Which one of these shows do you like the best: The Facts of Life or Diff'rent Strokes? Remember, if Diff'rent Strokes didn't exist there would be NO The Facts Of Life.

I have seen both shows and both are great in their own way. But . . . I like Diff'rent Strokes better. It seems a lot funnier and heartwarming and the characters are extremely good. Arnold is the best!

*Thinks* The Facts of Life. But I like Diff'rent Strokes too. I just like FOL more.

To paraphrase a quote from Voltaire, If there were no Facts of Life, it would be necessary to invent it.:idea:

Here's a Zen Buddhist koan:

If Facts of Life aired on a t.v. set, and there were no one to watch it, would there be a show?:confused:






That's KOAN, not to be confused with Mindy Cohn.:D

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie

That's KOAN, not to be confused with Mindy Cohn.:D

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: You crack me up sometimes.

Anyways, I kinda like Diff'rent Strokes cause Dana Plato was a fellow Oklahoman and also because Charlotte Rae was The Drummonds housekeeper......but I like FOL the best.

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
To paraphrase a quote from Voltaire, If there were no Facts of Life, it would be necessary to invent it.:idea:

totally!!haha..as much as I loved Char as Mrs. Garrett the housekeeper...ya gotta really see her as "the housemother" to fully appreciate Mrs. G...:D

Originally posted by Charlotte Rae Fan


totally!!haha..as much as I loved Char as Mrs. Garrett the housekeeper...ya gotta really see her as "the housemother" to fully appreciate Mrs. G...:D

Ditto to that Lizzie!

FOL! GO FOL!

let me think about that for a minuet--wait no dont need a minuet...FOL! FOL!!!! what bout fol dont you understand;)

...FOL

The Facts of Life.

Definatly The Facts of Life!

I like Facts of Life better. DS is ok but when Arnold grew up he got a little annoying in the show. Plus Sam wasn't a good addition also.

I think Diff'rent Strokes was very funny in the first few seasons, but halfway through, it got kinda old. I'm not sure either if having Sam was the best idea, because then the show resorted to the
old "Let's-get-a-super-cute-kid-to-boost-our-sagging-ratings" ploy, now that Arnold wasn't the same sweet little boy in the early seasons. Same thing happened with Facts, as Tootie got older, they brought in--BADA-BING!!--Andy, and then PIPPA!!!!!:eek:
The "cute-kid-comic-relief" thing was used in shows like The Brady
Bunch (Robby Rist as Cousin Oliver, remember him??:rolleyes: ),
The Partridge Family (there was this kid about, 7? or younger?? I forgot his name) in the last season, and so many other shows...

And also, sometimes it's hard to watch DS, because you think of what ultimately happened with the cast...Seems like the only one who survived and did well was...BADA-BING!! MRS. G!!!!!!!!!!!:clap:

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
Seems like the only one who survived and did well was...BADA-BING!! MRS. G!!!!!!!!!!!:clap:

YAY MRS. G!!!:clap::clap::clap: Ya know why?? CAUSE MRS. GARRETT RULES..that's why!

You think if Mrs. G had more of a hand in how Mr. Drummond's kids were raised, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato wouldn't have ended up the way they did?

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
You think if Mrs. G had more of a hand in how Mr. Drummond's kids were raised, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato wouldn't have ended up the way they did?

totally! It's all Char!! lol...I mean, look at how the FOL girls turned out (ahem...they had Charlotte there...) and then look at how the "Diff'rent Strokes" cast turned out....(ahem...WITHOUT Charlotte...) DUH!!lol...okay, so I MIGHT(big maybe) be exaggerating a LITTLE...but...I mean...this is my theory...let me live in ignorance if you find a new one!I'd rather live in ignorance and be happy than be smart and angry!!

Good point!:idea: Of course if Char stayed on DS, there would be no Facts!!

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
Good point!:idea: Of course if Char stayed on DS, there would be no Facts!!

yea...besides she was better as a housemother...she had mor authority than a "housekeeper!"

Lizzie, why are you calling yourself a "loser" in your picture siggie?? You are a [SIZE=4]WINNER!!!! WINNER!!! WINNER!!!!
WINNER!!!!:clap: :cheers: patriot: :notworthy :guitar:

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
Lizzie, why are you calling yourself a "loser" in your picture siggie?? You are a [SIZE=4]WINNER!!!! WINNER!!! WINNER!!!!
WINNER!!!!:clap: :cheers: patriot: :notworthy :guitar:

alright...let's throw a partay!!
:confused::confused::confused:

PARTAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm all for that!!!! Who's bringing the HOT WINGS????:liplick: :cheers: :birthday: :clap:

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
PARTAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm all for that!!!! Who's bringing the HOT WINGS????:liplick: :cheers: :birthday: :clap:


oo!!Me!!lol! :liplick::liplick: yum!!! Here's to the part that I DIDN'T get!!!:cheers::cheers::cheers:

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
You think if Mrs. G had more of a hand in how Mr. Drummond's kids were raised, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato wouldn't have ended up the way they did?

I don't really think you can say that the DS castmembers problems had anything to do with which character was taking care of them.
They all had bad backrounds from the start so even if the 3 of them had stared in FOL the same thing would have happaned.

I know, I'm kinda being facetious. :D There's no telling what would have happened whether Charlotte Rae/Mrs. G stayed or not.

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
I know, I'm kinda being facetious. :D There's no telling what would have happened whether Charlotte Rae/Mrs. G stayed or not.


unless you see things differently...like me...lol...

Just because the DS cast members had, "backgrounds" doesn't mean that with a good role model around they couldn't turn around...all they needed was Charlotte.

Facts of Life, I never really found Different Strokes funny.

Originally posted by Charlotte Rae Fan



unless you see things differently...like me...lol...

Just because the DS cast members had, "backgrounds" doesn't mean that with a good role model around they couldn't turn around...all they needed was Charlotte.

So you're saying that if they had Charlotte as a role model-

Gary wouldn't have had his money stolen by his parents
Dana wouldn't have been lonely and become preganant
Todd wouldn't have been beaten up at home

That couldn't have been changed by a rolemodel

Originally posted by JethroSimpson


So you're saying that if they had Charlotte as a role model-

Gary wouldn't have had his money stolen by his parents
Dana wouldn't have been lonely and become preganant
Todd wouldn't have been beaten up at home

That couldn't have been changed by a rolemodel


The thing with Dana maybe...but that other stuff really had nothing to do with Gary and Todd, I mean, that could have happened to anyone...I wouldn't consider that their "background" as much as...I consider background things that THEY'VE done...Gary couldn't help it if his parents stole his money and Todd couldn't do anything about him being beaten up at home...and that can happen to ANYONE...and people like that can still turn out fine...

Originally posted by Charlotte Rae Fan



The thing with Dana maybe...but that other stuff really had nothing to do with Gary and Todd, I mean, that could have happened to anyone...I wouldn't consider that their "background" as much as...I consider background things that THEY'VE done...Gary couldn't help it if his parents stole his money and Todd couldn't do anything about him being beaten up at home...and that can happen to ANYONE...and people like that can still turn out fine...

I know it could have happened to anyone. You were saying they could have turned out alright if Charlotte had stayed around but I'm saying that I don't think any role model in the world could have prevented it happening.

FOL. I've seen Diff'rent Strokes. I like FOL alot better.

Originally posted by JethroSimpson
I know it could have happened to anyone. You were saying they could have turned out alright if Charlotte had stayed around but I'm saying that I don't think any role model in the world could have prevented it happening.

I agree somewhat. I believe people can make a difference in another people's lives. At the time of the two shows, Charlotte wasn't really around them (Dana, Todd, & Gary) long enough to make the difference because she was too busy starring on The Facts of Life.

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
Good point!:idea: Of course if Char stayed on DS, there would be no Facts!!

Amen to that! I wish Charlotta stayed on Diff'rent Strokes. She was really good in the show and her character in a sense was like a mother figure for both Arnold and Willis.

I like Both. But overall I would have to say The Facts of Life, but they both are great. Charlotte Rae is excellent in both series.

Originally posted by JethroSimpson


I know it could have happened to anyone. You were saying they could have turned out alright if Charlotte had stayed around but I'm saying that I don't think any role model in the world could have prevented it happening.

I don't think that Charolette could have helped them not to do the bad things that they did, or have bad things happen to them. I mean they had Conrad Bain and I bet he was a good role model. I think the reason bad things happened or they did bad things was because they had trouble escaping their good on screen images and wanted to rebel, or they just wanted to be normal and not well-known.

~I like Diff'rent Strokes better, before Mr. Drummond remarried.

Originally posted by Classic is Better
Charlotte Rae is excellent in both series.

AMEN!! lol..I wanted to say DUh....but..i'll just say both...or, I just did..lol...ANYWAY

That' cause CHARLOTTE RULES!!lol

btw, Jethro Simpson, I totally get your point, now...I dunno if it's true or not, but I understand now...I guess there's no way of knowing!!

Originally posted by LucyFan


Amen to that! I wish Charlotta stayed on Diff'rent Strokes. She was really good in the show and her character in a sense was like a mother figure for both Arnold and Willis.

It's spelled Charlotte.

Also, I think that it was good for her to leave. She had a better Character as Edna Garret of Peekskill than Edna Garrett of New York City.

Originally posted by Ricky Ricardo


It's spelled Charlotte.

Also, I think that it was good for her to leave. She had a better Character as Edna Garret of Peekskill than Edna Garrett of New York City.


Ditto and ditto.

Originally posted by Ricky Ricardo


It's spelled Charlotte.

lol..I notice that whole, "Charlotta" and "Charolette" thing too...lol...there was too much other stuff for me to mention...I forgot about that...haha...which is odd, cause when one of my friends misspells it I scream it at her! lol...

Originally posted by Kay Scarpetta



Ditto and ditto.

Am I doing a good enough job as a spell checker?

Originally posted by Original Prankster


Am I doing a good enough job as a spell checker?

sweet name and ya your doing good

Well, I have to say that I like both Diff'rent Strokes and FOL. I can't decide between the two, so I'll just say both.

I think all the problems from the DS kids depended on the family relationships. I know that Gary has major issues with his parents. Todd had some major issues with his family. I'm not sure if they eventually made up or not. I can't speak about Dana's family relationship, because I'm not really sure.

I don't ever recall seeing or hearing any of the FOL actresses having serious problems at home. I think Nancy, Lisa, Kim, and Mindy had their heads screwed on tight. I think that is one of the main shows that had young actresses on it that didn't get screwed over later on in life situations.

Maybe age has something to do with it? Nancy, Lisa, Kim, and Mindy weren't 8 years old when the show started. I think Gary's problem was he was a little boy and he just didn't know how to deal with fame. He was a kid raking in serious dough. Well, back then it was probably serious dough. I don't think he really knew how to handle it because of his age.

Todd had trouble after the show ended, but I think he has really cleaned up his act. Hell, for a while he was known more for his run-ins with the law instead of being on Diff'rent Strokes. The media has quite a way of keeping the bad crap tacked on to some people. Seriously, I hope Todd makes it back up to the top. Once you get into serious enough crap (Corey Haim for one) people just don't take you seriously anymore. If Todd keeps trying, maybe the media will cut off the associations with his past.

I'm not really sure about Dana. I don't think she killed herself. Just the circumstances around her death make it an odd case. It's a pity she died, because I think she was starting to make her way back up to the top again.

Originally posted by Kay Scarpetta


sweet name and ya your doing good

Wow. And I just meailed TJ yesterday. That was fast, thanks TJ!

The thing about Gary Coleman is that he got screwed up and screwed basically by his parents at an early age. I remember what they called the Coogan Law, named after how Jackie Coogan's parents messed him up when he became the first child star appearing in "The Kid" with Charlie Chaplin back in the 1920's. Yeah, remember Jackie Coogan? Uncle Fester in the Addams Family show in the '60's. In fact, that was his first real role AFTER decades of nothing going on since his money problems with his parents. Funny how that happened after so long, his first
real role as I understand, AFTER "The Kid"... Sad how Gary Coleman went from being the biggest child star back in the 80's to.......infamy.

To the official spellchecker: It is called a TYPO, get over it. I know how her name is spelled.

To his backups: GET OVER IT TOO! At least one of you guys should have known that it could have been a typo . . . but I guess knot Ooops . . . I mean NOT.

geez . . . :rolleyes:

Originally posted by LucyFan
To the official spellchecker: It is called a TYPO, get over it. I know how her name is spelled.

To his backups: GET OVER IT TOO! At least one of you guys should have known that it could have been a typo . . . but I guess knot Ooops . . . I mean NOT.

geez . . . :rolleyes:

Then when I spelled Hallmark wrong over at the General Board, why did you correct and get mad at me? Remember, it's called a typo also.

Well i am gonna go back to the original queston...n i have to say The Facts of Life...HoLLa