After more than a decade since we'd seen the Facts of Life girls back together, it is fitting that our reunion comes in the form of a Thanksgiving special. Traditionally, it is the coming together of families and loved ones so they may give Thanks, while sharing a meal, usually of turkey and autumn vegetables. And when old friends come together, it is also a time for drama, antics and nostalgia!
After so many years, would the characters be recognizable? I felt they handled this well even showing them back in the cafeteria, a set we had not seen since season four. There were many references to the original run of the show, which added credibility to some of the scenes. Such as Blair in the mirror pulling a grey hair or Natalie as a reporter and still loving the boys. And Tootie successfully bringing out such a classic line without sounding contrite, "There's gonna be trouubbblee!"
Mrs. Garrett, now widowed is ready to come home and spend the holiday with her family. And of course, she always has a date!!
Blair is happily married, a lawyer, and extremely wealthy. She has long since sold Eastland, but nostalgic for Peekskill, bought an Inn where the girls go to stay for the holiday. She soon finds herself facing the possibility of divorce. Something she'd seen her mother go through far too often.
Tootie, now answering to Dorothy, is tired of the talkshow scene and longs for the theatre. Her childhood sweetheart, Jeff, had died years earlier and she felt herself drifting away from their daughter.
Natalie became the reporter she always dreamed she'd be, and dating two men. When they both fall in love with her she must decide who she really loves.
Of course there were things missing, like JO... Some missing characters were mentioned or represented, such as Jo's daughter Jaime playing prominently, and others not at all. What goes on offscreen, who can say? Perhaps there were phone calls and letters from missing loved ones like Mrs. Garrett's sister Beverly Ann. Nancy McKeon had once said she wouldn't do a reunion, however, that was not the reason for her absence. She was working on THE DIVISION and could simply not get away. Since she was playing a cop, it was written that Jo had become a cop and was working on a case she couldn't get away from, which looking at Jo's history seemed pretty believable! And then there was mention of George, and how he ran off to seek his fame in a nod to his portrayer George Clooney, or Blair talking about her cousin Geri. Characters aside, the reunion mostly just needed a better score. The filler music in most of the scenes gave it too light a feel, almost goofy at times, and a better score could have given the plot more weight, perhaps akin to the series itself.
In the end, I was just Thankful to see them back together and to revisit those old times with nostalgia. So Happy Thanksgiving!!
