Do You Think 'The Facts Of Life' Should Have Added Dana Plato to the Original Cast?

[Brian Damage]

Do you think the original premise would have lasted longer than one season if Dana was added along with Charlotte Rae?

[old grouch]

I think 'The Facts of Life' could have had Kimberly on occasionally because she went to school at Eastland, but not as a regular character. On 'Diff'rent Strokes', her role was a lot more important because part of the show was having Arnold and Willis adjust to having a new sister, especially one who was wealthy and white. On 'Facts', Kimberly would have just gotten lost in a sea of giggly school girls.

[Mr. Television]

I think that would have done Dana a world of good to be around other kid actors who weren't getting in trouble. I don't know if the first season would have been any more successful though. There were just too many regulars. They had to cut the cast down. I do think that she could have fit right in. Although I think Dana was an important member of DS, the show could have survived as long as they had Gary Coleman.

[Prince Michael]

Originally Posted by old grouch

I think 'The Facts of Life' could have had Kimberly on occasionally because she went to school at Eastland, but not as a regular character. On 'Diff'rent Strokes', her role was a lot more important because part of the show was having Arnold and Willis adjust to having a new sister, especially one who was wealthy and white. On 'Facts', Kimberly would have just gotten lost in a sea of giggly school girls.

There was a similar discussion on the Diff'rent Strokes board about this same subject . I remember one episode of Diff'rent Strokes where Mr . Drummond said that Kimberly goes to boarding school and comes home on the weekends . I later watched The Facts of Life where Mrs . Garrett rode herd on a bunch of girls at a boarding school . It took me a while to realize that the school on The Facts of Life was the self -- same school that Kimberly attended . I never saw the episode that introduced Mrs . Garrett and Eastland .

Since Arnold and Willis visited The Facts of Life and Blair, Natalie, and Tootie visited Diff'rent Strokes, Kimberly should have appeared on The Facts of Life a few times a season . She could have been seen visiting Mrs Garrett, and say something like "I'll tell Daddy I saw you !" .

I read where Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie stole an Eastland van, visited a bar, and got arrested . I thought the four girls did some damage to Eastland school property, so they had to live together in a spare room next to Mrs . Garrett's bedroom, and work in the cafeteria for Mrs . Garrett to pay for the damage .

I remember one episode where Mrs . Garrett announced to the girls that their debt was paid . The girls were all looking forward to moving into the dorms . They wound up having a food fight, throwing flour all over each other, so they wound up at square one, having to work for Mrs . Garrett and pay off a debt . This element diminished in importance over the run of the series, and the four girls and Mrs . Garrett probably felt like a family at one point, so they didn't want to seperate .

If Kimberly wasn't part of the situation where Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie stole an Eastland van and visited a bar / the damage to Eastland school property, she wouldn't have had to work for Mrs . Garrett to pay off a debt . She could still be friends with Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie and Mrs . Garrett . I'm always interested in seeing how fictional characters work with each other, so I can would have liked to see Kimberly Drummond, Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie and Mrs . Garrett together more often . Kimberly's part on Diff'rent Strokes probably WAS more important, but making her a semi -- regular on The Facts of Life would have added a lot to the show .

[candycandy]

Originally Posted by Prince Michael

There was a similar discussion on the Diff'rent Strokes board about this same subject . I remember one episode of Diff'rent Strokes where Mr . Drummond said that Kimberly goes to boarding school and comes home on the weekends . I later watched The Facts of Life where Mrs . Garrett rode herd on a bunch of girls at a boarding school . It took me a while to realize that the school on The Facts of Life was the self -- same school that Kimberly attended . I never saw the episode that introduced Mrs . Garrett and Eastlend .

Since Arnold and Willis visited The Facts of Life and Blair, Natalie, and Tootie visited Diff'rent Strokes, Kimberly should have appeared on The Facts of Life a few times a season . She could have been seen visiting Mrs Garrett, and say something like "I'll tell Daddy I saw you !" .

Hi there! I just read your interesting post & i was wondering if you could tell me the name of the DS episode where BLAIR, NAT & TOOTIE go & visit KIMBERLY (i ve heard about it but, because i only bought the season 1 of DS i v never watch the rest): is it on season 2 or what? is MRS. G also still leaving at the Drummonds or is she already gone?
Please answer asap cos i m a big fan of the sitcom!Thanks

I read where Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie stole an Eastland van, visited a bar, and got arrested . I thought the four girls did some damage to Eastland school property, so they had to live together in a spare room next to Mrs . Garrett's bedroom, and work in the cafeteria for Mrs . Garrett to pay for the damage .

I remember one episode where Mrs . Garrett announced to the girls that their debt was paid . The girls were all looking forward to moving into the dorms . They wound up having a food fight, throwing flour all over each other, so they wound up at square one, having to work for Mrs . Garrett and pay off a debt . This element diminished in importance over the run of the series, and the four girls and Mrs . Garrett probably felt like a family at one point, so they didn't want to seperate .

If Kimberly wasn't part of the situation where Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie stole an Eastland van and visited a bar / the damage to Eastland school property, she wouldn't have had to work for Mrs . Garrett to pay off a debt . She could still be friends with Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie and Mrs . Garrett . I'm always interested in seeing how fictional characters work with each other, so I can would have liked to see Kimberly Drummond, Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie and Mrs . Garrett together more often . Kimberly's part on Diff'rent Strokes probably WAS more important, but making her a semi -- regular on The Facts of Life would have added a lot to the show .

[candycandy]

Hi everyone!
Could someone tell me the name of the episode on DS where BLAIR, NAT & TOOTIE visit KIMBERLY + if MRS. G is also there? (i only have season 1 of DS ) I m a big fan of all the characters, so i would really appreciate it, if only i could have the title of this particular episode asap! thank you very much devoted fans!

['80sSitcoms]

I think the producers and writers should have had Kimberly make a few guest appearances during seasons 2-4. Arnold and even Willis appeared on the show, so it's flabbergasting to realize Kimberly---who attended the school---never did. Very strange...especially when you consider they had Mrs. Garrett attend Mr. Drummond's wedding a few seasons later.

So my opinion: regular, no---recurring or even occasional, yes.

[Prince Michael]

I've watched a few episodes of The Facts of Life on YouTube . When I was watching the The Facts of Life during the 1980s, I wondered why none of the teachers at Eastland ever had trouble pronouncing Jo Polniaczek's name . I know they had to go to college, but that doesn't make "Polniaczek" any easier to pronounce .

I knew Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie stole an Eastland van, visited a bar, and got arrested . The van got damaged, so they had to live together in a spare room next to Mrs . Garrett's bedroom, and work in the cafeteria for Mrs . Garrett to pay for the damage . I didn't know there was an episode that depicted these events . I thought it was decided by the writers and producers when they wanted to slightly revise the show for the second season .

When Mad Magazine did their version of The Facts of Life, their story explained that the girls did some damage to Eastland property, so they had to work for Mrs . Garrett and pay off the the debt . One character said "If our parents can send us to a private school, why can't they pay for the damage we did ?" . That was apparently a plot hole . I thought "Their parents thought the girls should to pay for the damage themselves and learn their lesson !" .

I saw the episode that introduced Jo Polniaczek where the girls stole the van, visited the bar, got arrested, and wound up living together in the spare room next to Mrs . Garrett's bedroom, and working for Mrs . Garrett . Blair had trouble pronouncing "Polniaczek" at first .

When Mrs . Garrett told the girls "You'll have to live in my spare room where I can keep an eye on you, and you'll work in my cafeteria until your debt's paid !", Blair said her mother could pay for the damage all by herself . Mrs . Garrett said "No, your parents all think you girls should to pay for the damage yourselves and learn your lesson !" .

I also watched the episode where Mrs . Garrett announced to the girls that their debt was paid, and the girls were all able to move into the dorms . I thought they had a food fight and found themselves owing Mrs . Garrett a lot of money, so they had to keep living in the same old room and work in the cafeteria . Instead of a food fight, the girls were painting their room and getting it ready for their replacements, and they wound up fighting and painting each other . The floor had to be stripped and revarnished, and they had to pay for the paint, so they had to move back into their old room and keep working for Mrs . Garrett all over again . Obviously, I need to get and watch the DVDs .

[Prince Michael]

Candy -- Blair Warner and Natalie Green appeared in Diff'rent Strokes episode # 65 ( "The Older Man" ) from the third season . Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey appeared in episode # 51 ( "The Bank Job" ), also from the third season, and episodes # 74 ( "First Day Blues" ) and # 76 ( "The Team" ) from the fourth season . I forgot that Arnold used to have a crush on Tootie . ( Opens a nice, cold bottle of Mountain Dew and takes a drink ) By the same token, Mindy Cohn ( Natalie Green ), Julie Anne Haddock ( Cindy Webster ), Kim Fields ( Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey ), and Molly Ringwald ( Molly Parker ) appeared in episode # 48 of Diff'rent Strokes ( "The Slumber Party" ) .

[candycandy]

Originally Posted by Prince Michael

Candy -- Blair Warner and Natalie Green appeared in Diff'rent Strokes episode # 65 ( "The Older Man" ) from the third season . Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey appeared in episode # 51 ( "The Bank Job" ), also from the third season, and episodes # 74 ( "First Day Blues" ) and # 76 ( "The Team" ) from the fourth season . I forgot that Arnold used to have a crush on Tootie . ( Opens a nice, cold bottle of Mountain Dew and takes a drink ) By the same token, Mindy Cohn ( Natalie Green ), Julie Anne Haddock ( Cindy Webster ), Kim Fields ( Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey ), and Molly Ringwald ( Molly Parker ) appeared in episode # 48 of Diff'rent Strokes ( "The Slumber Party" ) .

THANKS!

[TVFactFan]

I wish I can ask the producer of DS why the hell did the FOL appear on DS more than once but Kimberly never appeared on FOL???

[Bronson]

If not move her to the Facts of Live least having Kimberly showing up now and again might have been great. Especially when they all graduated.

[TVFactFan]

Another mystery

Willis appears on Facts of Life and barely knows the girls but Kimberly never appears

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Prince Michael

Since Arnold and Willis visited The Facts of Life and Blair, Natalie, and Tootie visited Diff'rent Strokes, Kimberly should have appeared on The Facts of Life a few times a season . She could have been seen visiting Mrs Garrett, and say something like "I'll tell Daddy I saw you !"

Yep. It was weird that the one person on Diff'rent Strokes who actually attended Eastland/lake was only seen once at Eastland/lake. Still, it was cool that they did do crossovers, bringing Arnold and Willis over to Eastland a few times, Kimberly and Mr. Drummond once, and Blair, Natalie, Tootie, Cindy, and Molly over to Diff'rent Strokes once or twice each.

It was uncommon on sitcoms back then for there to be any real continuity. This was a real attempt at continuity (and I'm sure the network believed these crossovers would help with ratings).

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Yep. It was weird that the one person on Diff'rent Strokes who actually attended Eastland/lake was only seen once at Eastland/lake. Still, it was cool that they did do crossovers, bringing Arnold and Willis over to Eastland a few times, Kimberly and Mr. Drummond once, and Blair, Natalie, Tootie, Cindy, and Molly over to Diff'rent Strokes once or twice each.

It was uncommon on sitcoms back then for there to be any real continuity. This was a real attempt at continuity (and I'm sure the network believed these crossovers would help with ratings).

Mr. Drummond and Arnold never appeared on FOL, that was a Different Strokes episode

Only Willis appeared on FOL