Line #26 Trivia/TheFactsOfLife


1	!! In the TV series:
2	* ActorAllusion: In the Season 6 episode of "Dear Apple" has Jo mentioning a series of incidents to a computerized advice program as part of her questioning whether she should remain [[VitriolicBestBuds friends with Blair]]; including an incident where Blair (pretending to take a really long shower {thus letting the water run cold; something Jo finds out when Blair exits the bathroom}) while singing [[Film/SongOfTheSouth "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"]]; clearly referencing Lisa Whelchel getting her start on the ''[[Series/TheMickeyMouseClub 1970s New Mickey Mouse Club]]''.
3	* TheCastShowoff:
4	** Creator/LisaWhelchel seems to have been given opportunities to display her talents in everything from singing to ventriloquism.
5	** Pippa sings. Sherrie Krenn later changed her name to Sherrie Austin and had a career as a country singer.
6	* TheDanza:
7	** Creator/GeorgeClooney as George Burnett during the seventh and eighth seasons.
8	** Creator/MollyRingwald, during her one season stint (the first; 1979-1980), played Molly Parker.
9	** Not to mention Geri Jewell as Cousin Geri.
10	* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: Geri Jewell, who played Geri, actually has cerebral palsy.
11	* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/LisaWhelchel's hair was dyed blonde for the role of Blair (during her ''[[Series/TheMickeyMouseClub New Mickey Mouse Club]]'' run, her hair was a dark brunette). [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] periodically to imply the character's hair is not naturally blonde either.
12	* IAmNotSpock: Creator/NancyMcKeon didn't come back for the reunion, in part because of her commitment to ''The Division'', and in part because she didn't want to be TypeCast as Jo anymore.
13	* IronyAsSheIsCast: Blair is an atheist, played by the devoutly Christian Creator/LisaWhelchel.
14	* TheOtherDarrin: Blair's mother is played by a different actor in Season 3 than was used in Season 1 and no explanation was given.
15	** Natalie's boyfriend Snake, a.k.a. [[spoiler: Norbert]]
16	** Rick Bonner is played by a different actor in ''The Facts of Life Reunion Movie''.
17	* RealLifeRelative: Tootie's mother Diane is played by Chip Fields, Creator/KimFields real life mother.
18	** John Astin (of ''The Addams Family'' fame) guest-starred in the sixth season premiere as Edna's love interest. Coincidentally, his son Mackenzie would join the cast in later seasons as Andy Moffett.
19	* RecycledScript: Both episodes involving Flyman, "Gone with the Wind" and "Atlantic City", use the exact same plot for Tootie. In both episodes, Tootie tries to pass for 21 in an over-21 establishment (a bar in one, a casino in the other), tries too hard to seem grown-up (pretending to be a cast member from ''Fame'' in one, pretending to be a rich socialite in the other), and tries to hook-up with a boy who is also trying too hard to appear older than he actually is.
20	* ThoseTwoActors: Alex Rocco would go on to once again portray Creator/NancyMcKeon's father in ''The Division''.
21	* TypeCasting: During the college episodes, Jami Gertz pretty much plays the exact same character she played in ''Series/SquarePegs''. Both characters were even given silly rich girl names, Muffy in ''Square Pegs'' and Boots in ''Facts''.
22	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
23	** Creator/MollyRingwald [[https://ew.com/tv/2019/01/30/molly-ringwald-fired-facts-of-life/ revealed in an interview]] that she was originally supposed to stay on as a regular for season 2. However, the producers decided that they needed an older girl who could be a {{Foil}} for Blair, so they dropped Molly and created Jo. The experience of being hired and then fired was so disappointing to Ringwald that, after one scene in the season 2 premiere, she turned down offers to do guest appearances on the show even before she became a movie star.
24	** In one making-of special, the girls mentioned how, in the episode "The First Time," the writers initially had the idea of Blair losing her virginity. Lisa Whelchel objected on religious grounds, and in fact doesn't appear in the episode at all, so the story was given to Natalie instead.
25	* WrittenInInfirmity: Nancy [=McKeon=] had broken her foot shooting the MadeForTVMovie ''Strange Voices'' shortly before shooting for the final season began; thus resulting in her foot being in a cast for a few earlier episodes that season.

Context Trivia / TheFactsOfLife