fact that Blair and Jo were in college and were considered adults now and Nat and Tootie were growing up too and they all felt they didn't need to go to Mrs. Garrett every time they faced a problem. Maybe I need to hush and go to bed!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: But seriously, do I have a point or am I just wacko tonight??? :crazy: :lol:

I can see where you are coming from, but I never really saw Jo taking authority over Mrs. Garrett. Mrs. G. did seem less authoritative when they left Eastland, but she wasn't really in a position of authority over their whole lives anymore. She was their boss in the store and to quote Blair in the season 6 episode Working It Out, she was their "landlady." (I wanted to smack her when she said that!)

I think they respected her, but were trying to make their own way in the world and we all know that kids who are trying to spread their wings often go against the authority of their parents (or their Mrs. Garrett's as the case may be.) I think one of the nice things about the show is that Mrs. G. did turn out to be right and the girls learned she was right (like in The Chain Letter when they cause such a mess Mrs. Garrett nearly gets shut down and fires all of them or in the episode you mentioned where she makes Jo apologize for hacking into the computer system.)

Mrs. Garrett may not have been in charge of their lives, but like any good parent she was still there for them if and when they needed her. That's what makes Mrs. G. special. That's why we all love her!

She was their boss in the store and to quote Blair in the season 6 episode Working It Out, she was their "landlady." (I wanted to smack her when she said that!)


Anyone who wants to smack Blair has to get by me first, sister. :mad: :lol: ;)

This is an interesting topic and one I've never really considered before. I guess once Jo and Blair graduated high school in 1983 and Tootie and Natalie became a little older as well, they simply didn't need Mrs. Garrett to watch over them as much as in the earlier seasons. I still think she was very much a parental figure to them though. However, I never considered Jo to ever be the boss. If anyone was the "leader" of the four girls I think it would have been Blair.

Anyone who wants to smack Blair has to get by me first, sister. :mad: :lol: ;)

I knew I shouldn't have said that! I'm in trouble now.

BLAIR the leader???????????? Of WHAT....hairstyling??????????

:rofl: :rotflmao:

Sorry, Crazy for Blair....couldn't resist! :lol:

okay, no smacking blair...thats a no, no...and yes, she was the leader of the group...at least, thats how ive always seen it! :D

okay, no smacking blair...thats a no, no...and yes, she was the leader of the group...at least, thats how ive always seen it! :D
I repeat...of WHAT? HAIRSTYLING??? :lol:

I knew I shouldn't have said that! I'm in trouble now.

You sure are! :mad: :lol: ;)

BLAIR the leader???????????? Of WHAT....hairstyling??????????

:rofl: :rotflmao:

Those are fighting words. :mad: :) :lol:

Bring it on, Mike! FactsFan and I can take ya!!! :lol:

I think there was already a thread discussing who was the leader of the Facts girls.... some very funny insights on it too.

I think it's because all the girls were getting older. but that's just my opinion.

as far as Blair being the leader...maybe? Never actually thought about it. But now that I do, everyone seemed to listen pretty attentively to Jo. I think I would have to say Jo was the leader...but again, that's opinion :)

When it came to tough situations, moral dilemmas, etc, Nat and Toot went to Jo (or Mrs G)......for fashion and dating advice, Blair (or Mrs G)

:lol:

Only Tootie went to summer camp. Just because parents send their kids to boarding school doesn't mean they are shirking their duty-they want their children to get a good education.

Mrs. Garrett's role was diminished throughout the Edna's Edibles and 1st Over Our Heads year. The writing staff did this on purpose because the girls were getting older, and therefore her role changed. It's just like this in real life -- we get older, still need our parents, but it's for different reasons after we grow up and leave the house.

The Girls started confiding in eachother. Which In the second year of Over Our Heads, Beverly Ann, came on way too strong, writers purposely doing this (which I think is why most of you all hate her, I personally love her). She was trying to be like Edna, but for the past couple years Mrs. Garrett's role as confidant of the girls was virtually non exsistant. So when Beverly tried, the girls were annoyed because Mrs. Garrett kept to herself the last couple of years, and the girls confided in eachother, and Beverly was basically a stranger and no one to them. Beverly mentioned that she wanted to be just like Edna was to the girls, but she had forgotten they were all grown up and really didn't need that advice.

Their bond with Beverly became very different than with Mrs. Garrett, she would be there to listen to problems but not really give advice -- or so try to and the story would be horrible. Beverly is totally the opposite to Mrs. Garrett which on the writing part is genius.

I think it would have been great to have Mrs. Garrett make a special guest appearance on the show after she left -- a vacation away from africa, that would have been interesting to plot Beverly and Mrs. Garrett in a storyline, there was always tension in the room with both of them together.

I see it as Blair and Jo in charge, both Tootie and Natalie looked up to them. Although, in the last couple years of the show, that changed as well. You usually saw Blair/Jo stories, and Natalie/Tootie stories. Since Blair and Jo were the oldest, I think they went to both girls.

If anyone was the leader it was MRS G lol! (no BLAIR, JO, NAT or TOOTIE but their surrogate mother):lol:

I think there was already a thread discussing who was the leader of the Facts girls.... some very funny insights on it too.

Really? I'd like to read that...link, anyone? Oh, and guys, I'm sooo happy the forum is so active! Was missing certain scenes from FOL today desperately and it just means so much that there are people willing to discuss everything Facts everyday :D

Hmmm...I think usually the 'leader' was Mrs. G--then when she left, or had those long absences the girls went to each other---Natalie and Tootie to Jo or Blair and Jo and Blair to each other.

I liked that Mrs. G let Jo take up some slack at times in season 5. Jo was BOSSY, manipulative, and kinda crazy but it was sexy as hell! Very entertaining yet sort of scary...