Gossip

[Sitcommania]

How do you guys explain Nancy, Sue Ann, and Cindy being mean to Natalie in Sex Symbol? They’re not any meaner than other kids, but how do you reconcile this behavior with the way the we know them in Season 1?

Sorry...mixed up Gossip and Sex Symbol.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by Sitcommania

How do you guys explain Nancy, Sue Ann, and Cindy being mean to Natalie in Sex Symbol? They’re not any meaner than other kids, but how do you reconcile this behavior with the way the we know them in Season 1?

Sorry...mixed up Gossip and Sex Symbol.

To be fair, the girls did sort of tease each other even in season 1. Natalie made digs at Sue Ann in IQ, and Running. I think producers were just trying to distance the characters from season 1 from the main cast.

However, I'm sure they made up since Nancy and Natalie interact in Pretty Babies, while Cindy and Sue Ann interact with her in Front Page.

['80sSitcoms]

I think part of is being teenage girls separated from the "core four".

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I think producers were just trying to distance the characters from season 1 from the main cast.

I think the writers just did it for the episode's sake, to show how rumors about Natalie are spreading all over, and bothering her friends.

[Sitcommania]

I get that they poked fun at each other in IQ and stuff, but they were pretty mean...to Helen, too lol.

I think they missed an opportunity to have Blair and Nancy be rivals.

Natalie: “Just sit there and do what Nancy’s doing.”

Blair: “You mean be obvious.”

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by Sitcommania

I get that they poked fun at each other in IQ and stuff, but they were pretty mean...to Helen, too lol.

I think they missed an opportunity to have Blair and Nancy be rivals.

Natalie: “Just sit there and do what Nancy’s doing.”

Blair: “You mean be obvious.”

True, Nancy DID shove ice down Blair's blouse though.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Sitcommania

How do you guys explain Nancy, Sue Ann, and Cindy being mean to Natalie in Sex Symbol? They’re not any meaner than other kids, but how do you reconcile this behavior with the way the we know them in Season 1?

Sorry...mixed up Gossip and Sex Symbol.

I don't see them acting much worse than they acted to each other in Season One: in S1, Molly calls Sue Ann "the dumbest girl in school"; Cindy says Sue Ann's "built like a school bus"; Sue Ann calls Cindy "pigtails with a face to match"; and Blair and Sue Ann join a clique that specifically excludes Nancy. And in "The Girls' School", Blair calls Sue Ann a dummy.

The insults weren't limited to just Season One: throughout the Eastland years, Jo and Blair are at each other's throats, often insulting one another, and even Tootie and Natalie get into some fights where they call each other names and/or treat one another badly.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I don't see them acting much worse than they acted to each other in Season One

Oh, I do. It is actually disconcerting to me watching them suddenly be "mean girls" to Natalie in SS.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

in S1, Molly calls Sue Ann "the dumbest girl in school"

That's in a cute way though, not at all vicious; indeed, that's the humor, and why the audience laughs. Shes' actually trying to cheer her up, but fails miserably, lol.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Cindy says Sue Ann's "built like a school bus"; Sue Ann calls Cindy "pigtails with a face to match"

That's also a different case because that's in the heat of an out-and-out fight.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

and Blair and Sue Ann join a clique that specifically excludes Nancy.

Blair did try to get Nancy in though.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

And in "The Girls' School", Blair calls Sue Ann a dummy.

That was when Blair was "the resident jerk". But again, that's not catty or vicious, just jerky.

I think actually the closest comparison in season 1 is when Natalie digs in Sue Ann and rubs it in: "Even Sue Ann, in her days glory, never made that." She's even smiling when she says it, relishing that taunt. She knows what she's doing to Sue Ann. #mollywasright (j/k, haha)

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

The insults weren't limited to just Season One: throughout the Eastland years, Jo and Blair are at each other's throats, often insulting one another, and even Tootie and Natalie get into some fights where they call each other names and/or treat one another badly.

Blair and Jo were a perfect personality clash, and Natalie and Tootie were classic best friends who sometimes fight (who better to fight with than your family or your best friends, lol).

I think the difference is that in SS the girls are mean to Natalie over something relating to sexuality; her alleged promiscuity, her reputation. They even refer to her being homely in one of their comments ("I guess Saturday nights aren't the loneliest nights for girls like Natalie anymore."---ouch. I do not like seeing my Cindy being a mean girl). It does feel like they've suddenly turned on her, believing the rumors, and not their friends whom they've lived with for at least a year beforehand. I think that's sad and kind of a slap in the face to we season 1 viewers and fans. These girls were a family.

I do wish their rude cattiness in SS had been toned down. But, also, they havn't been living with these girls for months at that point, so maybe the distance was enough to feel like maybe Natalie was changing and they didn't know her as they used to, thereby seeming easier to believe in rumors.

Anyway, can't the girls all just be friends? lol

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

Oh, I do. It is actually disconcerting to me watching them suddenly be "mean girls" to Natalie in SS.

These girls were always mean to each other. For example, Blair implies Cindy's a lesbian.

But they always made up, and that, I think, is the difference, here: we don't see Cindy, Sue Ann, and Nancy apologize to Natalie (or Helen). this is because they are no longer major characters, and thus no longer tied to the moral code of the 1980s: main characters will learn their lesson, and apologize when they've done the wrong thing. Had there been a scene where Edna speaks to Cindy about how people had made up stuff about her, and then had the Lost Girls had apologized to Natalie for teasing her, the episode would have played a bit differently.

But I suspect Edna did confront the Lost Girls about making fun of Natalie: else why are they still seen chatting with one another during another year?

Blair did try to get Nancy in though.

When "The Group" rejected Nancy, what Blair should have done is left "The Group". But she did not. Instead, she abandoned her friend for a temporary friendship with girls who didn't treat anyone very nicely.

I think actually the closest comparison in season 1 is when Natalie digs in Sue Ann and rubs it in: "Even Sue Ann, in her days glory, never made that." She's even smiling when she says it, relishing that taunt. She knows what she's doing to Sue Ann.

I think that's the perfect example.

#mollywasright (j/k, haha)

I think the difference is that in SS the girls are mean to Natalie over something relating to sexuality; her alleged promiscuity, her reputation. They even refer to her being homely in one of their comments ("I guess Saturday nights aren't the loneliest nights for girls like Natalie anymore."---ouch. I do not like seeing my Cindy being a mean girl). It does feel like they've suddenly turned on her, believing the rumors, and not their friends whom they've lived with for at least a year beforehand. I think that's sad and kind of a slap in the face to we season 1 viewers and fans. These girls were a family.

But they are no longer a family. The cast was cruelly ripped apart, and this is the result: they may still be friends, but they no longer live together. Blair, Natalie, and Tootie have a new "sister", and Molly, Nancy, Sue Ann, and Cindy have been divorced from the Eastland family.

Luckily, Cindy, Nancy, and Sue Ann still have each other, and seemingly remain close for the rest of the series, albeit mostly off-screen. Sadly, Molly seemingly never joined that family.

I do wish their rude cattiness in SS had been toned down. But, also, they havn't been living with these girls for months at that point, so maybe the distance was enough to feel like maybe Natalie was changing and they didn't know her as they used to, thereby seeming easier to believe in rumors.

Anyway, can't the girls all just be friends? lol

I think nine seasons confirm the answer: yes. And no.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

But I suspect Edna did confront the Lost Girls about making fun of Natalie: else why are they still seen chatting with one another during another year?

Apparently someone did (I can't remember if Mrs. Garrett was seen to overhear them or not). Maybe Molly gave them a good lecture back at the dorm and then they apologized!

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

When "The Group" rejected Nancy, what Blair should have done is left "The Group". But she did not. Instead, she abandoned her friend for a temporary friendship with girls who didn't treat anyone very nicely.

Maybe that's what she should've done, but, unfortunately, she was a teenager: pressure, status, exploring, rebelling.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

But they are no longer a family. The cast was cruelly ripped apart

Yup. That's why I said they were one, lol.


[QUOTE=RetroGuy2000;5480029]Luckily, Cindy, Nancy, and Sue Ann still have each other, and seemingly remain close for the rest of the series, albeit mostly off-screen. Sadly, Molly seemingly never joined that family.

Oh, she did. Didn't you know? You just don't see it on screen.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Sitcommania

I think they missed an opportunity to have Blair and Nancy be rivals.

Now that would have been interesting! I don't think Nancy could have won in most competitions against Blair: she was rich, connected, and willing to get what she wanted.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Now that would have been interesting! I don't think Nancy could have won in most competitions against Blair: she was rich, connected, and willing to get what she wanted.

But, she fought dirty! Check out that scoop of ice!

She sure gained some assertiveness since TGS! lol

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

But, she fought dirty! Check out that scoop of ice!

Haha, good point. By the time of "Gossip", Nancy was willing to fight for her man, no longer content to just weep on the bed. She had grown so much in just two years.

She sure gained some assertiveness since TGS! lol

Definitely! I wonder what it was that made her so strong? The passion she felt for Roger? Or maybe it was continually being excluded for a full year? She realized if she didn't stick up for herself, no-one would.

So she crumpled some globes for practice, and then went for the Ice Scoop of Doom!

It may have been Nancy's finest hour...

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Haha, good point. By the time of "Gossip", Nancy was willing to fight for her man, no longer content to just weep on the bed. She had grown so much in just two years.



Definitely! I wonder what it was that made her so strong? The passion she felt for Roger? Or maybe it was continually being excluded for a full year? She realized if she didn't stick up for herself, no-one would.

So she crumpled some globes for practice, and then went for the Ice Scoop of Doom!

It may have been Nancy's finest hour...

Remember how Nick would use scenes of the show at the start and end of commercial breaks? They used to show Nancy shoving the ice down Blair's chest in those. It was nice seeing a lost girl in it

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

Remember how Nick would use scenes of the show at the start and end of commercial breaks? They used to show Nancy shoving the ice down Blair's chest in those. It was nice seeing a lost girl in it

That's very cool!

But what made Nancy get so aggressive, after more than a year of passiveness, do you think? Was it truly just the thought of losing Roger to Blair?

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

That's very cool!

But what made Nancy get so aggressive, after more than a year of passiveness, do you think? Was it truly just the thought of losing Roger to Blair?

I think so, her reaction was certainly OTT. "I'll kill him! I'll kill her! I'll kill myself!"