The Beginning of the Beginning

"The Facts of Life" was a great show about young girls who became women over many years. And like many other people have posted already, this show's ending stinks. I don't have a problem with the main action of the episode, which sets Blair up as the new headmistress of Eastland. It's nice to see Eastland again.

But the cramming of a finale in the last few minutes of the episode is a real disservice to viewers. Heck, Natalie wasn't even there! Guys, she wasn't REALLY in Manhattan. You could have grabbed Mindy Cohn from backstage and put her in that final photo. On a related note, Charlotte Rae wasn't really in the Peace Corps in Africa either. They should have had Natalie on the main set and maybe a phone call from Mrs. Garrett at the end. Better yet, a last minute walk on from Rae. But what we did get was sloppy and felt rushed. The show had been going downhill since the beginning of the 8th season as it was (we were a long way from the era of the paint fight; the final seasons consisted of too many fantasy episodes and a Santa Claus episode that should be removed from rotation) and this final goodbye just ended things with a dull thud. Thank goodness two years later we had the finale of "Newhart" that restored my faith in final episodes.

A soggy end to a sharp series.