The Facts of Life (1979)
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979, to May 7, 1988, making it the longest running sitcom of the 1980s. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focuses on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, an all-female boarding school in Peekskill, New York.
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Episode 1 - The Summer of '84
Release Date: 1984-09-26Mrs. Garrett and the girls share their summer vacations: Natalie and Tootie at a Cape Cod resort, Mrs. Garrett and Jo on a musical fling in Atlantic City and Blair down on a farm in Iowa.
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Episode 2 - Slices of Life
Release Date: 1984-10-03Jo begins a pizza business with her mom's secret pizza recipe that has everyone's mouths watering, including a fraternity house that buys pizzas in bulk. However, the business begins running Jo and her workers, Natalie and Tootie ragged which leads Jo to make a business decision on how to make pizzas faster and cheaper.
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Episode 3 - Love at First Byte
Release Date: 1984-10-17With computer dating as the subject of her term paper, Natalie uses a computer dating service to find Blair and Jo ""perfect dates"" without their permission. Meanwhile, Mrs. Garrett targets Tootie as a bridge partner when her old one moves away.
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Episode 4 - My Boyfriend's Back
Release Date: 1984-10-24Tootie's first date with Jeff since he started college leaves her feeling she must sleep with him to keep him.
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Episode 5 - Cruisin'
Release Date: 1984-10-31On a dateless Saturday night, the girls cruise downtown Peekskill in hopes of finding Mr. Right. However, a string of bizarre events leads the girls to hideout in their car at a closed gas station.
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Episode 6 - Taking a Chance on Love (1)
Release Date: 1984-11-07Rumors spead about Jo's involvement with her professor and indeed, they just may be true when a romance develops between the two.
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Episode 7 - Taking a Chance on Love (2)
Release Date: 1984-11-07Jo and Sam's relationship grows more serious despite the fact that he has a young son from a previous marriage.
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Episode 8 - E.G.O.C. (Edna Garrett on Campus)
Release Date: 1984-11-14Mrs. Garrett enrolls in a Shakespeare class, but worries that she might neglect her business and have trouble fitting in with the college crowd.
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Episode 9 - Dear Apple
Release Date: 1984-11-21Jo has a heart-to-heart talk---with a computer to resolve a conflict she had with Blair (Lisa Whelchel). Natalie: Mindy Cohn. Mrs. Garrett: Charlotte Rae. Tootie: Kim Fields.
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Episode 10 - Talk, Talk, Talk
Release Date: 1984-11-28While working at the campus radio station, Jo finds herself needing to fill 5 hours of air time. Things start off on a bad note, when she can't find a key to the record cabinet, which leads, Natalie, Tootie, Blair and Mrs. Garrett to come to her rescue.
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Episode 11 - Smile
Release Date: 1984-12-05Natalie is nervous after an interview for a job she applied for with the town newspaper. However, after she learns she didn't get the job, her strange behavior threatens her relationship with her boyfriend.
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Episode 12 - The Rich Aren't Different
Release Date: 1984-12-12Jo borrows one of Blair's watches and later breaks it. Jo's lack of remorse is what sends Blair to some serious action, she hauls Jo into small claims court. Meanwhile, Mrs. Garrett is having a hard time studying for her algebra class.
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Episode 13 - Christmas in the Big House
Release Date: 1984-12-19For the Christmas season, Blair and some of her snobby friends plan on putting on a Christmas show at a home for boys. Her Christmas spirit quickly changes when she discovers that the home for boys is really a home for convicts.
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Episode 14 - Me and Eleanor
Release Date: 1985-01-02A no-win situation: Tootie asks Natalie for an honest opinion of her dreadful one-woman play about Eleanor Roosevelt.
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Episode 15 - Working it Out
Release Date: 1985-01-09Mrs. Garrett and the girls all become concerned about Blair's bizarre behavior, she's skipping class, dating nonstop and is out all night every night, all this just after a breakup with her first serious relationship, Cliff.
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Episode 16 - Jazzbeau
Release Date: 1985-01-16The death of a famous jazz singer brings back fond memories to Tootie and Natalie, who got to know him at a resort hotel where he worked as a waiter.
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Episode 17 - Two Guys From Appleton
Release Date: 1985-01-23Mrs. Garrett receives a visit from the high-school sweetheart she ran out on, and she's swept off her feet all over again.
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Episode 18 - With a Little Help From My Friends
Release Date: 1985-01-30Blair is devastated when she learns that her boyfriend is into cocaine. Lisa Whelchel. Jo: Nancy McKeon. Kevin: Ryan Cassidy. Father Donovan: John Ingle.
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Episode 19 - Gone With the Wind (1)
Release Date: 1985-02-13The girls have no plans for spring break until Natalie learns that her grandmother's condominium is available in Fort Lauderdale, where the boys are.
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Episode 20 - Gone With the Wind (2)
Release Date: 1985-02-20On spring break in Fort Lauderdale and to the surprise of everyone, especially herself, Blair falls in love with a mere building manager.
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Episode 21 - Man in the Attic
Release Date: 1985-02-27Kevin, forced to leave his apartment, moves into the attic of Edna's Edibles and makes a move on Jo.
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Episode 22 - The Last Drive-In
Release Date: 1985-03-13The local drive-in theatre is closing and the girls decide to pay it one last visit on the final night it's open. However, chaos reigns when people begin to loot the theatre and Blair gets into a cat fight.
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Episode 23 - Sisters
Release Date: 1985-03-20During an alumni weekend at Langley, Blair's mother and Jo's father bond which leads to Blair and Jo's fears of becoming sisters.
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Episode 24 - It's Lonely at the Top
Release Date: 1985-03-27With Mrs. Garrett out of town, Blair wants to be in charge of the shop so a reluctant Jo, Natalie and Tootie step aside and let her. Quickly Blair's handling of a competitor food shop goes awry.
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Episode 25 - Bus Stop
Release Date: 1985-05-08Mrs. Garrett and the girls are all excited about Natalie's graduation and buy her a bookcase with a brand new set of encyclopedias on the assumption she's going to college. To her friends surprise, Natalie has a very different plan for life after high school.
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Episode 26 - The Interview Show
Release Date: 1985-05-15A former Eastland girl, now an author, interviews the girls for her latest book she's writing. In the interviews the girls each open up about their friendships and school life.