Why didn't The Facts of Life get a 10th season (1988-89) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 08-11-2018, 01:33 AM

If I have my facts straight, NBC felt that there was still some life left in the show. It was still comfortably winning its timeslot (I think that it was on Saturday nights at this point). But the plans for 10th season went into disarray when Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon said that they were going to leave the show at the end of the ninth season.

But the final episode clearly felt like a sign that the show was going to revamp itself. The last episode involves Blair buying Eastland to prevent it from closing. She soon decides to make Eastland co-ed with Blair becoming the headmistress (in essence, the Mrs. Garrett role). Why didn't NBC go that route if they wanted TFOL to keep going?

Impressions · 08-15-2018, 09:59 PM

Because it didn't make sense for the cast to stay together that far into adulthood, the only thing that was keeping them together was plot, and it was clear that the characters and actors wanted to go their separate ways.

Honestly, I think the show should have ended at season 8.

The spin-off attempt in the series finale was a sleazy way to keep the show going. I found it a little incomprehensible that Blair would want to save Eastland, and didn't feel like the show had enough glue (or steam) to go on for another season. The show kept jumping the shark when they kept adding younger actors to keep it youthful, and I feel like the spin-off was paper-thin and would not have worked because there weren't enough strong actors involved to keep audiences interested.

Johnny be good! · 05-24-2019, 03:51 PM

Mindy and Nancy wanted out.

'80sSitcoms · 05-24-2019, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny be good!

Mindy and Nancy wanted out.

The original poster points that out, though. He's asking why they didn't concentrate on "re-tooling" the show to center on Blair being "the Mrs. Garrett" of the new Eastland.

Lorimar Television · 05-25-2019, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

The original poster points that out, though. He's asking why they didn't concentrate on "re-tooling" the show to center on Blair being "the Mrs. Garrett" of the new Eastland.

A second retooling? Even third if you count the transition from girls school to girls running a business

TV Guy · 05-25-2019, 06:56 AM

NBC was the #1 network at the time. They didn’t have as many gaps to fill on their schedule, and they didn’t need a retooling of a tired show. Had the show been on a network that was struggling, the spinoff might have sold.

Also, NBC was a different network than it had been when “Facts” started. They were moving away from the kid-oriented sitcoms of the early 80s, and were going for more adult-oriented and/or sophisticated sitcoms (“Cheers”, “Night Court”, “Golden Girls”, etc.). FOL was off-brand for NBC at that point (same reason NBC let “Hogan Family” go to CBS a couple of seasons later).

It didn’t help that the pilot for the new series (the two-part season finale) was pretty bad. Not a bad concept, but the execution was terrible. Irma Kalish was the worst thing to happen to FOL. They should have brought Linda Marsh and Margie Peters back to do the pilot.

'80sSitcoms · 05-26-2019, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

A second retooling? Even third if you count the transition from girls school to girls running a business

I think it's more like a 5th retooling.

'80sSitcoms · 05-26-2019, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV Guy

It didn’t help that the pilot for the new series (the two-part season finale) was pretty bad. Not a bad concept, but the execution was terrible. Irma Kalish was the worst thing to happen to FOL. They should have brought Linda Marsh and Margie Peters back to do the pilot.

I don't think I'll really watch the finale anymore. I am absolutely against the idea of wealthy, privileged Blair Warner "losing all of her money" by investing every cent of hers into the school. No thanks, not in my faniverse.

RetroGuy2000 · 05-26-2019, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

I think it's more like a 5th retooling.

Only five retoolings? I count seven.

Kim says the first retooling happened after the fourth episode, when Miss Mahoney said farewell, and Nancy got an invisible boyfriend.

The second retooling occurred at the beginning of Season Two, with the horrible Cast Purge and the move into the cafeteria.

The third retooling happened near the beginning of Season Five, with the girls moving in above Edna's Edibles, and the brief cast addition of Kelly.

The fourth retooling happened with the burning down of Edna's Edibles and the creation of the 1980s kitsch shop, and the cast addition of George Clooney.

The fifth retooling occurred when Mrs. G left the show and Beverly Ann was added.

The sixth retooling was the addition of Pippa and the closure of the kitsch store.

The seventh retooling would have been Blair becoming Mrs. Garrett 2.0 at Eastland.

'80sSitcoms · 05-26-2019, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Only five retoolings? I count seven.

Kim says the first retooling happened after the fourth episode, when Miss Mahoney said farewell, and Nancy got an invisible boyfriend.

The second retooling occurred at the beginning of Season Two, with the horrible Cast Purge and the move into the cafeteria.

The third retooling happened near the beginning of Season Five, with the girls moving in above Edna's Edibles, and the brief cast addition of Kelly.

The fourth retooling happened with the burning down of Edna's Edibles and the creation of the 1980s kitsch shop, and the cast addition of George Clooney.

The fifth retooling occurred when Mrs. G left the show and Beverly Ann was added.

The sixth retooling was the addition of Pippa and the closure of the kitsch store.

The seventh retooling would have been Blair becoming Mrs. Garrett 2.0 at Eastland.

Well, to me, 6 is kinda marginal though I can see what you mean, and 7 is just the last 2 episodes.

Schmoopie · 07-02-2019, 06:47 PM

I'm actually glad it didn't get a tenth season b/c I'm about halfway into Season 7 and I'm getting bored with the show. Sorry to be a downer but it's just not the same and it really hasn't gotten a whole lot better since Season 1 but I'm going to watch them all and clear out my DVR. I was surprised that it ran for nine seasons to be honest. The show as a whole was okay and there were some good actors but for the most part it's been a disappointment.

TMC · 07-03-2019, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV Guy

NBC was the #1 network at the time. They didn’t have as many gaps to fill on their schedule, and they didn’t need a retooling of a tired show. Had the show been on a network that was struggling, the spinoff might have sold.

Also, NBC was a different network than it had been when “Facts” started. They were moving away from the kid-oriented sitcoms of the early 80s, and were going for more adult-oriented and/or sophisticated sitcoms (“Cheers”, “Night Court”, “Golden Girls”, etc.). FOL was off-brand for NBC at that point (same reason NBC let “Hogan Family” go to CBS a couple of seasons later).

It didn’t help that the pilot for the new series (the two-part season finale) was pretty bad. Not a bad concept, but the execution was terrible. Irma Kalish was the worst thing to happen to FOL. They should have brought Linda Marsh and Margie Peters back to do the pilot.

I just came her to ask if TFOL really started going down the cliff creatively when Irma Kalish became the showrunner. When Paul Haggins was the showrunner prior to this, the show still felt like an an ensemble. But during the last two seasons (AKA the "Beverly Ann years" with Cloris Leachman), they began to focus on one character at a time per episode, instead of the whole gang. They also expanded Mackenzie Astin's role by having Beverly Ann adopt Andy.

Kalsih also introduced the decidedly unnecessary Pippa and had her spout things, "Good day, mates, I think I'll walk to school this morning so I can do a bit of spunk spotting." To top it all off, they began to really recycled plots from episodes that had just aired! For instance, Jo's dad meets her fiance, and they don't get along (at first). Natalie and Tootie's boyfriends meet, and they don't get along (at first). Tootie meets Jeff's grandmother, and they don't get along (at first), etc.

Christopher · 07-03-2019, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

they began to focus on one character at a time per episode, instead of the whole gang.

It had been like that the whole run, not just the last two years. Look at the Eastland years. There are a ton of Jo centered episodes than episodes that focus on the whole gang. I don't think season 8 did anything different than seasons 2 - 4 with the episodes produce. Well, less serious topics but it worked for season 8 IMO.

'80sSitcoms · 07-03-2019, 10:48 AM

I think the "classic cafeteria years" have the most of an ensemble feel because it's often our small group of girls all in the same space (the cafeteria, the kitchen, the lounge, the bedroom). And because there are only 4 of them, even when an episode does center around one character, the other few girls are often around and still have plenty of lines. There's no "Nancying" of characters (season 1's Nancy being often left out, etc.), there's no Langley to go to, no downtown Peekskill right outside the door to run of to, etc. So Eastland in seasons 2-4 feel more ensemble-ish to me.

Christopher · 07-03-2019, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

I think the "classic cafeteria years" have the most of an ensemble feel because it's often our small group of girls all in the same space (the cafeteria, the kitchen, the lounge, the bedroom). And because there are only 4 of them, even when an episode does center around one character, the other few girls are often around and still have plenty of lines. There's no "Nancying" of characters (season 1's Nancy being often left out, etc.), there's no Langley to go to, no downtown Peekskill right outside the door to run of to, etc. So Eastland in seasons 2-4 feel more ensemble-ish to me.

That's weird saying that because there's quite a bit of episodes where they take place outside of Eastland. They're either in New York, the boys Academy, a relatives, or the one episode where they're at Jo's work. They're not always in the same space.

I don't feel any of the girls were short lines or stories in season 8. There's 2 episodes in season 8 where the girls are not the main focus; "Boy About The House" and "Ex Marks The Spot". Out of 24 episodes, I don't think it's horrible to have 2 episodes feature the supporting characters of the show. It's a lot better than what they did in the earlier seasons on those spin off attempts that hardly featured any of the original characters.

05-24-2019, 03:51 PM	#3
Johnny be good! Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2007 Location: Westland, Michigan Posts: 1,633	Mindy and Nancy wanted out.
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07-02-2019, 06:47 PM	#11
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	I'm actually glad it didn't get a tenth season b/c I'm about halfway into Season 7 and I'm getting bored with the show. Sorry to be a downer but it's just not the same and it really hasn't gotten a whole lot better since Season 1 but I'm going to watch them all and clear out my DVR. I was surprised that it ran for nine seasons to be honest. The show as a whole was okay and there were some good actors but for the most part it's been a disappointment.
	__________________ In memory of my wonderful husband. I love and miss you more than words can say, but I will always and forever keep you in my heart. September 23, 1961-January 14, 2019

08-11-2018, 01:33 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,393	Why didn't The Facts of Life get a 10th season (1988-89) If I have my facts straight, NBC felt that there was still some life left in the show. It was still comfortably winning its timeslot (I think that it was on Saturday nights at this point). But the plans for 10th season went into disarray when Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon said that they were going to leave the show at the end of the ninth season. But the final episode clearly felt like a sign that the show was going to revamp itself. The last episode involves Blair buying Eastland to prevent it from closing. She soon decides to make Eastland co-ed with Blair becoming the headmistress (in essence, the Mrs. Garrett role). Why didn't NBC go that route if they wanted TFOL to keep going?

08-15-2018, 09:59 PM	#2
Impressions She died the way she lived Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 08, 2002 Posts: 4,640	Because it didn't make sense for the cast to stay together that far into adulthood, the only thing that was keeping them together was plot, and it was clear that the characters and actors wanted to go their separate ways. Honestly, I think the show should have ended at season 8. The spin-off attempt in the series finale was a sleazy way to keep the show going. I found it a little incomprehensible that Blair would want to save Eastland, and didn't feel like the show had enough glue (or steam) to go on for another season. The show kept jumping the shark when they kept adding younger actors to keep it youthful, and I feel like the spin-off was paper-thin and would not have worked because there weren't enough strong actors involved to keep audiences interested.

05-25-2019, 06:56 AM	#6
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	NBC was the #1 network at the time. They didn’t have as many gaps to fill on their schedule, and they didn’t need a retooling of a tired show. Had the show been on a network that was struggling, the spinoff might have sold. Also, NBC was a different network than it had been when “Facts” started. They were moving away from the kid-oriented sitcoms of the early 80s, and were going for more adult-oriented and/or sophisticated sitcoms (“Cheers”, “Night Court”, “Golden Girls”, etc.). FOL was off-brand for NBC at that point (same reason NBC let “Hogan Family” go to CBS a couple of seasons later). It didn’t help that the pilot for the new series (the two-part season finale) was pretty bad. Not a bad concept, but the execution was terrible. Irma Kalish was the worst thing to happen to FOL. They should have brought Linda Marsh and Margie Peters back to do the pilot.

07-03-2019, 10:48 AM	#14
'80sSitcoms Member Forum Star Join Date: Jan 30, 2013 Posts: 12,474	I think the "classic cafeteria years" have the most of an ensemble feel because it's often our small group of girls all in the same space (the cafeteria, the kitchen, the lounge, the bedroom). And because there are only 4 of them, even when an episode does center around one character, the other few girls are often around and still have plenty of lines. There's no "Nancying" of characters (season 1's Nancy being often left out, etc.), there's no Langley to go to, no downtown Peekskill right outside the door to run of to, etc. So Eastland in seasons 2-4 feel more ensemble-ish to me.