Strange bit of writing re: The Lost Girls and Jo in the LITTLE CHILL

[A.C.]

Granted its been a long time since I've seen this episode but it strikes me as odd as Tooty or one of the others says, "You remember Jo?". The way the episode was written you would think they barely knew Jo at all but we saw that was not the case during the time when the Lost Girls would appear occasionally before being phased out. Even the absent Molly who made that one season 2 appearance could be assumed to have interacted with her "off camera".

Also this really should have been written in Mrs. Garret's final season as it would have had more punch having her get to interact with the returning Lost Girls. As it was the whole episode felt more like a vechile for Jo.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by A.C.

Granted its been a long time since I've seen this episode but it strikes me as odd as Tooty or one of the others says, "You remember Jo?". The way the episode was written you would think they barely knew Jo at all but we saw that was not the case during the time when the Lost Girls would appear occasionally before being phased out. Even the absent Molly who made that one season 2 appearance could be assumed to have interacted with her "off camera".

I've always taken Tootie's line, "You remember Jo?" as pretty accurate: they clearly remembered Jo, but they were never very close. We saw them together in a handful of episodes, and Sue Ann and Cindy took one class with Jo, but they were never close companions to Jo the way Tootie, Blair, and Natalie were, because the Core Four were busy washing dishes and scrubbing floors during two years.

Molly and Cindy would likely have continued at Eastland with Natalie and Tootie, after Jo graduated, but that just means that Jo would only have known the Lost Girls for a few years, four years earlier. I feel like "You remember Jo?" is completely appropriate.

Now, Beverly Ann says "You didn't know them at all!" and Jo doesn't correct this, but I get the feeling that Beverly Ann is actually talking about herself.

There's one more line that I feel is somewhat weak. Nancy says something about Jo not being "the wildcat we've all heard about". But Nancy herself was there for Jo and Blair's big fight in "Gossip". I chalk this up to Nancy just not remembering an incident from six years earlier.

Also this really should have been written in Mrs. Garret's final season as it would have had more punch having her get to interact with the returning Lost Girls. As it was the whole episode felt more like a vechile for Jo.

I agree that if it had been a year earlier (or even five episodes earlier), we would have gotten a very nice Mrs. Garrett/Lost Girls reunion. We could have had flashbacks to Mrs. Garrett bringing a cupcake and milk to Cindy, in "Rough Housing". We could have flashed back to Sue Ann and Mrs. Garrett sharing a moment in front of the Mirror of Reflection in "Dieting". We could have seen the memory of Mrs. Garrett putting a flower in Nancy's hair, from "Dope". We could even have had a scene showing Mrs. Garrett comforting Molly, from "Molly's Holiday". We could have even had enough flashbacks for a two-parter.

Had that episode come before Mrs. Garrett's departure, just four or five episodes earlier, it would have resonated so much more. Still, I enjoy the episode, because at least it happened. Years too late, but still: it happened.

Also, I disagree that "The Little Chill" was a Jo vehicle; that was a Sue Ann-centered episode, for sure.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I've always taken Tootie's line, "You remember Jo?" as pretty accurate: they clearly remembered Jo, but they were never very close. We saw them together in a handful of episodes, and Sue Ann and Cindy took one class with Jo, but they were never close companions to Jo the way Tootie, Blair, and Natalie were, because the Core Four were busy washing dishes and scrubbing floors during two years.

Molly and Cindy would likely have continued at Eastland with Natalie and Tootie, after Jo graduated, but that just means that Jo would only have known the Lost Girls for a few years, four years earlier. I feel like "You remember Jo?" is completely appropriate.

Now, Beverly Ann says "You didn't know them at all!" and Jo doesn't correct this, but I get the feeling that Beverly Ann is actually talking about herself.

There's one more line that I feel is somewhat weak. Nancy says something about Jo not being "the wildcat we've all heard about". But Nancy herself was there for Jo and Blair's big fight in "Gossip". I chalk this up to Nancy just not remembering an incident from six years earlier.



I agree that if it had been a year earlier (or even five episodes earlier), we would have gotten a very nice Mrs. Garrett/Lost Girls reunion. We could have had flashbacks to Mrs. Garrett bringing a cupcake and milk to Cindy, in "Rough Housing". We could have flashed back to Sue Ann and Mrs. Garrett sharing a moment in front of the Mirror of Reflection in "Dieting". We could have seen the memory of Mrs. Garrett putting a flower in Nancy's hair, from "Dope". We could even have had a scene showing Mrs. Garrett comforting Molly, from "Molly's Holiday". We could have even had enough flashbacks for a two-parter.

Had that episode come before Mrs. Garrett's departure, just four or five episodes earlier, it would have resonated so much more. Still, I enjoy the episode, because at least it happened. Years too late, but still: it happened.

Also, I disagree that "The Little Chill" was a Jo vehicle; that was a Sue Ann-centered episode, for sure.

Since Cindy was 14 at the time when Julie Ann was 14, Cindy would have been on schedule to graduate in 1983. I graduated in 1983 and me and my classmates were born right around the same same time Julie Ann was born. Thus she would have graduated with with Jo and Blair.

[80s Dude]

I thought the Little Chill was too focused on the Jo felt left out plot. They should have spent more time on the Lost Girls, including more about Cindy. What caused the tomboy to suddenly be a supermodel? That story was not explained.

And even though Jo and Molly were in the same scenes with one another, they never said one word to one another. Not even acknowledging one another's existence. If Molly was suppose to be a reoccurring character, shouldn't they have a least had some dialogue between them. There just seemed to be lots of tension in that scene. Molly clearly was not happy. She went from being the smiling happy child in season one to looking miserable and unhappy for her "worst job ever".

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Since Cindy was 14 at the time when Julie Ann was 14, Cindy would have been on schedule to graduate in 1983. I graduated in 1983 and me and my classmates were born right around the same same time Julie Ann was born. Thus she would have graduated with with Jo and Blair.

But Cindy was younger than Sue Ann, confirmed in "Running". There's no way Cindy was the same age as Blair. She's visibly younger.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

But Cindy was younger than Sue Ann, confirmed in "Running". There's no way Cindy was the same age as Blair. She's visibly younger.

Some people appear older or younger than what they are. The ages of Cindy and Julie Ann matched. Both were 14 during the first season of FOL. In real life Lisa is two years older than Julie Ann. They just made Lisa 2 years older through the years. First she was born in 1965, then she was born in 1963.

[Christopher]

I'm not surprise the lost girls reunion episode is Jo centered. More people started watching the show when Jo was added and probably didn't know who the lost girls were. The writers were probably thinking "crap, what have we done bringing these nobodies back?" Their solution was to make it a Jo episode. You have to love the irony that the episode the lost girls return in and should be about them is really about Jo the character who replaced them all. The writers of this episode are very clever pointing out the fact that the lost girls still need Jo to help them get people watching an episode they're in.

[TV Guy]

The “you remember Jo” line is an odd thing to say, since clearly Jo knew Sue Ann, Cindy, and Nancy. She went to school with them for at least two years. And Tootie knew that. But TV shows aren’t written for the hard core fans. FOL didn’t become popular until after the first season, so that line was written as a way to establish that Jo wasn’t tight with the first season girls, even if it sounded awkward.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by Christopher

I'm not surprise the lost girls reunion episode is Jo centered. More people started watching the show when Jo was added and probably didn't know who the lost girls were. The writers were probably thinking "crap, what have we done bringing these nobodies back?" Their solution was to make it a Jo episode. You have to love the irony that the episode the lost girls return in and should be about them is really about Jo the character who replaced them all. The writers of this episode are very clever pointing out the fact that the lost girls still need Jo to help them get people watching an episode they're in.

I lived and watched when Jo was introduced. We knew who the Lost Girls were. We were told they would be be back for some episodes. They didn't know having Jo would work either. And the repeats of the 1st season of the Facts of Life were doing better in the ratings.

[A.C.]

Originally Posted by Christopher

I'm not surprise the lost girls reunion episode is Jo centered. More people started watching the show when Jo was added and probably didn't know who the lost girls were. The writers were probably thinking "crap, what have we done bringing these nobodies back?" Their solution was to make it a Jo episode. You have to love the irony that the episode the lost girls return in and should be about them is really about Jo the character who replaced them all. The writers of this episode are very clever pointing out the fact that the lost girls still need Jo to help them get people watching an episode they're in.

Nobodies? Nobodies! Sacrilige LOL

Respectfully disagree on Jo being needed to carry a Lost Girls story. The Lost Girls represent PURE Facts of Life...the show it was always meant to be. This should have totally been their episode. One has to wonder if they ate some humble pie and tried to get Molly Ringwald to return.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

I lived and watched when Jo was introduced. We knew who the Lost Girls were. We were told they would be be back for some episodes. They didn't know having Jo would work either. And the repeats of the 1st season of the Facts of Life were doing better in the ratings.

More people started tuning into The Facts of Life when it was just Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie, and Mrs. Garrett. I understand the lost girls have their fans, but the ratings for season 1 including repeats are nowhere near what they were when finally retooling the show in season 2 for people to enjoy. Newer viewers that started for the main 4 and Mrs. Garrett probably didn't know who the lost girls were. We all know if we ask random people on the street who saw the series, they would recall any of the main 4 and Mrs. Garrett instead of the lost girls. The show was ranked in the 70's that first year and jumped all the way up to the 20's in the second season. That's a huge increase of viewers and that had nothing to do with the first season no matter how much fans of the lost girls want that to be true. The facts are there that the lost girls and the writing first season wasn't cutting it. I just can't believe until now how obvious the writers for The Little Chill really made it clear Jo was the saving grace in their minds since they had her steal the story from the lost girls that episode. I feel bad for the lost girls now that they had to come back for more humiliation. They should have rejected the appearance to save face.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by Christopher

More people started tuning into The Facts of Life when it was just Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie, and Mrs. Garrett. I understand the lost girls have their fans, but the ratings for season 1 including repeats are nowhere near what they were when finally retooling the show in season 2 for people to enjoy. Newer viewers that started for the main 4 and Mrs. Garrett probably didn't know who the lost girls were. We all know if we ask random people on the street who saw the series, they would recall any of the main 4 and Mrs. Garrett instead of the lost girls. The show was ranked in the 70's that first year and jumped all the way up to the 20's in the second season. That's a huge increase of viewers and that had nothing to do with the first season no matter how much fans of the lost girls want that to be true. The facts are there that the lost girls and the writing first season wasn't cutting it. I just can't believe until now how obvious the writers for The Little Chill really made it clear Jo was the saving grace in their minds since they had her steal the story from the lost girls that episode. I feel bad for the lost girls now that they had to come back for more humiliation. They should have rejected the appearance to save face.

People actually started turning in during the repeats of the 1st season. The ratings increased from the original showings. But by then the cast changes had already been made.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by A.C.

Nobodies? Nobodies! Sacrilige LOL

Respectfully disagree on Jo being needed to carry a Lost Girls story. The Lost Girls represent PURE Facts of Life...the show it was always meant to be. This should have totally been their episode. One has to wonder if they ate some humble pie and tried to get Molly Ringwald to return.

They reached out to Molly, but she refused. She still was at the height from her movie career and one year removed of her "Worse job ever" for her second season appearance" comment and talked of being humiliated. By that time she was making more money than all the other girls combined. She still is probably worth more than all the 7 other child actors combined from the Easton years combined.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

People actually started turning in during the repeats of the 1st season. The ratings increased from the original showings. But by then the cast changes had already been made.

Yep. And here's the proof. Here are the Nielsen Ratings for the last week of July, 1980, as reported in the Reno Gazette-Journal on August 6, 1980:

1. "The Jeffersons," 21.6. CBS
2. "Trapper John, M.D.," 21.3, CBS
3. "Airport 77," Part II, 21.3, NBC
4. "Alice," 19.8, CBS
5. "Three's Company," 19.6, ABC
6. "MASH," 19.0, CBS
7. "Taxi," 18.7, ABC
8. "Fantasy Island," 18.3, ABC
9. "The Dukes of Hazzard," 18.2, CBS
10. "Dallas." 18.0, CBS
11. "Hart to Hart." 18.0, ABC
12. "60 Minutes," 17.8, CBS
13. "20-20," 16.8, ABC
14. "The Love Boat," 16.4, ABC
15. "WKRP in Cincinnati," 16.3, CBS
16. Flo," 15.6, CBS
17. "Laverne & Shirley" 15.4, ABC
18. "Facts of Life." 15.4, NBC
19. "Real People," 15.3, NBC
20. "House Calls," 15.3, CBS


The bottom five:
"CBS Reports" 8.3, CBS
"The Prince of Central Park," 7.8, CBS
"Brothers," 7.4. CBS
"Six O'Clock Follies," 7.0, NBC
"Good Time Harry," 6.9, NBC

The Facts of Life was pulling in very big numbers over the summer months, and was ranked #18 during that week. Those numbers were bigger, in fact, than the 1980-81 season, when The Facts of Life didn't rank in the Top 30, and much bigger, of course, than the ratings for The Facts of Life in the series' last two seasons, when the show didn't rank in the Top 30.

People will tell you that Jo "saved the show", but the ratings had already significantly improved well before Jo had even made it on the air: over 15 million people were tuning in, and the show had cracked the Top 20, becoming a top-rated series on NBC... actually, NBC's highest-ranked regular series.

[A.C.]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

They reached out to Molly, but she refused. She still was at the height from her movie career and one year removed of her "Worse job ever" for her second season appearance" comment and talked of being humiliated. By that time she was making more money than all the other girls combined. She still is probably worth more than all the 7 other child actors combined from the Easton years combined.

Can't say I blame her...they did her and the other Lost Girls dirty. And from what you say about the ratings going up for the repeats then its fairly clear they pulled the trigger too soon on the retooling.

What might have been