40 years ago today, the world was introduced to Jo

[80s Dude]

The second season of the Facts of Life premiered 40 years ago tonight. It was also our introduction to Jo.

I was in 10th grade at the time and was wondering "Where is my sweet Cindy?" Where is Molly, Sue Ann, Nancy? Instead we got a different Nancy. I never warmed to the Jo character. I thought she was a female Chauci, a character I despised on Happy Days.

A week later, I saw Molly and noticed a drastic change. She was no longer a happy, smiling child. She seemed mopey, depressed. It wasn't until a few years ago did I learn some of the stuff that went on behind the scenes.

[RetroGuy2000]

The Cast Purge on FOL was one of the strangest moments in the history of NBC. I was so confused.

[Lorimar Television]

I can’t imagine watching it and seeing it play out live, must’ve been strange indeed!

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I can’t imagine watching it and seeing it play out live, must’ve been strange indeed!

Back then, the only entertainment news sources were TV Guide and People Magazine as well as the tabloids. Since I only read TV Guide, I don't remember seeing anything about the cast changes. Even Entertainment Tonight was not around then. They got our hopes up when the 3 Lost Girls returned for Gossip, including a major role for Nancy O. Then the 3 were gone the following episode.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Back then, the only entertainment news sources were TV Guide and People Magazine as well as the tabloids. Since I only read TV Guide, I don't remember seeing anything about the cast changes. Even Entertainment Tonight was not around then. They got our hopes up when the 3 Lost Girls returned for Gossip, including a major role for Nancy O. Then the 3 were gone the following episode.

There definitely was no mention of the Cast Purge in TV Guide, but there was discussion of the cast changes in newspapers. I've copied some of those articles in the Articles thread. (At first, the articles even said things like Felice was being kept on, but that eventually changed.)

I was too young to really understand what was going on. All I knew is that the rerun episodes had all of my favorite characters, while the new episodes did not. It made no sense in my little head.

There was, however, an article spread in TV Guide on Julie Pie a year later, to promote The Miracle of Kathy Miller, a made for TV movie which aired less than a year after Jo was introduced.

[valentina warner]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

The second season of the Facts of Life premiered 40 years ago tonight. It was also our introduction to Jo.

I was in 10th grade at the time and was wondering "Where is my sweet Cindy?" Where is Molly, Sue Ann, Nancy? Instead we got a different Nancy. I never warmed to the Jo character. I thought she was a female Chauci, a character I despised on Happy Days.

A week later, I saw Molly and noticed a drastic change. She was no longer a happy, smiling child. She seemed mopey, depressed. It wasn't until a few years ago did I learn some of the stuff that went on behind the scenes.

I kind of feel the same way as you do 80s about JO: i never understood her crazy popularity and all the obsessed fans lol!
To me, BLAIR was always the number one, and i immediately knew there was more to her than just her snobbish behaviour and her beauty, but i guess some people just don't know how to read between the lines....

As for the 'Lost girls', i was also quite disappointed when they were fired because i had gotten so familiar with them, and i don't agree that 7 girls were too many (as the writers decided).

For instance, we all know that MOLLY was the wise cracker, the activist who believed in human rights and liked to be called 'a woman' (instead of a kid),

CINDY was the shy tomboy with the tender heart who was brilliant at sport and could have probably win at the Olympics (even though they tried to make SUE ANN a sporty one).

NANCY was a one man girl who only had eyes for 'invisible Roger', and would probably follow him until the end of the world; she was also funny and pretty but didn't care much for friendship, she was sort of a loner.

Finally SUE ANN was the kindest girl of them all: she never had a bad word for anyone and she was very loyal and sweet towards CINDY (even though she almost beat her when they were competing in running).
Her friendship to BLAIR was more of a 'rivalry' one: she loved to hang out with the popular ones, and she needed to prove to her that she could also be a rebel, since we all know that season 1 BLAIR was rebellious and adventurous...



Firing the 'Lost girls' was really a very bad move: MOLLY and CINDY were beginning to bond, NANCY could have joined BLAIR and SUE ANN as a threesome to the club, TOOTIE and NAT were already close friends, and if they wanted to ad JO to the club, she could have befriended CINDY and between the two of them they could have become a 'foil' to BLAIR....

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

I kind of feel the same way as you do 80s about JO: i never understood her crazy popularity and all the obsessed fans lol!

I've got no problem with the character of Jo herself, as I feel as though she brought some important issues to the fore. But I also believe she was overused, and the producers relied on her for too many scenes. Why, for example, was Jo used as the student who wanted to become a nun in "Best Sister"? Jo had never been religious before, and never would be again. In this type of episode, Jo feels shoehorned in.

As for the 'Lost girls', i was also quite disappointed when they were fired because i had gotten so familiar with them, and i don't agree that 7 girls were too many (as the writers decided).

It definitely was an odd decision to purge so many students from a show which was supposed to be set at a school. No other show in the history of network television ended up with so few regular students. Not even cheap-o shows like Saved By the Bell.

For instance, we all know that MOLLY was the wise cracker, the activist who believed in human rights and liked to be called 'a woman' (instead of a kid),

With some tinkering, they could have made the Molly character work, and the proof is that they used some of Molly's attributes for Natalie, in episodes like "For the Asking" and "Read No Evil".

CINDY was the shy tomboy with the tender heart who was brilliant at sport and could have probably win at the Olympics (even though they tried to make SUE ANN a sporty one).

There were many episodes where a character like Cindy, interested in gymnastics and sports, could have proved useful. When we look at other school-centered sitcoms, such as Head of the Class, Saved By the Bell, and Welcome Back Kotter, they always have a few sports-themed episodes. But Facts couldn't have this: with only four students, they didn't have enough for a team. Bayside (SBTB) could play basketball and wrestling, Millard Fillmore (HOTC) could have volleyball and football, and James Buchanan High School (WBK) could have basketball, but the best we could see on FOL was Jo walking in with a hockey stick. This shows the limitations of only having four characters: the possible storylines end up being quite limited.

NANCY was a one man girl who only had eyes for 'invisible Roger', and would probably follow him until the end of the world; she was also funny and pretty but didn't care much for friendship, she was sort of a loner.

It would have been interesting to see what sorts of storylines they could have developed for Nancy, other than "umbrella won't open", "can't fasten pants", and "stands in background with no lines". I'll never believe they couldn't come up with a real role for her.

Finally SUE ANN was the kindest girl of them all: she never had a bad word for anyone and she was very loyal and sweet towards CINDY (even though she almost beat her when they were competing in running).
Her friendship to BLAIR was more of a 'rivalry' one: she loved to hang out with the popular ones, and she needed to prove to her that she could also be a rebel, since we all know that season 1 BLAIR was rebellious and adventurous...

Sue Ann had quite the "frenemy"-style rivalry with Blair, and because Julie Pie and Lisa had such a great on-air chemistry, it's really odd that the producers jettisoned that in order to exclusively promote the Jo/Blair relationship.

Firing the 'Lost girls' was really a very bad move: MOLLY and CINDY were beginning to bond, NANCY could have joined BLAIR and SUE ANN as a threesome to the club, TOOTIE and NAT were already close friends, and if they wanted to ad JO to the club, she could have befriended CINDY and between the two of them they could have become a 'foil' to BLAIR....

The writers definitely over-focused on Blair and Jo, in the sense that entire seasons seemed to focus more on the Blair and Jo dynamic than on any other characters, to the detriment of the show, and in some cases annoying viewers. I think very few people would say "The Rich Aren't Different" is a good episode of FOL because the writers spent so much time creating conflict between Blair and Jo that they actually forgot to write Jo as a decent, rational human being. Jo ends up coming across as arrogant and stupid in that episode, a clear sign that the writers weren't paying attention to who the character is supposed to be.

(Of course, if I'm wrong, here, I hope someone will speak up and explain why "The Rich Aren't Different" is a good episode of television. I'm open to having my mind changed. But right now, I can't even watch that episode because it annoys me significantly. Or, rather, it annoys me that someone was actually paid to write that episode).

[valentina warner]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I've got no problem with the character of Jo herself, as I feel as though she brought some important issues to the fore. But I also believe she was overused, and the producers relied on her for too many scenes. Why, for example, was Jo used as the student who wanted to become a nun in "Best Sister"? Jo had never been religious before, and never would be again. In this type of episode, Jo feels shoehorned in.



It definitely was an odd decision to purge so many students from a show which was supposed to be set at a school. No other show in the history of network television ended up with so few regular students. Not even cheap-o shows like Saved By the Bell.



With some tinkering, they could have made the Molly character work, and the proof is that they used some of Molly's attributes for Natalie, in episodes like "For the Asking" and "Read No Evil".



There were many episodes where a character like Cindy, interested in gymnastics and sports, could have proved useful. When we look at other school-centered sitcoms, such as Head of the Class, Saved By the Bell, and Welcome Back Kotter, they always have a few sports-themed episodes. But Facts couldn't have this: with only four students, they didn't have enough for a team. Bayside (SBTB) could play basketball and wrestling, Millard Fillmore (HOTC) could have volleyball and football, and James Buchanan High School (WBK) could have basketball, but the best we could see on FOL was Jo walking in with a hockey stick. This shows the limitations of only having four characters: the possible storylines end up being quite limited.



It would have been interesting to see what sorts of storylines they could have developed for Nancy, other than "umbrella won't open", "can't fasten pants", and "stands in background with no lines". I'll never believe they couldn't come up with a real role for her.



Sue Ann had quite the "frenemy"-style rivalry with Blair, and because Julie Pie and Lisa had such a great on-air chemistry, it's really odd that the producers jettisoned that in order to exclusively promote the Jo/Blair relationship.



The writers definitely over-focused on Blair and Jo, in the sense that entire seasons seemed to focus more on the Blair and Jo dynamic than on any other characters, to the detriment of the show, and in some cases annoying viewers. I think very few people would say "The Rich Aren't Different" is a good episode of FOL because the writers spent so much time creating conflict between Blair and Jo that they actually forgot to write Jo as a decent, rational human being. Jo ends up coming across as arrogant and stupid in that episode, a clear sign that the writers weren't paying attention to who the character is supposed to be.

(Of course, if I'm wrong, here, I hope someone will speak up and explain why "The Rich Aren't Different" is a good episode of television. I'm open to having my mind changed. But right now, I can't even watch that episode because it annoys me significantly. Or, rather, it annoys me that someone was actually paid to write that episode).

You raise very interesting points Retro i must say: JO was definitely overused by the writers, and instead of having her wanting her to become a nun, i think they could have had BLAIR instead; as the boys crazy and tease glamorous girl, our 'princess with the golden heart' would have definitely made a good nun impression!

Also, by firing so many girls, we lost more diversity, and even though the episodes were great, by keeping CINDY for example, we could have seeing her running in campus (like they do with some other shows); NANCY could have been seeing walking with Roger and we'll finally get a glimpse of him; MOLLY could have maybe befriended JO and help her write some interesting issues for the school newspaper, and finally SUE ANN could have interact more with the 'Core of 4', by joining them in their room for a pyjama party. She could have also joined MRS G for a cup of cocoa and some 'heart warming' talk. There is so many scenes i could come up with lol!

In the end, the show definitely focused too much on the JO/BLAIR dynamic and less on MRS G who we all know started as the main one as she was promised by the producers

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

You raise very interesting points Retro i must say: JO was definitely overused by the writers, and instead of having her wanting her to become a nun, i think they could have had BLAIR instead; as the boys crazy and tease glamorous girl, our 'princess with the golden heart' would have definitely made a good nun impression!

I feel like Blair would have been a better choice than Jo, but even Blair would have been problematic: Blair had stated that she no longer believed in God because he hadn't answered her prayers.

In my opinion, the best choice would have been Sue Ann: Sue Ann had a long history of conservative thought, including times when she mentioned her family values and the importance of good old-fashioned Midwestern morals.

Sue Ann calls herself "square" in "Dope", she indicates she follows authority in "Front Page", and she spends a great deal of her time trying to "do the right thing" in "Rough Housing" (nominating Cindy), "Adoption" (stopping Blair from revealing Natalie's birth mother's info), and "Overachieving" (saving Tootie from having to leave Eastland). With Sue Ann's morality and willingness to help others, so the opposite of Jo, she would have made a much better fit in the episode.

Plus, as 80s Dude rightly says, Julie Pie could throw a convincing right hook, while Nancy McKeon could not! Jo's "punch" in "Best Sister" was lame.

Also, by firing so many girls, we lost more diversity, and even though the episodes were great, by keeping CINDY for example, we could have seeing her running in campus (like they do with some other shows); NANCY could have been seeing walking with Roger and we'll finally get a glimpse of him; MOLLY could have maybe befriended JO and help her write some interesting issues for the school newspaper, and finally SUE ANN could have interact more with the 'Core of 4', by joining them in their room for a pyjama party. She could have also joined MRS G for a cup of cocoa and some 'heart warming' talk. There is so many scenes i could come up with lol!

I would have loved to have seen Cindy jogging on campus, Molly helping Jo with news articles, Sue Ann at a pajama party with the Core Four, and Nancy in any scene. But I don't really want to see Roger. I would prefer to keep him unseen. The producers were already worried about having "too many" characters, and even though they were clearly wrong, they were doing everything they could to make Eastland some kind of ghost town with only five people in it. In that type of environment, a character like Roger would never flourish.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I would have loved to have seen Cindy jogging on campus, Molly helping Jo with news articles, Sue Ann at a pajama party with the Core Four, and Nancy in any scene. But I don't really want to see Roger. I would prefer to keep him unseen. The producers were already worried about having "too many" characters, and even though they were clearly wrong, they were doing everything they could to make Eastland some kind of ghost town with only five people in it. In that type of environment, a character like Roger would never flourish.

Me too! I think the lost girls should've been in a lot more. I agree about Roger too, he should remain unseen.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

Me too! I think the lost girls should've been in a lot more. I agree about Roger too, he should remain unseen.

Then we agree: in our fictional world where the LGs weren't as marginalized, we still would not see Roger.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Then we agree: in our fictional world where the LGs weren't as marginalized, we still would not see Roger.

Haha yes

[valentina warner]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I feel like Blair would have been a better choice than Jo, but even Blair would have been problematic: Blair had stated that she no longer believed in God because he hadn't answered her prayers.

In my opinion, the best choice would have been Sue Ann: Sue Ann had a long history of conservative thought, including times when she mentioned her family values and the importance of good old-fashioned Midwestern morals.

Sue Ann calls herself "square" in "Dope", she indicates she follows authority in "Front Page", and she spends a great deal of her time trying to "do the right thing" in "Rough Housing" (nominating Cindy), "Adoption" (stopping Blair from revealing Natalie's birth mother's info), and "Overachieving" (saving Tootie from having to leave Eastland). With Sue Ann's morality and willingness to help others, so the opposite of Jo, she would have made a much better fit in the episode.




Plus, as 80s Dude rightly says, Julie Pie could throw a convincing right hook, while Nancy McKeon could not! Jo's "punch" in "Best Sister" was lame.



I would have loved to have seen Cindy jogging on campus, Molly helping Jo with news articles, Sue Ann at a pajama party with the Core Four, and Nancy in any scene. But I don't really want to see Roger. I would prefer to keep him unseen. The producers were already worried about having "too many" characters, and even though they were clearly wrong, they were doing everything they could to make Eastland some kind of ghost town with only five people in it. In that type of environment, a character like Roger would never flourish.

I very much agree with you Retro: SUE ANN would have been a much better choice as a nun than JO (i guess i was only thinking of the 'Core of 4' for that episode).
My guess is that the writers wanted to see BLAIR and JO get into another hot argument (the proof is the punch scene).
I forgot temporarily how BLAIR felt about god and her relationship with god, so she is also out of the picture on that one too!
Let it be SUE ANN then...

And yes, we didn't really need invisible Roger, when we already had ROY, EDDIE and later CLIFF and JEFFREY lol!

In my fictional world, i have the 'Lost girls' still in the show as permanent, and even though they weren't punished like the 'Core of 4' by slaving in the kitchen and not living in the dorms, i would have loved to see them as MRS G's girls too, interacting more on FOL (and not just on some episodes).

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

I very much agree with you Retro: SUE ANN would have been a much better choice as a nun than JO (i guess i was only thinking of the 'Core of 4' for that episode).
My guess is that the writers wanted to see BLAIR and JO get into another hot argument (the proof is the punch scene).
I forgot temporarily how BLAIR felt about god and her relationship with god, so she is also out of the picture on that one too!
Let it be SUE ANN then...

Then we agree! Let's all hop into our DeLoreans and time travel back to November 1980, kidnap Warren Littlefield, and force him to "make a few phone calls"!

And yes, we didn't really need invisible Roger, when we already had ROY, EDDIE and later CLIFF and JEFFREY lol!

In my fictional world, i have the 'Lost girls' still in the show as permanent, and even though they weren't punished like the 'Core of 4' by slaving in the kitchen and not living in the dorms, i would have loved to see them as MRS G's girls too, interacting more on FOL (and not just on some episodes).

Someone needs to get busy on inventing a Flux Capacitor!