Best TV questions of 1979

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

The Facts of Life picture

Tootie Drives - S7-E14

Question: Tootie takes her driving test. The instructor tells Tootie to make a U-Turn and as she's halfway into it, the car stops. I think it was because the car ran out of gas. Because of this, Tootie fails the driving test. Why would the instructor fail Tootie? It wasn't her fault the car ran out of gas.

Answer: I didn't see that episode. When you take your driving test, you have to provide the car for the test, and the car has to be in good working condition. They check for that (blinkers working, etc.) So if the car runs out of gas, yes, it is your fault for not making sure the car had enough gas before the test.

Ray

Just saw the episode, and the car wasn't Tootie's. It belonged to the driving school.

You should watch the episode again because it didn't belong to a driving school. (She wasn't even in one). It was a hearse from Natalie's job at the funeral home.

Bishop73

Answer: Tootie didn't say she failed, just that she had to take the test twice because the instructor "wanted to make sure [she] belonged on the streets." It was even brought up that they maybe they should get gas and he said to go. So it wasn't about running out of gas, but all the distractions and antics that had occurred. Although it seems like an exaggerated line as a joke. Earlier she said you only get two chances (meaning to pass). If she had in fact failed this second time, it doesn't seem like the instructor would retest her right away. And if he did, why wouldn't she have been retested right away The First Time instead of having to schedule a 2nd test?

Bishop73

More The Facts of Life questions
The Ropers picture

Show generally

Question: In the pilot episode, Helen says to Stanley that he's now going to have to get a job (assuming to afford living in this pricey townhome), but throughout the entire two-season series, Stanley is shown never getting a job and sits around at home all the time. How did they never run out of money?

Answer: Assuming they made enough income from rentals fees, Helen may have wanted Stanley to find a job solely to get him out of the house and out of her hair. Many women dislike having their husbands home all the time, and, if they're retired, encourage them to find some work or activity outside of the house.

raywest

That's possible, though a bit doubtful since they lived in their old apartment building (the Three's Company one) for 14 years. That was 14 years of Stanley being at home without Helen wanting him to get a job "away from home."

She also isn't shown telling him to get a job for any reason after the pilot episode. Rather than continually nagging him, Helen apparently accepted that he wasn't going to get one. Also, it's a TV show. Writers continually change character dynamics, plot lines, running gags, etc. as the show progresses, which can create either deliberate or unintentional inconsistencies. It was probably something the writers saw no reason to pursue.

raywest

Answer: He owned the entire apartment complex in "Three's Company." Even the sales prices back in the 1970's were in the millions.

But if that's the case, why would Helen tell Stanley he'd have to get a job when they first moved to their new place? Even Stanley gave a worried look when he was questioned that. If they had all money, that scene would not have taken place and Helen never would have brought that up.

More The Ropers questions
The Dukes of Hazzard picture

Double Sting - S1-E13

Question: In this episode, Jessie, ticked off that he had to pay the boy's bail, says that the mortgage payment has to be made to Jason Higgins. I thought that J.D. Hogg held the mortgage to the Duke farm. Has my memory got a hole in it?

Answer: Hogg didn't own the farm and hold the mortgage until that episode. He says that he "bought aII Jason's hoIdings Iast week", but the Dukes didn't know about it and thought they still had to pay Higgins.

Sierra1

More The Dukes of Hazzard questions

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.