Tread Perilously is a podcast in which hosts Erik Amaya and author Justin Robinson watch the “worst” episodes of popular TV shows, attempting to determine if they would continue to watch the series based on the most off-key moments.

This Week: The Facts of Life Goes to Paris

Tread Perilously‘s Guest Star Grab Bag month continues with The Facts of Life‘s first TV movie: The Facts of Life Goes to Paris.

When the girls and Mrs. Garrett make arrangements for summer classes in France, most of their time there is uneventful. But with only five days left, the girls escape from their boarding school to see the sights of Paris. Well, Natalie and Tootie are committed to being tourists, anyway. Blair looks for romance while Jo happens upon one while trying to get to Le Mans. Mrs. Garrett, meanwhile, seems to find love as an adjunct to her main objective: impressing a snooty French chef.

Paul and Corey Cross the Streams co-host Paul Pakler joins Erik and Justin for an episode five or six years in the making. The trio immediately examines why the film needed six writers to complete the script. A Quentin Tarantino discussion breaks out. Paul notes the premise of The Facts of Life changes every season. Justin’s Mrs. Garrett impression gets a workout. He and Paul debate whether or not Marty McFly’s truck is a bourgeois prize of 1980s cinema. Paul defends the French schoolmarm tasked with wrangling the girls. Erik pitches Revenge of the Red Baron to Paul. Frank Bonner proves to be the movie’s MVP, and literary fiction gets skewered again.

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