The Facts of Life Production Guide

[hch]

Hey everyone!

I have been at work putting together an ultimate The Facts of Life episode guide, and while at work, I uncovered some very cool behind the scenes information. After looking at various databases and scripts online of This great show, I have come upon the actual dates that the episodes were VIDEOTAPED, Note that this guide is wholly different from the airing order, but it is so cool to know when they were produced. Thank the Bewitched episode guide (see link for example: http://www.bewitched.net/filmsche.htm#64-65) for turning me on to doing this kind of thing. Well, here they are, I hope that you enjoy them, and for the one who does the episode guide for this show on this website, This is for you!

DATES FROM SCRIPTS, TV SHOW TICKETS, AP Press Photos, Vintage articles, etc

Season 1 (air dates in brackets)
01 - Rough Housing- 8/14/1979 [8/24/1979]
02 - Like Mother, Like Daughter- 8/28/1979 [8/31/1979]
03 - The Return of Mr. Garrett- 9/04/1979 [9/07/1979]
04 - I.Q.- 9/11/1979 [9/14/1979]
05 - Overachieving- 12/04/1979 [3/12/1980]
08 - Emily Dickinson- 12/13/1979 [3/14/1980]
12 - Molly's Holiday- 12/20/1979 [6/04/1980]
07 - Dieting- 1/08/1980 [3/21/1980]
10 - Adoption- 2/12/1980 [4/25/1980]
11 - Running- 2/19/1980 [5/02/1980]
08 - The Facts of Love- 3/11/1980 [04/04/1980]
09 - Flash Flood- 3/25/1980 [4/11/1980]
13 - Dope- 4/01/1980 [6/11/1980]

Season 2
14 - The New Girl (1)- (Nancy McKeon's first show)- 10/14/1980 [11/19/1980]
15 - The New Girl (2)- 10/28/1980 [11/26/1980]
19 - Shoplifting- 11/04/1980 [12/31/1980]
16 - Double Standard- 11/11/1980 [12/10/1980]
17 - Who Am I?- 11/18/1980 [12/17/1980]
18 - Cousin Geri- 11/25/1980 [12/24/1980]
20 - Teenage Marriage (1)- 12/16/1980 [1/07/1981]
21 - Teenage Marriage (2)- 12/23/1980 [1/14/1981]
22 - Gossip- 1/13/1981 [1/21/1981]
23 - Breaking Point- 1/20/1981 [1/28/1981]
24 - Sex Symbol- 1/28/1981 [2/04/1981]
25 - The Secret- 2/03/1981 [2/25/1981]
26 - Bought and Sold- 2/10/1981 [3/04/1981]
27 - Pretty Babies- 2/17/1981 [3/11/1981]
28 - Free Spirit- 3/10/1981 [3/18/1981]
29 - Brian and Sylvia- 3/17/1981 [3/25/1981]

Season 3
37 - From Russia with Love- 9/01/1981 [12/16/1981]
30 - Growing Pains- 9/08/1981 [10/28/1981]
35 - Give and Take- 9/15/1981 [12/02/1981]
45 - The Four Musketeers- 9/29/1981 [2/10/1982]
39 - Cousin Geri Returns- 10/06/1981 [12/30/1981]
31 - Fear Strikes Back- 10/13/1981 [11/04/1981]
33 - A Friend in Deed- 10/20/1981 [11/18/1981]
32 - A Baby in the House- 11/03/1981 [11/11/1981]
34 - Front Page- 11/10/1981 [11/25/1981]
36 - Sweet Sorrow- 11/17/1981 [12/09/1981]
38 - Dear Me- 11/24/1981 [12/23/1981]
40 - Legacy- 12/08/1981 [1/06/1982]
41 - Green-Eyed Monster- 12/15/1981 (Tootie's hair change) [1/13/1982]
42 - The Americanization of Miko- 12/22/1981 [1/20/1982]
43 - The Marriage Brokers- 1/12/1982 [1/27/1982]
44 - Starstruck- 1/19/1982 [2/02/1982]
47 - Runaway- 1/27/1982 [2/24/1982]
46 - The Affair- 2/02/1982 [2/17/1982]
48 - New York, New York- 2/16/1982 [3/03/1982]
49 - Kids Can Be Cruel- 2/23/1982 [3/17/1982]
50 - Mind Your Own Business- 3/02/1982 [3/24/1982]
51 - The Academy- 3/09/1982 [3/31/1982]
53 - Read No Evil- 3/23/1982 [5/05/1982]
52 - Jo's Cousin- 4/06/1982 [4/14/1982]

Season 4
60 - The Sound of Silence- 8/24/1982 [10/27/1982]
65 - Daddy's Girl- 9/03/1982 [12/02/1982]
58 - Ain't Miss Beholden- 9/10/1982 [9/29/1982]
59 - The Source- 9/21/1982 [10/06/1982]
68 - September Song- 9/28/1982 [12/22/1982]
66 - The Big Fight- 10/08/1982 [12/08/1982]
61 - The Oldest Living Graduate- 10/19/1982 [11/03/1982]
62 - Different Drummer- 10/26/1982 [11/10/1982]
63 - Dearest Mommie- 11/02/1982 [11/17/1982]
64 - A Woman's Place- 11/16/1982 [11/24/1982]
67 - For the Asking- 11/23/1982 [12/15/1982]
70 - Magnificent Obsession- 12/07/1982 [1/12/1983]
69 - A Royal Pain- 12/14/1982 [1/05/1983]
71 - Under Pressure- 12/21/1982 [1/19/1983]
72 - Teacher's Pet- 1/11/1983 [1/26/1983]
76 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?- 1/18/1983 [3/09/1983]
73 - Let's Party!- 1/25/1983 [2/09/1983]
74 - Best Sister (1)- 2/08/1983 [2/16/1983]
75 - Best Sister (2)- 2/15/1983 [2/23/1983]
77 - Who's on First?- 2/22/1983 [3/30/1983]
78 - Help from Home- 3/08/1983 [4/06/1983]
79 - Take My Finals, Please- 3/15/1983 [4/27/1983]
80 - Graduation (1)- 3/22/1983 [5/04/1983]
81 - Graduation (2)- 3/29/1983 [5/04/1983]

Season 5
82 - Brave New World (1)- 7/25/1983 [9/21/1983]
83 - Brave New World (2)- 8/02/1983 [9/21/1983]
84 - Gamma Gamma or Bust- 8/16/1983 [9/28/1983]
94 - The Chain Letter- 8/23/1983 [12/28/1983]
85 - Just My Bill- (Kelly Affinado's first show) 8/29/1983 [10/12/1983]
86 - What Price Glory?- 9/13/1983 [10/19/1983]
87 - The Halloween Show- 9/20/1983 [10/26/1983]
90 - Small but Dangerous- 9/27/1983 [11/16/1983]
89 - I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can- (Cliff's first appearance) 10/11/1983 [11/09/1983]
88 - Advance Placement- 10/18/1983 [11/02/1983]
92 - The Second Time Around- 10/25/1983 [12/14/1983]
91 - Store Games- 11/08/1983 [11/30/1983]
95 - Next Door- 11/15/1983 [1/04/1984]
103 - All by Herself- 11/22/1983 [3/14/1984]- (Geri Jewell's last episode aired)
93 - The Christmas Show- 12/06/1983 [12/21/1983]
96 - Crossing the Line- 12/13/1983 [1/11/1984]
102 - Mother and Daughter- 12/20/1983 [2/29/1984]
97 - All or Nothing- 1/10/1984 [1/18/1984]
98 - A Death in the Family- 1/17/1984 [2/01/1984]
99 - Big Fish/Little Fish- 1/24/1984 [2/08/1984]
100 - Star at Langley- (Geri Jewell's last show taped) 2/07/1984 [2/15/1984]
101 - Dream Marriage- 2/14/1984 [2/22/1984]
105 - Joint Custody (100th episode)- 2/21/1984 [5/02/1984]
104 - Seems Like Old Times- 2/28/1984 [3/21/1984]
106 - The Way We Were (1)- 5/01/1984
107 - The Way We Were (2)- 5/01/1984

Season 6
111 - My Boyfriend's Back- (Nancy McKeon missed taping) 7/03/1984 [10/24/1984]
118 - Smile- (Nancy McKeon missed taping) 7/10/1984 [12/05/1984]
122 - Working it Out (Nancy McKeon returns) 7/17/1984 [1/09/1985]
109 - Slices of Life- 8/21/1984 [10/03/1984]
108 - The Summer of '84- 8/28/1984 [9/26/1984]
110 - Love at First Byte- 9/11/1984 [10/17/1984]
113 - Taking a Chance on Love (1)- 9/18/1984 [11/07/1984]
114 - Taking a Chance on Love (2)- 9/25/1984 [11/07/1984]
112 - Cruisin'- 10/02/1984 [10/31/1984]
115 - E.G.O.C. (Edna Garrett on Campus)- 10/16/1984 [11/14/1984]
116 - Dear Apple- 10/23/1984 [11/21/1984]
133 - The Interview Show- 11/06/1984 [5/15/1985]
119 - The Rich Aren't Different- 11/13/1984 [12/12/1984]
117 - Talk, Talk, Talk- 11/20/1984 [11/28/1984]
120 - Christmas in the Big House- 12/04/1984 [12/19/1984]
121 - Me and Eleanor (Andy's first episode and the girls' hairstyle changes)- 12/11/1984 [1/02/1985]
123 - Jazzbeau- 12/18/1984 [1/16/1985]
124 - Two Guys From Appleton (Ryan Cassidy's first episode)- 1/08/1985 [1/23/1985]
125 - With a Little Help From My Friends- 1/15/1985 [1/30/1985]
132 - Bus Stop- 1/22/1985 [5/08/1985]

---Charlotte Rae is absent from these next few episodes---
126 - Gone With the Wind (1)- 2/05/1985 [2/13/1985]
127 - Gone With the Wind (2)- 2/12/1985 [2/20/1985]
128 - Man in the Attic- 2/19/1985 [2/27/1985]
129 - The Last Drive-In- 3/05/1985 [3/13/1985]
130 - Sisters- 3/12/1985 [3/20/1985]
131 - It's Lonely at the Top- 3/19/1985 [3/27/1985]

Season 7
134 - Out of the Fire...- (Edna's Edibles burned) 7/23/1985 [9/14/1985]
135 - Into the Frying Pan- (George's first appearance) 7/30/1985 [9/21/1985]
136 - Grand Opening- (Over our Heads) 8/06/1985 [9/28/1985]
138 - Men for All Seasons- 8/20/1985 [10/19/1985]
137 - Teacher, Teacher- 8/27/1985 [10/05/1985]
139 - A New Life- 9/10/1985 [10/26/1985]
144 - We Get Letters- 9/17/1985 [11/30/1985]
141 - Come Back to the Truck Stop, Natalie Green, Natalie Green- 9/24/1985 [11/09/1985]
140 - Doo-Wah- 10/15/1985 [11/02/1985]
142 - Born Too Late- 10/22/1985 [11/16/1985]
143 - 3, 2, 1- 10/29/1985 [11/23/1985]
145 - Ballroom Dance- 11/12/1985 [12/07/1985]
147 - Tootie Drives- 11/19/1985 [12/21/1985]
146 - Christmas Baby- 12/10/1985 [12/14/1985]
148 - Stake-Out Blues- 12/17/1985 [1/11/1986]

---Charlotte Rae absent from these episodes---
149 - The Agent- 1/07/1986 [1/18/1986]
151 - Concentration- 1/14/1986 [2/08/1986]
150 - The Reunion- 1/28/1986 [2/01/1986]
155 - Big Time Charlie- 2/04/1986 [3/39/1986]
152 - Atlantic City- 2/11/1986 [2/15/1986]
153 - The Lady Who Came to Dinner- (Mindy Cohn absent) 2/18/1986 [2/22/1986]
154 - The Candidate- 2/25/1986 [3/01/1986]

----Charlotte Rae returns------
156 - The Graduate- 3/18/1986 [5/03/1986]
157 - The Apartment- 3/25/1986 [5/10/1986]

Season 8 (Regarding the piano)
158 - Out of Peekskill (1) (piano is there at the beginning)- 7/22/1986 [9/27/1986]
159 - Out of Peekskill (2) (piano is there at the end)- 7/29/1986 [9/27/1986]
160 - Ready or Not (white desk)- 8/21/1986 [10/04/1986]
167 - Where's Poppa? (white desk)- 8/28/1986 [12/06/1986]
161 - Another Room- (room built and white desk thing) 9/02/1986 [10/11/1986]
168 - Write and Wrong (Piano is There and remains)- 9/09/1986 [12/13/1986]
162 - Off-Broadway Baby- 10/14/1986 [11/01/1986]
163 - The Little Chill- 10/21/1986 [11/08/1986]
164 - The Ratings Game- 10/28/1986 [11/15/1986]
166 - Fast Food- 11/11/1986 [11/29/1986]
165 - The Wedding Day- 11/18/1986 [11/22/1986]
169 - Seven Little Indians- 11/25/1986 [1/03/1987]
170 - The Greek Connection- 12/09/1986 [1/10/1987]
173 - A Winter's Tale- 12/16/1986 [2/07/1987]
171 - Post-Christmas Card- 1/13/1987 [1/17/1987]
172 - A Star is Torn- (George's last episode) 1/20/1987 [1/31/1987]
174 - Cupid's Revenge- 2/03/1987 [2/14/1987]
176 - Boy About the House- 2/10/1987 [2/28/1987]
175 - 62 Pick-Up- 2/17/1987 [2/21/1987]
177 - Ex Marks the Spot- 2/24/1987 [3/07/1987]
178 - Younger Than Springtime- 3/10/1987 [3/21/1987]
179 - This is Only a Test- 3/17/1987 [4/18/1987]
180 - Rites of Passage (1)- 3/24/1987 [5/02/1987]
181 - Rites of Passage (2)- 3/31/1987 [5/09/1987]

Season 9
188 - Rumor Has It- 6/02/1987 [10/17/1987]
193 - A Rose by Any Other Age- 6/09/1987 [11/28/1987]
186 - Down and Out in Malibu (1)- 6/16/1987 [9/26/1987]
187 - Down and Out in Malibu (2)- 6/23/1987 [10/03/1987]
189 - Before the Fall- 7/21/1987 [10/24/1987]
196 - Golden Oldies- 7/28/1987 [1/02/1988]
190 - Sweet Charity- 8/04/1987 [11/07/1987]
192 - The More the Marrier (Snake's first appearance)- 8/18/1987 [11/21/1987]
195 - It's a Wonderful Christmas- (Sherrie Krenn's first taped episode) 8/25/1987 [12/12/1987]
191 - Up from Down Under- 9/01/1987 [11/14/1987]
197 - A Thousand Frowns- (Rick Bonner's first episode) 9/08/1987 [1/09/1988]
194 - Adventures in Baileysitting- (Tootie and Jeff are engaged) 9/22/1987 [12/05/1987]
200 - A House Divided- 9/29/1987 [1/30/1988]
203 - Less Than Perfect- 10/20/1987 [2/20/1988]
201 - The First Time- 10/27/1987 [2/06/1988]
202 - Let's Face the Music- 11/10/1987 [2/13/1988]
198 - Something in Common- 11/17/1987 [1/16/1988]
199 - Peekskill Law- 11/24/1987 [1/23/1988]
206 - On the Edge- 12/08/1987 [3/12/1988]
205 - Present Imperfect- (mention of Jo and Rick as newlyweds) 12/15/1987 [3/05/1988]
207 - Big Apple Blues- 1/19/1988 [3/19/1988]
204 - Till Marriage Do Us Part- (Jo and Rick's wedding) 1/26/1988 [2/27/1988]
208 - The Beginning of the End- 2/12/1988 [4/30/1988]
209 - The Beginning of the Beginning- 3/02/1988 [5/07/1988]

Ta DA!

[TV_on_the_Porch]

A bit of trivia about #61 'The Oldest Living Graduate': the TV Guide for the week this episode aired went on sale a mere six days after it was taped. Beneath the encapsulated description was a notice that Amzie Strickland was a "last minute replacement for Margaret Hamilton" in the title role. NBC had placed an ad for the episode with emphasis on Margaret Hamilton's appearance in it--for what would have been her last role; she never acted again.

[hch]

Originally Posted by TV_on_the_Porch

A bit of trivia about #61 'The Oldest Living Graduate': the TV Guide for the week this episode aired went on sale a mere six days after it was taped. Beneath the encapsulated description was a notice that Amzie Strickland was a "last minute replacement for Margaret Hamilton" in the title role. NBC had placed an ad for the episode with emphasis on Margaret Hamilton's appearance in it--for what would have been her last role; she never acted again.

Well, I would chalk it up to say that "The Oldest Living Graduate" was supposed to aired 6 days after it was taped, but was pushed back for a later airing. I read the old TV guides too and most listings do not necessarily reflect what actually airs. I made that mistake when putting together an episode guide for Soul Train- they had episodes airings up and down the scale. Luckily a good friend helped me to discern the confusing data into what makes good sense.

You were right about the Margaret Hamilton billing though.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

The episode aired as scheduled; TV Guide always hit newsstands the Monday prior to the Saturday-Friday listing period. I had just always wondered exactly how much/little time elapsed between placing an ad promoting Miss Hamilton for a sweeps week episode and the certainty that she would not be appearing in it. The answer is...enough time to pull the ad considering the taping without her was a fait accompli days prior to publication--not after. Seems an odd decision not to pull the ad if there was not in fact sufficient time to rework it, but NBC did neither.

[OldBiddy]

I see that Seasons 3-9 had about 26-28 episodes each but Seasons 1 and 2 were short. I know why Season 1 was short but why was Season 2 so short (only 16 episodes)?

[BigManMike]

I think that was the year they had the writers strike. Many shows had less episodes that season.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by OldBiddy

I see that Seasons 3-9 had about 26-28 episodes each but Seasons 1 and 2 were short. I know why Season 1 was short but why was Season 2 so short (only 16 episodes)?

An actors strike delayed the start of the 1980-81 season. Some shows didn't have full seasons that year. The FOL didn't start their new shows until late November so they were one of the ones with a shortened season. Some other shows that started in October were able to have complete seasons.

[Vahan]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-TV-S...72849144223344

While I was going through Ebay, I found copies of tickets to the November 18, 1986 taping of the show. I think this production guides needs some correction.

If I find any other FOL taping tickets that do not correspond with the information in the OP, I'll be sure to mention it.

[hch]

Originally Posted by Vahan

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-TV-S...72849144223344

While I was going through Ebay, I found copies of tickets to the November 18, 1986 taping of the show. I think this production guides needs some correction.

If I find any other FOL taping tickets that do not correspond with the information in the OP, I'll be sure to mention it.

Thank you for that info! I will correct it as soon as possible!

166 - Fast Food- 11/11/1986 [11/29/1986]
165 - The Wedding Day- 11/18/1986 [11/22/1986]
169 - Seven Little Indians- 11/25/1986 [1/03/1987]

[jehobden]

This is a nice compilation that you have here. A few books on tv shows, like those for I Love Lucy & The Dick Van Dyke Show, include all episode film dates, and "Come and Knock on Our Door" lists all Three's Company episode tape dates for the last four seasons. I have compiled a list of all The Lucy Show film dates from Seasons 1-4 from the DVDs for that series as well.

['80sSitcoms]

This fascinates me; thank you for doing this, hch. Sometime when I go through the series again, I would love to watch the episodes in this order, the order in which they were actually filmed, to really see just how the show and characters progressed (of course, we don't have dates for when scripts were written, but still, it'd be neat to at least watch them in the order they were taped).

['80sSitcoms]

[80s Dude]

I was watching the Adoption episode yesterday and saw that for Molly's family tree project that she used the promo photo of herself from Molly's Holiday, an episode that didn't air until a few weeks later. So it was obvious that the production sequence and airing sequence were completely different.

[Lorimar Television]

Ooh nice thread!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

I was watching the Adoption episode yesterday and saw that for Molly's family tree project that she used the promo photo of herself from Molly's Holiday, an episode that didn't air until a few weeks later. So it was obvious that the production sequence and airing sequence were completely different.

Oops!