One of my favorite lines on The Gilmore Girls was a crack about Asaad Kelada. The Gilmore writers were famous for their pop culture references and many sitcom fans remember seeing 'directed by' followed by Asaad Kelada at the end of many of show of the 80's and 90's.
I was a little young to watch The Facts Of Life during it's original run on NBC. I seem to remember watching a few episodes but it was not until I was in University that the repeats sort of became one of those 'go to' shows. By 'go to' I mean one of these safe shows, one you could count on to make you feel good. Sort of like comfort food.
I think The Facts Of Life, like fellow sitcoms, Golden Girls and Friends specialized in bringing together a group of people, not related by blood, and make them into a family of sorts. A group of people who could count on each other and who you felt would be together for a very long time. I think this feeling, or this theme resonated with me. I think many gay youth who may feel isolated and disenfranchised from society gravitate to such shows
The show was not great, not particularly well written, but there was something about it, maybe it's likable and talented cast, maybe it's heart, that has made it one of televisions longest running sitcoms. The show ran close to a decade with over 200 episodes. Seeing shots of the cast from the TV LAND Awards over the net today had me a little nostalgic. It is not a show I would have normally thought of as important to me bu...there were many times, especially when younger when it provided that bit of comfort so desperately required.
