Thanks to Superstore, I now own complete the complete first, second, and third seasons of The Facts of Life and the complete first season of One Day at a Time. And the best part is, all four were only 60 dollars! The Facts of Life was interesting because in the first season the cast from Different Strokes (the show it spun off from) came over for an episode or two, and it's neat to see Molly Ringwald in her only television series appearance.
I'm having the most fun however, watching One Day at a Time. I always thought Bonnie Franklin did a remarkable job portraying Ann Romano. And who didn't like Valerie Bertinelli as Barbara? They seemed like a real family to me, and considering my family was pretty similar, I guess it made for some relevant-to-me TV.
Of course, the clothing and hairstyles are outrageous, but that's what the world was like in the late 70's. An embarassing time to be sure, but every generation has one, I think. The shows hold up remarkably well. In fact, the first episode had the newly-divorced Ann Romano moving to Indianapolis, and daughter Julie threatening to move back to her Father's because Ann wouldn't allow her to go on a camping trip where there would be boys and no chaperones.
Even the first episode of The Facts of Life had great relevancy... It dealt with a girl at the school, Cindy, who was a jock and touchy-feely around girls, while Blair insinuated she was a lesbian. Pretty serious stuff, for a sit-com of the period.
Excuse me while I enjoy some classic TV. :-)
