Product Details

• Actors: Charlotte Rae, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon, Lisa Welchel
• Directors: Valentine Mayer, Jim Drake (II), Asaad Kelada, Nick Havinga
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: October 24, 2006
• Run Time: 602 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000HIVIOC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,911 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Facts of Life - The Complete Third Season" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

School is back in session as Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae) and the girls of Eastland return for the third season of The Facts of Life, one of the biggest TV hits of the '80s! Share the laughter with Blair (Lisa Whelchel), Tootie (Kim Fields), Natalie (Mindy Cohn), and Jo (Nancy McKeon) as they learn the important lessons that will shape their lives. Third season highlights include the girls' adventures in Manhattan, the cute boys of Bates Academy, the return of Cousin Geri, and even a special guest-star appearance by Jermaine Jackson.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 81 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It just keeps getting better from here on! Episodes with Descriptions August 12, 2006

By A.B.

Format:DVD

The Facts of Life was the longest running sitcom with an all female cast and of the 1980's. As years goes by the series evolves and just keeps getting better. Season three is by far better than the previous two, with the girls at Eastland (only one more year to go -- then comes 2 years of Edna's Edibles and 3 years of Over Our Head's Era's) they tackle more serious issues as the years go by and as the girls get older. In this season premiere, Tootie feeling left out because she is the youngest and is tired of getting picked on by Blair, Jo, and Natalie turns to alcohol to prove that she is 'just as grown up' as the other girls. As old as this series is, many issues are still current today with teens, and college problems. The stories are very well laid out and realistic (other than season two where it was kind of cheesy in many spots).

This season marks one of the most memorable episode of the series with the infamous Paint Fight, which gets the girls into more trouble and put on probation until graduation.

Sony has included all full length 24 episodes of season three in this box set. The run time is 602 minutes, which means that The Facts of Life Goes To Paris 2 hr movie (ran as episode numbers 54, 55, 56 and 57 in the series) will not be included in this set, but may be included in the Season Four set.

Episodes are as followed

30 28 Oct 81 Growing Pains

Tootie, tired of being treated like a little girl, turns to alcohol.

31 4 Nov 81 Fear Strikes Back

Natalie withdraws after being attacked while returning from a party.

32 11 Nov 81 A Baby in the House

Blair's married friend brings her baby for a visit and then disappears....

33 18 Nov 81 A Friend in Deed

Blair learns her mother has been hiding her breast cancer from the family.

34 25 Nov 81 Front Page

Jo's hot news story has serious repercussions for her journalism teacher.

35 2 Dec 81 Give and Take

The girls help Mrs. Garrett when she suffers a financial crisis.

36 9 Dec 81 Sweet Sorrow

Jo begins to fall for her class-project husband as her boyfriend Eddie comes to visit.

37 16 Dec 81 From Russia With Love

Natalie has romantic plans for the weekend when her adoring grandmother comes to visit.

38 23 Dec 81 Dear Me

Worried about camping with boys from Bates, Tootie invents an imaginary boyfriend.

39 30 Dec 81 Cousin Geri Returns

The girls question Geri's date when he asks her out again.

40 6 Jan 82 Legacy

Receiving a bequest from her grandfather, Blair learns a surprising secret about her family.

41 13 Jan 82 Green-Eyed Monster

Natalie becomes jealous when Tootie gets the lead in the school play.

42 20 Jan 82 The Americanization of Miko

A Japanese student's eagerness to learn American ways upsets her traditional father.

43 27 Jan 82 The Marriage Brokers

Blair is surprised by what she learns about Mrs. Garrett's new beau.

44 3 Feb 82 Starstruck

Tootie's friends are concerned about her obsession with singer Jermaine Jackson.

45 10 Feb 82 The Four Musketeers

Released from custody, the girls must decide whether to go on being roommates.

46 17 Feb 82 The Affair

Natalie has a painful confrontation with her father after seeing him with another woman.

47 24 Feb 82 Runaway

Tootie decides to go to New York unchaperoned and encounters teenage prostitution.

48 3 Mar 82 New York, New York

Vacation trips home seem to make Blair and Jo's feud worse.

49 17 Mar 82 Kids Can Be Cruel

Natalie's revenge on Blair hurts an innocent bystander.

50 24 Mar 82 Mind Your Own Business

Secrecy becomes all-consuming after Natalie learns that Blair peeked into her diary.

51 31 Mar 82 The Academy

Blair's blind date for a military school dance is actually a delinquent.

52 14 Apr 82 Jo's Cousin

Jo's 14-year-old lovesick tomboy cousin back home needs her help.

53 5 May 82 Read No Evil

Jo takes up the battle when Mrs. Garrett and Natalie get nowhere on the issue of banned books.

Remember to order the latest release to get more seasons/era's on dvd!!!!! A great sales for the 1st/2nd seasons made this season come out very early!!! A great Facts of Life site is at

[...] -- The Facts of Life Site Read more ›

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars HELLO SONY PICTURES THE FANS ARE WAITING IN VAIN FOR SEASON 4!!!! November 13, 2007

By Tamra J. Gibson

Format:DVD

I just don't understand how these studios will wait so long to release classic shows like Alice, Maude, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Mary Tyler Moore, and the Facts of Life, but break their necks to release todays current crap shows at record speed??? It's like they wait so long in between releases then the tv show falls off the radar, which can cause poor future sales. I want to support these classic shows, but I see why there is a whole black market on the internet to buy these shows alot faster on dvd!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 4th season? 5th season? Whats the hold up!?!?!?! June 3, 2007

By Walter G. Krueger Jr.

Format:DVD

Uummmm Yha you can only watch the 3rd season so many times before you know it word for word.... so what gives? where are the other season's on dvd?!?!? Bring on Beverly Ann and Andy already! "Over our heads" people!!! Talk about slow release's.

SOMEONES IN TROUBLLLLLE...........LOL

Just Hurry it up already!

Thank You!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Gulity Pleasure January 24, 2007

By N. Mills

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just love stuff about girls in boarding school. It's such a trip to see all the styles and stars of the eighties again. The show is just as good now as it was then. It's also nice to watch about teenagers where the kids are more innocent than todays teen shows.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the all time great TV sitcoms! November 1, 2006

By J. McDonald VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I grew up watching "The facts of life" when it originally aired back in the late 70's and early 80's. In my opinion it ranks among the best TV sitcoms of all time.

Some viewers may find the scripts and acting to be a bit "heavy handed", but just remember not to judge too harshly or you may find that your viewing sophistication has come with a very high price tag - a loss of innocence. Children of the late 70's and early 80's viewed many sitcoms from the 50's and 60's with the same type of scrutiny that is sure to be applied to "The Facts of Life" by today's viewing audience. But the fact remains that the same simple magic and wisdom that exists within a program such as "Leave it to Beaver" also exists within "The Facts of Life", no matter how "uncool" or "unhip" you may judge it to be. To those critics who label this series as "corny" or "dated" I would only say that I'd much rather live in a "corny" world filled with hope and inspiration than an uninspired, "reality tv" infested wasteland.

At the core of this series is a strong heartbeat that still resonates a very important message of love, caring, understanding, innocence, truth, honesty and hope. You'll laugh and you'll cry as you follow the youthful cast on a wonderful and sometimes painful journey. I actually feel very lucky to have been able to watch and APPRECIATE this series as a child and I can only hope that current and future generations of children will get that chance as well.

As far as the DVD set itself, the packaging is excellent and the picture quality is great! I do however wish that this set had "extras" like those included on the "season 1 & 2" set. I would love to hear episode commentary by cast members, especially Nancy McKeon who was absent from the extras on the previous set.... I guess we can only hope for the future!

My only complaint is that I can watch an entire box set a whole lot faster than Sony can release them :) I'm hoping that Sony doesn't let this series "stall" and continues to release each season at a fast rate!

HOW CAN YOU HELP TO MAKE SURE FUTURE SEASONS ARRIVE QUICKLY?

By purchasing the product "NEW" from Amazon (or another legitimate retailer) your purchase will "count" and Sony will hear the message. When you purchase any item "used" you'll probably be saving money but your purchase will mostly go unheard by the releasing studio. Sony (and other DVD releasing studios) are in the business of making money, so make every one of your purchases COUNT and remember to BUY IT NEW!

- JM Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great show, get this one June 24, 2007

By Iceblue

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Imagine my delight when I saw all 3 seasons stocked at a mall department store. Amazon had them on sale, so I ordered them all online at once. Needless to say, I watched them all as soon they finally arrived in my mailbox. No bonus features here, but otherwise everything's closed-captioned. Kudos to the one responsible for this particular feature I truly, absolutely appreciate.

As I said here regarding seasons 1 and 2 (see separate review), I fell in love with it since it premiered despite the changes made for S2. I'd watch it every week if I get to remember, thru high school. I'd moved on, sometimes not realizing it was *still* around, but when I did I decided to stick with it again in later years til it went off in 1988.

TFOL finished 24th in the ratings a couple times in its 9-year run, in season 3 at 19.1 and 5 at 17.3. All other seasons, probably somewhere in the top 40 if not better. If I remember right, this show finished in the top 30 in the 9th and final season at 14.9, a very respectable number at the time if you ask me. Some shows crash and burn in the final season, but not this one. 0:)

I'll get future seasons as soon as they come out. Hopefully the DVD sales will still be good to ensure the rest to be released in due time.