View Full Version : Reasons "The Facts of Life" ended in 1988


James28
08-24-2014, 04:45 AM
I’ve been thinking about some reasons The Facts of Life ended its original run in 1988. Did NBC decide to just cancel it or was the choice made on the production side? The FoL's cast must have decided that they have had enough of doing the show and wanted to move on to other projects? So many younger programmes on NBC like Cheers, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls have become really popular and the network didn't need a deckining program like FoL?

visaman666
08-24-2014, 05:19 AM
Nobody was watching the show. Well, I take that back, I watched a few episodes post Edna's Edibles, but after Edna left, what was the point., but once Blair opened the school or something, I lost all interest. Well it was the final episode after all :lol:

80schild.com
08-24-2014, 06:54 AM
NBC wanted a season 10, because ratings were still healthy. Mindy Cohn stated in a radio interview that she and another girl wanted the series to end - they were tired and wanted to start a new chapter.

candycandy
08-26-2014, 06:22 PM
Nobody was watching the show. Well, I take that back, I watched a few episodes post Edna's Edibles, but after Edna left, what was the point., but once Blair opened the school or something, I lost all interest. Well it was the final episode after all :lol:




I was also still watching the show after EDNA left but it just wasn't the same and i couldn't stand BEVERLY ANN: in fact i was shattered by CHARLOTTE RAE leaving the show so early and i wonder if she realized what great chemistry she had with those 4 girls (on and off the sitcom lol!):confused:

hawkeye123
08-26-2019, 09:19 AM
The early seasons were the best anyway. But yeah it was a good show.

'80sSitcoms
08-26-2019, 09:25 AM
in fact i was shattered by CHARLOTTE RAE leaving the show so early and i wonder if she realized what great chemistry she had with those 4 girls (on and off the sitcom lol!)

"so early"? She left at the beginning of season 8! :lol:

And surely she realized that chemistry. But it just wasn't enough to keep her around by that point.

KatieAnn
09-01-2019, 05:40 PM
NBC wanted a season 10, because ratings were still healthy. Mindy Cohn stated in a radio interview that she and another girl wanted the series to end - they were tired and wanted to start a new chapter.

Were they planning a season 10?

I just watched the last episode and it doesn't feel like a "finale" to the show. It's mostly about Blair with just a bit of the others around just at the end, and I find it particularly disappointing that they aren't even all together in the final scene - no Natalie, since she's moved to NY - it just feels like there should be more.

Mr. Television
09-01-2019, 06:48 PM
Were they planning a season 10?

I just watched the last episode and it doesn't feel like a "finale" to the show. It's mostly about Blair with just a bit of the others around just at the end, and I find it particularly disappointing that they aren't even all together in the final scene - no Natalie, since she's moved to NY - it just feels like there should be more.
It was a pilot for a spinoff show starring Blair but NBC passed on it.

'80sSitcoms
09-02-2019, 01:58 AM
Yeah, funnily enough, the season finale of season 8 feels more like a series finale than the actual "series finale".

(and then, of course, the season finale of season 4, "Graduation", feels like a series finale too, if you didn't know the show was going to continue)

KatieAnn
09-02-2019, 10:03 AM
It was a pilot for a spinoff show starring Blair but NBC passed on it.

Yes, that's what I thought, that it was a pilot for a show focusing on Blair.

I know that all the girls had individual shows that more or less wrapped up their story lines, (Jo got married, Tootie got engaged, Natalie decided to move to NY) but it would have been better to see the girls together and have the finale focus on all of them.

RetroGuy2000
09-02-2019, 02:05 PM
Yes, that's what I thought, that it was a pilot for a show focusing on Blair.

I know that all the girls had individual shows that more or less wrapped up their story lines, (Jo got married, Tootie got engaged, Natalie decided to move to NY) but it would have been better to see the girls together and have the finale focus on all of them.

I think we all agree the finale was quite underwhelming. Mindy Cohn literally phones in her performance. :lol:

Lorimar Television
09-02-2019, 09:22 PM
I think we all agree the finale was quite underwhelming. Mindy Cohn literally phones in her performance. :lol:

Im sure Felice gave her tips

RetroGuy2000
09-03-2019, 12:32 AM
Im sure Felice gave her tips

Haha! :lol: ...But wouldn't it have been Roger giving Mindy tips?

Lorimar Television
09-03-2019, 11:20 PM
Haha! :lol: ...But wouldn't it have been Roger giving Mindy tips?

Nah Felice was the one on the phone :D

RetroGuy2000
09-03-2019, 11:27 PM
Nah Felice was the one on the phone :D
Then where was Roger!?

Lorimar Television
09-09-2019, 11:06 PM
Then where was Roger!?

Same place as Miss Mahoney :lol:

MiracleHand
10-26-2019, 01:49 PM
It had a good run. 9 seasons was enough. The girls had all grown up by then and they were becoming women with their own lives. If anything, I think one can argue the show ran one season too long and probably should've ended in 1987 and just given "Out Of Peekskill" a little more finality.