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Old 02-02-2020, 03:23 PM   #16
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Yes! I actually even get chills when they show the Eastland exterior, in those last two episodes. It is such a cool "homecoming" moment.
You say that in the present tense, but you don't own those DVDs. Do you watch the finale from time to time online? I don't even really care to watch it much. It's not a good closure for the girls and the series, and I don't like what they did to Blair. So I leave that out of my personal faniverse, lol.
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Old 02-02-2020, 05:16 PM   #17
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Mine, as well. Everything from Bewitched and Leave it to Beaver, to Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes. I love classic TV.



Yes! I actually even get chills when they show the Eastland exterior, in those last two episodes. It is such a cool "homecoming" moment.



I never got that vibe, but I definitely can see where the threats of violence were an odd disconnect.



What is it with NBC executives and cast purges?!
Yep, today's sitcoms I call sex-coms and are all about some variation of sex as a punchline...too juvenile for me.

The only one I will watch religiously is SUPERSTORE because it was a breath of fresh air from the young singles in Manhattan or some copy of that dominated the half hour format for so long.

I am not sure who ordered the retooling of TEACHER'S ONLY but it killed it.

Given your love for EASTLAND you'e probably been to this site but here is the link for those who havent...I would love to walk up those "Eastland" Steps! It look so much better with the ivy!

On this site they also "stalk" the Roper's Apartment building from Threes Company. God,I love the internet for such things!

https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/...facts-of-life/

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Old 02-02-2020, 07:24 PM   #18
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After reading all the reviews about the 'LOST GIRLS' i have to say i agree with most of it: SUE ANN should have stayed as the one challenging BLAIR.
On the other hand, JO vs BLAIR had so much chemistry on the set it would be hard to imagine FOL without their constant bickering!
Also, i liked the BLAIR character more in the first season: she was the wild one running away with boys, getting lectures from MRS G and smoking. I was saddened to see some of it fade away in the following seasons. Well, at least she didn't lose her charisma at teasing boys and being the rich bitch with the golden heart!
NANCY, CINDY and MOLLY should have stayed too, but maybe not as the main ones.
Overall, FOL would never have been the same without our 4 main BLAIR, JO, NAT & TOOTIE as MRS G girls!
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Old 02-03-2020, 01:28 AM   #19
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Yep, today's sitcoms I call sex-coms and are all about some variation of sex as a punchline...too juvenile for me.
There definitely is far more sex on TV than there was prior to 1986, when Married with Children was the first sitcom to get raunchy.

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Given your love for EASTLAND you'e probably been to this site but here is the link for those who havent...I would love to walk up those "Eastland" Steps! It look so much better with the ivy!
Yes, we've discussed that site (and the full version, where Lindsay actually wears Molly's Eastland tracksuit while walking around "Eastland"!). Those photos and the video are amazing! Sooo funny!

Like you, I, too, would someday LOVE to walk around "Eastland", and I hope to someday make a trip of it. I think we all agree the building looked so much better (so beautiful, so iconic) with the ivy, but at least the building is still around.

'80s says he can't ever go there without the ivy, but it wouldn't be the same without him. Like... Sue Ann going somewhere without Cindy. Sure, Blair and Jo might go... but... something would be missing.
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Old 02-03-2020, 01:32 AM   #20
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After reading all the reviews about the 'LOST GIRLS' i have to say i agree with most of it: SUE ANN should have stayed as the one challenging BLAIR.
On the other hand, JO vs BLAIR had so much chemistry on the set it would be hard to imagine FOL without their constant bickering!
Also, i liked the BLAIR character more in the first season: she was the wild one running away with boys, getting lectures from MRS G and smoking. I was saddened to see some of it fade away in the following seasons. Well, at least she didn't lose her charisma at teasing boys and being the rich bitch with the golden heart!
NANCY, CINDY and MOLLY should have stayed too, but maybe not as the main ones.
Overall, FOL would never have been the same without our 4 main BLAIR, JO, NAT & TOOTIE as MRS G girls!
I wouldn't have minded seeing any of the Lost Girls as less prominent (but still visible) members of Eastland's student body, although my preference would have been to see them as we saw them during Season One: all over the place, and having a ball! Still, if the producers felt there was only room for four main girls, we still could have seen the Lost Girls on a regular basis. After all, how realistic was it that Tootie was the one handing out the diplomas at Graduation? What made Tootie so special that she was the one organizing Graduation?
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Old 02-03-2020, 10:35 AM   #21
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I wouldn't have minded seeing any of the Lost Girls as less prominent (but still visible) members of Eastland's student body, although my preference would have been to see them as we saw them during Season One: all over the place, and having a ball! Still, if the producers felt there was only room for four main girls, we still could have seen the Lost Girls on a regular basis. After all, how realistic was it that Tootie was the one handing out the diplomas at Graduation? What made Tootie so special that she was the one organizing Graduation?
And she was like in what? 8th grade then? What would an 8th grader know about organizing graduations?
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Old 02-03-2020, 10:39 AM   #22
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Thanks Retroguy2000-I like to pop back in here from time to time as 60-80's tv has always been my favorite!

Like your passion for the lost girls and the original boarding school premise. It was great seeing that alternate cafeteria in the first season. I just like the real school feeling to the show and was thrilled that they honored it in the series finale with Blair taking possession of the school. A return to its roots and I wish it had been picked up.

My big issue with Joe was she was always borderline threatening violence against Blair. I just couldn't see them as real friends no matter how much the show tried to sell it and it always just felt like she was tolerating Blair and the other two.

TEACHERS ONLY was a two season wonder on NBC. Like first season FOL it had an ensamble cast that I like and then the axe swung and everyone but Redgrave and Fell got jettisoned and it was the death blow. Same thing kind of happened to MEN BEHAVING BADLY only worse as they got rid of one of the co leads Rob Eldard
Didn't Cindy threaten Blair with violence in the first show and then didn't Sue Ann threaten Blair with violence later on?
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Old 02-03-2020, 10:58 AM   #23
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There definitely is far more sex on TV than there was prior to 1986, when Married with Children was the first sitcom to get raunchy.
Maybe "tackily" so? Because "The Golden Girls" came along a year before in 1985, and if we were ever over at our conservative paternal grandparents when that was on, my grandmother would sometimes look at us and say, "Shew, they get so raunchy!" I think Blanche and the girls' open dialogue about sexual matters was too much for her.

But MWC of course was a different level, lol.



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Like you, I, too, would someday LOVE to walk around "Eastland", and I hope to someday make a trip of it. I think we all agree the building looked so much better (so beautiful, so iconic) with the ivy, but at least the building is still around.

'80s says he can't ever go there without the ivy, but it wouldn't be the same without him. Like... Sue Ann going somewhere without Cindy. Sure, Blair and Jo might go... but... something would be missing.
I appreciate the sentiment, but yeah, I don't wanna go. I don't want my illusions/perceptions ruined. If we were offered a tour with the Julies, Felice, and Molly, okay, I would really have to consider, lol, but otherwise, I don't want "my Eastland" changed.
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Old 02-03-2020, 03:13 PM   #24
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Another thing that really saddened me was to see MR BRADLEY and MISS MOHANEY leave the show as well as the 'lost girls': to be honest, STEVEN BRADLEY was a lot hotter than MR PARKER and with a great sense of humour! Whatever did they sent him away for? (BLAIR even had a crush on him lol!).
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Old 02-03-2020, 03:41 PM   #25
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Thanks Retroguy2000-I like to pop back in here from time to time as 60-80's tv has always been my favorite!

Like your passion for the lost girls and the original boarding school premise. It was great seeing that alternate cafeteria in the first season. I just like the real school feeling to the show and was thrilled that they honored it in the series finale with Blair taking possession of the school. A return to its roots and I wish it had been picked up.

My big issue with Joe was she was always borderline threatening violence against Blair. I just couldn't see them as real friends no matter how much the show tried to sell it and it always just felt like she was tolerating Blair and the other two.

TEACHERS ONLY was a two season wonder on NBC. Like first season FOL it had an ensamble cast that I like and then the axe swung and everyone but Redgrave and Fell got jettisoned and it was the death blow. Same thing kind of happened to MEN BEHAVING BADLY only worse as they got rid of one of the co leads Rob Eldard
I understand your point of view with JO and i never understood why she was the popular one for most: BLAIR had a kinder heart and even put up with her threatening violence lol! Oh i know most people saw BLAIR as shallow, but to me she was the nicest one along with NAT and TOOTIE and did everything to keep the friendship going for her and JO.
On the other hand, JO could be sometimes warm and sweet to BLAIR: on the episode 'Magnificent obsession' she is there for her and help her get through the obsession together..
Still.. most people vote for JO, when for me BLAIR was the glue of FOL and made FOL 1 entertaining!
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Old 02-03-2020, 06:35 PM   #26
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Another thing that really saddened me was to see MR BRADLEY and MISS MOHANEY leave the show as well as the 'lost girls': to be honest, STEVEN BRADLEY was a lot hotter than MR PARKER and with a great sense of humour! Whatever did they sent him away for? (BLAIR even had a crush on him lol!).
They should have reduced them to part time roles, but not get rid of them.
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Old 02-03-2020, 06:57 PM   #27
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They should have reduced them to part time roles, but not get rid of them.
Right! I feel like we saw two different headmasters after Bradly. Unless John Lawlor had gone onto another series and had no availability then there really wasn't a good reason not to have him play the headmaster whenever such a character was needed.

In another matter which episode made the best use of the Lost Girls after they were let go as regulars?
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Old 02-03-2020, 08:46 PM   #28
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Right! I feel like we saw two different headmasters after Bradly. Unless John Lawlor had gone onto another series and had no availability then there really wasn't a good reason not to have him play the headmaster whenever such a character was needed.

In another matter which episode made the best use of the Lost Girls after they were let go as regulars?
Gossip. No contest. They have Felice more lines in that show that she got in all but 2 or 3 episodes of Season 1.
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Old 02-04-2020, 01:56 AM   #29
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And she was like in what? 8th grade then? What would an 8th grader know about organizing graduations?
Precisely!

By cutting it down to just four girls, and "forgetting everyone else", they lost the administration who would normally be handing out diplomas. They lost the girls who were track stars and photographers and psych majors. The school shrunk to half its original size, and the stories they could tell became so limited that eventually, even the school itself was jettisoned.
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Old 02-04-2020, 01:59 AM   #30
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Another thing that really saddened me was to see MR BRADLEY and MISS MOHANEY leave the show as well as the 'lost girls': to be honest, STEVEN BRADLEY was a lot hotter than MR PARKER and with a great sense of humour! Whatever did they sent him away for? (BLAIR even had a crush on him lol!).
I definitely feel like the loss of faculty was a big problem: there were now almost no adults for Mrs. Garrett to interact with. Sure, they could rely on a few one-off teacher characters... But we'd never again see Mrs. Garrett interact with a regular teacher character, the way she had with Miss Mahoney.
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