Would It Have Been Better if "The Facts of Life" WEREN'T a Spinoff? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

James28 · 12-13-2023, 08:56 PM

Given the problems that plagued its parent show Diff'rent Strokes (behind-the-scenes issues with its stars; getting cancelled with no proper send-off due to abysmal ratings after having switched networks; and the premature deaths of some main-castmembers, not to mention DS is still streaming with uppercase captioning instead of lowercase), would it have been better if The Facts of Life weren't a spin off from a different show?

80s Dude · 12-14-2023, 10:53 PM

Why would it matter? Facts of Life quickly separated itself from Different Strokes and took it own path.

James28 · 12-21-2023, 07:56 PM

Here is just one example of why I feel this way:

I wanted to watch that "Slumber Party" episode of Diff'rent Strokes, but I couldn't get past the uppercase closed-captioning that DS still uses on streaming sites. I could simply turn the CC off myself, but I just can't get over Sony's refusal to change the CC to lowercaase, erasing the NCI-CAP captions.

The voice (and look) of Natalie Green and all-uppercase closed-captioning just don't mix. And if The Facts of Life ever used any uppercase-only closed captioning (particularly during its original NBC run), such captioning on that show would surely have been long gone by now.

I like for my scripted stuff to have mixed-case closed-captioning, period.

Another reason is there are some fans of The Facts of Life who are just NOT fans of Diff'rent Strokes at all.

12-13-2023, 08:56 PM	#1
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,981	Would It Have Been Better if "The Facts of Life" WEREN'T a Spinoff? Given the problems that plagued its parent show Diff'rent Strokes (behind-the-scenes issues with its stars; getting cancelled with no proper send-off due to abysmal ratings after having switched networks; and the premature deaths of some main-castmembers, not to mention DS is still streaming with uppercase captioning instead of lowercase), would it have been better if The Facts of Life weren't a spin off from a different show?
	__________________ "When the run of a network TV show has ended, some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, but all are...Future Endeavored." "Stay Safe"? More like "Stay Sad". #2020Hurts

12-21-2023, 07:56 PM	#3
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,981	Here is just one example of why I feel this way: I wanted to watch that "Slumber Party" episode of Diff'rent Strokes, but I couldn't get past the uppercase closed-captioning that DS still uses on streaming sites. I could simply turn the CC off myself, but I just can't get over Sony's refusal to change the CC to lowercaase, erasing the NCI-CAP captions. The voice (and look) of Natalie Green and all-uppercase closed-captioning just don't mix. And if The Facts of Life ever used any uppercase-only closed captioning (particularly during its original NBC run), such captioning on that show would surely have been long gone by now. I like for my scripted stuff to have mixed-case closed-captioning, period. Another reason is there are some fans of The Facts of Life who are just NOT fans of Diff'rent Strokes at all.
	Last edited by James28; 01-02-2024 at 09:12 PM.

12-14-2023, 10:53 PM	#2
80s Dude Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 24, 2019 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,811	Why would it matter? Facts of Life quickly separated itself from Different Strokes and took it own path.