The Facts of Life Reunion
Mrs. Garrett reunites with her girls for Thanksgiving.
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The Facts of Life Reunion is a 2001 American made-for-television comedy-drama film based on the 1979–1988 NBC sitcom The Facts of Life. It reunited original cast members Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn, and Kim Fields, while Nancy McKeon was unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts. The film originally aired on ABC as a presentation of The Wonderful World of Disney on November 18, 2001, and is the third television film based on the series.
Synopsis
Thirteen years after the series, a widowed Mrs. Garrett returns to America on a cruise ship, ready for a new life and to see her former students. Blair Warner is a lawyer and hotel empire owner with her husband Tad, managed by Mrs. Garrett's son Raymond; they have no children. Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey, now preferring Dorothy, is a Los Angeles morning talk show host and widowed mother of 10-year-old Tisha. Natalie Green is a CNN television news producer with an active love life and global work schedule.
Jo Polniaczek is a police detective, still married to Rick Bonner and mother of 12-year-old Jamie. Natalie has arranged a Thanksgiving reunion in Peekskill, New York.
When Jo cannot attend due to work, her daughter Jamie comes instead. Natalie receives two marriage proposals, and both boyfriends—Robert and Harper—unexpectedly appear, creating trouble that the girls help resolve. Over the holiday, they share personal troubles and rediscover their need for each other's friendship.
Production
The film was shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from September 10, 2001 to October 8, 2001. Outdoor scenes in Peekskill and the train station were filmed as the World Trade Center fell during the September 11 attacks. Nancy McKeon initially met with producers and offered to direct if the plot involved Jo's death, similar to The Big Chill; writer Debora Dean Davis said in 2000, "The biggest fact of life is death." Instead, Jo was absent, with her role as a police detective escorting a material witness mirroring McKeon's role on The Division.
In the movie, Natalie says she hasn't seen Jo "in a lifetime," a reference to the Lifetime network. During filming, Lisa Whelchel called McKeon, saying "Blair's only half the fun without Jo." McKeon later explained her death suggestion was a joke, adding she loved the character and was grateful for it, but felt the world did not need another remake. She was also busy filming the second season of The Division.
The script was written by Max Enscoe and Annie de Young with assistance from Kevin Hench and Heather Juergensen, as original series writers were said not to care, were unavailable, or did not want to participate. Mackenzie Astin, who played Andy Moffett, was quoted in TV Guide in March 2001 hoping to be called if the reunion happened, but he did not appear, nor did Cloris Leachman, George Clooney, or Sherrie Krenn.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Facts of Life Reunion (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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