Were the fifth and sixth seasons of the show as stagnant as South Park claims?

[RetroGuy2000]

Here's the link to Mr. Garrison's review of the fifth and sixth seasons.

[opus]

I remember that (I watch South Park) and thinking "Wait, Tootie never left and Blair and Jo never got husbands". I didn't get the joke

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by opus

I remember that (I watch South Park) and thinking "Wait, Tootie never left and Blair and Jo never got husbands". I didn't get the joke

Well, Jo did get married in Season 9. We actually almost never saw her husband, Rick, though, so some fans feel it was crazy to marry her off to someone we barely ever saw.

The joke was that Mr. Garrison was, it's presumed, supposed to be talking to the kids about sex education. Instead of teaching them about "the facts of life", he's telling them about a 1980s sitcom. Kind of like if a lecturer was asked to talk about being married with children, but he misunderstood the topic, and his lecture was about the Bundy family ("...then Steve left in the fourth season...")

It's possible that Mr. Garrison was confusing Tootie for Nancy, Sue Ann, and Cindy, who disappeared during Season 3 (not Season 4).

But did Mr. Garrison have a point about the fifth and six seasons?

[icecream]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

But did Mr. Garrison have a point about the fifth and six seasons?

No he didn't. The Edna's Edibles seasons rock. When it went down is Over Our Heads, then down more so for the Cloris Leachman seasons. Even that final third of FOL though isn't as bad as what its parent show Diff'rent Strokes became. Danny Cooksey is one of the most irritating actors ever, and I didn't like either Maggie.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by icecream

No he didn't. The Edna's Edibles seasons rock. When it went down is Over Our Heads, then down more so for the Cloris Leachman seasons. Even that final third of FOL though isn't as bad as what its parent show Diff'rent Strokes became. Danny Cooksey is one of the most irritating actors ever, and I didn't like either Maggie.

For me, the EE era is okay, but not as good as the Eastland years. However, I think you're right about the OOH years taking a dive.

I think Mr. Garrison should have said, "Mrs. Garrett left in the eighth season, but Jo got a husband in Season 9, leaving the later half of Season 8 and Season 9 hideously stagnant."

[opus]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

The joke was that Mr. Garrison was, it's presumed, supposed to be talking to the kids about sex education. Instead of teaching them about "the facts of life", he's telling them about a 1980s sitcom. Kind of like if a lecturer was asked to talk about being married with children, but he misunderstood the topic, and his lecture was about the Bundy family ("...then Steve left in the fourth season...")

The concept I got. I just didn’t get the funny in what he actually said.

So Jo got married, huh? Didn’t remember that.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by opus

The concept I got. I just didn’t get the funny in what he actually said.

So Jo got married, huh? Didn’t remember that.

On its original airing, I missed the wedding episode. I was so confused in subsequent episodes, when Jo would talk about her husband, Rick. Especially because after he marries Jo, we see him exactly one time, and it's only briefly.

Why depict someone getting married if we're seldom going to see the husband? What would be the point of that storyline? It feels so tacked on and weird. And it raises a lot of questions. Like why is Jo still living with the girls when she's got a husband living in another home?

[opus]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

On its original airing, I missed the wedding episode. I was so confused in subsequent episodes, when Jo would talk about her husband, Rick. Especially because after he marries Jo, we see him exactly one time, and it's only briefly.

Why depict someone getting married if we're seldom going to see the husband? What would be the point of that storyline? It feels so tacked on and weird. And it raises a lot of questions. Like why is Jo still living with the girls when she's got a husband living in another home?

Hopefully one of the regulars will come in and hash all that out with you. I just got drawn in here by the South Park aspect.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by opus

Hopefully one of the regulars will come in and hash all that out with you.

Oh, we'll hash! That's for sure. We'll hash for days on the Jo-Rick weird marriage thing, for sure.

I just got drawn in here by the South Park aspect.

Yeah, I remember seeing the South Park clip many years ago. Looking it up, it was in Season 3, which was aired in 2000. I might have caught this during its original airing, and I vaguely remember watching this episode, laughing my butt off in the apartment building I lived in at the time.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by opus

The concept I got. I just didn’t get the funny in what he actually said.

So Jo got married, huh? Didn’t remember that.

Jo got married, went on their honeymoon, and then returned to live with the other girls. Weird.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Jo got married, went on their honeymoon, and then returned to live with the other girls. Weird.

Very odd, indeed. Had the marriage episode aired at the very end of the season, it would have made a bit more sense: Jo could have been packing up during the last two episodes.

[80s Dude]

Rick was one weird dude.

[FOL-FAN-ITA]

In my opinion, seasons 5 and 6 were good, not as good as the cafeteria years but definitely better than a good portion of OOH episodes

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

In my opinion, seasons 5 and 6 were good, not as good as the cafeteria years but definitely better than a good portion of OOH episodes

So it looks as though most people believe Mr. Garrison was wrong.

[FOL-FAN-ITA]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

So it looks as though most people believe Mr. Garrison was wrong.

Season 6 isn't that bad but I agree with Christopher when he says season 5 is depressing. Several plots were really silly like Blair that fires Mrs. Garrett, Natalie that attends two schools and behaves like an airhead, Jo doesn't want to hang out with a rich guy, Jeff can't read, a new character obsessed with Jo, the store doesn't get a real focus outside the premiere episode. The first bunch of episodes are really boring but the second half of the season, after the Christmas break, is quite good