Facts of Life: Complete Season 5

In the last few years Shout! Factory have proven themselves to be THE people to rescue our favorite vintage programs from dangerously falling into obscurity as far as the DVD market is concerned.

After more than a three-year delay from Sony, they relinquished the DVD rights of "The Facts of Life" to the wonderful people at Shout! Factory. We got Season Four in May 2010, but the one I have been looking forward to the most (since Season Three) is this one, due out November 2, 2010.

Season Five originally aired on NBC Wednesday nights at 9pm during the 1983-84 TV season and was a milestone of sorts for the show.

First of all, in the fantastic one-hour season premiere (which I hope remains intact as an extended episode and does not include the syndicated two-part version), Mrs. Garrett makes the monumental decision to leave Eastland and open up her own gourmet food shop called Edna's Edibles.

Secondly, Jo and Blair are beginning their first semester at nearby Langley College.

The writers cleverly plot the premiere episode "Brave New World" in a way that has all four girls managing to be roommates away from Eastland, in a way that doesn't seem too contrived (well, in TV Land anyway).

The change of locale injects new life into the series, which was dragging a little in the fourth season, IMO.

The gourmet shop opens up a whole new can of plot possibilities and the writers take full advantage.

A new semi-regular character played by Grease 2's Pamela Segall doesn't make much of a splash overall, but her first appearance comes in one of the best and funniest episodes this season. (Blair: "I'm not afraid of you....anymore").

Another stand-out is when the girls are so pre-occupied with "The Chain Letter" they get Mrs. Garrett in hot water with the Board of Health and she fires all four of them! Jean "Designing Women" Smart makes one of her first TV appearances as the mother of a latch-key kid; Woody "Flamingo Road" Brown is Blair's new boyfriend, whom the girls run into at a male strip club, as the main attraction! Natalie must deal with the death of her father in one of those Very Special Episodes that actually transcends cheesiness.

Geri Jewell is back in occasional appearances, as is Todd Hollowell as Tootie's boyfriend Jeff. Helen Hunt appears in one episode and a new recurring character played by Jami Gertz ("Square Pegs", "Still Standing") gives Blair a run for her money in the annoying department.

This is my second-favorite season of the series (after the third) as I found the stories and acting to be most consistent this year, with the cast fully immersed in their characters.

The next season the show began to slide a little and by 1985, it had morphed into something entirely different, but this is definitely one season you do not want to miss. Get it!

Thanks, Shout! Factory, please keep 'em coming. As long as you continue to release them, I'm buying--even the Cloris Leachman years.

I had bought my daughter the first couple of seasons of this series because I had loved watching it growing up. I wasn't sure if it would hold her attention or not but she loves this show. Every time she finished a season she would ask when she could get the next. Very pleased with how the topics of this show are still what our children go through now and can learn from.

The Facts of Life: The Complete Fifth Season was announced 7/28/2010 by Shout Factory! This installment is released on November 2, 2010.

You have to take a bite out of 25 deliciously 30 minute "Edible" episodes. The Fifth Season (1983-1984) was the second major transition for the series, the first being the second season axe and addition of Nancy McKeon to the cast. Mrs. Garrett being very frustrated by Mr. Parker, Eastland's Headmaster, decides to quit Eastland and open her own gourmet food shop in nearby Peekskill, New York in the Season Premiere Hour Long Episode "Brave New World."

Natalie and Tootie gain permission from their parents to move in with Mrs. Garrett, while Jo lost a scholarship and can not afford the dorm. Mrs. Garrett lends a hand to let her work in the shop in effort to remain in college. Blair rushes Gamma Gamma Gamma and later learns that sorority sister Boots St. Clair (Jami Gertz - Still Standing, Square Pegs) tricked her into sweating about the election, even though she is a legacy, and then decides moves into Mrs. Garrett's house.

The show matures quite a bit this season since the primary focus is the store, Edna's Edibles, and not Eastland Academy. Mrs. Garrett and the girls experience vandalism of the shop by a trouble teen Kelly Affanto (Grease 2's Pamela Segall); visiting a male strip club where Blairs boyfriend is a dancer; illegal computer tampering with a competitive business; Mrs. Garrett learning she may be thrown on the street because her divorsing son's joint ownership, a very odd dream episode where the year is 2000, Mrs. Garrett being possessed and killing customers for much needed meat, Jo's sudden return of an old flame Eddie (Clark Brandon), and fights between the girls parents.

This season is very entertaining and moves quite quickly, one of my personal favorites (along with season 7).

Episodes In Order of Airdate:

5- 1 501 21 Sep 83 Brave New World (1)
Jo and Blair make the difficult transition to college.

5- 2 502 21 Sep 83 Brave New World (2)
Mrs. Garrett decides to open "Edna's Edibles".

5- 3 503 28 Sep 83 Gamma Gamma or Bust
After arranging a sorority party catering job for Mrs. Garrett, Blair gets her fired.

5- 4 505 12 Oct 83 Just My Bill
Jo is resentful when her new boyfriend turns out to be from a wealthy upper-class family.

5- 5 506 19 Oct 83 What Price Glory?
Tootie learns that her athlete beau is illiterate and wants her help to cheat on his exams.

5- 6 507 26 Oct 83 The Halloween Show
On Halloween, the girls think Mrs. Garrett is possessed and trying to kill them.

5- 7 510 2 Nov 83 Advanced Placement
High-school junior Natalie is excited about taking a college-level course, until her grades slip.

5- 8 509 9 Nov 83 I'm Dancing as Fast As I Can
Blair and Jo plan a wild night out at a male strip club for Mrs. Garrett's birthday.

5- 9 508 16 Nov 83 Small But Dangerous
After Mrs. Garrett and the girls befriend a tough girl, there is suspicious vandalism at the shop.

5-10 512 30 Nov 83 Store Games
When a competitor copies Mrs. Garrett's recipes, the girls decide to become counterspies.

5-11 511 14 Dec 83 The Second Time Around
Jo's plan to reunite her divorced parents runs into trouble.

5-12 515 21 Dec 83 The Christmas Show
Jo can't get home and spends Christmas with Mrs. Garrett.

5-13 504 28 Dec 83 Chain Letter
The girls' work habits endanger the shop when there is to be a Board of Health inspection.

5-14 513 4 Jan 84 Next Door
The small boy next door, home alone, refuses to leave during an emergency.

5-15 516 11 Jan 84 Crossing the Line
Natalie is conflicted about accepting an invitation to a dance from Tootie's cousin.

5-16 518 18 Jan 84 All or Nothing
Jo protests when academic scholarships are cut in order to build a sports scoreboard.

5-17 519 1 Feb 84 A Death in The Family
Everyone is shaken when Natalie's father dies unexpectedly.

5-18 520 8 Feb 84 Big Fish/Little Fish
Blair has trouble dealing with Jo's increasing popularity.

5-19 521 15 Feb 84 Star at Langley
A Movie actress attending Langley pursues Blair's boyfriend Cliff.

5-20 522 22 Feb 84 Dream Marriage
A marriage proposal starts Blair dreaming of the future for herself and her friends.

5-21 517 29 Feb 84 Mother and Daughter
Tootie and her visiting lawyer mother seem unable to communicate.

5-22 514 14 Mar 84 All by Herself
Geri is supposed to be in charge of charity-auction preparations, but Blair takes over.

5-23 524 21 Mar 84 Seems Like Old Times
Jo's old Bronx boyfriend returns unexpectedly while on leave from the navy.

5-24 523 2 May 84 Joint Custody
Mrs. Garrett's son Raymond's impending divorce means this may end Edna's Edibles.

5-25 525 9 May 84 The Way We Were (1)
Flashbacks are shown as the girls get ready for summer vacation.

5-26 526 9 May 84 The Way We Were (2)
More flashbacks as the girls reminisce.

Visit [...] for The Facts of Life Site.