I'm talking about in the universe of the TV show. Do you think Flo and Belle ever made any off-screen visits?


I want to think Flo and Belle knew each other...since Belle had worked for Mel a long time ago and Flo had been there almost 10 years by the time she left, I wanna say they worked together at the diner at the same time at some point.

PLUS why do I get the feeling Flo made at least ONE off-screen visit while Belle was there? For some reason I can just see Flo telling Mel to "Kiss my grits!" during her visit, and after Flo leaves, during the epiloug of the show, Mel says something jerky and then Belle yells "KISS MY GRITS!!" to Mel lol



AND I want to think Belle and Jolene knew each other. Belle left so abruptly. While she was on vacation in Nashville, she just decided to STAY there, so I wanna think Belle, at some point, returned to Phoenix to tie up loose ends with her apartment, furniture, etc... obviously she would have made a stop in at the diner where she and Jolene would have met.


I don't feel like Flo and Jolene ever met.

Speaking in TV worlds:

I think they all probably met at least once.

I think Jolene would have met Flo when Tommy graduated HS. We don't see him graduate so it could be a moment when Flo visits. Seems reasonable, she and Tommy were fond of each other and Flo and Alice were pretty good friends. I can see Alice keeping in touch with Flo off screen. That would have taken place in the Jolene years.

Flo and Belle, possibly but it would seem more plausible they knew each other from before the Alice days at the diner.

I see Belle and Flo as either strong enemies or best friends. They were a lot alike when it came to flirting and men, so they would either go to the bars together to pick up men or fight over being the center of attention with men.

Good points!! I think Belle and Jolene would have been good friends. I always want to think perhaps Belle made occasional visits at the diner, since she was with a traveling ban, I want to think Belle made a point to stop in anytime they were playing near Phoenix. I ALWAYS seemed to remember an episode where Belle DID visit and I seem to remember Alice introducing Belle and Jolene and they hugged each other, but apparently that episode never happened, I might be confusing it with Belle's actual FIRST appearance.

One reason I tended to think Flo was long gone during the Jolene years is b/c you'd think REALISTICALLY Flo would have dropped in for the final episode when Mel was selling the diner. I know Polly was through with the show by that time, but in terms of realism to the show's universe, I think Flo would have been there.

I tend to agree with you about Flo and Belle. And I think Flo and Jolene would have been ok friends, though I could see Jolene getting on Flo's nerves easily sometimes lol

I do remember reading a reunion fanfic someone wrote where all the characters met up and Jolene had no idea who Flo was lol although Jolene did seem to know Belle.

No I don't.

Ed.

This is a difficult question to imagine....here's why.

The entire TV show ALICE is based off the theatrical film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" where Ellen Burstyn played the title role of Alice, Valerie Curtin played Vera, Vic Tayback played Mel of Mel's Diner, and guess what..... Diane Ladd played the original Flo.

When the TV show was created, the ONLY person to remain from the film version was Vic Tayback to reprise his role as Mel, Linda Lavin was brought in to play Alice and Vera and Flo were ALSO replaced. Polly Holiday's version of Flo became an instant hit, but remember, it was Diane Ladd who originated the FLO character.

Once Polly Holiday left the TV show, they chose to allow the CHARACTER of FLO leave also instead so she can continue in the spin off FLO. Diane Ladd was BROUGHT BACK to the ALICE universe, but instead of allowing her to reprise her FLO, she was recast as Belle, who REPLACED Flo.

Many people still saw her AS Flo from the film, and because Polly Holiday based her character of Flo FROM Diane Ladd's Flo....it would just be ODD to imagine the two characters meeting up together.

To me the movie Alice Doesn't Live here Anymore is SOOO different from Alice the TV show, I hardly even associate them as being related.

A huge difference was Ellen Burstyn could actually SING well lol I wasn't a huge fan of Linda Lavin's singing.

But I just wish once all the characters could have met. I apparantly have a false memory b/c I THOUGHT Belle DID come back to visit once during the Jolene years.

But then again when I was really young, I also thought Belle was the last waitress after Jolene lol

I totally misremembered the "Escape" episode. I thought It was Jolene's LAST episode and Belle's first! lol I thought Belle telephoned the diner saying that she was coming to visit and was one of Mel's past waitresses who'd worked there years ago, and when she gets there, I thought Jolene left for whatever reason and Belle takes over.


Yeah it's wild, I have no clew why I remember it that way! I think I was mixing together the episode Escape and For Whom the Belle Toils.

To me the movie Alice Doesn't Live here Anymore is SOOO different from Alice the TV show, I hardly even associate them as being related.


I don't associate them at all.