"The New Girl: Part 2"...but where's Arnold?

[FOL-FAN-ITA]

Arnold makes a guest appearence in the season 2 premiere episode but after he tells Mrs. Garrett that the girls are in trouble, he literally disappeared from the show (for good). What happened to him?

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

Arnold makes a guest appearence in the season 2 premiere episode but after he tells Mrs. Garrett that the girls are in trouble, he literally disappeared from the show (for good). What happened to him?

Guess he and Willis went back home after visiting Kimberly.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

Arnold makes a guest appearence in the season 2 premiere episode but after he tells Mrs. Garrett that the girls are in trouble, he literally disappeared from the show (for good). What happened to him?

That's a very good question! It seemed Mrs. G had brought him up to Eastland from Manhattan for an overnight visit and he'd agreed to go- in no small part to spend time with Tootie whom he was crushing on. But then, after Tootie and the others blew him off, he tattled on them to Mrs. G. their intended destination of that Peekskill bar- and that was the last he was seen on the show. From that point on Mrs. G. gave chase to try to stop them from getting into [worse] trouble but ARNOLD's whereabouts went completely unaddressed! It seems she'd left him in the dorm to his own devises[?!] when taking after The Four and, by the time, Mrs. G. had contacted the school, their parents AND somehow managed to bail them out of jail[!] to bring them back to the dorm, Arnold had been long gone- never to be seen or heard from again on FOL. I suppose that as soon as she got herself out of the bar, Mrs. G. called Mr. Drummond and had him pick up Arnold ASAP so she could make all those other calls not having to deal having him underfoot but that was never spelled out. Oddly enough, Willis would make an appearance later that season when Blair got Natalie to be her warpaint model before the CEO played by Zsa Zsa Gabor made her appearance, but Arnold was nowhere in sight.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Guess he and Willis went back home after visiting Kimberly.

It can't be that because funnily enough, Arnold wasn't there to visit Kimberly. Mrs. Garrett says he came to spend the weekend with her (Mrs. Garrett). And since it was the weekend, Kimberly was back home on Park Avenue.

Mrs. Garrett told him to watch TV, something uplifting for good, so maybe he just stayed in front of the TV in Mrs. Garrett's room the rest of the weekend.

That is funny though that he's not in part 2 at all. I always forget about that because I'm so invested in our girls.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by PracTz

That's a very good question! It seemed Mrs. G had brought him up to Eastland from Manhattan for an overnight visit and he'd agreed to go

Arnold went to Eastland himself to stay with Mrs. Garrett, for the whole weekend. She made it sound like it was either a surprise visit or just orchestrated by Arnold himself.

Originally Posted by PracTz

I suppose that as soon as she got herself out of the bar, Mrs. G. called Mr. Drummond and had him pick up Arnold ASAP so she could make all those other calls not having to deal having him underfoot but that was never spelled out.

She told him to watch TV, something good, so maybe he just stayed planted in front of her TV until it was time for him to leave.

Originally Posted by PracTz

Oddly enough, Willis would make an appearance later that season when Blair got Natalie to be her warpaint model before the CEO played by Zsa Zsa Gabor made her appearance, but Arnold was nowhere in sight.

I think that makes sense though because Willis was just helping to briefly deliver the supplies.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

Arnold went to Eastland himself to stay with Mrs. Garrett, for the whole weekend. She made it sound like it was either a surprise visit or just orchestrated by Arnold himself.




She told him to watch TV, something good, so maybe he just stayed planted in front of her TV until it was time for him to leave.



.

Do you really think that Arnold who couldn't go five minutes at his Park Avenue house without getting into some kind of mischief(or breaking something) would have 'just stayed planted in front of her TV' without attempting to do more of the same while completely unsupervised for what may have been hours before he left/got sent back?!

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by PracTz

Do you really think that Arnold who couldn't go five minutes at his Park Avenue house without getting into some kind of mischief(or breaking something) would have 'just stayed planted in front of her TV' without attempting to do more of the same while completely unsupervised for what may have been hours before he left/got sent back?!

If he found something interesting enough to watch!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

It can't be that because funnily enough, Arnold wasn't there to visit Kimberly. Mrs. Garrett says he came to spend the weekend with her (Mrs. Garrett). And since it was the weekend, Kimberly was back home on Park Avenue.

Mrs. Garrett told him to watch TV, something uplifting for good, so maybe he just stayed in front of the TV in Mrs. Garrett's room the rest of the weekend.

Weird, indeed! Are we supposed to believe that Arnold simply remained in her bedroom for the rest of the weekend? That's just not like Arnold!

I checked TNG pt 2 script, and there's no mention of Arnold, either, so it's not like a mention of him ended up on the cutting room floor.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Weird, indeed! Are we supposed to believe that Arnold simply remained in her bedroom for the rest of the weekend? That's just not like Arnold!

I checked TNG pt 2 script, and there's no mention of Arnold, either, so it's not like a mention of him ended up on the cutting room floor.

That is a really weird hole! I guess fan fiction-wise, PracTz was on the most logical path about Mrs. Garrett entrusting him to someone else once "the beer hit the fan". Perhaps she had Miss Mahoney watch him until Mr. Drummonc could "send the limo to visit Arnold" and bring him back.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

That is a really weird hole! I guess fan fiction-wise, PracTz was on the most logical path about Mrs. Garrett entrusting him to someone else once "the beer hit the fan". Perhaps she had Miss Mahoney watch him until Mr. Drummonc could "send the limo to visit Arnold" and bring him back.

Miss Mahoney or Howard the Cook or Mr. Harris, the new headmaster.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Miss Mahoney or Howard the Cook or Mr. Harris, the new headmaster.

Well, thank you Retro and 80's Sitcoms for the kudos!

Yes, I think it would have worked better had Mrs. G. had Miss Mahoney (the librarian), Howard the Cook or Mr. Harris watching Arnold until her return and THEN have called Mr. Drummond to pick him up.

And, yeah, if the writers had it that Arnold was up there visiting Mrs. G. for THE WHOLE WEEKEND, then how tough would it have been for them to have dropped two lines explaining what had become of him:

Tootie: Mrs. Garrett, what happened to Arnold?

Mrs. Garrett: As soon as I could, I called Mr. Drummond and told him there's a campus emergency which Arnold didn't need to be ANY part of so he agreed to pick him up ASAP! And you're still in TRUH-BULL, Tootie!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by PracTz

Well, thank you Retro and 80's Sitcoms for the kudos!

Yes, I think it would have worked better had Mrs. G. had Miss Mahoney (the librarian), Howard the Cook or Mr. Harris watching Arnold until her return and THEN have called Mr. Drummond to pick him up.

Miss Mahoney was the teacher; Miss Muldoon was the librarian. (The name similarities are confusing!)

And, yeah, if the writers had it that Arnold was up there visiting Mrs. G. for THE WHOLE WEEKEND, then how tough would it have been for them to have dropped two lines explaining what had become of him:

Tootie: Mrs. Garrett, what happened to Arnold?

Mrs. Garrett: As soon as I could, I called Mr. Drummond and told him there's a campus emergency which Arnold didn't need to be ANY part of so he agreed to pick him up ASAP! And you're still in TRUH-BULL, Tootie!

That would have been a GREAT addition to the script, PracTz!

I wonder if Gary didn't wonder why Arnold vanished.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Miss Mahoney was the teacher; Miss Muldoon was the librarian. (The name similarities are confusing!)



That would have been a GREAT addition to the script, PracTz!

I wonder if Gary didn't wonder why Arnold vanished.

Thanks!

Good question about whether or not the late Mr. Coleman might have wondered why Arnold vanished without explanation. It may have been that things were starting to get tense on DS that he was too relieved to be visiting Miss Rae on her set to want to rock the boat by asking any script questions. Or he may have already gotten so overworked against his will in spite of his steadily declining health that he didn't have the energy to notice.

I can imagine that the nice, quiet peaceful weekend Mr. Drummond, Kimberly, Willis and Adelaide had anticipated came to an abrupt end via Arnold's early return with some or all of them annoyed that it wasn't due to anything Arnold himself had pulled!

BTW, I get that this was supposed to have been Orientation Weekend for the new schoolyear at Eastland which meant that the students were supposed to spend that time getting orientated, acquainted and/or reunited then start classes on the following Monday.

However, where was Mrs. G. supposed to have been living during the summer that had just ended? Did she return to the dorm just a few hours before the students did or had she been living there solo the entire time? In the latter scenario's case, why didn't Arnold spend a weekend with her in the otherwise empty dorm in the SUMMER?

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by PracTz

Thanks!

Good question about whether or not the late Mr. Coleman might have wondered why Arnold vanished without explanation. It may have been that things were starting to get tense on DS that he was too relieved to be visiting Miss Rae on her set to want to rock the boat by asking any script questions. Or he may have already gotten so overworked against his will in spite of his steadily declining health that he didn't have the energy to notice.

I thought I read that Gary really enjoyed the first few seasons, and it wasn't until about season 4 of DS (thus Season 3 of FOL) that his health declined, and he was tired of doing the show.

I can imagine that the nice, quiet peaceful weekend Mr. Drummond, Kimberly, Willis and Adelaide had anticipated came to an abrupt end via Arnold's early return with some or all of them annoyed that it wasn't due to anything Arnold himself had pulled!

BTW, I get that this was supposed to have been Orientation Weekend for the new schoolyear at Eastland which meant that the students were supposed to spend that time getting orientated, acquainted and/or reunited then start classes on the following Monday.

However, where was Mrs. G. supposed to have been living during the summer that had just ended? Did she return to the dorm just a few hours before the students did or had she been living there solo the entire time? In the latter scenario's case, why didn't Arnold spend a weekend with her in the otherwise empty dorm in the SUMMER?

Well, the dorm wasn't really empty... at least for part of the summer. "Molly's Holiday" and "Dope" aired in June 1980, after most schools are already on summer break. And because of the SAG/AFTRA actors' strike, Season 2 did not debut until November, meaning the school year at Eastland that year was crazy: classes weren't over until at least June, and did not start up again until November.

So, it would have made sense for Arnold to visit over the Eastland "summer", but when was that? The girls were still in the dorms in June, but didn't come back until November.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Well, the dorm wasn't really empty... at least for part of the summer. "Molly's Holiday" and "Dope" aired in June 1980, after most schools are already on summer break. And because of the SAG/AFTRA actors' strike, Season 2 did not debut until November, meaning the school year at Eastland that year was crazy: classes weren't over until at least June, and did not start up again until November.

So, it would have made sense for Arnold to visit over the Eastland "summer", but when was that? The girls were still in the dorms in June, but didn't come back until November.

Well, between the show's schedule and actual school holidays, that still would have left July and August as 'summer' in which the dorm would have been indisputably empty of students! As I said before, I don't recall anything about where Mrs. G. herself had been living during the summer break (be it from late May- to early September OR late June to November) . However IF Mrs. G. HAD been living there the entire time, then it would have made more sense for Arnold to have visited then instead of Orientation Weekend when the dorm was packed with girls and he'd have had to have bunked with Mrs. G.

Yeah, I know I'm being bogus to try to pretend that this show had even the vaguest resemblance to logic much less the . ..real world.