Did any of them have steady boyfriends?

[cfr1970]

We know Natalie had Snake later in the show, who we never got to see for some odd reason. (WHY?!) But what about the other girls? I don't recall any of them having steady boyfriends through the whole series.

I wondered this after seeing the You Tube clip of Mindy Cohn mentioning in her act how viewers may have thought all 4 girls were lesbians. I never thought that personally (well, of course Jo, but come on--just look how she was written! But that's a whole other thread lol)

I think it would've been good if one of them had a steady serious boyfriend and the series ended in one of them marrying with Mrs. G coming back for the wedding. After all, it was called "The Facts of Life"---and marriage is part of that!

I think Blair would've been the perfect and logical character to be married off instead of turning her into a headmistress of Eastland.

['80sSitcoms]

Well, all the way back in season 1, Nancy was the first one with a steady boyfriend, the famous never-seen Roger!

Originally Posted by cfr1970

We know Natalie had Snake later in the show, who we never got to see for some odd reason. (WHY?!)

Well we did finally see him in some episodes, but it is odd why they just had him not appear for so long. They "Roger"-ed him for a while, lol.

Originally Posted by cfr1970

But what about the other girls? I don't recall any of them having steady boyfriends through the whole series.

Well, I already mentioned Nancy's beau Roger. And then you have Jo, who had her long distance relationship with Eddie for a few years. And Tootie had Jeff later on. And Blair did have Cliff for a little while, or off and on for a little while (since they were together again sometime after the whole midwestern conservative "HOW DARE YOU STRIP?!?" debacle from season 5).

Originally Posted by cfr1970

I wondered this after seeing the You Tube clip of Mindy Cohn mentioning in her act how viewers may have thought all 4 girls were lesbians. I never thought that personally

Why would you? Why would anyone? They were constantly dating boys!

Originally Posted by cfr1970

(well, of course Jo, but come on--just look how she was written! But that's a whole other thread lol)

Some stereotyping characteristics, yes, but they showed she was into guys by giving her "steady Eddie" (until they "villified" him), and dating several other guys after him (and Bob while she was dating Eddie, which she was very conflicted about).

Originally Posted by cfr1970

I think it would've been good if one of them had a steady serious boyfriend and the series ended in one of them marrying with Mrs. G coming back for the wedding. After all, it was called "The Facts of Life"---and marriage is part of that!

Well, then Jo had Rick, whom she soon married.

Originally Posted by cfr1970

I think Blair would've been the perfect and logical character to be married off instead of turning her into a headmistress of Eastland.

Agreed!

[80s Dude]

Jo did. She had Eddie at first for a couple of seasons and then Rick.

Tootie had a couple of boyfriends in the series. Remember she was the youngest cast member at 10 (12 on the show) so it took a while for her to reach 13 (took her at least 2 years to go from 12 to 13 on the show) so they were not going to have her dating much.

Blair had Cliff for a few episodes.

In all, if they all had one boyfriend, then it would be more difficult to write plots for the show.

And let's not forget Roger.

[cfr1970]

So we did see Snake?! Which episodes so I can mark it down lol. I don't recall EVER seeing this character. There's one episode I saw during the marathon last year where Snake was outside waiting and Natalie is heading out the door and in a rare moment, she looks straight into the camera and tells viewers "You just have to trust me!". LOL I love that little bit.

As far as Jo. Of course she was straight, but even in the Edna's Edibles years she's still acting overly masculine. The episode that aired yesterday on Antenna TV where Mrs. G fired the girls and they came back dressed for the interview---Jo is wearing a man's tie and jacket. It's just blatant they were still trying to portray her as being masculine and it's head scratching.
By college, she surely would've left her tomboy phase long ago.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

So we did see Snake?! Which episodes so I can mark it down lol. I don't recall EVER seeing this character. There's one episode I saw during the marathon last year where Snake was outside waiting and Natalie is heading out the door and in a rare moment, she looks straight into the camera and tells viewers "You just have to trust me!". LOL I love that little bit.

As far as Jo. Of course she was straight, but even in the Edna's Edibles years she's still acting overly masculine. The episode that aired yesterday on Antenna TV where Mrs. G fired the girls and they came back dressed for the interview---Jo is wearing a man's tie and jacket. It's just blatant they were still trying to portray her as being masculine and it's head scratching.
By college, she surely would've left her tomboy phase long ago.

Snake is in the infamous "First Time" episode.

The only one who ever was portrayed as possibly being a lesbian was tomboy Cindy. Geri Jewell came out as a lesbian later on after she was married to a man. Since Geri Jewell was pretty much playing herself on the show, you can say that she was the lesbian on the show. Of course there are many lesbian fan fiction sites and some of them are interesting reads.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

So we did see Snake?!

Yes!

Originally Posted by cfr1970

Which episodes so I can mark it down lol. I don't recall EVER seeing this character.

See below!

Originally Posted by cfr1970

There's one episode I saw during the marathon last year where Snake was outside waiting and Natalie is heading out the door and in a rare moment, she looks straight into the camera and tells viewers "You just have to trust me!". LOL I love that little bit.

Weeellllllllll...it is cute, but do we really want that 4th wall broken in this show? No (for me, anyway).

-

[cfr1970]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Jo did. She had Eddie at first for a couple of seasons and then Rick.

Tootie had a couple of boyfriends in the series. Remember she was the youngest cast member at 10 (12 on the show) so it took a while for her to reach 13 (took her at least 2 years to go from 12 to 13 on the show) so they were not going to have her dating much.

Blair had Cliff for a few episodes.

In all, if they all had one boyfriend, then it would be more difficult to write plots for the show.

And let's not forget Roger.

I wouldn't count Cliff. He seemed more like an offhand date out of many that Blair used to take her out. I'm sure there were dozens over the series that we never saw in the universe of the show. Blair strikes me as having a date with a different guy each weekend and never getting serious with any.

The sailor that Jo dated in the beginning can be counted, but even that wasn't a steady boyfriend imo. By steady, I mean a character that joined the show and lasted more than a few episodes as one of the girl's boyfriends. I think Snake is the only one that fits that description.

I think by the Over Our Heads years, they should've focused on that. Especially with Jo or Blair since they were out of college by then and would be seriously dating.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

As far as Jo. Of course she was straight, but even in the Edna's Edibles years she's still acting overly masculine.

Well sure, but of course, as you know, overly masculine doesn't mean "gay".

Originally Posted by cfr1970

The episode that aired yesterday on Antenna TV where Mrs. G fired the girls and they came back dressed for the interview---Jo is wearing a man's tie and jacket. It's just blatant they were still trying to portray her as being masculine and it's head scratching.
By college, she surely would've left her tomboy phase long ago.

Well she was a tomboy when she was new to Eastland, which just evolved into a "masculine style" as a grown woman (after all, she's "the Dorothy" of the group, when you compare the girls to "The Golden Girls", lol).

[cfr1970]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

Yes!




See below!




Weeellllllllll...it is cute, but do we really want that 4th wall broken in this show? No (for me, anyway).

-

I loved it because it was a rare moment but yeah, I wouldn't want it to have been a regular thing. I think it was fun how the writers let the viewers in on the running joke that we never seen the character.

I marked those episodes down to look out for them. I have this image of Snake in my head and can't wait to see if it matches up to it lol. I think they're up to 84 now on Antenna TV so it'll be a few weeks to get up to '88.

No Snake pics please! I want to be surprised when I see the episodes!

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

I wouldn't count Cliff. He seemed more like an offhand date out of many that Blair used to take her out. I'm sure there were dozens over the series that we never saw in the universe of the show. Blair strikes me as having a date with a different guy each weekend and never getting serious with any.

I disagree. Cliff definitely seemed different and on a more serious level.

Originally Posted by cfr1970

The sailor that Jo dated in the beginning

"The sailor"? "The sailor"?? He's our Eddie! lol (sure, he turned out to be a crumb, but still, he was a big part of the show during the cafeteria years---as far as Jo's life, anyway)

Originally Posted by cfr1970

but even that wasn't a steady boyfriend imo.

She makes it clear when first discussing him early on how steady they are. And then there's the whole marriage thing, and then how terrible she feels about dating Bob (who I think is better for her than Eddie, lol) while she's in a steady long distance relationship with Eddie.

Originally Posted by cfr1970

By steady, I mean a character that joined the show and lasted more than a few episodes as one of the girl's boyfriends.

But see, I think you have to count off camera time and distance as well. That lends more realness to the steadiness of, say, Eddie and Cliff.

Originally Posted by cfr1970

I think Snake is the only one that fits that description.

You're forgetting Tootie's Jeff! lol

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

I wouldn't count Cliff. He seemed more like an offhand date out of many that Blair used to take her out. I'm sure there were dozens over the series that we never saw in the universe of the show. Blair strikes me as having a date with a different guy each weekend and never getting serious with any.

The sailor that Jo dated in the beginning can be counted, but even that wasn't a steady boyfriend imo. By steady, I mean a character that joined the show and lasted more than a few episodes as one of the girl's boyfriends. I think Snake is the only one that fits that description.

I think by the Over Our Heads years, they should've focused on that. Especially with Jo or Blair since they were out of college by then and would be seriously dating.

Eddie and Jo had a long term relationship. That is not unusual in boarding school or colleges. They were together for several seasons and Jo probably was not comfortable dating boys from Bates Academy since she was a one man girl. Oh sorry, Molly, I mean a one man woman.

And it seems that Nancy M. is uncomfortable about Jo being a lesbian. Julie Ann Haddock is more open to Cindy being considered a lesbian.

[cfr1970]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

Well sure, but of course, as you know, overly masculine doesn't mean "gay".




Well she was a tomboy when she was new to Eastland, which just evolved into a "masculine style" as a grown woman (after all, she's "the Dorothy" of the group, when you compare the girls to "The Golden Girls", lol).

But by the end of the series she finally lost that ponytail and softened up her look. Her hair and dress became much more feminine, and she even wore makeup. So they did finally allow her to look feminine, but I think it should have started a few seasons earlier. By not doing it, it only perpetuated and reinforced the "is she a lesbian" question among viewers.

I think by the time of Edna's Edibles, they should've dropped the tomboy/pony tail phase with the character...especially after adding that hideous mini Jo to the mix.

[cfr1970]

You're forgetting Tootie's Jeff! lol



I don't have any recollection of Jeff. Is he during or after the Edna Edibles seasons?

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

But by the end of the series she finally lost that ponytail and softened up her look. Her hair and dress became much more feminine, and she even wore makeup. So they did finally allow her to look feminine, but I think it should have started a few seasons earlier. By not doing it, it only perpetuated and reinforced the "is she a lesbian" question among viewers.

I think by the time of Edna's Edibles, they should've dropped the tomboy/pony tail phase with the character...especially after adding that hideous mini Jo to the mix.

Oh, I agree, they definitely should have evolved Jo's hair by season 5. Even Natalie's hair FINALLY changed by then from those never-ending pigtails! Their hair is fine (except for Tootie's hideous bowl cut from season 3.5 - season 4, lol), but when you binge watch, you get SO TIRED of seeing JO'S PONYTAIL and NAT'S PIGTAILS in EVERY EVERY EPISODE except that one Bates Academy dance. I can't believe the hair lady on there, except for Tootie, NEVER CHANGED THEIR HAIR IN THREE YEARS. At least Blair's hair could move around and look different some, but Jo's and Nat's were like "hats" they wore for 3 years, lol.

And while I'm on the subject, it FASCINATES me that they show Mrs. Garrett WITH HER HAIR DOWN (!!!) in the Paris movie. Again, she ALWAYS has that bun in the cafeteria years. At least in the dorm they tried that strange dangling ponytail hanging from the bun, lol, but I do wish they had let her hair down during those classic years---just think of a girl going to Mrs. Garrett's room for a late night talk, or Mrs. Garrett coming down to the kitchen/cafeteria in the middle of the night---a perfect excuse to see her cascading Garrett carrot hair! lol...sadly, a missed opportunity for more "hair diversity", lol.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

You're forgetting Tootie's Jeff! lol



I don't have any recollection of Jeff. Is he during or after the Edna Edibles seasons?

Oh, you'll meet him very soon (and you may recognize him as Zack, who wantd to take Tootie to Cooper's Rock on the overnight trip in season 3, lol).