Khan

Sigh.

Paul Haggis wrote or co-wrote all my favorite episodes of "The Facts of Life." The show improved by leaps and bounds right around the time he joined the writing staff. Ergo, it sucks to know this about the man...but, as always, I shouldn't be too surprised.

IMO, GL's true savior in 1989 was Robert Calhoun, who had joined the show as EP after working at ATWT. Just as he had done at his previous gig, Calhoun inaugurated an amazing, new "golden era" at GL, promoting Nancy Curlee to Co-HW and recommitting to the show's decades of rich history with the returns of Maureen Garrett and Michael Zaslow. For the first time since the first year of Pam Long's first run as HW, GL, as a whole, felt reinvigorated -- and I say that as someone who enjoyed the show throughout the '80's. Similarly, GL felt as reinvigorated in 1997, even if the quality wasn't as high as it had been during the peak years of Nancy Curlee's HW'ing stint. It's just too bad even THAT run couldn't be sustained for very long.

Sorry. I couldn't resist. I do, too, and I wish it wouldn't. I mean, Stabler can return for an episode, but that should be all.

Agree. "Twice Victim" had its moments, but I think KL did a much better job of handling this issue in the first-season episode, "The Lie." There, Laura's rape was less a plot twist and more an exploration of her character, especially in regards to her relationships with men.

Wow, that's an image I'll never be able to shake. YES!!! Original Carly is ready to cut a b***h! I love it!

I guess that's why I'm mainlining Mylanta at this point. I mean, it's been a full, solid year of constant rug-pulling from this administration -- and we have another three-to-seven more to go with this [!@#$%^&*]? (Provided, of course, Trump doesn't blow us all to kingdom come.) And this on top of student loan debts and continued unemployment?? My anxiety, depression, reflux and weak prostate can't take it.

I sure as hell picked the wrong year to quit drinking.

His wife and kids won't speak to him, and his cronies at the local golf and country club scatter like cockroaches being exposed to light whenever he enters the clubhouse. Ergo, what ELSE is he supposed to do with his free time?

But my busy mind is burning to use what learning I've got,I won't waste any time,I'll strike while the iron is hot. Now there's irony for you: you're afraid of being poisoned, so you eat fast food, which is just another form of poison. This man is like Jem: he's truly, truly, truly outrageous.

Ten bucks says Bubbles was checking out Doug Jones' son when he thought no one was looking. But seriously. I love the look on Doug's wife's face. She's looking at her son the same way Mama Khan always looks at me whenever she KNOWS I'm about to say something I probably shouldn't. I will never forget what her good friend, Sheryl Lee Ralph, told her after she had asked Omarosa, "Why him?," and Omarosa was all "He will be in the WH, and I will be in the WH, and if you hop on this train with me, you will be in the WH, too." "Girlfriend," Sheryl Lee said, "I'm gonna have to miss that train!"

Did they mention Cathy Craig and Kevin's kidnapping during Jessica's abduction? I know Viki herself referenced it in her hysteria when she initially found Jess's crib empty, but did anyone else? At the very least, I might have had the police question Cathy to see whether she had anything to do with it.

Frankly, I don't care what Omarosa has to say about anything, in print OR on TV. I mean, she could reveal (with pictures) that Trump likes to ride through the WH in a toy car, firing off crazy rounds with a shotgun, while screaming, "Death to all the coons and kikes," and I still would not care.

On the one hand, Carl, I agree with you. But, OTOH, the family Trump is just so outrageous that I think anything, like Ivanka's fantasies of being the first female president, is totally possible.

Forgive me, Vee: And it's only the third day of 2018. God help us.

Trump would never resign. To him, resignation carries the same stench as failure, and failure is never an option for that man. No, there's only two ways that man will ever leave the WH: either by defeat in another election (should there BE any more presidential elections ever in this country), or in handcuffs as he is escorted to prison; and either way, I don't expect him to leave quietly.

Oh, he's helping them alright. (Beat.) Into their graves.

A real low point for the character of Val, AFAIC. As for Karen's talk show...well...you'll see.

Well. Imagine that. LOL.

(That's all I can say, really.)

Perhaps a more knowledgeable soul might be able to answer this question: Did Valerie Bertinelli wear the same wedding dress both to her on-screen wedding and to her real-life wedding to Eddie Van Halen? IIRC, a big reason why Barbara got married in the first place (and why the episode was so highly rated) was because Valerie and Eddie's wedding was still big news and the show wanted to capitalize on it. Pretty much. She looked...okay during the previous season, but by the start of S9, it was clear she was deteriorating.

IIRC, Alex didn't get a farewell, per se. Instead, one of the other characters mentioned in passing that he had gone to Europe to be with his mother. Esther Rolle made that one of the conditions for her return. The writers were to make no mention of Carl, as she felt the whole relationship between them to be dishonest. (Florida never would've married after losing James, she said, and she never would've been involved with an atheist.) You're right, Vee, about there being no other option. It wasn't like on the final episode of "The Cosby Show," when they had Denise call the family from overseas, even though everyone knew there was not a chance in hell of Lisa Bonet coming back (not even for the finale). Julie couldn't have called Ann to wish her well, because that would have been too damn awkward.

I pretend that Willona THOUGHT she had the job before, but one of her co-workers went over her head and persuaded the owner/manager to give the job to her instead. Just as I pretend that Florida had plans to return to Carl in Arizona after Thelma's wedding, but when she received word that he had died and requested no memorial service, she elected to remain in Chicago. (Either that, or Carl dumped her for Dee and Raj's mom. Believe me, when you're a regular "Good Times" watcher, you learn how to fill in the blanks.)

I do, too. In fact, I like to pretend this, and not the back-door pilot for Schneider's new life with the circus, was the show's final episode. And the moment when Ann closes the apartment door for the last time? THAT is the moment I always wanted to see with Florida Evans on "Good Times." For me, it wasn't enough for each member of the Evans family to have found their proverbial pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow. I also wanted (and still want, every time I watch the last episode) a moment where Florida takes a final look at the Evans' now-empty apartment, maybe recalls something she and/or James said about getting out of the ghetto someday, and then closes the door. The actor playing Chuck probably couldn't see it. According to Phillips, he "couldn't see for [!@#$%^&*]." I'm kind of like Roseanne in that I always thought Max and Julie, and Mark and Barbara, were all wrong for each other. Pairing Julie with someone like Mark, and Barbara with someone more like Max, would have been so much more interesting to watch.