Im asking because I am watching the reunion episode right now and looking at how beautiful Nancy is compared to Blair and wondered if they had decided to keep Nancy instead of the Blair character would the show still have worked?


Nancy was pretty enough to be in the movies

Nancy Olson was the least developed character from Season 1. Takes more than beauty to develop a character.

I agree Nancy was gorgeous in this episode. But there is no way Facts would have been nearly as long lasting if Nancy remained the star instead of Blair, Lisa Whelchel is a much better actress than Felice Schachter. Four seasons tops if Felice had been kept instead of Lisa, and that is being generous. And for much of the show Blair was beautiful, but those awful hairstyles they gave Blair and Jo in the Over Our Heads years didn't help. Sue Ann is the season 1 girl who was most robbed of continuing in the overhaul, Julie Piekarski added so much to that season.

Felice brought a lot to the role of Nancy in the backdoor pilot. You can tell she understood the role and could bring believably to a character that was hastily created at the end of DS's first season. Compare what she did to what the school girls did in Dorothy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zteCYIQczwQ) and you will understand why Felice was a cut above.

Felice was also gorgeous, and had already done modeling.

Unfortunately, the character of Nancy remained largely unused after the pilot. The network saw Blair and Tootie as the cash cows, and the role of Nancy remained largely undeveloped. The focus of the first season centered mostly on clashes between Blair and Sue Ann, who became foils for each other: rich girl from Manhattan vs. farm girl from Kansas City, Kansas.

I can't imagine a Facts of Life without Blair. She was, IMO, one of the main reasons the show was so successful. That doesn't mean the show never would have worked without her, but it's just unimaginable to me. Nearly every script featured Blair heavily. The producers and the network knew Lisa as Blair could deliver her snobby lines and get big laughs, and they relied on that fact for nine seasons.

Unfortunately, the number of lines on a 22-minute sitcom are a zero-sum game, and there was so much focus on Blair and Tootie that first season that the other girls (except Sue Ann) often became background characters. The role of Nancy became walking wallpaper, and by the end of the season, the role of Cindy did, as well. In the final two episodes of the season, Nancy and Cindy barely exist, and the character of Nancy is sent out to pasture, er, the garden. It's clear the writers were telegraphing their intentions to reduce the cast, starting by removing Nancy and Cindy from the equation.

I agree with Catsrule that Sue Ann was absolutely a major element of Season 1: Julie Pie as Sue Ann was given a chance to shine in a way that Felice as Nancy was not. But with the determination that the focus would shift to a gangster girl from The Bronx, the frenemy relationship between Blair and Sue Ann was (IMO stupidly) axed, and half the cast was purged between seasons, in favor of Jo Fonzarelli.

They could have had clashes between Jo an Sue Ann like in the Little Chill. Have it the urban street girl vs. the farm girl.

Honestly, I can't imagine the show without Blair :lol:. Nancy had a great potential but the writers, except for I.Q. and the brief scenes with Roger, never used her after the pilot.

I would have liked to see Blair, Natalie, Tootie and Cindy/Sue Ann

Honestly, I can't imagine the show without Blair :lol:. Nancy had a great potential but the writers, except for I.Q. and the brief scenes with Roger, never used her after the pilot.

I would have liked to see Blair, Natalie, Tootie and Cindy/Sue Ann



Or Blair/Nancy/Natalie and Tootie since Blair and Nancy was on the same level

Axing Sue Ann was a smart move. She was the worst actress in season 1 - her line readings were like something out of a high school play.

Or Blair/Nancy/Natalie and Tootie since Blair and Nancy was on the same level

They needed someone to act as a foil for Blair. Nancy Olson could not do it, so they went out and found another Nancy.

Yeah Nancy was prob the last girl they should consider. Sue Ann prob should’ve stayed over Nat.

Looks aren't everything. Looks fade, talent not so much. I think Lisa was a better actress, and I wouldn't say that one wasn't prettier than the other. There was more to the Blair character than the Nancy character. I will go as far as to say that the show wouldn't have worked without Blair. She was beloved more than Nancy. Nancy was axed at the right time.

Still don't like how Jo acted like she'd never met the Lost Girls (ready to step forward when Blair said they had someone to introduce to the girls). Jo interacted with them in at least a couple of episodes. And then Nancy said something about how that's the rough-and-tough Jo they've heard so much about.

At least Tootie said "You remember Jo." And then Jo still said "Nice to meet you" when everyone was engrossed in conversation and she was going to leave.

Also- the rerun on Antenna oddly edits out the line about Molly.

Anyhow, in the end, the foursome that was from season 2-on really was the best combination.

Felice was good in Zapped!. However she wanted to go to university full time on the East Coast (and an Ivy League college at that) and wanted a break from acting. It sounded like they offered her to comeback part time in Season 4 like Seasons 2 and 3, but she declined. Felice has done well in her psychology career that both her and her character were pursuing.

Still don't like how Jo acted like she'd never met the Lost Girls (ready to step forward when Blair said they had someone to introduce to the girls). Jo interacted with them in at least a couple of episodes. And then Nancy said something about how that's the rough-and-tough Jo they've heard so much about.

At least Tootie said "You remember Jo." And then Jo still said "Nice to meet you" when everyone was engrossed in conversation and she was going to leave.

Jo should have corrected Beverly Ann when BA said "You didn't know them at all," but I felt like the other lines were appropriate: Jo knew them, but they were never close. I feel like the ending had a bonding moment between Jo and Sue Ann, and they could have become friends, given time.


Also- the rerun on Antenna oddly edits out the line about Molly.

The first thing to go in syndication prints are Lost Girl mentions or lines, for whatever reason. Nancy's lines while she's sitting on the bed in "Overachieving" are often cut in syndication, as are Molly's lines in "The New Girl, Part 2".

I'm sure the writers wanted to keep Cindy or Sue Ann for the 4th girl role. Sue Ann was one of the most developed characters from season 1 and Cindy was the prototype Jo.

I'm sure the writers wanted to keep Cindy or Sue Ann for the 4th girl role. Sue Ann was one of the most developed characters from season 1 and Cindy was the prototype Jo.

One documentary states Julie Anne was the last to face expulsion. The script for "Dope", with Sue Ann hugging Mrs. Garrett and the Supergirls in the final "our group" scene, indicates Julie Pie might have stayed on. A newspaper article from Summer 1980 indicates Felice was being kept on. Molly insists the producers told her she would stay.

We may never know which girl was written out when Nancy McKeon signed her contract at the end of the Actor's Strike in September/October 1980.

I'm sure the writers wanted to keep Cindy or Sue Ann for the 4th girl role. Sue Ann was one of the most developed characters from season 1 and Cindy was the prototype Jo.

It looks like from the evidence I seen that the original 4 girls were Blair, Tootie, Natalie, and Molly. I saw a post from Facebook from 2013 where someone said they were in the studio audience and talked with one of the producers after the taping this person asked about how they wittled down the cast members. This person said the producer said it was the 4 girls I mentioned above. If that is true, then this person mentioned it before Molly Ringwald ever publicly acknowledged it.

Also when the show returned in 1980, both the print ads and the TV promos focused on those 4 girls.

One of the problems the producers said there was too many blondes. They must have thought their viewing audience was too stupid to know the differences between Blair, Sue Ann, and Cindy. Perhaps the stupid ones was NBC executives like Warren Littlefield who can't count.

This was the Facebook post I was referring to from 7 years ago. As far as I know of, Molly didn't publicly state her claims that she was the initial 4th girl until like 2015 or 2016. Looking at this guy's Facebook profile, he used to work for NBC Sports and works in broadcasting. So he was probably someone who the producer knew and gave him that information. He does have the Charlotte part of discovering Jo wrong. It was Margie Peters and Linda Marsh who came up with the idea of Jo. Then some exec found Nancy McKeon on the Hallmark commercial. The role of Jo came down to two girls according to Charlotte, though she didn't make the decision or have any input. One was Nancy McKeon. Kari Michaelsen claims she was the other finalist.

NANCY being prettier than BLAIR is a matter of taste, but one thing is sure: LISA was a far better actress than FELICE, and we can see that clearly on the Pilot lol!
Obviously the writers saw that too, or else BLAIR wouldn't have become the star of FOL (along with JO of course).

PS: nevertheless, i still wished they had kept the LOST GIRLS...

NANCY being prettier than BLAIR is a matter of taste, but one thing is sure: LISA was a far better actress than FELICE, and we can see that clearly on the Pilot lol!
Obviously the writers saw that too, or else BLAIR wouldn't have become the star of FOL (along with JO of course).

But, (some of) the writers missed judged on both Molly Ringwald and George Clooney. Their two biggest stars on the show and the two biggest stars from the show even this year.