We all know that TGS is the backdoor pilot of our favorite show. Kimberly asks Mrs. Garrett to help her sew the costumes for a school play at Eastlake School. Here we meet for the first time some of the girls but, we know that between the backdoor pilot and the first episode the producers made several changes.

- The name of the school becomes Eastland.
- Mrs. Garrett is now a temporary housemother and her character changed a little after the departure from DS. She became more serious, especially after the Cast Purge and the promotion to school dietitian, and less "hysterical". She continues to have some funny moments.
- Mr. Crocker disappeared and was replaced by Mr. Bradley, a much more positive character than his predecessor.
- Miss Mahoney, Cindy and Natalie became official cast members.
- Jennifer, Laura and all those unnamed girls are no longer seen.
- Nancy's role was drastically reduced. The same happened to Kimberly Drummond, an Eastland student who appeared only in this episode. Poor Felice!
- Sue Ann is now the smartest girl while Molly becomes the activist

Blair and Tootie are the only girls that remained the same.

Considerations? Have you noticed any other changes? What would you have changed if you had been the producers?
Now let's talk about the changes between the backdoor pilot and the first episode, in the next thread we will talk about the changes between season one and two.

- Miss Mahoney, Cindy and Natalie became official cast members.

This is a very interesting aspect, particularly the girls. There was no Cindy in TGS, however, there was a blond girl who wore a sporty T-shirt and a ball cap. So I wonder if someone noticed that look and thought, "Hey, why don't put a tomboy girl into the mix to make things different?" Just a theory. (see photo below)

And we all know how Natalie came about. What if Mrs. Garrett had never met Mindy? Would that have left a slot open for Jennifer or Laura or some other girl to join the cast? Or would Mrs. Garrett have had 6 charges to oversee in her dorm instead of 7? Who knows? Fascinating to think about.


Blair and Tootie are the only girls that remained the same.

Well, Molly retained some of her original qualities from TGS. I love that they showed in her first appearance already what a fast-talking run-on motormouth she was! :lol:

-

Blair changed. She was a smoker in Girl's School.

I think they were looking at Laura as a possible student since she had some speaking parts.

Eastlake was a lame name since the show was inspired by Westlake School where Mindy went.

Some of the girl extras look like they were well past their teenage years. It's almost like they were leftovers from Coed Fever and didn't realize that show got canceled after 1 episode.

Kimberly Drummond was a day student or she came home on weekends. She was never a full time resident. At the time, Dana Plato started to have issues, so they reduced her time on Different Strokes.

Blair changed. She was a smoker in Girl's School.

Oh, definitely that was a change.


I think they were looking at Laura as a possible student since she had some speaking parts.

Laura? She had only one line. MAYBE two. Do you mean Jennifer? The one who was talking on the stairs with Sue Ann, Tootie, and Molly?


Eastlake was a lame name since the show was inspired by Westlake School where Mindy went.

I kinda like "Eastlake". It gives the feeling that there's a lake nearby.


Some of the girl extras look like they were well past their teenage years. It's almost like they were leftovers from Coed Fever and didn't realize that show got canceled after 1 episode.

:lol:

There were 23 girls in that dorm. Then in "Rough Housing", there were at least 9, allegedly: Our Main 7, and then the 2 girls going out the back door at the fade-in start of the episode, of which one of them COULD have been Nina, whom we assume lives in that dorm from what we learn of her in episode 2, LMLD.


Kimberly Drummond was a day student or she came home on weekends. She was never a full time resident. At the time, Dana Plato started to have issues, so they reduced her time on Different Strokes.

Yeah, it's a shame they never crossed her over onto the show more.

This is a very interesting aspect, particularly the girls. There was no Cindy in TGS, however, there was a blond girl who wore a sporty T-shirt and a ball cap. So I wonder if someone noticed that look and thought, "Hey, why don't put a tomboy girl into the mix to make things different?" Just a theory. (see photo below)



-

Wow I didn't notice her before! She certainly does look like a prototype Cindy.

We all know that TGS is the backdoor pilot of our favorite show. Kimberly asks Mrs. Garrett to help her sew the costumes for a school play at Eastlake School. Here we meet for the first time some of the girls but, we know that between the backdoor pilot and the first episode the producers made several changes.

- The name of the school becomes Eastland.
- Mrs. Garrett is now a temporary housemother and her character changed a little after the departure from DS. She became more serious, especially after the Cast Purge and the promotion to school dietitian, and less "hysterical". She continues to have some funny moments.
- Mr. Crocker disappeared and was replaced by Mr. Bradley, a much more positive character than his predecessor.
- Miss Mahoney, Cindy and Natalie became official cast members.
- Jennifer, Laura and all those unnamed girls are no longer seen.
- Nancy's role was drastically reduced. The same happened to Kimberly Drummond, an Eastland student who appeared only in this episode. Poor Felice!
- Sue Ann is now the smartest girl while Molly becomes the activist

Blair and Tootie are the only girls that remained the same.

Considerations? Have you noticed any other changes? What would you have changed if you had been the producers?
Now let's talk about the changes between the backdoor pilot and the first episode, in the next thread we will talk about the changes between season one and two.

This is a pretty solid list. I'd only disagree that Nancy's role was reduced after The Girls' School: Kim says the show was retooled after the first four episodes. I know Felice says her role was reduced after The Girls' School, but she's forgetting about IQ.

Here are some other things that changed, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes:

The Eastland/Eastlake uniform jacket changed from gray to blue. You can see Kimberly wear the gray jacket in TGS, and in later seasons, you can see both Blair and Jo wear a navy blue Eastland jacket, in a few episodes of the show (not the blue sweater, but a blue jacket/blazer).

The establishing shot changed. In TGS, Eastlake's dorm building (or another building on campus) is a three-story building. It's replaced by the more familiar two-story ivy-covered structure we all love, at the beginning of RH.

We also get establishing shots of the mini-cafeteria that we never saw before. That's the same building that we see Mr. Bradley walk out of (and get stampeded by girls) in the opening credits.

We get scenes in an actual classroom. The same set is subsequently used, with slight modifications, for Mr. Bradley's office, and the gym (the windows in the back are identical, as brilliantly documented in '80sSitcoms' screenshots of the First Season).

This may be the last mention of Nancy's parents. Anyone remember anything about them after TGS? Maybe in IQ?

For the first time, we get FOL opening credits, including scenes of the quad, a field (with Creepy Stranger in the background), and other buildings.

Tootie grows significantly! Sure, they all do, but Tootie seems to grow about a foot.

As 80s Dude says, Blair smokes in TGS, but seems to have stopped sometime after TGS. She's also more of a bad-ass in TGS. AND she plays guitar; this trait moves to Molly after TGS.

Sue Ann goes from dopey to smart.

Cindy and Natalie go from non-existent to existent.

Jennifer, Laura, and Leon go from existent to non-existent.

I did mean Jennifer. She was one of the few girls named by Kimberly.

I'd only disagree that Nancy's role was reduced after The Girls' School: Kim says the show was retooled after the first four episodes. I know Felice says her role was reduced after The Girls' School, but she's forgetting about IQ.

She suddenly spiked in "I.Q.", only to drop back down. And notice how in TRoMG she's not even allowed to "play with the big girls", the others her own age---instead of being involved with Blair and Sue Ann in Mrs. Garrett's story, she's relegated to playing poker with the younger girls.

Here are some other things that changed, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes:

The Eastland/Eastlake uniform jacket changed from gray to blue. You can see Kimberly wear the gray jacket in TGS, and in later seasons, you can see both Blair and Jo wear a navy blue Eastland jacket, in a few episodes of the show (not the blue sweater, but a blue jacket/blazer).

Yes, "blazer". I believe it's even referred to that as such in one episode? I wouldn't dare call it a "jacket". :eek: That's what someone from Kansas would do! ;)


We get scenes in an actual classroom. The same set is subsequently used, with slight modifications, for Mr. Bradley's office, and the gym (the windows in the back are identical, as brilliantly documented in '80sSitcoms' screenshots of the First Season).

And the cafeteria!


This may be the last mention of Nancy's parents. Anyone remember anything about them after TGS? Maybe in IQ?

Nope, that's it. Nancy's dad loses his job, and that's all we know!



For the first time, we get FOL opening credits, including scenes of the quad, a field (with Creepy Stranger in the background), and other buildings.

What do you consider the "quad"?