Will Nancy always be 'Jo' to you? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Michele35 · 01-09-2001, 01:56 PM

I wasn't sure which board to post this on but I was wondering even if "The Division" is a big hit, will you still think of Nancy as "Jo" from FOL?

Even with the success of her television movies, seems Nancy is still tied to her "Jo" persona. What do you guys think?

coily2 · 01-09-2001, 03:22 PM

She will always be Jo. Ron Howard will always be Opie, Gary Coleman will always be Arnold.... you can't escape from your childhood alter-egos.

JoFan · 01-09-2001, 03:25 PM

No, since I started seeing Nancy in all those TV movies...she is now an actress to me and will not always be Jo. She's whoever she's playing at the time, and good actresses can pull off being believable in diferent roles.

I still love Jo, don't get me wrong. But I really love the character on "The Division" and I don't think anyone else could have played her quite like that.

People say they're alike (the two characters) I personally disagree. Jo always had a strong support system, and didn't have the emotional problems that Jinny has. I'm positive we'll see Jinny spiral downward, as alcohol takes control of her life. But I like that...she's not perfect, people simply aren't perfect. She drinks too much, sleeps around (afraid of commitment) and pretty much has only one thing in her life, her job. Jo was totally different. The blonde cop, CD...she's more like Jo. Tough, rude to her partner, but married with both feet on the ground.

OK, I've rambled on long enough.

JoBlaiRNaTooT · 01-09-2001, 05:02 PM

i was kinda wondering the same thing. it seems everything she's in, we (myself included. hehe.) compare her character to jo. i guess since that's the character she's most famous for, people are always gonna know Nancy McKeon as "Jo." u know? that's probly why she wants to try and distance her self from that image. like ginger on "gilligan's island"...david cassidy in "partridge family"...marcia in "the brady bunch"...they all try to distance themselves, altho it never seems to work. lol. they'll always be known (IMO) as the character ppl grew up w/ and saw every week.

------------------
"You're born, you move on, you die. That's life." ~ Jo Polniaczek

Margo: "I'm on a diet. I'll just have one roll."
Jo: "I've seen you in gym clothes. You've got a lot more that one roll!"

01-09-2001, 05:47 PM

I'm probably going to stop watching FOL as much now that the Division is on.But she will sort of always be Jo. But if the Division does well, Jinny might be a popular character too.

ks · 01-09-2001, 07:03 PM

Boy Michele, that really is a tough question, and one I've been asking myself alot lately. I'll try and explain the way I feel about Nancy/Jo:

Nancy McKeon is a great actress, and from what she said in the IP she is a great woman in general. She seemingly has her priorities straight and is willing to pass uo on great opportunities to get where she thinks she needs to be. She has a strong family and friend support system, and seems to have a special relationships with many of those people. With the interviews of hers I've read she also seems to have a great sense of humor.

Jo Polniazcek is very strong willed and levelheaded. She also seems to become real close to people once they earn her trust and respect:which is seemingly hard to do in alot of cases. She respects people's property and their thoughts though.

I think in some respectives Nancy and Jo are alike, but I think they're also different in alot of ways. According to the interviews I've read Nancy was a very shy, polite person when she was a teenager who didn't follow the crowd. Jo was rough edged and spoke what she thought, even if it wasn't the friendliest of thoughts. She didn't follow the crowd either though, and she thought the people who did were wimps.

I've played the Nancy/Jo thing over and over in my head and finally convinced myself of this:

Nancy McKeon is a great actress and it's truly amazing how well she portrayed Jo. It seemed to come very natural to her. However, since she is an amazing actress she is also able to portray other characters just as convincingly. I think Nancy might always be remembered as Jo, including by me, but I also with all the TV movies she's done she's proved she can hold her own as any character. That's not to say though that every time I see Nancy McKeon playing someone I won't compare that character to Jo, because Jo is a great individual in my opinion.

In my mind Nancy McKeon is the person who played Jo Polniaczek, but after seeing her in other rolls, and in the IP I've come to respect that she is her own person--not Jo Polniaczek.

Although there couldn't have been a better Jo

...Well, those are my thoughts about it. Anyone else?

------------------
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
[Jo to Blair]
Jo: Did you know that when you shake hands your lips 'pucker'?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Beverly Ann: Let's see. It's tomorrow in Africa so if I want to talk to Edna today then I should have called her yesterday...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Blair: The worst thing about falling asleep at the wheel is that I didn't get to see my whole life flash in front of my eyes.
Jo: Well that woulda killed ya for sure.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I'm_NMK · 01-09-2001, 07:37 PM

Very well said, ks!

Cokies · 01-11-2001, 06:55 PM

I don't know, it's like this, if I saw her on the street, i'd probably go, 'Whoa, it's Nancy McKeon.' Three months ago, I would of probably said, 'Whoa, it's Jo!'. I think it's just a matter of respect of their job as an actor, whether they do a good job of that or not. Even if I saw Opie, i'd still say, 'Wow, it's Ron Howard!' Same with Penny Marshall, and Gary Coleman. Actually, i'd laugh if I saw Gary Coleman, LOL!

------------------
"It was just like Saturday Night Fever, except it was a Friday."

ks · 01-11-2001, 07:02 PM

LOL! Cokies, that's too funny about Gary!

------------------
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Jo: Things are not going well here...I think I'm gonna have to hit somebody.
Natalie: I didn't ask you to stick up for me, Jo.
Jo: I think I'm gonna have to hit you.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Beverly Ann: Let's see. It's tomorrow in Africa so if I want to talk to Edna today then I should have called her yesterday...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Blair: The worst thing about falling asleep at the wheel is that I didn't get to see my whole life flash in front of my eyes.
Jo: Well that woulda killed ya for sure.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Michele35 · 01-12-2001, 06:48 PM

I noticed over at the Lifetime 'Division' messageboard that they were getting so many posts about Nancy, Jo, and FOL that they had to start a new board just for Nancy's fans.

Seems to me that the 'Jo' hysteria that was so prominent in the '80s has resurfaced with Nick playing FOL every night. There is now a new generation of Jo crazy fans.

I read an interview with Lisa Whelchel that basically said that the friends we make when we're young alot of times turn out to be the best and longest lasting friendships, even if it's a friend that we make through tv. I think there is alot of truth in what she said and that alot of people have made a connection at a young age to the character of Jo and will always see Nancy as her FOL character. In the same way I agree that Ron Howard who has had a very successful directing career will always be Richie Cunningham or Opie to many people.

It's funny that someone brought up the Ginger character from 'Gilligan's Island' because I had her character in mind when I asked this question. I recall that she basically wanted nothing to do with GI and wouldn't participate in any of the reunion movies for fear of being typecast. I believe she did some B movies but Ginger was probably the role she is most recognized.

80skid · 01-12-2001, 08:27 PM

In a way. TD rocks and I can't wait for the next one, but its like that w/FOL too. She just has such great characters!!!!

P.S. Does anyone agree that the two female cops (the new one and the blond one) kinda remind you of Blair and Jo in the sense the blond one's Jo and the new one's Blair... attitudes 2wards 1another, i mean?? (if i'm confusing, sry)

------------------
jo: there's face cream, high heels, and perfume. it's like livin' in a drugstore and i can't get to the check out line!
tootie: this is gonna be a great semester... would I lie?
molly: oh, a blister, blair. you'll live.
jo: so my mom stops the romance by sending me here.
tootie: thats one cold mama!

ks · 01-12-2001, 10:02 PM

LOL! That's incredible! Nancy has a board all to herself

I agree Michele that she is getting a whole new fan following since FOL is currently airing on N@N, and LIFETIME's ratings are going to be steady because of all the Nancy fans.

80's kid, I was thinking the same thing about the Jo/Blair relationship. I watch FOL so much I find myself comparing it to everything! Anyway, Jo and CD seem very much alike, and the relationship between the two partners seem to have the same Jo/Blair hostility. I wonder if they'll end up best of friends in the in like Blair and Jo did...

ks

------------------
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Jo: Things are not going well here...I think I'm gonna have to hit somebody.

Natalie: I didn't ask you to stick up for me, Jo.

Jo: I think I'm gonna have to hit you.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Miller15 · 01-13-2001, 04:05 AM

Well, I haven't exactly come up with an in depth analysis of Nancy/Jo/Jinny... but I do have to say that when I was watching The Division, I wasn't comparing Jinny to Jo or anything like that. I was just watching an incredible actress playing yet another role better than anyone else could.

coily2 · 01-13-2001, 06:14 PM

The whole time watching the Division, I kept comparing both CD and Jinny to Jo. CD is a very likely candidate with as to what Jo could have become 15 years later, although I think Jo is a little warmer than CD. On the other side of the coin, Jinny could have easily been Jo too, if Jo had a couple of bad turns in her life. Her marriage failed, she wasn't performing well at work, all those things could have lead to a transformation to Jinny.

Michele35 · 01-13-2001, 08:29 PM

I think that CD and Angela the new girl are eventually going to become friends, too, 80's kid. They do remind me a bit of Jo/Blair except that Angela is not nearly as snobby as Blair although I don't think CD liked the fact that she was the daughter of a brigadier general, was a college graduate or was married to a doctor. I would definitely say that the CD character is most like Jo when she first started at Eastland.

01-09-2001, 01:56 PM	#1
Michele35 Jazz Girl Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 08, 2000 Location: Los Angeles,CA Posts: 804	Will Nancy always be 'Jo' to you? I wasn't sure which board to post this on but I was wondering even if "The Division" is a big hit, will you still think of Nancy as "Jo" from FOL? Even with the success of her television movies, seems Nancy is still tied to her "Jo" persona. What do you guys think?

01-09-2001, 05:47 PM	#5
A.J. Guest Posts: n/a	I'm probably going to stop watching FOL as much now that the Division is on.But she will sort of always be Jo. But if the Division does well, Jinny might be a popular character too.
A.J. Guest Posts: n/a

01-09-2001, 03:22 PM	#2
coily2 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 28, 2000 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 969	She will always be Jo. Ron Howard will always be Opie, Gary Coleman will always be Arnold.... you can't escape from your childhood alter-egos.

01-09-2001, 03:25 PM	#3
JoFan Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Dec 02, 2000 Posts: 96	No, since I started seeing Nancy in all those TV movies...she is now an actress to me and will not always be Jo. She's whoever she's playing at the time, and good actresses can pull off being believable in diferent roles. I still love Jo, don't get me wrong. But I really love the character on "The Division" and I don't think anyone else could have played her quite like that. People say they're alike (the two characters) I personally disagree. Jo always had a strong support system, and didn't have the emotional problems that Jinny has. I'm positive we'll see Jinny spiral downward, as alcohol takes control of her life. But I like that...she's not perfect, people simply aren't perfect. She drinks too much, sleeps around (afraid of commitment) and pretty much has only one thing in her life, her job. Jo was totally different. The blonde cop, CD...she's more like Jo. Tough, rude to her partner, but married with both feet on the ground. OK, I've rambled on long enough.

01-09-2001, 05:02 PM	#4
JoBlaiRNaTooT Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 12, 2000 Location: Peekskill, NY (lol) Posts: 191	i was kinda wondering the same thing. it seems everything she's in, we (myself included. hehe.) compare her character to jo. i guess since that's the character she's most famous for, people are always gonna know Nancy McKeon as "Jo." u know? that's probly why she wants to try and distance her self from that image. like ginger on "gilligan's island"...david cassidy in "partridge family"...marcia in "the brady bunch"...they all try to distance themselves, altho it never seems to work. lol. they'll always be known (IMO) as the character ppl grew up w/ and saw every week. ------------------ "You're born, you move on, you die. That's life." ~ Jo Polniaczek Margo: "I'm on a diet. I'll just have one roll." Jo: "I've seen you in gym clothes. You've got a lot more that one roll!"

01-09-2001, 07:03 PM	#6
ks Certifiably Insane Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 21, 2000 Location: I live in my hole... Posts: 5,501	Boy Michele, that really is a tough question, and one I've been asking myself alot lately. I'll try and explain the way I feel about Nancy/Jo: Nancy McKeon is a great actress, and from what she said in the IP she is a great woman in general. She seemingly has her priorities straight and is willing to pass uo on great opportunities to get where she thinks she needs to be. She has a strong family and friend support system, and seems to have a special relationships with many of those people. With the interviews of hers I've read she also seems to have a great sense of humor. Jo Polniazcek is very strong willed and levelheaded. She also seems to become real close to people once they earn her trust and respect:which is seemingly hard to do in alot of cases. She respects people's property and their thoughts though. I think in some respectives Nancy and Jo are alike, but I think they're also different in alot of ways. According to the interviews I've read Nancy was a very shy, polite person when she was a teenager who didn't follow the crowd. Jo was rough edged and spoke what she thought, even if it wasn't the friendliest of thoughts. She didn't follow the crowd either though, and she thought the people who did were wimps. I've played the Nancy/Jo thing over and over in my head and finally convinced myself of this: Nancy McKeon is a great actress and it's truly amazing how well she portrayed Jo. It seemed to come very natural to her. However, since she is an amazing actress she is also able to portray other characters just as convincingly. I think Nancy might always be remembered as Jo, including by me, but I also with all the TV movies she's done she's proved she can hold her own as any character. That's not to say though that every time I see Nancy McKeon playing someone I won't compare that character to Jo, because Jo is a great individual in my opinion. In my mind Nancy McKeon is the person who played Jo Polniaczek, but after seeing her in other rolls, and in the IP I've come to respect that she is her own person--not Jo Polniaczek. Although there couldn't have been a better Jo ...Well, those are my thoughts about it. Anyone else? ------------------ ------------- [Jo to Blair] Jo: Did you know that when you shake hands your lips 'pucker'? ------------* Beverly Ann: Let's see. It's tomorrow in Africa so if I want to talk to Edna today then I should have called her yesterday... ------------- Blair: The worst thing about falling asleep at the wheel is that I didn't get to see my whole life flash in front of my eyes. Jo: Well that woulda killed ya for sure. ------------*

01-09-2001, 07:37 PM	#7
I'm_NMK Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 16, 2000 Location: NY Posts: 280	Very well said, ks!

01-11-2001, 06:55 PM	#8
Cokies Head Goonie Senior Member Join Date: Oct 28, 2000 Location: Benicia, CA USA Posts: 1,719	I don't know, it's like this, if I saw her on the street, i'd probably go, 'Whoa, it's Nancy McKeon.' Three months ago, I would of probably said, 'Whoa, it's Jo!'. I think it's just a matter of respect of their job as an actor, whether they do a good job of that or not. Even if I saw Opie, i'd still say, 'Wow, it's Ron Howard!' Same with Penny Marshall, and Gary Coleman. Actually, i'd laugh if I saw Gary Coleman, LOL! ------------------ "It was just like Saturday Night Fever, except it was a Friday."

01-11-2001, 07:02 PM	#9
ks Certifiably Insane Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 21, 2000 Location: I live in my hole... Posts: 5,501	LOL! Cokies, that's too funny about Gary! ------------------ ------------- Jo: Things are not going well here...I think I'm gonna have to hit somebody. Natalie: I didn't ask you to stick up for me, Jo. Jo: I think I'm gonna have to hit you. ------------* Beverly Ann: Let's see. It's tomorrow in Africa so if I want to talk to Edna today then I should have called her yesterday... ------------- Blair: The worst thing about falling asleep at the wheel is that I didn't get to see my whole life flash in front of my eyes. Jo: Well that woulda killed ya for sure. ------------*

01-12-2001, 06:48 PM	#10
Michele35 Jazz Girl Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 08, 2000 Location: Los Angeles,CA Posts: 804	I noticed over at the Lifetime 'Division' messageboard that they were getting so many posts about Nancy, Jo, and FOL that they had to start a new board just for Nancy's fans. Seems to me that the 'Jo' hysteria that was so prominent in the '80s has resurfaced with Nick playing FOL every night. There is now a new generation of Jo crazy fans. I read an interview with Lisa Whelchel that basically said that the friends we make when we're young alot of times turn out to be the best and longest lasting friendships, even if it's a friend that we make through tv. I think there is alot of truth in what she said and that alot of people have made a connection at a young age to the character of Jo and will always see Nancy as her FOL character. In the same way I agree that Ron Howard who has had a very successful directing career will always be Richie Cunningham or Opie to many people. It's funny that someone brought up the Ginger character from 'Gilligan's Island' because I had her character in mind when I asked this question. I recall that she basically wanted nothing to do with GI and wouldn't participate in any of the reunion movies for fear of being typecast. I believe she did some B movies but Ginger was probably the role she is most recognized.

01-12-2001, 08:27 PM	#11
80skid smile :) Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 18, 2000 Posts: 971	In a way. TD rocks and I can't wait for the next one, but its like that w/FOL too. She just has such great characters!!!! P.S. Does anyone agree that the two female cops (the new one and the blond one) kinda remind you of Blair and Jo in the sense the blond one's Jo and the new one's Blair... attitudes 2wards 1another, i mean?? (if i'm confusing, sry) ------------------ jo: there's face cream, high heels, and perfume. it's like livin' in a drugstore and i can't get to the check out line! tootie: this is gonna be a great semester... would I lie? molly: oh, a blister, blair. you'll live. jo: so my mom stops the romance by sending me here. tootie: thats one cold mama!

01-12-2001, 10:02 PM	#12
ks Certifiably Insane Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 21, 2000 Location: I live in my hole... Posts: 5,501	LOL! That's incredible! Nancy has a board all to herself I agree Michele that she is getting a whole new fan following since FOL is currently airing on N@N, and LIFETIME's ratings are going to be steady because of all the Nancy fans. 80's kid, I was thinking the same thing about the Jo/Blair relationship. I watch FOL so much I find myself comparing it to everything! Anyway, Jo and CD seem very much alike, and the relationship between the two partners seem to have the same Jo/Blair hostility. I wonder if they'll end up best of friends in the in like Blair and Jo did... ks ------------------ ---------------- Jo: Things are not going well here...I think I'm gonna have to hit somebody. Natalie: I didn't ask you to stick up for me, Jo. Jo: I think I'm gonna have to hit you. ---------------

01-13-2001, 04:05 AM	#13
Miller15 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 12, 2001 Posts: 141	Well, I haven't exactly come up with an in depth analysis of Nancy/Jo/Jinny... but I do have to say that when I was watching The Division, I wasn't comparing Jinny to Jo or anything like that. I was just watching an incredible actress playing yet another role better than anyone else could.

01-13-2001, 06:14 PM	#14
coily2 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 28, 2000 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 969	The whole time watching the Division, I kept comparing both CD and Jinny to Jo. CD is a very likely candidate with as to what Jo could have become 15 years later, although I think Jo is a little warmer than CD. On the other side of the coin, Jinny could have easily been Jo too, if Jo had a couple of bad turns in her life. Her marriage failed, she wasn't performing well at work, all those things could have lead to a transformation to Jinny.

01-13-2001, 08:29 PM	#15
Michele35 Jazz Girl Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 08, 2000 Location: Los Angeles,CA Posts: 804	I think that CD and Angela the new girl are eventually going to become friends, too, 80's kid. They do remind me a bit of Jo/Blair except that Angela is not nearly as snobby as Blair although I don't think CD liked the fact that she was the daughter of a brigadier general, was a college graduate or was married to a doctor. I would definitely say that the CD character is most like Jo when she first started at Eastland.