Favorite 10 Eastland Episodes?

[RetroGuy2000]

The Eastland years were arguably the show's best years, with multiple award nominations of most of the cast during those years. So what are your top 10 episodes from that era?

(I'll post mine soon).

[RetroGuy2000]

1. "Front Page" - an interesting concept: Jo thinks a teacher is treating her unfairly, but as it turns out, the teacher thinks she has talent for journalism. But by the time Jo learns this, she had ruined his career. Ironically, this is one of the few Eastland episodes which takes place in the classroom.

2. "Teacher's Pet" - Jo learns that a teacher she loves is going to die. Nancy McKeon really shines in this episode, and it's a good example of her acting range, even at that young age.

3. "Running" - A rare moment for Julie Pie and Julie Anne to shine, the story of an adolescent friendship ripped apart by an adult mentor isn't one you often come across on television, but it's a story that does happen in real life.

4. "Cousin Geri" - A pretty ground-breaking moment for this show was casting someone with a major disability in a recurring role. The producers are to be commended for their gamble. The fact that it turns out that Blair is jealous of Geri, rather than embarrassed by her, makes a nice twist to the plot.

5. "Rough Housing" - Another ground-breaking episode, this very first episode of the show touched upon something that was strictly verboten on family television in that era: a teen girl (who is a main character) questions her sexual orientation. This show never tackled anything nearly as controversial during the next nine seasons, and Julie Anne Haddock is to be commended for taking on a role that must have been difficult to handle at her young age.

6. "Gossip" - A nice reunion for the Lost Girls, at least one of them got a decent part in the episode. This was Felice Schachter's best episode.

7. "The Source" - This would rank higher up the list for me if Natalie had written about a real girl having an abortion, instead of making one up.

8. "Take My Finals, Please" - This one is just funny.

9. "Double Standard" - This one really set up the Blair/Jo friendship for the rest of the series. It's also got a good example of Nancy McKeon's ability to convincingly cry on cue.

10. "Dieting" - I hate the ridiculous "cafeteria" in this episode (which could seat no more than ten students), but this episode is otherwise quite good. Funny where it needs to be, serious in the other parts.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

5. "Rough Housing" - Another ground-breaking episode, this very first episode of the show touched upon something that was strictly verboten on family television in that era: a teen girl (who is a main character) questions her sexual orientation. This show never tackled anything nearly as controversial during the next nine seasons

Hmm, I dunno, I would say suicide is just as, if not more, controversial. I remember that was one of the episodes that N@N took out of its FOL run when it aired the show; I can't remember for sure if they showed "Rough Housing", but I wanna say I'm pretty sure they did.

I still can't believe N@N wouldn't air a few FOL episodes they thought "too controversial". Utterly ridiculous.

By the way, this is a great idea for a thread---but I can't pick just ten! lol I went through the episode list on Wikipedia and the count just kept building and building and building, lol. Kudos to those who can narrow it down to a Top 10.

[Kasey]

1. "Take My Finals, Please": Surprising that this should claim my top spot considering it's simple premise and the fact it almost entirely takes place in the girls bedroom, but there it is. Fun and memorable with too many classic lines to mention.

2. "The Four Musketeers": Great premise with the girls allowed to go their separate ways and the script offers a believable solution to keep them together thanks to the classic slapstick paint fight scene at the climax.

3. "Starstuck": Yes, it's totally over-the-top with Tootie's increasingly hysterical behaviour, but that's why I love it!

4. "Runaway": See above but the exchanges between the other three in the alley and the diner also make the episode for me. Best line reading goes to Natalie for "Which two?".

5. "Kids Can Be Cruel": Great premise in which everyone shines; especially Jo's exasperation at "X-rated cookies; mangled mobiles".

6. "New York, New York": Great episode that shows some nice character development for both Blair and Jo and the bond that indeed is growing between them despite their differences.

7. ""Green-Eyed Monster": I love the episodes that showcase the conflicts between the girls and this time Nat and Tootie take their turn fighting it out. The coconut scene is hilarious.

8. "The New Girl": Second-best season-opener of the series (behind S5's "Brave New World") and terrific introduction for Nancy McKeon which sets up how the famous four came to be roomies.

9. "Dope": My favorite episode of S1 and while the acting may not be up to par, the one-liners are LOL funny (Mrs G: "Sue Anne, what've you been smokin'?").

10. "Mind Your Own Business": Love Nat's delight as she concocts her revenge on that "air-brained witch" Blair for reading her diary.

[fol_fan1989]

1. "Teacher's Pet": Nancy McKeon shined in this episode, as a previous poster said. It gave the viewer a taste of her range as an actress.
2. "Take My Finals, Please": This episode was just funny. Smiles.
3. "Double Standard": This episode did well at setting up the relationship between Jo and Blair, and we see Jo break down with Mrs. G.
4. "Green-Eyed Monster": I liked seeing the conflict between Natalie and Tootie. Also the scene with the coconuts and Jo's "Natalie, nice girls don't throw trees!"
5. "The New Girl": A great introduction to Jo's character and the episode(s) that set up the girls living together.
6. "Magnificent Obsession": While I didn't like how Blair let Chad treat her, I liked the final scenes between Jo and Blair.
7. "Three Muskateers": The paint fight at the end made this episode.
8. "Cousin Jerry": This was a groundbreaking episode. I kind of wish Jerry could have been featured in more episodes after this one; she only appeared in a handful after this episode. I also like how at the end Blair comes around.
9. "For the Asking": I thought Natalie was funny in this episode.
10. "Graduation": A great end to an era. The best part comes at the end where they get gifts from Mrs. G (Jo: "Blair." Blair: "Well, you got your rock.") and when they all say they'll really still be friends, which, of course, they are!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

Hmm, I dunno, I would say suicide is just as, if not more, controversial.

What's controversial about suicide? Is there anyone who is actually pro-suicide?

I remember that was one of the episodes that N@N took out of its FOL run when it aired the show; I can't remember for sure if they showed "Rough Housing", but I wanna say I'm pretty sure they did.

Well, the show gave them an out: at the end, Cindy discovers she is straight.

I still can't believe N@N wouldn't air a few FOL episodes they thought "too controversial". Utterly ridiculous.

Especially in this era.

By the way, this is a great idea for a thread---but I can't pick just ten! lol I went through the episode list on Wikipedia and the count just kept building and building and building, lol. Kudos to those who can narrow it down to a Top 10.

I know what you mean. This is my list for now, but in a few months, other episodes will probably take their place.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Kasey

2. "The Four Musketeers": Great premise with the girls allowed to go their separate ways and the script offers a believable solution to keep them together thanks to the classic slapstick paint fight scene at the climax.

3. "Starstuck": Yes, it's totally over-the-top with Tootie's increasingly hysterical behaviour, but that's why I love it!

Outside of these two episodes, I think you have great choices, and really great rationales for liking those episodes. But "Starstruck" for me is just too over-the-top. I just can't believe Tootie really went that insane over Jermaine Jackson. The producers probably couldn't get Michael.

"The Four Musketeers" for me is a betrayal of the Lost Girls. This would have been the perfect opportunity for the Core Four to reunite with their old dorm-mates, Cindy, Nancy, Molly, and Sue Ann, and then slowly come to the realization that they've grown apart from their old dorm-mates, and that they preferred staying together. Or, alternately, Miko, Teri, and someone else we've met could have appeared. Instead, we get some nonsense with roommate characters we really don't know, and we know as soon as we meet these unlikeable characters that the Core Four will be back together in no time. This episode could have been so much better. I will grant you, though, that the paint fight scene is classic!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by fol_fan1989

8. "Cousin Jerry": This was a groundbreaking episode. I kind of wish Jerry could have been featured in more episodes after this one; she only appeared in a handful after this episode.

I agree it's sad they didn't use her very much. I've heard they only offered her one episode in the 5th season.

10. "Graduation": A great end to an era. The best part comes at the end where they get gifts from Mrs. G (Jo: "Blair." Blair: "Well, you got your rock.") and when they all say they'll really still be friends, which, of course, they are!

For me, there is some great acting in this episode, and some good writing as well, but I wish they would have worked a little harder with continuity. Why aren't Sue Ann and Nancy at their own graduation ceremony? And why wouldn't Miko, Teri, and Cindy be there to wish Blair and Jo a fond farewell? The only Eastland semi-regular student attending the graduation, aside from the Core Four girls, was Alexandra! Senseless.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

What's controversial about suicide? Is there anyone who is actually pro-suicide?

lol, I see what you mean, but I don't mean controversial in the sense of "debate" controversial, I mean controversial as in touchy, "Dare we go there??"/"How could they do that??" subject matter, in that sense. N@N apparently thought suicide "too controversial" a subject to air the episode in their line-up. I guess they thought it was too dark and serious an episode, when really, it has the potential to help (and did, at least one girl, according to Mindy) some viewers who see it.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

"The Four Musketeers" for me is a betrayal of the Lost Girls. This would have been the perfect opportunity for the Core Four to reunite with their old dorm-mates, Cindy, Nancy, Molly, and Sue Ann, and then slowly come to the realization that they've grown apart from their old dorm-mates, and that they preferred staying together. Or, alternately, Miko, Teri, and someone else we've met could have appeared. Instead, we get some nonsense with roommate characters we really don't know, and we know as soon as we meet these unlikeable characters that the Core Four will be back together in no time. This episode could have been so much better. I will grant you, though, that the paint fight scene is classic!

Hmm, I never thought about it in that light before. But I guess the Lost Girls already had their roommates, so to me, it always made sense Our Four would get "stuck" with other "stragglers" or what-have-you. If they could have reunited though, maybe in unoccupied rooms in the old dorm, that would have been awesome!

[fol_fan1989]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I agree it's sad they didn't use her very much. I've heard they only offered her one episode in the 5th season.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure she only appears in one episode in the fifth season and then never again.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

For me, there is some great acting in this episode, and some good writing as well, but I wish they would have worked a little harder with continuity. Why aren't Sue Ann and Nancy at their own graduation ceremony? And why wouldn't Miko, Teri, and Cindy be there to wish Blair and Jo a fond farewell? The only Eastland semi-regular student attending the graduation, aside from the Core Four girls, was Alexandra! Senseless.

That's true. I never thought of that. And they brought in other characters we never saw before or since (like that Lisa girl).

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I agree it's sad they didn't use her very much. I've heard they only offered her one episode in the 5th season.

I think in the E! True Hollywood Story they said the producers only offered her one episode for season 6, but her agent was disgusted with that and told Geri to forget it. So she never came back.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Why aren't Sue Ann and Nancy at their own graduation ceremony? And why wouldn't Miko, Terri, and Cindy be there to wish Blair and Jo a fond farewell? The only Eastland semi-regular student attending the graduation, aside from the Core Four girls, was Alexandra! Senseless.

Well I don't care about Miko so I'm glad she's not there. I care about Alexandra even less, but she is there, ugh! lol! I don't know that Terri was ever in the same room with Blair and Jo, or at least actually interacted with them. But it would have been great at least having her at Tootie's graduation a few years later.

You know, even if the other girls didn't appear, they could have written lines mentioning them to tie them in:

Mrs. Garrett: "Girls, somebody go in the auditorium and tell Nancy she can see Roger afterwards, it's almost time to get started! And where did Sue Ann get to??"

Tootie: [to Blair and Jo] "Cindy and Molly are helping out with programs at the side door, and they've got great seats to watch the ceremony."

C'mon writers, anything! lol

[fol_fan1989]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

You know, even if the other girls didn't appear, they could have written lines mentioning them to tie them in:

Mrs. Garrett: "Girls, somebody go in the auditorium and tell Nancy she can see Roger afterwards, it's almost time to get started! And where did Sue Ann get to??"

Tootie: [to Blair and Jo] "Cindy and Molly are helping out with programs at the side door, and they've got great seats to watch the ceremony."

C'mon writers, anything! lol

Agreed. Lol.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by fol_fan1989

And they brought in other characters we never saw before or since (like that Lisa girl).

Exactly. Why bother with a one-off who will never be seen again? When you could actually have someone on who the viewer might actually care about?

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

I think in the E! True Hollywood Story they said the producers only offered her one episode for season 6, but her agent was disgusted with that and told Geri to forget it. So she never came back.

I would be disgusted, too.

Well I don't care about Miko so I'm glad she's not there. I care about Alexandra even less, but she is there, ugh! lol! I don't know that Terri was ever in the same room with Blair and Jo, or at least actually interacted with them. But it would have been great at least having her at Tootie's graduation a few years later.

Exactly!

You know, even if the other girls didn't appear, they could have written lines mentioning them to tie them in:

Mrs. Garrett: "Girls, somebody go in the auditorium and tell Nancy she can see Roger afterwards, it's almost time to get started! And where did Sue Ann get to??"

Tootie: [to Blair and Jo] "Cindy and Molly are helping out with programs at the side door, and they've got great seats to watch the ceremony."

Dammit, why weren't you writing for this show in 1983?!!!

Now we need a time machine and a way to smuggle you into Metromedia Square to switch the scripts.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

lol, I see what you mean, but I don't mean controversial in the sense of "debate" controversial, I mean controversial as in touchy, "Dare we go there??"/"How could they do that??" subject matter, in that sense. N@N apparently thought suicide "too controversial" a subject to air the episode in their line-up. I guess they thought it was too dark and serious an episode, when really, it has the potential to help (and did, at least one girl, according to Mindy) some viewers who see it.

I don't doubt that that episode saved lives. It was seen by millions of people on its original airing, and has been aired in front of millions of people countless times since then. Even if only one girl wrote in about it, there were probably many others who were also affected.

I'm sure the bean-counters at Nick at Nite were only thinking about the comedic potential of the show when they bought the syndication rights, and weren't about to air an episode of something they thought wasn't funny... short-sighted, but that's Hollywood for you.

Hmm, I never thought about it in that light before. But I guess the Lost Girls already had their roommates, so to me, it always made sense Our Four would get "stuck" with other "stragglers" or what-have-you. If they could have reunited though, maybe in unoccupied rooms in the old dorm, that would have been awesome!

Well, we know Cindy and Sue Ann were still rooming together in Season Two (Cindy references "our room" in "Gossip"), but who was Nancy rooming with?

But the writers could have had them split up very easily, with Mrs. Garrett mentioning "the new dorm assignments". I think it was a missed opportunity: at the end, Blair could have been driven insane by Sue Ann's country music, her clothes all over Blair's bed, and her incessant chattering; Jo and Cindy, who could originally have hit it off due to both being tomboys, would have fallen out as well (Jo: She snores!). Tootie could have roomed with Teri, happy to room with a Sister for once... but then Teri turns out to be less than desirable as well. And Natalie gets Nancy, who constantly keeps her awake while talking on the phone with Roger.

This would have been so much better than the one-off characters we got in this episode. By having characters the audience had seen before, and with whom the Core Four had interacted before, it would have made the parting more suspenseful.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Dammit, why weren't you writing for this show in 1983?!!!

lol, because I was WAY too young to write in 1983, that's why, lol!

And yeah, about the suicide episode, it kind of bugs me when Mindy says about it saving lives, "I won't 'take that on' and say that we saved lives", because I think they did. At least one, like she went on about. I definitely want to give them the credit for that, even if it were just a "first step" sort of thing for that girl.