The Facts of Life
The Chain Letter
TV Flash files “The Chain Letter” as hour 89 of 200 in the TV Flash guide — The Facts of Life (1979–1988) on NBC, season 5, episode 13, aired 1983-12-28, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E13: listed hour 89 of 200 in the The Facts of Life guide, hour 13 of 26 in season 5. It aired 1983-12-28 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Christmas Show” (S05E12). Next is “Next Door” (S05E14).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The girls' careless work habits could lead to the closing of Mrs. Garrett's gourmet shop by the Board of Health.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Chain Letter sit in the The Facts of Life guide?
S05E13 is listed hour 89 of 200 — hour 13 of 26 in season 5, season 5 episode 13.
When did The Facts of Life S05E13 air?
The Chain Letter aired 1983-12-28 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need Diff'rent Strokes first?
Only if you want Mrs. Garrett's origin. The Facts of Life is the spin-off that became its own young-womanhood appointment show once the Eastland ensemble locked.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Teen/young-adult multi-cam that actually let girls lead for years — chemistry over cool. Mrs. Garrett's Eastland wing, Blair Warner privilege, Jo, Natalie, Tootie, and very special episodes as a feature not a bug. A Diff'rent Strokes spin-off that became young-womanhood appointment TV. You take the good, you take the bad — still accurate.
A Diff'rent Strokes spin-off that outgrew the mothership's hallway: NBC's The Facts of Life (1979–1988) windowed Mrs. Garrett into Eastland School and kept her there while the girls aged into young-womanhood appointment TV. Charlotte Rae, Nancy McKeon as Jo, Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner, Kim Fields as Tootie, Mindy Cohn as Natalie. Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon. Very special episodes were a feature, not a bug. Blair Warner privilege energy remains undefeated. **Nine seasons, 200 episodes — long-running young…
Filed against
- Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett
Charlotte Rae’s Edna Garrett walked out of Diff’rent Strokes’ penthouse and into The Facts of Life like a housemother with a catchphrase of care — 1970s catalog into 1980s young-woman appointment TV. TV Flash files her as the spin-off…
- Nancy McKeon as Jo Polniaczek
Nancy McKeon’s Jo Polniaczek brought Eastland some street into The Facts of Life — 1980s girls-lead multi-cam, Mrs. Garrett, Blair Warner privilege, Natalie, Tootie, very special episodes as a feature. A Diff’rent Strokes spin-off that…
- Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner
Lisa Whelchel made privilege look like a major as Blair Warner on The Facts of Life — Eastland girls leading a Diff’rent Strokes spin-off for years, Mrs. Garrett’s wing, very special episodes as a feature not a bug. Chemistry over cool.…
- Kim Fields as Tootie Ramsey
Kim Fields grew up on camera as Tootie Ramsey on The Facts of Life — roller skates, Eastland wing, very special episodes as a feature — then walked into Living Single’s Brooklyn brownstone as grown sitcom chemistry. Girls-lead multi-cam,…
- Mindy Cohn as Natalie Green
Mindy Cohn’s Natalie Green held The Facts of Life’s Eastland wing as the friend who made girls-lead multi-cam feel like a household — 1980s Mrs. Garrett, Blair Warner privilege, Jo, Tootie, very special episodes as a feature not a bug. TV…