Why didn't Lisa appear in "The First Time"? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Joshua1991 · 09-29-2012, 03:53 PM

Was there ever an official reason on why Lisa Whelchel didn't appear in the episode from season 9; "The First Time"? The episode where Natalie looses her virginity

Prince Michael · 09-29-2012, 05:49 PM

Lisa Whelchel was a born -- again Christian, and born -- again Christians don't think young girls should lose their virginity before marriage . When the writers first imagined this episode, they pictured Blair ( Lisa Whelchel ) being the girl to lose her virginity . Lisa Whelchel refused to have any part of that idea, and the episode was re -- written for Natalie ( Mindy Cohn ) . This was the only episode Lisa Whelchel didn't appear in .

There was one episode where Mrs . Garrett ( Charlotte Rae ) and the girls were having a classroom discussion about sex . One girl claimed her husband would teach her "everything she needed to know" . Blair said "I'd like to teach MY husband a thing or two !" . I guess it was all right for her to talk about it, but not actually go through with it .

Finally, I knew why Lisa Whelchel wasn't in this episode, which is why I decided to answer your question . I checked Wikipedia to make sure I spelled her name right, and they featured a paragraph explaining that this episode was originally written for Blair, and Lisa Whelchel refused to go along with it, so I received extra information without looking for it .

DarkDante · 09-30-2012, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prince Michael

Lisa Whelchel was a born -- again Christian, and born -- again Christians don't think young girls should lose their virginity before marriage . When the writers first imagined this episode, they pictured Blair ( Lisa Whelchel ) being the girl to lose her virginity . Lisa Whelchel refused to have any part of that idea, and the episode was re -- written for Natalie ( Mindy Cohn ) . This was the only episode Lisa Whelchel didn't appear in .

There was one episode where Mrs . Garrett ( Charlotte Rae ) and the girls were having a classroom discussion about sex . One girl claimed her husband would teach her "everything she needed to know" . Blair said "I'd like to teach MY husband a thing or two !" . I guess it was all right for her to talk about it, but not actually go through with it .

Finally, I knew why Lisa Whelchel wasn't in this episode, which is why I decided to answer your question . I checked Wikipedia to make sure I spelled her name right, and they featured a paragraph explaining that this episode was originally written for Blair, and Lisa Whelchel refused to go along with it, so I received extra information without looking for it .

Actually Blair didn't say that line, that line belonged to Molly Ringwald.

But the gist of your post is on the mark, in that episode Blair advocated a more adventurous lifestyle while Sue Ann advocated conservatism.

The thing about the character about Blair though as she flatly states in the first episode of the series is that she was a tease. She would toy with a guy's emotions but that is about far as she went as I can recall.

DJM77 · 09-30-2012, 02:41 PM

I was a little suprised that Lisa didn't have a problem with Blair playing with a weegie board in that first season episode. Maybe Lisa hadn't established her Christian beliefs yet at that point.

glickmam · 09-30-2012, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM77

I was a little suprised that Lisa didn't have a problem with Blair playing with a weegie board in that first season episode. Maybe Lisa hadn't established her Christian beliefs yet at that point.

Actually, she had established her Christian beliefs at that point. She just didn't have any clout at that point. Keep in mind, unless you generally have name power in Hollywood, you're not really in a position to question the decisions of the writers and/or producers of your movie or show.

Johnny be good! · 09-30-2012, 05:44 PM

Very true.

JoPol_wannabe · 10-01-2012, 09:19 PM

You know Lisa gets allot of respect from me for making that choice I know there are allot of shows where people go off and lose there virginity like the soap opera I watch, the young teenagers/adults are all having sex on that show. It's just nice to see that she stuck to her religious beliefs and that she didn't want to go around posing as someone who thinks it's ok even if it's acting cause there are allot of young girls that watch this show and she wanted to be the good Christian role model and I applauded her for that. But I will admit I do like that episode though.

AnnaMarie · 10-02-2012, 02:36 PM

Yes, I respect her decision, too. I'm always a little surprised and somewhat disgusted that people in sitcoms from Friends onwards just simply sleep with each other on their FIRST date. I'm sure it's not like that really...

Oh, and that episode was good...I especially liked the Jo/Nat dialogues. Very rare

icecream · 10-02-2012, 03:26 PM

Good for her making that decision. But I wonder why she didn't have a problem with the episode where they went to a strip club.

ABlairican Pie · 10-02-2012, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM77

I was a little suprised that Lisa didn't have a problem with Blair playing with a weegie board in that first season episode. Maybe Lisa hadn't established her Christian beliefs yet at that point.

Actually, it's called a Ouija board, but pretty much pronounced the same.

I also thought that was rather strange for Lisa to do that. Plus, she also smoked in an another episode, and was rather aggressive with a guy in a van, in a, err, non-Platonic sense.

DarkDante · 10-02-2012, 11:11 PM

This has probably been explained before but the episode that dealt with the loss of virginity, Lisa's problem with it wasn't so much her Christian beliefs but she felt it was going to send a message to her fans that losing your virginity is something that every teenager goes through.

Lisa thought that putting that message out was wrong and while I'm sure her religious beliefs had something to do with those convictions I'm sure the fact that she realized that she had a young following of fans probably had something to do with that as well.

JoPol_wannabe · 10-03-2012, 01:08 AM

And you know what else I noticed that the last season when Lisa was more into her religious beliefs and bringing that more into her acting I noticed that she didn't kiss on the lips there was one ep where Blair and Casey started realizing they liked each other and they were at the Girl's house and they were going to kiss and Casey kissed Blair on the forehead then the cheek and the chin not the lips and then Jo walks in and catches them kissing and said doesn't he know where your lips are. I also think everytime after that when Casey was going to kiss her he kissed her like that not on the lips.

Johnny be good! · 10-03-2012, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoPol_wannabe

And you know what else I noticed that the last season when Lisa was more into her religious beliefs and bringing that more into her acting I noticed that she didn't kiss on the lips there was one ep where Blair and Casey started realizing they liked each other and they were at the Girl's house and they were going to kiss and Casey kissed Blair on the forehead then the cheek and the chin not the lips and then Jo walks in and catches them kissing and said doesn't he know where your lips are. I also think everytime after that when Casey was going to kiss her he kissed her like that not on the lips.

Exactly.

AnnaMarie · 10-03-2012, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkDante

This has probably been explained before but the episode that dealt with the loss of virginity, Lisa's problem with it wasn't so much her Christian beliefs but she felt it was going to send a message to her fans that losing your virginity is something that every teenager goes through.

Lisa thought that putting that message out was wrong and while I'm sure her religious beliefs had something to do with those convictions I'm sure the fact that she realized that she had a young following of fans probably had something to do with that as well.

Still, in the strip-club episode, she was clearly enjoying the experience to the max. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's got to send some kind of message to the audience about both male and female strip clubs, no? am i also right in believing that Christian values would be against this sort of thing? I'm not a Christian, so I don't know

Ian905 · 10-04-2012, 02:25 AM

As DarkDante explained, Lisa felt that the episode in question was blatantly promoting premarital sex as something that was fine to do, and she couldn't agree with that and opted out of that episode.

The strip club episode didn't necessarily promote strip clubs because it sort of ended on a sour note, with the girls realizing that they were treating the men like objects.

The important thing to realize is that Lisa didn't refuse to do any scene that went against Christian morals, Blair did many things through out the entire series that would frowned upon by a devout Christian. Lisa knew she was playing a role, and that "Blair" had different beliefs than Lisa. It was just the sex episode she had an issue with, and not purely from a Christian stand point but also from a moral standpoint.

09-29-2012, 03:53 PM	#1
Joshua1991 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 25, 2012 Location: U.S. Posts: 18	Why didn't Lisa appear in "The First Time"? Was there ever an official reason on why Lisa Whelchel didn't appear in the episode from season 9; "The First Time"? The episode where Natalie looses her virginity

09-30-2012, 02:41 PM	#4
DJM77 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: May 15, 2001 Location: Missouri Posts: 5,564	I was a little suprised that Lisa didn't have a problem with Blair playing with a weegie board in that first season episode. Maybe Lisa hadn't established her Christian beliefs yet at that point.
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09-30-2012, 05:44 PM	#6
Johnny be good! Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2007 Location: Westland, Michigan Posts: 1,633	Very true.
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10-02-2012, 03:26 PM	#9
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,762	Good for her making that decision. But I wonder why she didn't have a problem with the episode where they went to a strip club.
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09-29-2012, 05:49 PM	#2
Prince Michael Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 26, 2011 Location: Helena, Montana Posts: 296	Lisa Whelchel was a born -- again Christian, and born -- again Christians don't think young girls should lose their virginity before marriage . When the writers first imagined this episode, they pictured Blair ( Lisa Whelchel ) being the girl to lose her virginity . Lisa Whelchel refused to have any part of that idea, and the episode was re -- written for Natalie ( Mindy Cohn ) . This was the only episode Lisa Whelchel didn't appear in . There was one episode where Mrs . Garrett ( Charlotte Rae ) and the girls were having a classroom discussion about sex . One girl claimed her husband would teach her "everything she needed to know" . Blair said "I'd like to teach MY husband a thing or two !" . I guess it was all right for her to talk about it, but not actually go through with it . Finally, I knew why Lisa Whelchel wasn't in this episode, which is why I decided to answer your question . I checked Wikipedia to make sure I spelled her name right, and they featured a paragraph explaining that this episode was originally written for Blair, and Lisa Whelchel refused to go along with it, so I received extra information without looking for it .

10-01-2012, 09:19 PM	#7
JoPol_wannabe Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 11, 2001 Location: Nebraska Posts: 3,036	You know Lisa gets allot of respect from me for making that choice I know there are allot of shows where people go off and lose there virginity like the soap opera I watch, the young teenagers/adults are all having sex on that show. It's just nice to see that she stuck to her religious beliefs and that she didn't want to go around posing as someone who thinks it's ok even if it's acting cause there are allot of young girls that watch this show and she wanted to be the good Christian role model and I applauded her for that. But I will admit I do like that episode though.

10-02-2012, 02:36 PM	#8
AnnaMarie Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 17, 2012 Posts: 87	Yes, I respect her decision, too. I'm always a little surprised and somewhat disgusted that people in sitcoms from Friends onwards just simply sleep with each other on their FIRST date. I'm sure it's not like that really... Oh, and that episode was good...I especially liked the Jo/Nat dialogues. Very rare

10-02-2012, 11:11 PM	#11
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	This has probably been explained before but the episode that dealt with the loss of virginity, Lisa's problem with it wasn't so much her Christian beliefs but she felt it was going to send a message to her fans that losing your virginity is something that every teenager goes through. Lisa thought that putting that message out was wrong and while I'm sure her religious beliefs had something to do with those convictions I'm sure the fact that she realized that she had a young following of fans probably had something to do with that as well.

10-03-2012, 01:08 AM	#12
JoPol_wannabe Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 11, 2001 Location: Nebraska Posts: 3,036	And you know what else I noticed that the last season when Lisa was more into her religious beliefs and bringing that more into her acting I noticed that she didn't kiss on the lips there was one ep where Blair and Casey started realizing they liked each other and they were at the Girl's house and they were going to kiss and Casey kissed Blair on the forehead then the cheek and the chin not the lips and then Jo walks in and catches them kissing and said doesn't he know where your lips are. I also think everytime after that when Casey was going to kiss her he kissed her like that not on the lips.

10-04-2012, 02:25 AM	#15
Ian905 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 07, 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 67	As DarkDante explained, Lisa felt that the episode in question was blatantly promoting premarital sex as something that was fine to do, and she couldn't agree with that and opted out of that episode. The strip club episode didn't necessarily promote strip clubs because it sort of ended on a sour note, with the girls realizing that they were treating the men like objects. The important thing to realize is that Lisa didn't refuse to do any scene that went against Christian morals, Blair did many things through out the entire series that would frowned upon by a devout Christian. Lisa knew she was playing a role, and that "Blair" had different beliefs than Lisa. It was just the sex episode she had an issue with, and not purely from a Christian stand point but also from a moral standpoint.