And That's A Wrap!

“Let’s Face The Facts” has officially come to a close. 201 episodes + 3 TV movies + some extra stuff = 229 episodes of a podcast of which I am deeply proud. New content dropped each and every week for over 4 years, and nobody is more shocked than I am that I saw this through to completion.

Thanks to Matthew Arter for being my willing partner in this exercise in nostalgia, over-analysis, and obsession-bordering-on-mental-illness. There is nobody funnier or funner than Matthew. I will fight you. I am so glad I finally woke up part-way through and made him a permanent fixture on the show.

Thanks to the many, many guests who were kind enough to give their time and jump onto this crazy train. Apologies to those who expressed interest and whom I didn’t get a chance to have on the show. And the biggest apologies to those who wanted nothing to do with it and were tired of me going on and on about it.

Most importantly, my deepest thanks to YOU, the listeners (and the Tootie Fruity Patreon supporters). I didn’t know if anybody would listen to this nonsense. Who knew YOU would?

All My Love And Deepest Gratitude,

David

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to and start listening to TV TALKAHOLICS!

229. TV Movie: "The Facts Of Life Reunion" (Part 2) with Paul Padilla

Read some more interesting behind-the-scenes info at our friend Aaron Barta’s web site! (THANK YOU AARON!)

THANK YOU to all our listeners for FOUR+ AMAZING YEARS!!

Don’t forget to subscribe and listen to our next show… TV TALKAHOLICS! (Click on the image below)

228. TV Movie "The Facts Of Life Reunion" (Part 1) with Paul Padilla

Tootie Fruity Cody Found The Quote!

My question about where the fuck did Wikipedia get that quote about none of the original writers giving a shit (I’m paraphrasing, LOL) … Cody sent me the source! In the link below, Variety published a piece about its impending production:

““We chose to do it as an old-fashioned romantic comedy,” said Quinn Taylor, senior vice president of TV movies at ABC. “The writers captured the voices of these women, which in any of these reunion movies is the hardest thing to do.”

Taylor said the original “Facts” writers either “didn’t care, aren’t around or didn’t want to be a part of it.” Instead, Max Enscoe and Annie deYoung penned the script, with an assist by Kevin Hench (“Kiss My Act”) and Heather Juergensen.”

https://variety.com/2001/tv/news/abc-readies-facts-reunion-1117851177/

Cody also sent along the following clippings. GREAT STUFF! <3

THANK YOU, CODY!!

(from Entertainment Weekly:)

(from TV Guide)

So much for that pact to never do a reunion show! LOL

Raymond’s / Joel Brooks’ Love Language: Touch

Here are some jpeg files showing the thing we were talking about:

227. Betwixtisode: Tootie Fruity Clip-Tacular Clip-A-Palooza!

Forgotten Photo From Mendy H!

D’Oh! Tootie Fruity Mendy H. had a “P.S.” in her clip email where she mentioned that she herself DID actually get to Pomona College in Claremont, CA to take a photo coming out of the TFOL dorm exterior. Sorry, Mendy, I missed it!

And I will add… that I AM TOTES FUCKING JELLY AND WANT TO DO THIS SO BADLY!!

Mrs. Garrett’s Careers & Hobbies!

DANG IT! I had the following list prepared and I forgot to read #12! We can’t forget the time she was the overnight manager at a local Denny’s! (I believe that episode in Season 3 was the episode for which Charlotte Rae received her only Emmy nomination for the show.)

Here is the comprehensive list — including “pianist” which I missed and discovered later in the show.

  1. Maid (Drummonds on "Diff'rent Strokes")

  2. House/Den Mother (TFOL Season 1)

  3. Dietitian (TFOL Seasons 2-4)

  4. Gourmet Food Shop Owner/Caterer (TFOL Seasons 5-6)

  5. Novelty Gift Store Partner-Owner (TFOL Season 7-9)

  6. Cab Driver (mentioned in Episode: The Interview Show)

  7. Karate Student (mentioned in Diff'rent Strokes Pilot)

  8. Ballet Student (mentioned in Diff’rent Strokes episode?)

  9. Flying Lessons (Season 1 Episode, I forget which)

  10. Registered Nurse (mentioned in Episode: The Facts Of Love)

  11. Suicide Hotline Advisor (Episode: Breaking Point)

  12. Restaurant Manager (Episode: Give And Take)

  13. Generic "Night School" Student (Diff'rent Strokes Episode: "Mrs. Garrett's Romance")

  14. English Student at Langley (Seasons 6-7)

  15. French Cooking School Graduate (“The Facts Of Life Goes To Paris”)

  16. Peace Corps (some time in the mid-1960s, 1986-)

  17. (AFTER RECORDING) pianist/accompanist

226. S9 E24 "The Beginning Of The Beginning" with James Brendlinger

📝 Transcript of the episode at Subtitles Like Scripts

Seth Green & Mayim Bialik Reunion in 2015!

Just Gonna Leave This Here.

I stumbled upon this THE SAME NIGHT after we finished recording this episode. Coincidence!?

The Chugalug!

A set comparison.

^ Hey! That bouncer is Reb Brown who played Captain America on TV in the 1970s! ^

225. S9 E23 "The Beginning Of The End" with Dominik Rothbard

📝 Transcript of the episode at Subtitles Like Scripts

New / Old Exterior Shots!

^ New Eastland Admin Exterior ^ (only used once in this episode)

^ Eastland By Night ^ (same image as in Season 1)

^ And the O.G. Eastland Exterior will return next week! (untrimmed bushes, overgrown grass, and all) ^

Kathleen Freeman!

As diction coach ‘Phoebe Dinsmore’ in “Singin’ In The Rain” (1952) - she is 29 here

⬇️ (Here is her song from the Broadway musical version of “The Full Monty” (2000) ⬇️

Clipping Teaser!

They don’t quite get it right, but information was harder to come by back then. (As were more current photos of the cast. LOL)

Thanks to devoted listener CODY for sharing this from his collection! <3

Good & Evil!

Here is the show Dominik recommends: A 1991 Susan Harris “Soap” follow-up starring Teri Garr.

TV Talkaholics!

Subscribe to our next show! First episode drops March 15, 2023!

(click the image above to visit our new web site)

Next Week: THE FINAL EPISODE!!

S9 E24 “The Beginning Of The Beginning” (5/7/88)

224. S9 E22 "Big Apple Blues" with Ken Reid

📝 Transcript of the episode at Subtitles Like Scripts

Tootie’s Roller Skates - A Visual History

^ The pair that Blair wants to sell this week ^

^ The pair discovered in the attic last season ^

^ First pair worn in season 1 ^

^ Second pair seen in Season 1 ^ — these match the ones in the attic season 8 (though these wheels are red, and the S8 wheels are blue…)

^ Third pair seen in season 1. These are the ones that match the Eastland uniform ^

^ another view of Pair #3 ^

^ Pair #4 - “The Horse Riding Pair” ^

^ Pair #5: matching the Eastland gym uniform ^

You. Are. Welcome.

Next Week: S9 E23 “The Beginning Of The End” (4/30/88)

223. S9 E21 "On The Edge"

📝 Transcript of the episode at Subtitles Like Scripts

Join The Facts Of Life Community On Reddit!

^ click to be taken to https://reddit.com/r/FactsOfLifeTVShow ^

Alexandra Borrie as Sandy!

^ click to go to her web site ^

Next Week: S9 E22 “Big Apple Blues” (with special guest KEN REID!)

222. S9 E20 "Present Imperfect"

📝 Transcript of the episode at Subtitles Like Scripts

Next Week: S9 E21 “On The Edge” (3/12/88)

221. S9 E19 "Till Marriage Do Us Part" with Diana Eden

Nancy McKeon = GORGEOUS

Exclusive Backstage Photos!

These are the pics we discuss in our interview with Diana (from Diana Eden’s personal collection, shared with permission.)

Diana’s Own Wedding Dress!

From 1990. Not her design, this was her paternal grandmother’s wedding dress from 1903.

Does the hair clip look familiar?!

John Ingle!

Returning as the “Reverend” in this episode…

… but we’ll just assume he is reprising his role of ‘Father Donovan’ in S6 E18 “With A Little Help From My Friends” 3 years prior!

Later he would play Robert Dunder on The Office (S4 E03/04 “Dunder Mifflin Infinity”), 2007

Stars In Their Underwear!

Click the image below to get Diana Eden’s awesome memoir!

The Hallway!

In a very unexpected plot twist, we have been given this Edna’s-Edibles-Leftover hallway set. So of course I had to dig up the last time we saw it to verify if it matches.

It does not.

So, the question is, with the color-splash of the store, and all of the non-wood-tones and decorative changes made to the living/dining room… WHY IN THE WORLD would they have stuck with this aesthetic for the hallway!? The wood is the same… but the wallpaper at the bottom is a darker, more mauve-colored floral print. And at the top, there is new, lighter wallpaper in place of the green paint that was there before.

Not to mention the absence of the hallway in the rear. Back in S6 E09 “Dear Apple,” Blair went around that corner into that hallway at the back left, and immediately was seen coming down the stairs in the living room! Yet in “Till Marriage…” Rick appears on the front right side by the bathroom door as though he had just come upstairs from the bachelor party. WTF?

But truly, that is par for the course in this Winchester House of Curiosities. LOL

But back to the aesthetic… SO. VERY. WEIRD.

(Thanks, Aaron Barta, for helping me remember which episode I needed to refer back to!)

RIP, Clarence Gilyard, Jr.

(12/24/1955 — 11/28/2022)

in “Die Hard” (1988)

Next Week: S9 E20 “Present Imperfect” (3/5/88)

220. S9 E18 "Less Than Perfect"

Weird End Credit Music!

We forgot to mention this on the show, but devoted listener Bryan F pointed this out to us… this is a different version of the end theme. Same key, same tempo, just different instrumentation it seems… And it only occurs here in this one episode. Ummmm… WTF???

Next Week: S9 E19 “Till Marriage Do Us Part” (2/27/88)

219. S9 E17 "Let's Face The Music" with Ken Reid

Analysis of “Over Our Heads”

And whether I agree with Tootie Fruity Peter B’s assertion that the final appearance of the store was a makeshift/incomplete version of the set…

Tuesday Knight as Amy!

Mark “Jacko” Jackson!

(… and his moose knuckle…) better known as the “Energizer Oy Guy” … Read more about him on Wikipedia.

[ Extras ] The Ritz!

30 Seconds Over Tokyo!

Proof that our beloved Ken used to be the lead singer of his OWN punk band back in the late 1990s!

TV Guidance Counselor Shorts!

Check out Ken’s YouTube Channel to see more content like this!

The Dresses!

(Nope, they are not the same!)

Blair’s Hair!

As noted on the show, these are not the same wig, though the styling is very similar.

Next Week: S9 E18 “Less Than Perfect”

218. Extra! TV Talkaholics #013: "It Happened One Christmas" featuring Cloris Leachman

Next Week: RETURN TO TFOL! S9 E17 “Let’s Face The Music” (2/13/88)

217. Extra! TV Talkaholics #012: TFOL Crossover Diff'rent Strokes S3 E15 "The Older Man" featuring Lisa Whelchel and Mindy Cohn

Next Week: TVT #013 “It Happened One Christmas” featuring Cloris Leachman

216. S9 E16 "The First Time" with Paul Padilla

📝 Transcript of the episode at Subtitles Like Scripts

TV Guide Clipping From 1/1/88!

Thanks to devoted listener Cody for sharing this! He takes iss-you with this article, as do we. Cody says it best: “Can you believe that bitch/hack Irma Kalish? Natalie was "the least likely" to lose her virginity first?! WTF? Nat was always the horniest of the girls, so she's "the least likely" because she was...fat?” YES! THANK YOU! Come on, TFOL, What In The Actual Fuck?


Paul Padilla’s Theatrical Company!

(Click the photo to go to their Facebook Page)

The Skullet!

Check out more gems like this at OMG.BLOG.

The Sponge!

Read more about it in this article from The New York Times.

Next Week: TV Talkaholics #012 Diff’rent Strokes / Facts Of Life Crossover: “The Older Man”

You can watch the episode ahead of time on Prime Video.

215. S9 E15 "A House Divided" with Jamie-Lyn Markos

Transcript of the episode at Subtitles Like Scripts

Toad In The Hole!

1987 Cheerios Star Trek Contest!

“The Big Bang Theory” Without Its Laugh Track!

Garfield Minus Garfield!

Click the image below and see this “journey into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.” I haven’t visited this site in quite a while, but WOW it must have really rung true during the worst part of the pandemic… LOL

Next Week: S9 E16 “The First Time” (2/6/88)