“You take the good, you take the bad, you take the rest, and then you get”…That is right. The Facts of Life, the sitcom that ran on NBC for over 200 episodes in the 1980s, will have the complete series released by the Shout Factory on DVD. The Facts of Life revolved around a group of girls named Tootie (Kim Fields), Natalie (Mindy Cohn), Jo (Nancy McKean), and Blair (Lisa Welchel) in a boarding school, and their housemother Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae). Many episodes dealt with very special issues, such as adoption, losing one’s virginity, suicide, and drug abuse.
In celebration, Entertainment Weekly published an oral history on the beloved series in a neat microsite that can be found here. Interviews of the cast and crew reveal the beginning of the show, its evolution and struggles, and why it remains popular today. Included are the writers, directors, the then-president and CEO of NBC, and Alan Thicke (Growing Pains), who was a co-writer of the theme song. Listed alongside the interviews are pictures, and even a breakdown of the best episode per season. The interviews are broken up in the different stages of the series, from its genesis, first season, the heyday, when they started adding more characters, and what the stars have been doing since.
Some fun facts learned:
- The Facts of Life helped facilitate NBC into being a sitcom powerhouse, leading to the famous Must-See TV. With nine seasons, it was the longest-running sitcom at that point.
- The sitcom started off as a spin-off of Diff’rent Strokes, and as a vehicle for Charlotte Rae.
- Tootie was on roller skates for much of season one, because she was too short to fit in the frame with everyone else.
- Geri Jewell, who played Blair’s cousin with cerebral palsy, was the first person with a disability to be cast in a prime-time series.
- Famous actors who starred include George Clooney, Pamela Adlon, Mackenzie Astin, Seth Green, Mayim Bialik, Molly Ringwald, and Juliette Lewis.
- Mindy Cohn flashed Seth Green in a dressing room!
All of this and more can be found on the microsite.