Yesterday, I watched a scene on YT of the s7 episode where Blair finds out her mother is pregnant. A comment under the video says the producers were considering Monica for the role of the housemother after Mrs. Garrett left but then they hired Cloris after Charlotte's suggestion. I don't know if this is true but it would have been interesting. The audience knew Monica since season 3 (1 if we count Pam Huntington). What do you think? Would you have liked Monica as the new Mrs. Garrett?


To be honest, I would have preferred only the Core Four in the house. You know I like Beverly Ann, mainly because she's not a clone of the character she was replacing, and Cloris Leachman is very talented, but I always had the impression the producers hired her only because they need a new mother figure and Cloris Leachman was a "strong" name. Anyway, it wouldn't have been so bad with Monica, at least she was a character that was familiar to the audience.

I read that they also considered Betty Kean, who played Louse LeBeau, the “life of the party,” in “The Lady Who Came to Dinner”. I doubt that either she or Marj Dusay were really seriously considered though. I think they wanted a “name”.

But the main issue, as you said, is that the girls didn’t need a new mother figure at that point.

Having one of the mothers of the girls being the new house mother would not have gone over very well. They should have spun off Blair and Jo on to their new show of life at Langley and brought in new girls for Eastland. Perhaps Charlotte would have stayed longer then.

I've never heard that Marj was considered for the housemother role; my understanding is that Charlotte specifically had recommended Cloris for the role, as they had been very close for many years. Cloris accepted the role, and it was a very big deal at the time, as she had already been an Oscar-winning film actress. For them to get an actress of that (industry-acknowledged) caliber was a huge deal, and you'll notice Beverly Ann was far more integrated into the Season 8 scripts than Edna had been in Season 7 or even Season 6.

Having one of the mothers of the girls being the new house mother would not have gone over very well. They should have spun off Blair and Jo on to their new show of life at Langley and brought in new girls for Eastland. Perhaps Charlotte would have stayed longer then.

I really think, now, in retrospect that that is the direction they should have gone. It's not that the EE era was bad (it was not), it's that focus shifted away from Mrs. Garrett, and the writers lost focus on what the heart of the show was supposed to be. By the end, Mrs. Garrett had become superfluous, and Charlotte knew it.

I read that they also considered Betty Kean, who played Louse LeBeau, the “life of the party,” in “The Lady Who Came to Dinner”. I doubt that either she or Marj Dusay were really seriously considered though. I think they wanted a “name”.

But the main issue, as you said, is that the girls didn’t need a new mother figure at that point.

The lady played by Betty Kean??? Wow :lol::lol:. At least Monica had a point, as the mother of one of the girls but Louise?? She was a stranger, plus Mrs. Garrett and Natalie never met her, both actresses didn't appear in that episode.

Having one of the mothers of the girls being the new house mother would not have gone over very well. They should have spun off Blair and Jo on to their new show of life at Langley and brought in new girls for Eastland. Perhaps Charlotte would have stayed longer then.


I would have liked a spin off starring Blair and Jo but I don't think Facts could have survived with new characters like Alex or Miko or other girls :lol::lol:. Don't get me wrong, I like your idea :lol:

I've never heard that Marj was considered for the housemother role; my understanding is that Charlotte specifically had recommended Cloris for the role, as they had been very close for many years. Cloris accepted the role, and it was a very big deal at the time, as she had already been an Oscar-winning film actress. For them to get an actress of that (industry-acknowledged) caliber was a huge deal, and you'll notice Beverly Ann was far more integrated into the Season 8 scripts than Edna had been in Season 7 or even Season 6.

Yeah, Charlotte was the star until early 1984, after the fifth season she basically became a guest star in her own show. About Marj, I don't know if this is true but would you have liked her as the new mother figure?

Yeah, Charlotte was the star until early 1984, after the fifth season she basically became a guest star in her own show. About Marj, I don't know if this is true but would you have liked her as the new mother figure?

I don't feel as though a new mother figure was even necessary at that point. By Season 8, the girls were grown. Lisa was 23, playing an about 22-year-old Blair. Jo must have been about 22, as well. Even Tootie must have been 18 or 19, based on the fact that she graduated at the end of Season 7. But a group of four girls, three in their 20s, don't really need an adult supervisor anymore; sure, someone to look in on them from time to time, but a permanent roommate?

I never felt as though Monica Warner was a particularly good mother; she spent a lot of time being more like an "older sister" to Blair, or, as Blair says, "a friend". Maybe a fish-out-of-water angle could have worked, but I suspect having Monica there would have come across more like Julia Sugarbaker (Julia Duffy) on Designing Women, who replaced Suzanne Sugarbaker: too cold and impersonal for the role to have worked well. (Have you seen Designing Women, ITA? Do they show that program in Italy? Julia Duffy was brilliant as the self-absorbed Stephanie on Newhart, but for whatever reason, she just didn't gel as the replacement snob on Designing Women.) But we'll never know for sure if Monica Warner could have worked.

I would have liked a spin off starring Blair and Jo but I don't think Facts could have survived with new characters like Alex or Miko or other girls :lol::lol:. Don't get me wrong, I like your idea :lol:

How about Brenda the Rock Girl?

I would have liked a spin off starring Blair and Jo but I don't think Facts could have survived with new characters like Alex or Miko or other girls :lol::lol:. Don't get me wrong, I like your idea :lol:

I think Alexandra and Cindy could have worked. Miko was too one-note; there was nothing to her character other than she was Japanese and was obsessed with Jo (what was it with the writers and them actually writing characters like Miko and Kelly who were obsessed with another character the writers wrote? There may be something meta to be said about that.)

How about Brenda the Rock Girl?

Just imagine the possibilities!

Episode 5-07, "Advance Placement": Although Natalie is still a junior in high school, she gets an opportunity to enroll in a course at Langley and develops an ego that puts a strain on her friendship with Tootie. Tootie feels left out because Natalie is busy with her college class and Brenda is busy with her rocks.

Episode 5-12, "The Christmas Show": The girls prepare to go their separate ways for Christmas vacation. Natalie and Tootie plan to spend Christmas together, Mrs. Garrett will bake yuletide fruitcakes at Eastland, and Brenda will travel home to collect more rocks. But all their plans go awry when they get snowed in.

Episode 5-18: "Big Fish/Little Fish": Mrs. Garrett and the other girls help Natalie, who is still reeling from her father's death. Meanwhile, Brenda collects rocks from the local park. Don Herbert guest stars as a local geologist.

:lol:

I never felt as though Monica Warner was a particularly good mother; she spent a lot of time being more like an "older sister" to Blair, or, as Blair says, "a friend". Maybe a fish-out-of-water angle could have worked, but I suspect having Monica there would have come across more like Julia Sugarbaker (Julia Duffy) on Designing Women, who replaced Suzanne Sugarbaker: too cold and impersonal for the role to have worked well. (Have you seen Designing Women, ITA? Do they show that program in Italy? Julia Duffy was brilliant as the self-absorbed Stephanie on Newhart, but for whatever reason, she just didn't gel as the replacement snob on Designing Women.) But we'll never know for sure if Monica Warner could have worked.

Oh yes, here in Italy it became Quattro donne in carriera (Four career women)

I think Alexandra and Cindy could have worked. Miko was too one-note; there was nothing to her character other than she was Japanese and was obsessed with Jo (what was it with the writers and them actually writing characters like Miko and Kelly who were obsessed with another character the writers wrote? There may be something meta to be said about that.)

Cindy would have been wonderful :crazy:.

Just imagine the possibilities!

Episode 5-07, "Advance Placement": Although Natalie is still a junior in high school, she gets an opportunity to enroll in a course at Langley and develops an ego that puts a strain on her friendship with Tootie. Tootie feels left out because Natalie is busy with her college class and Brenda is busy with her rocks.

Episode 5-12, "The Christmas Show": The girls prepare to go their separate ways for Christmas vacation. Natalie and Tootie plan to spend Christmas together, Mrs. Garrett will bake yuletide fruitcakes at Eastland, and Brenda will travel home to collect more rocks. But all their plans go awry when they get snowed in.

Episode 5-18: "Big Fish/Little Fish": Mrs. Garrett and the other girls help Natalie, who is still reeling from her father's death. Meanwhile, Brenda collects rocks from the local park. Don Herbert guest stars as a local geologist.

:lol:


Graduation: Mrs. Garrett receives a rock from Brenda and gave it to Jo :lol::lol::lol:

Graduation: Mrs. Garrett receives a rock from Brenda and gave it to Jo :lol::lol::lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Oh yes, here in Italy it became Quattro donne in carriera (Four career women)

Did you see the Julia Duffy episodes? What did you think?

Louise Le Beau would have been a terrible choice as a "housemother." She'd get on all the girls and the audience's last nerves! So glad that didn't happen!

I didn't like the Monica character enough to be a "housemother." She was too posh, conceited, and obsessed with wealth and plastic surgery. Sure, they humanized her character; gave her a baby, and also breast cancer, but since she was so self-serving, I have trouble imagining her ever "caring" and looking after the other girls.

I also don't think the spin-off would have been a good idea. This show failed so many times to produce a spin-off, and I believe one with Jo and Blair would have tanked.

The auxiliary characters (Beverly Ann, George, Pippa, and Andy) should have never surfaced, and they could have done without them, and the show should have taken a better, or different direction, if they were included. The show just didn't make sense having them around in the OOH years.

My idea is that they should have started a different business than Over Our Heads (OOH just wasn't believable or feasible for a small town); it'd be cool if they opened up playhouse for Peekskill and Eastland kids. Jo could work as a social worker and get kids out of trouble and into the acting biz, Tootie could have been an acting coach, Blair could have done the hair, make-up, and wardrobe, and Natalie could be the playwright. Fame was popular in the early '80s, so I imagine that it could have worked. Then, bring the auxilary characters in. Andy could have been a mime or done performance art, Beverly Ann could be a stagemom, George could construct the sets, Pippa could help promote it, and Sue Ann could be a gopher :lol:

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you on the JO and BLAIR 'spin off'!!!
There is no way FOL would have been the same without MRS G and the 'core of 4': why would anyone want to [I]split them, just to bring a bunch of extras like BRENDA, MIKO or ALEXANDRA????
The show was about MRS G and her original girls (first 7 with the lost girls included, and then 4).
Sorry, but by sending away JO & BLAIR and just focusing on MRS G, NAT, TOOTIE and the extras, the show would have lacked all the dynamic it had with the 2 older girls (JO/BLAIR) who were also the main ones and in my belief MRS G' favourites too!

I'm actually SHOCKED to see that i'm the only one who absolutely loved the 'EDNA's EDIBLES' era: it was the moment when MRS G truly became the girl's mother once they moved with her under the same roof!

About MONICA WARNER's choice i agree though: she was never a mother to BLAIR (MRS G was), more like her play pal!
In fact, BLAIR acted more than often more mature than MONICA (thanks to MRS G's great influence of course).
The point is, that MONICA didn't have the maternal instinct our 'feisty re haired' did.

End of story....

you'll notice Beverly Ann was far more integrated into the Season 8 scripts than Edna had been in Season 7 or even Season 6.

In season 8, they made Beverly Ann part of the premise of learning life after divorce. In season 9, she's just there to hand out breakfast food or cover the girls shift in the store. She's just nothing in season 9.


I really think, now, in retrospect that that is the direction they should have gone. It's not that the EE era was bad (it was not), it's that focus shifted away from Mrs. Garrett, and the writers lost focus on what the heart of the show was supposed to be. By the end, Mrs. Garrett had become superfluous, and Charlotte knew it.

A lot of fans feel Mrs. Garrett was still part of the show in season 5. She really wasn't when you rewatch it. Season 5 is the start of the new direction where the core 4 are the main star and Charlotte is a supportive recurring star. They used Mrs. Garrett's character to keep the core 4 together for future seasons.


I didn't like the Monica character enough to be a "housemother." She was too posh, conceited, and obsessed with wealth and plastic surgery. Sure, they humanized her character; gave her a baby, and also breast cancer, but since she was so self-serving, I have trouble imagining her ever "caring" and looking after the other girls.

If any of this is true, I don't think Monica would have been a housemother. She obviously would have been desperate for help raising a new child and moved in getting this from the core 4. I'm hoping that would have been the premise for her reasoning instead of just acting like a mother all those years later to Blair once Mrs. Garrett was gone.

In season 8, they made Beverly Ann part of the premise of learning life after divorce. In season 9, she's just there to hand out breakfast food or cover the girls shift in the store. She's just nothing in season 9.

Yes, I agree she started out very strong, and was very integrated into the scripts.


A lot of fans feel Mrs. Garrett was still part of the show in season 5. She really wasn't when you rewatch it. Season 5 is the start of the new direction where the core 4 are the main star and Charlotte is a supportive recurring star. They used Mrs. Garrett's character to keep the core 4 together for future seasons.

I definitely see what you're saying, but I still feel she was used more in S5 over S6. Like, she wasn't even in about five S6 episodes (at Charlotte's own request, of course).


If any of this is true, I don't think Monica would have been a housemother. She obviously would have been desperate for help raising a new child and moved in getting this from the core 4. I'm hoping that would have been the premise for her reasoning instead of just acting like a mother all those years later to Blair once Mrs. Garrett was gone.

Yeah, I doubt this is true because we know Charlotte recommended Cloris. But if it was true, there would have to be some logical reason for Monica to move in. Having Monica move in to take care of her baby is an okay storyline, but it sort of ignores the fact that Monica could have easily paid for a nanny, much like she shipped off Blair to a boarding school. "The help" raised her first daughter, and Blair was only around when Monica needed, as Valentina says, a "play pal": someone to go shopping with, someone to go with to the hairdresser/nail salon/spa.

(Also, does anyone else feel sorry for Geri when Blair and Monica go off shopping in "A Friend in Deed"? Geri might have been too busy to go, since she was prepping for her Moose Lodge comedy gig, but she isn't even asked. Monica just snaps at her, puts her finger in Geri's face, and then Monica and Blair take off, as Geri looks sad. And I know Geri was actually sad discovering that Monica had lied to Blair, but the way the scene plays, Geri looks so forlorn, sitting there at the table as Monica and Blair take off).

Yes, I agree she started out very strong, and was very integrated into the scripts.



I definitely see what you're saying, but I still feel she was used more in S5 over S6. Like, she wasn't even in about five S6 episodes (at Charlotte's own request, of course).



Yeah, I doubt this is true because we know Charlotte recommended Cloris. But if it was true, there would have to be some logical reason for Monica to move in. Having Monica move in to take care of her baby is an okay storyline, but it sort of ignores the fact that Monica could have easily paid for a nanny, much like she shipped off Blair to a boarding school. "The help" raised her first daughter, and Blair was only around when Monica needed, as Valentina says, a "play pal": someone to go shopping with, someone to go with to the hairdresser/nail salon/spa.

(Also, does anyone else feel sorry for Geri when Blair and Monica go off shopping in "A Friend in Deed"? Geri might have been too busy to go, since she was prepping for her Moose Lodge comedy gig, but she isn't even asked. Monica just snaps at her, puts her finger in Geri's face, and then Monica and Blair take off, as Geri looks sad. And I know Geri was actually sad discovering that Monica had lied to Blair, but the way the scene plays, Geri looks so forlorn, sitting there at the table as Monica and Blair take off).




I totally understand what you mean about GERI, Retro: in the scene at the cafeteria she looks rather sad and lonely sitting on the table all alone (after MONICA and BLAIR take off). It feels as though she was shattered and helpless of not being able to help her aunt, and i'm glad we had her for more seasons to come! GERI was truly a great regular on the show, and she had a great chemistry with all of them!!!

:dance::dance::dance::dance::dance::dance:

Now about season 6: i know most people here don't agree, but i feel that MRS G was still part of the show,and even though she was absent in a lot of episodes, whenever she was around she was still there for her girls (something we would never see again once season 7 began)....

:violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin:

Did you see the Julia Duffy episodes? What did you think?

Yes, but I never paid particular attention to those episodes. I watched religiously only the early seasons. By season 5, I started to lose interest and when Suzanne left, bye bye! I never liked retoolings :lol::lol:

Did you note that Dixie Carter followed Molly Ringwald's way? Molly left Facts for a movie career, Dixie left DS for a better show. They clearly did the right thing:lol::lol:

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you on the JO and BLAIR 'spin off'!!!
There is no way FOL would have been the same without MRS G and the 'core of 4': why would anyone want to [I]split them, just to bring a bunch of extras like BRENDA, MIKO or ALEXANDRA????
The show was about MRS G and her original girls (first 7 with the lost girls included, and then 4).
Sorry, but by sending away JO & BLAIR and just focusing on MRS G, NAT, TOOTIE and the extras, the show would have lacked all the dynamic it had with the 2 older girls (JO/BLAIR) who were also the main ones and in my belief MRS G' favourites too!

I agree Valentina! Facts would not have been the same without its two main ingredients: the housemother and her girls. The relationship between Mrs. Garrett and the girls was unique

In season 8, they made Beverly Ann part of the premise of learning life after divorce. In season 9, she's just there to hand out breakfast food or cover the girls shift in the store. She's just nothing in season 9. A lot of fans feel Mrs. Garrett was still part of the show in season 5. She really wasn't when you rewatch it. Season 5 is the start of the new direction where the core 4 are the main star and Charlotte is a supportive recurring star. They used Mrs. Garrett's character to keep the core 4 together for future seasons.

You're absolutely right, Christopher! Mrs. Garrett has only three episodes that season, and a large part of those episodes was shared with the girls. Brave New World was more about Jo and her troubles with the college dorm, Mrs. Garrett opening EE was really a subplot. The episode about her birthday was used only to bring Blair at the club where Cliff worked. And The Chain Letter was more about the girls, not the inspection. I agree with you, the transition started in season 5 and ended in s8, after Edna's departure. In seasons 5 and 6 she was seen in almost every episode but she clearly didn't have a big role, even Charlotte said that in her book, that most of the stories were driven by the girls. After a disastrous seventh season, Mrs. Rae really made the right decision. Even Andy and George, who were supporting characters, had more air time than her

You're absolutely right, Christopher! Mrs. Garrett has only three episodes that season, and a large part of those episodes was shared with the girls. Brave New World was more about Jo and her troubles with the college dorm, Mrs. Garrett opening EE was really a subplot. The episode about her birthday was used only to bring Blair at the club where Cliff worked. And The Chain Letter was more about the girls, not the inspection. I agree with you, the transition started in season 5 and ended in s8, after Edna's departure. In seasons 5 and 6 she was seen in almost every episode but she clearly didn't have a big role, even Charlotte said that in her book, that most of the stories were driven by the girls. After a disastrous seventh season, Mrs. Rae really made the right decision. Even Andy and George, who were supporting characters, had more air time than her




I kind of agree with you FOL FAN ITAto an extend: MRS G had more airtime during the 'Eastland era' (season 1 until season 4 were strong years for her), nevertheless, i have always liked the fact that once she opened 'Edna's Edibles', she had her girls move in with her, and look after them too...
:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

In season 6 she wasn't always around, but her best 2 episodes are 'Working it out' and 'The interview show', and for the following reasons: in both of them, she tells us and show us in a way, that the girls have become the daughters she never had.
In one episode she grounds BLAIR, and in the other she admits (when interviewed by the writer) that she doesn't know what she'll do when her girls move out of the house: ironically she'll be the one moving out of their lives sooner after that.....

:violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin:

Yes, but I never paid particular attention to those episodes. I watched religiously only the early seasons. By season 5, I started to lose interest and when Suzanne left, bye bye! I never liked retoolings :lol::lol:

The recasts definitely left a lot to be desired, no disrespect to Jan Hooks, Julia Duffy, or the lady who played the final recast character.


Did you note that Dixie Carter followed Molly Ringwald's way? Molly left Facts for a movie career, Dixie left DS for a better show. They clearly did the right thing:lol::lol:

It's my understanding that Dixie left DS because of her clashes (https://www.eightieskids.com/10-facts-you-never-knew-about-diffrent-strokes/) with Gary Coleman.

Dixie Carter left “Diff’rent Strokes” in the spring of 1985. The pilot for “Designing Women” wasn’t filmed until the spring of 1986 and aired in the fall of 1986. DW wasn’t the reason she left DS.