I haven't seen every episode of The Facts of Life . In fact, I've missed some of the most pivotal episodes . I read bits and pieces of the episode guide for The Facts of Life on wikipedia, and I got interested in one episode . It's episode # 47 from the third season, "Runaway" . Wikipedia's summary said "Determined to prove her maturity, Tootie goes to New York City unescorted to meet with friends at a theater . A teenage prostitute teaches her a harsh reality ." . The IMDB summary said "Even though her parents refused to give her permission to go with Mrs . Garrett and the older girls , Tootie runs away to New York to meet up with them . There, she meets a teenage prostitute who tries to recruit her into her line of work ." . Amazon's summaries said "Tootie goes off to New York City unescorted to meet with friends at a theatre, only to get mixed up with the 'cast' of an ugly Broadway 'scene' " and "Tootie decides to go to New York unchaperoned and encounters teenage prostitution ." .

One thread on this archive mentioned "the episode where Tootie goes to a coffee shop to wait for Blair, Jo, and Nat, and a pimp tries to hire Tootie to participate in indecent activities ." and asked about "the girl who befriends Tootie" . That girl's name was "Kristie" and she was played by was Tammy Lauren, who previously appeared in Who's Watching the Kids with Scott Baio, Angie, and Out of the Blue .

Does anybody remember this episode ? Can anybody give me another summary that fills in the blanks ? How did Tootie meet Kristie and the pimp ? How did this episode turn out ? Finally, would the parents of a student at a boarding school even know about their child's activities to the point where they withhold permission for an event ? I've never gone to a boarding school, and I know a school like Eastland might want to supervise their students and keep them safe, but if Mrs . Garrett wanted to take the girls on an outing, I'd think that'd be up to Mrs . Garrett and the girls . In fact, Tootie might have been safer if she was allowed to go with Mrs . Garrett and the older girls in the first place . Thank you in advance for your answers .

Here you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9nT75UJh8M

I saw it on Cable awhile ago when I was a teenager. (I turn 29 on Friday) I watched the episode with my Parents and we were struck by how honest and true to life the episode was for that type of show. I found the episode very touching. I was just thinking about this episode and like magic I found this thread. :-)

I don't want to spoil it but it's worth tracking down and watching it yourself.

i liked the ep too tammy lauren did a great job as kristie

This has always been one of my favorite episodes. It is so well-written and has many genuine laughs despite the subject matter. The scene outside where the girls are mistaken for ticket-scalpers by a middle-aged couple is hilarious. The actress who plays the waitress Bernice is great too.

i liked the ep too tammy lauren did a great job as kristie

I'm always been of the opinion if there had been room for one more girl in the house so to speak, Tammy Lauren would've made a great addition to the cast. They could've worked a whole storyline for her too with her character being a runaway and having to get into Eastland somehow. They could've easily set something like that up.

But having been burned by a cast of thousands at the start of the show I'm sure that they wanted to keep the cast as compact as possible. But yeah, Tammy Lauren probably would've made a great regular addition to the cast.