Which character changed the most?

[FOL-FAN-ITA]

Which character changed the most from his/her first appearence?

Mrs. Garrett (DS - S8)
Blair (TGS - S9)
Tootie (TGS - S9)
Natalie (S1-9)
Jo (S2-9)
Nancy (TGS - S8)
Sue Ann (TGS - S8)
Cindy (S1-8)
Molly (TGS - S2)
Andy (S6-9)

I don't consider Mr. Bradley, Miss Mahoney, Kelly, Beverly Ann, George and Pippa because their time on the show consisted only for a season or a couple of episodes. The Lost Girls and Andy are included because they continued to appear after the first season, except Molly.


My opinion:

For me, the characters that evolved most are Mrs. Garrett, Blair, Jo and Cindy.
Mrs. Garrett evolved from a housekeeper to a housemother to a dietitian to a businesswoman to a nurse but she became essentially another character during her last season.
Blair became more mature, responsible and less spoiled.
Jo and Cindy became less tomboys and more feminine

What do you think? Which character changed the most for you? Explain why

[80s Dude]

Molly went from being a happy and smiling child in season 1 to looking absolutely miserable in season 2 for her one off appearance there.

Jo grew more feminine and caring.

Blair went from being the loose girl to one who took Mrs. Garrett to a male stripper show to taking a trip to NYC when Natalie decided to loose her virginity in the last season.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

Which character changed the most from his/her first appearence?

Mrs. Garrett definitely changed the most position-wise, with all her professional changes, and while all the girls changed while growing up and maturing, I might say Blair changed the most? She became extremely conservative. Then again, Jo did mellow out so much by the later seasons so she changed quite a bit too.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

Mrs. Garrett definitely changed the most position-wise, with all her professional changes, and while all the girls changed while growing up and maturing, I might say Blair changed the most? She became extremely conservative. Then again, Jo did mellow out so much by the later seasons so she changed quite a bit too.

I wonder if Blair being more conservative was the result of Lisa having more control over the content of her character?

[RetroGuy2000]

This is a good topic.

They all changed, and significantly so, but I think the character who changed the most was Cindy: not only did she go from the cover of "Boy's Life" to the cover of "Elle", she even changed her last name!

[Lorimar Television]

Sue Ann went from basically braindead not knowing if she was insulted in TGS, to the smartest girl in the whole school, Kansas City conservative girl in the span of a few months.

[Wawwie]

Jo never seemed feminine to me. She always seemed boyish IMO unlike "Samantha" from Gimme A Break who started off as a tomboy but later became quite feminine. Jo never got there IMO, but that's fine. Just saying she didn't seem girly to me ever at any point. "Cindy" shed her tomboy persona/appearance though.

Also, all the girls, Blair, Jo, Tootie and Natalie were all chubby in the later seasons.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

Jo never seemed feminine to me. She always seemed boyish IMO unlike "Samantha" from Gimme A Break who started off as a tomboy but later became quite feminine. Jo never got there IMO, but that's fine. Just saying she didn't seem girly to me ever at any point. "Cindy" shed her tomboy persona/appearance though.

Cindy, for sure. I do feel as though Jo's image softened: they toned her down, for sure, from "The New Girl", where she threatened to flatten certain blonde prima donnas, to where she was no longer wearing biking clothes, and had developed some sophistication (I refuse, however, to accept Concert-Playing-Piano-Jo. They took that too far).

Also, all the girls, Blair, Jo, Tootie and Natalie were all chubby in the later seasons.

There were times when all four were, but also times in the later seasons when Blair and Jo were average sized, IMO.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

Sue Ann went from basically braindead not knowing if she was insulted in TGS, to the smartest girl in the whole school, Kansas City conservative girl in the span of a few months.

That's true: she started off as a donkey. And by the end, Sue Ann was back to being a gofer!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

I wonder if Blair being more conservative was the result of Lisa having more control over the content of her character?

I definitely believe this.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

J"Cindy" shed her tomboy persona/appearance though.

I wouldn't say she shed it until that last season 8 appearance. I would just say the writers didn't showcase it in the cafeteria years, except for "Gossip", where she is wearing her track suit.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Also, all the girls, Blair, Jo, Tootie and Natalie were all chubby in the later seasons.

Blair and Jo never were in the later seasons. They were slim/average. It was around season 4 where they were a little heavier, but still hardly what I'd call "chubby". Natalie was always chubby in those years.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

That's true: she started off as a donkey. And by the end, Sue Ann was back to being a gofer!