Parenting 101 (or lack there of)

[80s Dude]

I just saw "Dearest Mommie" and thought that Natalie's mother should have been there to give Natalie the name of her birth mother instead of just sending her a letter. That seemed pretty cold and cowardly. Should her mother been there for support and to see if she had any questions or to ask Natalie if she was ready for the name of her birth mother yet?

They also recycled a line from "Adoption" for this episode when they joked about Natalie's mother dumping her.

[RetroGuy2000]

I feel Evie definitely should have been in Natalie's life more. Phone calls and letters are okay, but this is a woman who visited Peekskill twice in nine years. They should have shown her more often. At a bare minimum, we should have seen the parents twice a year, so we should have seen Evie 18 times.

[valentina warner]

You guys are forgetting the sweet ending, when EVIE has a 'heart to heart' talk with NAT (after she came back from visiting her biological mother)....

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

You guys are forgetting the sweet ending, when EVIE has a 'heart to heart' talk with NAT (after she came back from visiting her biological mother)....

I'n not forgetting the nice ending; I'm wondering why it almost never happened before or after.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

You guys are forgetting the sweet ending, when EVIE has a 'heart to heart' talk with NAT (after she came back from visiting her biological mother)....

Evie should have been there when she revealed the name of Natalie's birth mother instead of taking the coward's way out with a letter. This would be an emotional moment for Natalie and a mother needed to be there to answer any questions or even ask Natalie if she really wants to know the name of her birth mother yet.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I feel Evie definitely should have been in Natalie's life more. Phone calls and letters are okay, but this is a woman who visited Peekskill twice in nine years. They should have shown her more often. At a bare minimum, we should have seen the parents twice a year, so we should have seen Evie 18 times.

Natalie's father only appeared for a few minutes in 1 episode and then the decide to kill him off.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by valentina warner

You guys are forgetting the sweet ending, when EVIE has a 'heart to heart' talk with NAT (after she came back from visiting her biological mother)....

You might be forgetting that when Natalie went over to her mom's place, she told her that she asked for MRS. GARRETT'S PERMISSION to go there. Mrs. Garrett was much more of a mother to all of the girls than their bio "parents" who dumped them in boarding school.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Natalie's father only appeared for a few minutes in 1 episode and then the decide to kill him off.

At least he could speak! Natalie's sister was apparently mute!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

You might be forgetting that when Natalie went over to her mom's place, she told her that she asked for MRS. GARRETT'S PERMISSION to go there. Mrs. Garrett was much more of a mother to all of the girls than their bio "parents" who dumped them in boarding school.

I feel that was about all the girls' parents, except for Jo's and Molly's. Both Jo's dad and Molly's dad love their daughters three times as much as Blair's, and that's canon.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

At least he could speak! Natalie's sister was apparently mute!

And Natalie's brother didn't even make an appearance. I guest that is what happens when he called her "Buick Face" when making fun of her braces (which were never mentiioned, but we saw).

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

And Natalie's brother didn't even make an appearance. I guest that is what happens when he called her "Buick Face" when making fun of her braces (which were never mentiioned, but we saw).

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I feel that was about all the girls' parents, except for Jo's and Molly's. Both Jo's dad and Molly's dad love their daughters three times as much as Blair's, and that's canon.

Molly's dad was the only parent that I actually liked. I thought Jo's mom sucked by dumping her so her boyfriend Jack could move in. Even Blair said to Jo "that was a scuzzy thing to do..." I agree completely. Jo's father was just okay IMO. He could get on my nerves. Mr. Parker (Molly's dad) was definitely the nicest and most caring.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

Molly's dad was the only parent that I actually liked. I thought Jo's mom sucked by dumping her so her boyfriend Jack could move in. Even Blair said to Jo "that was a scuzzy thing to do..." I agree completely. Jo's father was just okay IMO. He could get on my nerves. Mr. Parker (Molly's dad) was definitely the nicest and most caring.

Yeah, Molly's dad was very loving. We definitely see that throughout the episode. Tootie's father almost pulls her out of Eastland based on five minutes of interaction with Mrs. Garrett; Molly's father is the opposite: being lied to doesn't phase him in the slightest. He takes it in stride and make sure Molly knows that he still loves her. He's so patient he doesn't even yell at Molly, unlike Mrs. Garrett.

I feel as though Jo was an unreliable narrator when it comes to her mother. At the time she comes to Eastland, she's very confused: she's mixed up with gangs, has vandalized, and has no problem stealing from stores. Her whole mode of thinking has been affected. I don't believe Rose sent Jo to Eastland just to get rid of her over a boyfriend: if she did, there are many ways of more cheaply dumping off kids; Rose is instead working her fingers to the bone to pay for Jo's tuition. I think Jo has convinced herself that Rose has dumped her at Eastland because she's angry at being separated from Eddie. But Eastland is an expensive school.

When Blair says it was crummy of Rose to dump Jo over a new boyfriend, it's because Blair doesn't know the full story; she's only heard Jo's side. When Blair meets Jo's parents, she says that Jo's father loves Jo three times as much as Blair's fathers love Blair; Blair realizes that Jo's parents love her very much.

But, of course, that's my interpretation, and I know other viewers will come to their own conclusions. One of the things I absolutely love about The Facts of Life is that there are so many layers of writing in the earlier seasons that it's possible for viewers to draw multiple different conclusions, none of them "incorrect", but all of them right in their own way. The complex relationship Jo has with both of her parents is one of the strongest things in The Facts of Life, and I think it was quite rare to see this type of complex emotional relationship, which is so the opposite of Blair's (original) superficial relationship with her parents, and especially her mother.

[RetroGuy2000]

One of the most unfortunate things about the first season of The Facts of Life is that we do not get to meet the other girls' parents. We really should have met Nancy's parents in "The Girls' School": she's got the lead in the school play, and yet her parents aren't there to watch the play? Cindy is nominated for Harvest Queen and yet her parents (separately) aren't there for the crowning of their daughter as Corn Maiden? Sue Ann's parents live in Kansas City, Kansas, so I can see why they didn't attend Sue Ann's track meet.

One thing they could have done is made Nina's father be Nancy's father. Then Nancy could have introduced her own father at parents' night ("This is Justin Olsen, my father.") instead of introducing the father of a student we don't actually see. Then there would have been an added element of embarrassment for Blair: not only is Monica dating an old flame, he's the father of her own dorm mate! And it would have given Nancy a slightly bigger role, or a bigger profile in an episode where she's otherwise Nancied: here she's actually introducing fathers of students who aren't even on the show! What's next? Introducing Mr. Barksdale and Mrs. Hunt?


We do get interesting, tantalizing details about the Lost Girls' parents: Cindy's parents are divorced, and as '80sSitcoms points out, it is Cindy's father who has taught her about the "facts of life", not her mother. Where is her mother? Nancy's father lost his job and apparently is pretty strict with her, but we learn not much else. Molly's mother was just about to join Molly, so we know she was involved in her daughter's life. And Sue Ann's parents, back in Kansas City, Kansas, tried to instill family values in their daughter.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I don't believe Rose sent Jo to Eastland just to get rid of her over a boyfriend: if she did, there are many ways of more cheaply dumping off kids; Rose is instead working her fingers to the bone to pay for Jo's tuition. I think Jo has convinced herself that Rose has dumped her at Eastland because she's angry at being separated from Eddie. But Eastland is an expensive school.

I thought Jo was attending Eastland on an academic scholarship.