Who disliked the reunion movie??? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

An 80s Guy · 12-29-2006, 12:41 PM

It's like it has nothing to do with the show it's basically just Natatlie with her two boyfriends with.They never even showed clips from the hsow.They barley ever mentioned things that happened on the show.I expected more from this film.

cavalier · 12-29-2006, 12:51 PM

I agree, I am probably one of the biggest FOL fans out there and I can't even watch the reunion movie a second time. I felt like I didn't even recognize any of the characters. I wish the writers and producers would have consulted w/some of the people on these boards to get out opinion.

I would have made the movie to focus on the 4 girls and Mrs G. Yes, I know the characters have grown and developed since the last episode, but I wouldn't have put the kids, husbands and boyfriends in the movie, we as fans don't know them and don't care about them.

I like the season (maybe 5) when the girls all hook up on the train and then catch each other up on what happened in there lives and then found the store had a fire and the storyline when from there.

I agree they wasted a great opportunity with this reunion.

I was thinking, (this might get a lot of people angry) but I would have another actress play Jo to get that thing between Blair and Jo. They could have made it funny by saying Jo had plastic surgery or something.

Scoobiedoo30 · 12-29-2006, 02:17 PM

I loved The Reunion Movie

canuckkidd · 12-29-2006, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavalier

I agree they wasted a great opportunity with this reunion.

I was thinking, (this might get a lot of people angry) but I would have another actress play Jo to get that thing between Blair and Jo. They could have made it funny by saying Jo had plastic surgery or something.

I agree the reunion movie was pretty bad. But there is no way I would want another actress playing the part of Jo. It just wouldn't be right and it would not feel the same. Nancy and Lisa had great chemistry with each other, to have another actress try and replicate that chemistry would just feel forced. And your right FOL fans would be angry.

Jo_Luvs_Ketchup · 12-29-2006, 05:48 PM

I could watch it but I'm not crazy about it. It just didn't seem like the four musketeers without Jo.

Nighthawk76 · 12-29-2006, 05:55 PM

Since the reunion movie has not aired since I started watching the show a year ago, I have not seen it.

raya · 12-29-2006, 07:30 PM

I really disliked it too even though I wanted to like it so bad.

Warning that there might be spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen it.

It's not just that Jo wasn't there, but it just didn't work. For one, the plot surrounding Natalie and her two boyfriends was sort of lame.

I hated that they decided to kill Jeff off.

I also don't like when they blow continuity. I get the Mrs. Garrett years were the most popular years of the show, but I would have at least liked some actual mention of Beverly Ann, Andy and other characters who played a big part in the show. Not saying we have to see them, but some acknowledgment.

It just felt like they could have done so much more.

jayman75 · 12-29-2006, 11:43 PM

Folks... think about it.

If you met up with four friends from 15 years ago (or even 5 years ago), things are NOT going to be the same. Everyone has different life experiences that affect personality, ideas, etc.

The reunion movie was not perfect, largely because of Nancy's absence. However, it was reflective of the life situation the women (no longer girls) were in. No complaints from me, that's for sure...

An 80s Guy · 12-29-2006, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayman75

Folks... think about it.

If you met up with four friends from 15 years ago (or even 5 years ago), things are NOT going to be the same. Everyone has different life experiences that affect personality, ideas, etc.

The reunion movie was not perfect, largely because of Nancy's absence. However, it was reflective of the life situation the women (no longer girls) were in. No complaints from me, that's for sure...

It was all about Natalie's having two boyfriends.

raya · 12-30-2006, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayman75

Folks... think about it.

If you met up with four friends from 15 years ago (or even 5 years ago), things are NOT going to be the same. Everyone has different life experiences that affect personality, ideas, etc.

The reunion movie was not perfect, largely because of Nancy's absence. However, it was reflective of the life situation the women (no longer girls) were in. No complaints from me, that's for sure...

What's to think about it? For those who like it, that is an opinion. For others of us, it fell short.

Nobody was expecting things to be exactly the same, but I thought more effort could have been made--not by the cast who were fine and just acting what was put before them, but in development, plot and etc.

Justwondering · 12-30-2006, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raya

What's to think about it? For those who like it, that is an opinion. For others of us, it fell short.

Don't they seemingly all far short, Raya? I cannot honestly name a TV reunion movie that was done so well that it was actually "memorable."

Most shows have a tough time getting all of their cast members to participate, simply because some actors are still desperately attempting to the break the typecasting that resulted from their former roles. I completely understand why Nancy McKeon was not interested in participating in the FOL reunion movie.

I think the networks misinterpret why reunion movies do well in the ratings quite often. It's not that the screen play captivates the audience, but rather the show's fans really desire to see how the years have changed their favorite actor(s). No show has had more reunions than the Brady Bunch, and each was surprisingly successful given that the scripts were absolutely horrid. Fans tuned in to see the Brady Bunch kids as adults, first and foremost. Reassembling the cast can never recapture the charm of the original series, especially when they were young people dealing with kids' problems.

I've seen one too many reunion movie in which a cast member runs for congress. We're to believe everyone grew up be to a doctor, a lawyer, a designer, a journalist, ect.

Can't someone give me a twice-divorced, unemployed crack addict, just once in a while?

jayman75 · 12-30-2006, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by An 80s Guy

It was all about Natalie's having two boyfriends.

No, it wasn't "all about" Natalie's boyfriends. We also learned that Jeff had passed away and Dorothy was having trouble getting back into her passion -- acting. We learned that Blair and her husband weren't communicating, especially about children. We learned Jo was a cop (granted, all a play on her role in "The Division," but still) and was a loving mother. We learned Mrs. Garratt had lost her husband, and she considers the girls her family. In short, we learned what they have been doing in the the last twelve-thirteen years. A lot has changed!

Two hours is not a lot of time to tell a lot of stories... and remember, they brought back Raymond, they mentioned Sue Ann, they recreated the cafeteria (not Edna's Edibles or Over Our Heads)... In short, the production was very connected to the original series. If they had done "The Facts of Life" today, with the girls living together, I wouldn't have believed it. This was much better than many other reunion movies I have seen.

No reunion show has gone back to an immediate continuation of the series (i.e., like an added season). If that happened with this reunion, I wouldn't have been so excited to watch it. I think it's respectable for what it was...

canuckkidd · 12-30-2006, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justwondering

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Don't they seemingly all far short, Raya? I cannot honestly name a TV reunion movie that was done so well that it was actually "memorable."

I can, The Brady Bunch Christmas Reunion "A Very Brady Christmas." All but one of the the original cast members returned (Cindy being the exception). The plot was believable and well written. Most importantly, we were able to catch up on the lives of all the Brady children as well as Alice.

I like the fact that the writers did not make all children to grow up and have typical careers like you mentioned. Bobby was a race car driver (although Mike and Carol thought he was going to business school). But I do agree most reunion movies fail to capturing the magic that was.

PrettyinPink55 · 12-30-2006, 01:52 PM

They could have done so much with it... It just wasn't what I was expecting.

mraw · 12-31-2006, 12:17 AM

I enjoyed it quite a bit. It felt like an epsiode of the show to me. There is no way they could've backtracked through the past 10+ years in two hours, and I really didn't want to see that. What they gave us was more than enough for fans to put the pieces together and move forward. I wanted Jo to be there, but her absence didn't destroy the reunion for me. I also loved that they made an effort to recreate the Eastland cafeteria. I think that was a great touch! In the Growing Pains reunions, you never did see their house as it was on the tv show. I was hoping that the reunion movie would be released on dvd as a separate item or as an extra on one of the future sets. I also would hope that they'd make one more movie (like Growing Pains) centered around a pregnancy for Blair, but five years have already passed since the reunion- so I won't hold my breath.

For those who haven't seen it, The Facts of Life Reunion pops up periodically on the ABC Family Channel.

12-29-2006, 12:41 PM	#1
An 80s Guy legen-wait for it-dary! Senior Member Join Date: Sep 03, 2005 Location: Austin,Texas Posts: 1,870	Who disliked the reunion movie??? It's like it has nothing to do with the show it's basically just Natatlie with her two boyfriends with.They never even showed clips from the hsow.They barley ever mentioned things that happened on the show.I expected more from this film.

12-29-2006, 02:17 PM	#3
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	I loved The Reunion Movie
	__________________ Who Dat

12-29-2006, 11:43 PM	#8
jayman75 I Love the 80s! Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 27, 2000 Location: THE GREAT UNITED STATES Posts: 3,809	Folks... think about it. If you met up with four friends from 15 years ago (or even 5 years ago), things are NOT going to be the same. Everyone has different life experiences that affect personality, ideas, etc. The reunion movie was not perfect, largely because of Nancy's absence. However, it was reflective of the life situation the women (no longer girls) were in. No complaints from me, that's for sure...
	__________________ A fan of quality, classic television comedies and holiday specials... The Wonder Years,The Golden Girls,Burns and Allen, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Are You Being Served?, Family Guy, South Park, Designing Women, Dallas, The Facts of Life, Roseanne, Will and Grace, The Twilight Zone, Original Scooby-Doo, Murphy Brown, The Big Bang Theory... Talk to me about one of these shows, and I'm all yours...

12-30-2006, 01:52 PM	#14
PrettyinPink55 Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 11, 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 24,601	They could have done so much with it... It just wasn't what I was expecting.
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12-29-2006, 12:51 PM	#2
cavalier Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 07, 2003 Posts: 189	I agree, I am probably one of the biggest FOL fans out there and I can't even watch the reunion movie a second time. I felt like I didn't even recognize any of the characters. I wish the writers and producers would have consulted w/some of the people on these boards to get out opinion. I would have made the movie to focus on the 4 girls and Mrs G. Yes, I know the characters have grown and developed since the last episode, but I wouldn't have put the kids, husbands and boyfriends in the movie, we as fans don't know them and don't care about them. I like the season (maybe 5) when the girls all hook up on the train and then catch each other up on what happened in there lives and then found the store had a fire and the storyline when from there. I agree they wasted a great opportunity with this reunion. I was thinking, (this might get a lot of people angry) but I would have another actress play Jo to get that thing between Blair and Jo. They could have made it funny by saying Jo had plastic surgery or something.

12-29-2006, 05:48 PM	#5
Jo_Luvs_Ketchup Member Eternal Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 09, 2003 Posts: 4,195	I could watch it but I'm not crazy about it. It just didn't seem like the four musketeers without Jo.

12-29-2006, 05:55 PM	#6
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254	Since the reunion movie has not aired since I started watching the show a year ago, I have not seen it.

12-29-2006, 07:30 PM	#7
raya Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 09, 2006 Posts: 369	I really disliked it too even though I wanted to like it so bad. Warning that there might be spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen it. It's not just that Jo wasn't there, but it just didn't work. For one, the plot surrounding Natalie and her two boyfriends was sort of lame. I hated that they decided to kill Jeff off. I also don't like when they blow continuity. I get the Mrs. Garrett years were the most popular years of the show, but I would have at least liked some actual mention of Beverly Ann, Andy and other characters who played a big part in the show. Not saying we have to see them, but some acknowledgment. It just felt like they could have done so much more.

12-31-2006, 12:17 AM	#15
mraw Movin' On Up! Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 09, 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 343	I enjoyed it quite a bit. It felt like an epsiode of the show to me. There is no way they could've backtracked through the past 10+ years in two hours, and I really didn't want to see that. What they gave us was more than enough for fans to put the pieces together and move forward. I wanted Jo to be there, but her absence didn't destroy the reunion for me. I also loved that they made an effort to recreate the Eastland cafeteria. I think that was a great touch! In the Growing Pains reunions, you never did see their house as it was on the tv show. I was hoping that the reunion movie would be released on dvd as a separate item or as an extra on one of the future sets. I also would hope that they'd make one more movie (like Growing Pains) centered around a pregnancy for Blair, but five years have already passed since the reunion- so I won't hold my breath. For those who haven't seen it, The Facts of Life Reunion pops up periodically on the ABC Family Channel.