Hello,

I'm a longtime fan of FOL. I've posted a couple of times under an unregistered name, and have been reading other posts. But now I've decided to join the fun.

Okay, enough with the intro..here's my question. It's one that I haven't seen addressed on the boards before.
As you now, FOL has has done some serious episodes dealing with topics like drugs, drinking, divorce,religion, sex, and death.
What serious teen topics would you have liked to have seen covered by the show, but weren't because they might have been too controversial?
Here are a few that I thought of off hand: teen pregnancy, AIDS, and abusive relationships.
Let me know what you think.






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Natalie: A flashback within a flashback..I'm so brillant it scares me

I would have liked to see one on aminal abuse and/or animal rights, and also homosexuality (although they probably wouldn't have been able to air that back then.)

welcome http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/smile.gif
I know this was'nt even thought about back then but school shootings wouldhave been a good topic to do an episode on IMO.

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Jo:I don't know you got to admit:Force has some good points.
Blair:Jo's hoping to attend the Chuck Norris School Of Law.

Nat:Who wants to be a skiny pencil?I'd rather be a happy magic marker.

Ms.G:Girls!Will you tell me what's been going on here?
Nat:Group sleep walking?
Ms.G:(gives that"Idon't believe you"look)
Blair:Well,you know the first day of school getting settled in and meeting new people....
Tootie:Yeah!!And now comes Miller time!

Triple 19. Teen pregnancy was already covered.

They should make The Facts of Life:the next generation with a hole new cast, just to cover those subjects. It would be a lot better than a reunan were they kill Jo.

[QUOTE]and also homosexuality QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JMPolniaczek15:
[B]homosexuality QUOTE]

If you want to see that check out a few of my FOL fanfics.ALL ABOUT TOOTIE

i always try to write fanfics on things i would have wanted them to do eps on for real.. like i have a few that FOL NEVER talked about.. it maybe a contraversial type thing but here it goes...

-One of the girls getting their period
-smoking cigarretts
-kiddnaping
-one of the girls being not happy with their character traits
-a boy friend dying
-a fun slumber party type thing with the girls
-a makeout party type thing
-one of the girls thinking about commiting suicide (I know the topic was covered but not abotu one of the girls wanting to)
-gangs
-AIDS
-one of the girls thinking they were pregnant
-abusive boyfriend
-overdosing on caffeen pills (or some over the counter drug)
-a season finale that is a REAL season finale!! hehe
-one of the girls REALLY being pregnant (like nat cuz she ALREADY had sex right?)

those are things from a fanfic writer's point of view... but those are the ideas i got from my fanfics... here are the TOP 3 things I wish FOL did...

Cigarretts
Gangs
Pregnant (one of the girls)

what do you think?

What about one of the girls (or Mrs G - LOL) being sucked into a cult...THAT isn't done alot, even today.

Here's one - The MAFIA!!!! (Jo's half Italian, as am I <but NOT associated w/ mafia, just for the record!> and THAT could get intresting.

OR maybe a bug secret from one of the gurls past...like child abuse or something!

What do you think?
~NMK

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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~JO: There were things I always wanted to say to my father........now that I'm older I know better words!

"In a PERFECT WORLD, WE'D ALL be YANKEES!!!"
(not from fol, but still very true! ;) )

"So things change. Your born, you move on, you die - that's life!"

Those are all good. I like them having to do with drugs. I think maybe stealing or shoplifting would be good too. And I know this one because I RP it, Jo getting grounded from her bike. Then going out on it, getting in a wreck, fracuring her knee, and has to go to the hospital. Then Mrs. G finds out from Tootie that Jo and Blair are at the hospital because Blair went after her. I think that was just about honesty, responsibility, and dependability.

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~*~*~*~ Lizzie ~*~*~*~

Jo: It was just like Saturday night fever...but it was a Friday.

Blair: If I'm not perfect, and that's a BIG if....it certainly wasn't his place to say so.
Jo: Right...it's mine!

Blair's new saying of the new Millenium!
"I'm a princess
I was born on a cloud
If you wanna get with me
You better bow down
So get on your knees
And call me "Your Highness"
Because, baby, believe me
I'm New York's finest!"

Goodgirl- shoplifting was done in the episode called 'Shoplifting'.

The only things I could think about them doing is smoking, AIDS, pregnancy(x-nay 'The Source' that had to do with abortion...)

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"It was just like Saturday Night Fever, only it was a Friday."

in 201:the first time,the thing was supposed to be nat having sex,and worrying about AIDS and being pregnant

Originally posted by JMPolniaczek15
I would have liked to see one on aminal abuse and/or animal rights, and also homosexuality (although they probably wouldn't have been able to air that back then.)

I was gonna say homosexuality was covered in "Rough Housing", but I guess you mean you'd like to see an episode where a girl actually is homosexual---and as we know, Cindy just hadn't come into her sexuality yet (but sure did by the end of the episode thanks to Greg Hockney, lol).

i always try to write fanfics on things i would have wanted them to do eps on for real.. like i have a few that FOL NEVER talked about.. it maybe a contraversial type thing but here it goes...

-One of the girls getting their period
-smoking cigarretts
-kiddnaping
-one of the girls being not happy with their character traits
-a boy friend dying
-a fun slumber party type thing with the girls
-a makeout party type thing
-one of the girls thinking about commiting suicide (I know the topic was covered but not abotu one of the girls wanting to)
-gangs
-AIDS
-one of the girls thinking they were pregnant
-abusive boyfriend
-overdosing on caffeen pills (or some over the counter drug)
-a season finale that is a REAL season finale!! hehe
-one of the girls REALLY being pregnant (like nat cuz she ALREADY had sex right?)

those are things from a fanfic writer's point of view... but those are the ideas i got from my fanfics... here are the TOP 3 things I wish FOL did...

Cigarretts
Gangs
Pregnant (one of the girls)

what do you think?

-One of the girls getting their period
Well, Molly's hormones were "triggered"

-smoking cigarretts
Blair smoked in the DS Pilot

-kiddnaping
Natalie had a rape attempt against her.

-one of the girls being not happy with their character traits
Sue Ann thought she was fat and went on a crash diet

-a boy friend dying
Never covered.

-a fun slumber party type thing with the girls.
Occured in a cross over episode of Different Strokes.

-a makeout party type thing.
???

-one of the girls thinking about commiting suicide (I know the topic was covered but not abotu one of the girls wanting to)
Would be too controversial if it was a main character. Since this for years was a banned, the original one was controversial enough.

-gangs
Gangs generally were not a problem at a rich private girls school.

-AIDS
Was not really an issue for teenage girls back then

-one of the girls thinking they were pregnant.
How does one become pregnant if all say virgins until their wedding night? Though Nancy O. became pregnant before her wedding.

-abusive boyfriend
Had some emotionally abusive boyfriends.

-overdosing on caffeen pills (or some over the counter drug)
Where was the Jolt soda episode?


-one of the girls REALLY being pregnant (like nat cuz she ALREADY had sex right?)
Nancy O. did.

I would have liked to see episodes on:

The girls help out help the poor and homelessness
An Eastland girl takes birth control
Natalie experiences body shaming
An Eastland girl fights against the school’s strict dress code
Blair enters a beauty contest and the episode discusses the harmful effects of beauty pageants
A girl at the school has an abortion
Blair’s mom undergoes plastic surgery and the episode discusses the harmful effects of it
An Eastland girl cheats her way into Langley
Attempted school shooting at Eastland or Langley
Blair fights against the glass ceiling and sexism in the workplace as a lawyer
Girls fighting against animal testing in the cosmetics industry and against wearing furs
Girls fighting for LGTBQIA rights
Dealing with a murder on campus
Sex offender on campus
Ghosts in campus building
UFO abduction

I would have liked to see episodes on:

The girls help out help the poor and homelessness
An Eastland girl takes birth control
Natalie experiences body shaming
An Eastland girl fights against the school’s strict dress code
Blair enters a beauty contest and the episode discusses the harmful effects of beauty pageants
A girl at the school has an abortion
Blair’s mom undergoes plastic surgery and the episode discusses the harmful effects of it
An Eastland girl cheats her way into Langley
Attempted school shooting at Eastland or Langley
Blair fights against the glass ceiling and sexism in the workplace as a lawyer
Girls fighting against animal testing in the cosmetics industry and against wearing furs
Girls fighting for LGTBQIA rights
Dealing with a murder on campus
Sex offender on campus
Ghosts in campus building
UFO abduction

I can't ever imagine Blair being critical of beauty contests, except when she loses. That would be a Molly thing. Something where they had some disagreements in this area in the first season. If not Molly, then it sounds like something Natalie would oppose.

I think Natalie was indirectly body shamed in "Sex Symbol". The producers and writers were very careful about not directing fat jokes toward Natalie/Mindy.

A lesbian student falls in love with Jo. Yes we all know Jo was straight, but with her mannerisms and dress it was only natural that she would eventually attract the attentions of a gay student. Even after she lost the ponytail, she still went and cut her hair into a mullet and wore men's suits for God sakes. It's almost like some kind of running inside joke with the show that viewers weren't privy to.

Butch women for miles around should have been flocking towards her lol. That tomboy/butch look and attitude of the character was just screaming to be addressed on that show and it strangely never was.

A lesbian student falls in love with Jo. Yes we all know Jo was straight, but with her mannerisms and dress it was only natural that she would eventually attract the attentions of a gay student. Even after she lost the ponytail, she still went and cut her hair into a mullet and wore men's suits for God sakes. It's almost like some kind of running inside joke with the show that viewers weren't privy to.

Butch women for miles around should have been flocking towards her lol. That tomboy/butch look and attitude of the character was just screaming to be addressed on that show and it strangely never was.

There are plenty of lesbian Fan Fiction sites out there where Blair and Jo hook up. Some of them have Cindy in them too. Cindy was the original possible lesbian on FOL. And the first ever under 18 character who questioned her sexuality on prime time TV.

There are plenty of lesbian Fan Fiction sites out there where Blair and Jo hook up. Some of them have Cindy in them too. Cindy was the original possible lesbian on FOL. And the first ever under 18 character who questioned her sexuality on prime time TV.

I know those fan fictions are out there but I don't like that idea. Blair & Jo together that way is just....yuck. They're like sisters so to think of them that way together is just gross lol. puke::barf:

Cindy & Jo however I could tolerate hooking up together.

I think that mean butch girl who held up Edna's Edibles...Kelly was her name? (I already forgot or blocked her existence out of my mind lol)...That could've been a good springboard for the story of someone falling for Jo and she has to set them straight so to speak. And then she's gone after that 2 parter special episode instead of lingering for half a season. I think that would've worked. But it was still the conservative 80's so sitcoms still were hesitant to venture there just yet.

I know those fan fictions are out there but I don't like that idea. Blair & Jo together that way is just....yuck. They're like sisters so to think of them that way together is just gross lol. puke::barf:

Cindy & Jo however I could tolerate hooking up together.

I think that mean butch girl who held up Edna's Edibles...Kelly was her name? (I already forgot or blocked her existence out of my mind lol)...That could've been a good springboard for the story of someone falling for Jo and she has to set them straight so to speak. And then she's gone after that 2 parter special episode instead of lingering for half a season. I think that would've worked. But it was still the conservative 80's so sitcoms still were hesitant to venture there just yet.

Pam Adlon said Nancy M. (without naming her specifically) wasn't friendly toward her on the set and blamed her for pressuring the writers of making Kelly an unlikable character, so I doubt that would have worked.

I would have liked to see episodes on:

The girls help out help the poor and homelessness
An Eastland girl takes birth control
Natalie experiences body shaming
An Eastland girl fights against the school’s strict dress code
Blair enters a beauty contest and the episode discusses the harmful effects of beauty pageants
A girl at the school has an abortion
Blair’s mom undergoes plastic surgery and the episode discusses the harmful effects of it
An Eastland girl cheats her way into Langley
Attempted school shooting at Eastland or Langley
Blair fights against the glass ceiling and sexism in the workplace as a lawyer
Girls fighting against animal testing in the cosmetics industry and against wearing furs
Girls fighting for LGTBQIA rights
Dealing with a murder on campus
Sex offender on campus
Ghosts in campus building
UFO abduction

Great list, Impressions!

The last two might work for Halloween episodes. :lol:

'80s Sitcoms mentioned this once or twice, and I would have liked to have seen it as well: Christmas at Eastland. We only got Christmas in the post-Eastland years, but it would have been so nice to have seen the girls merrily sipping eggnog around the fireplace...

I think we did get "sex offender on campus" and an abortion episode. A homeless episode would have been very nice.

An LGTB episode would have been cool, but I think the closest they could come, in that era, was "Rough Housing". It just was a different time, and the white men running the three networks were very conservative. My god, some channels still don't air that episode. Still, it would have been nice to see.

Had Molly been retained, we might have seen fur-is-murder, glass-ceiling, and anti-beauty-pageant episodes, but the producers went in a different direction, so we instead got El DeBarge, Bull from Night Court, '60s-themed, and Fuzzy Dice Murder episodes.


I wouldn't want a murder on campus storyline. The rape episode was more than enough violence for me.

There are plenty of lesbian Fan Fiction sites out there where Blair and Jo hook up. Some of them have Cindy in them too. Cindy was the original possible lesbian on FOL. And the first ever under 18 character who questioned her sexuality on prime time TV.


I never saw CINDY as 'lesbian', and also never understood why people did: to me she was just an insecure young teenager, still growing and shy around boys (i had a few friends like that when i was 13-14, and they turned out to be straight).:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Here is a list of topics for episodes i would have liked to see, and i'm pleased to notice no one has mentioned them:

1. BLAIR going for a ride on JO's bike (with her or alone) not caring what she looks like or if her dress gets dirty).

2.

Here are other storyline ideas:


While Mrs. Garrett is at Pastry School in NYC, the girls throw an unsupervised party that quickly gets out of control.

Sue Ann's boyfriend is involved in a farm accident, resulting in his death. Will she ever recover?

After a trip to New York, Tootie brings a homeless teen to Eastland for the holidays. April Lerman guest stars.

Everyone is thrilled when Cindy gets a chance to skip a grade. But how will this change affect her relationships with the other girls?

Molly, Blair, and Jo are arrested over the demonstration of Miss Muldoon's firing.

After Mrs. Garrett insists that Tootie will be grounded for lying, and will miss the class field trip, she is caught in a lie herself. Will Howard have to take the girls to the Met?

Roger's family is moving to another state; can Nancy adjust to a long-distance relationship with him?

The girls at Eastland are invited to New York City to participate in the Individualized Honors Program at Millard Fillmore High School. Howard Hesseman guest stars.

OOPS it jumped again! (my laptop keyboard did)

2. MRS G taking the girls to 'Appleton, Wisconsin' for a wee holiday.

3. BLAIR teaching in a kindergarten (she seemed to be good with little kids).

4. MRS G adopting another girl and ad it to the 'Core of 4' (why not? There could always be some kind of little orphan out there).

5. BLAIR becomes suddenly poor and has to learn how to cope with her new life (her father suddenly looses all his money on a gambling game).

6. MRS G never left to Africa, and instead she lived under the same roof with her girls forever and ever (even with the girl's husband and children as TOOTIE once said she wished).

7. MRS G takes a job as a teacher instead of nutritionist on season 2 (but she is still in charge of the 'Core of 4').

8.The 'Lost girls' have never left, and on season 2 they ad JO as a new character (the 8 of them get detention, and are forced to work in the cafeteria under the watchful eyes of MRS G).

9. SUE ANN and JO become besties and are the constant foil for NANCY and BLAIR who are also besties; MOLLY is best besties with CINDY and TOOTIE and NAT of course.

And finally

10. MRS G gets engaged with MR PARKER in the end (after admitting that she always had a crush on him).

What does anyone think? Crazy, isn't it????

Here are other storyline ideas:


While Mrs. Garrett is at Pastry School in NYC, the girls throw an unsupervised party that quickly gets out of control.

Sue Ann's boyfriend is involved in a farm accident, resulting in his death. Will she ever recover?

After a trip to New York, Tootie brings a homeless teen to Eastland for the holidays. April Lerman guest stars.

Everyone is thrilled when Cindy gets a chance to skip a grade. But how will this change affect her relationships with the other girls?

Molly, Blair, and Jo are arrested over the demonstration of Miss Muldoon's firing.

After Mrs. Garrett insists that Tootie will be grounded for lying, and will miss the class field trip, she is caught in a lie herself. Will Howard have to take the girls to the Met?

Roger's family is moving to another state; can Nancy adjust to a long-distance relationship with him?

The girls at Eastland are invited to New York City to participate in the Individualized Honors Program at Millard Fillmore High School. Howard Hesseman guest stars.

Hi Retro!

I like your ideas too: they're great and very imaginative! (especially the one with CINDY skipping a grade, which means she'll be now competing with the 'oldies' SUE ANN, NANCY and BLAIR).

Great job!:wave::wave::wave:

Great list, Impressions!

The last two might work for Halloween episodes. :lol:

'80s Sitcoms mentioned this once or twice, and I would have liked to have seen it as well: Christmas at Eastland. We only got Christmas in the post-Eastland years, but it would have been so nice to have seen the girls merrily sipping eggnog around the fireplace...

I think we did get "sex offender on campus" and an abortion episode. A homeless episode would have been very nice.

An LGTB episode would have been cool, but I think the closest they could come, in that era, was "Rough Housing". It just was a different time, and the white men running the three networks were very conservative. My god, some channels still don't air that episode. Still, it would have been nice to see.

Had Molly been retained, we might have seen fur-is-murder, glass-ceiling, and anti-beauty-pageant episodes, but the producers went in a different direction, so we instead got El DeBarge, Bull from Night Court, '60s-themed, and Fuzzy Dice Murder episodes.


I wouldn't want a murder on campus storyline. The rape episode was more than enough violence for me.

We have seen the cast Christmas party picture of them taken on the stairs during the taping of the running episode. They should have made that into a show theme, though the show was not shown during the winter of 1979-80.

Maybe have a plot where Cindy is doing back flips and accidentally hits Santa Claus and knocks him out. Molly wants to take pictures of him, but the other girls won't let her.

Hi Retro!

I like your ideas too: they're great and very imaginative! (especially the one with CINDY skipping a grade, which means she'll be now competing with the 'oldies' SUE ANN, NANCY and BLAIR).

Great job!:wave::wave::wave:

Thanks Valentina!

You know, I definitely wish that items #6 and #8 on your list had come to pass! :wave:

We have seen the cast Christmas party picture of them taken on the stairs during the taping of the running episode. They should have made that into a show theme, though the show was not shown during the winter of 1979-80.

Maybe have a plot where Cindy is doing back flips and accidentally hits Santa Claus and knocks him out. Molly wants to take pictures of him, but the other girls won't let her.

Haha! I'd totally watch a gymnastics-inspired FOL episode, or an Eastland Christmas episode. But I never thought of putting them together! :lol:

Thanks Valentina!

You know, I definitely wish that items #6 and #8 on your list had come to pass! :wave:


Thanks for the vote retro!

I know everyone thinks the girls were too 'old' to have MRS G hang around them, but we all need advice from time to time (no matter the age) and in my opinion, BEVERLY ANN was no match for the 'feisty red haired'.;););)

And so, when MRS G left for Africa i was left wondering what would have become of them all: would she have got on with the girl's husband? (I'm sure she would have loved to baby sit for their kids).

Whats more: i would have loved to see MRS G attend JO's wedding and walk down the aisle with BLAIR (she could have comforted her after her 'supposed' boyfriend walked out on her).

There is so much more, but of course we all know the real reason: CHARLOTTE RAE just wanted out (mostly due to her health problems)....:(:(:(

I can't ever imagine Blair being critical of beauty contests, except when she loses. That would be a Molly thing. Something where they had some disagreements in this area in the first season. If not Molly, then it sounds like something Natalie would oppose.

I think Natalie was indirectly body shamed in "Sex Symbol". The producers and writers were very careful about not directing fat jokes toward Natalie/Mindy.

I was thinking that episode would be a lesson to Blair that not all beauty pageants are positive experiences. Maybe she has a change of heart after someone tries to sabotage her, she gets mistreated or another girl, like Molly, opens her eyes to the pitfalls of beauty pageants. But judging how shallow Blair is throughout the series, it’s unlikely that she would have this character arc.

Yes, “Sex Symbol” did a little body shaming to Natalie. But elsewhere in the series, we don’t really have another that addresses the girls’ weight again (or maybe they didn’t want to addresses weight again). I’m actually surprised they didn’t do another episode on the subject of dieting or exercise (especially with the ‘80s fitness boom) since the girl’s weight came under scrutiny from producers and celebrities like Joan Rivers. They could have dealt with the “weight” issue later on in the series and maybe even directly addressed Joan River’s “Fats of Life” comments and have the girls go on a diet or have a body positivity episode. But maybe that would be ahead of the show’s time.

I think we did get "sex offender on campus" and an abortion episode. A homeless episode would have been very nice

I must’ve missed those episodes. Which ones were you referring to?

I must’ve missed those episodes. Which ones were you referring to?

Episode 3-02, "Fear Strikes Back" - Natalie is assaulted on the way back from a Halloween costume party, and is afraid to go outside following the experience, and episode 4-02, "The Source" - Natalie is under pressure to reveal her source for a controversial article on a schoolmate's secret abortion she has written for the school newspaper.

Episode 3-02, "Fear Strikes Back" - Natalie is assaulted on the way back from a Halloween costume party, and is afraid to go outside following the experience, and episode 4-02, "The Source" - Natalie is under pressure to reveal her source for a controversial article on a schoolmate's secret abortion she has written for the school newspaper.

Oh that’s right! I forgot about those episodes.

Oh that’s right! I forgot about those episodes.

Yeah, I know what you mean. There were so many episodes. I tend to forget about the episodes from the OOH era.

I was thinking that episode would be a lesson to Blair that not all beauty pageants are positive experiences. Maybe she has a change of heart after someone tries to sabotage her, she gets mistreated or another girl, like Molly, opens her eyes to the pitfalls of beauty pageants. But judging how shallow Blair is throughout the series, it’s unlikely that she would have this character arc.

Yes, “Sex Symbol” did a little body shaming to Natalie. But elsewhere in the series, we don’t really have another that addresses the girls’ weight again (or maybe they didn’t want to addresses weight again). I’m actually surprised they didn’t do another episode on the subject of dieting or exercise (especially with the ‘80s fitness boom) since the girl’s weight came under scrutiny from producers and celebrities like Joan Rivers. They could have dealt with the “weight” issue later on in the series and maybe even directly addressed Joan River’s “Fats of Life” comments and have the girls go on a diet or have a body positivity episode. But maybe that would be ahead of the show’s time.



I must’ve missed those episodes. Which ones were you referring to?


I strongly disagree with you concerning BLAIR: i totally see her having an 'eye opener' and a change of heart concerning the 'Beauty pageant' contest.:p

Sure BLAIR was 'shallow' to an extend, but she also showed us some dept and loyalty when concerning her friends, and i can see very well MOLLY or MRS G teaching her a lesson, about how not being part of a 'Beauty pageant' is not the end of the world (remember on the episode 'Breaking point', she learns it the hard way, that not being a president isn't that important).:happyface

BLAIR is probably the most interesting character on FOL, due to the fact that she started out as really shallow, but she is also the one who does the most growing, by coming out of her shallowshell and showing us, that after all she has a 'heart of gold' and a great loyalty in friendship:):):)

:bash::bash::bash:

BLAIR...is also the one who does the most growing, by coming out of her shallowshell and showing us, that after all she has a 'heart of gold' and a great loyalty in friendship:):):)

I don't know about that. Jo gives her some pretty stiff competition in that department.

I don't know about that. Jo gives her some pretty stiff competition in that department.


Not really: JO was always the popular one among the 'Core of 4' , whereas BLAIR is the one TOOTIE and NAT made fun of, and even ganged up on her a couple of times.:rolleyes:

On the episode 'Kids can be cruel', the 3 of them laugh at BLAIR and make her look like the 'bad' guy (when in reality NATALIE is the one who was responsible for the prank).:p

JO really had it easy all along, but BLAIR had to work more on her 'rich bitch' image to prove them wrong, and show them that deep down she was more than meet the eyes....:talk:

phone2:phone2:phone2:

I don't think you can say "Not really". You watch "The New Girl" and then an episode from season 8 and try to say she "hasn't really" changed. Some would tell you she changed more than Blair.

I don't think you can say "Not really". You watch "The New Girl" and then an episode from season 8 and try to say she "hasn't really" changed. Some would tell you she changed more than Blair.


I suppose the 4 of them changed: JO did in the way that she 'softened' towards BLAIR and they bonded really more on the later seasons.:wave::wave::wave:

Well, there's a whole lot more, but yeah, lol.

Well, there's a whole lot more, but yeah, lol.


I'd say, there's a whole lot more for the 4 of them (not just for JO):p:p:p

An Eastland girl fights against the school’s strict dress code

Jo did that discreetly. She always dressed like Oscar Madison.

Jo did that discreetly. She always dressed like Oscar Madison.

:lol:

It's true. But she never wore "street clothes" in class. The most I ever saw Jo rebel with, in terms of the uniform, was wearing her tie loosened, or wearing the "wrong" color (blue tie with a blue sweater, or maroon tie with the maroon vest... a strict no-no).

The dress code was never one of her fights. Treat Eastland teachers badly, sure... maybe even get them fired. But ya gotta maintain the proper Eastland attire in class. :lol:

:lol:

It's true. But she never wore "street clothes" in class. The most I ever saw Jo rebel with, in terms of the uniform, was wearing her tie loosened, or wearing the "wrong" color (blue tie with a blue sweater, or maroon tie with the maroon vest... a strict no-no).

The dress code was never one of her fights. Treat Eastland teachers badly, sure... maybe even get them fired. But ya gotta maintain the proper Eastland attire in class. :lol:



Yes that's right: JO did get that poor English teacher fired in the episode 'Front page', and she wasn't supportive of GAYLE in the episode 'Teacher's pet' (although in the end she apologizes for being rotten to her).

:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy

Hello,

I'm a longtime fan of FOL. I've posted a couple of times under an unregistered name, and have been reading other posts. But now I've decided to join the fun.

Okay, enough with the intro..here's my question. It's one that I haven't seen addressed on the boards before.
As you now, FOL has has done some serious episodes dealing with topics like drugs, drinking, divorce,religion, sex, and death.
What serious teen topics would you have liked to have seen covered by the show, but weren't because they might have been too controversial?
Here are a few that I thought of off hand: teen pregnancy, AIDS, and abusive relationships.
Let me know what you think.







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Natalie: A flashback within a flashback..I'm so brillant it scares me

A gay male character would have been interesting. As would a story about HIV/AIDS. Bullying would have been a good topic, too.

A gay male character would have been interesting. As would a story about HIV/AIDS. Bullying would have been a good topic, too.

I think they covered bullying pretty well in "Kids Can Be Cruel".

By the time AIDS became a major concern on US television (finally!), FOL was doing very few Special Episodes. Tandem/Embassy's new owners wanted nothing to do with controversy. The series was no longer ground-breaking, and they, like most other sitcoms, avoided the AIDS crisis entirely. Of course it should have happened. But the series was owned by a beverage company, at this point. We're just lucky there was relatively little product placement.

I think they covered bullying pretty well in "Kids Can Be Cruel".

I guess. That’s never been a go-to episode for me. Another one would have been good...

By the time AIDS became a major concern on US television (finally!), FOL was doing very few Special Episodes. Tandem/Embassy's new owners wanted nothing to do with controversy. The series was no longer ground-breaking, and they, like most other sitcoms, avoided the AIDS crisis entirely. Of course it should have happened. But the series was owned by a beverage company, at this point. We're just lucky there was relatively little product placement.

True, this is when other sitcoms did AIDS stories, if at all. I think it’s likely that there would have been one in the hypothetical 10th season.

One cast member who was affected by AIDS was the second Monica, Blair's mother. Her son died of AIDS in the early 90s.

Herpes