The Facts of Life - Season 7, Episode 18

"Hey Marge. We'll wait here patiently for whenever you feel like picking up the phone and summoning some help."

"Concentration"
Original airdate: 2/8/1986

Episode summary: Blair gets stuck in an elevator with a Holocaust survivor.

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Recap: Blair is babysitting her infant sister Bailey while anxiously awaiting Mrs. Garrett's return from her Winnebago road trip with Beverly Ann so she can rush off to the Junior Entrepreneurs banquet to accept a plaque she's being awarded. As Blair rehearses her acceptance speech, Natalie and Tootie take turns amusing the baby in order to get her to stop mewling - but to no avail. Tootie urges Blair to leave Bailey in their care while she attends the banquet, but Blair points out that she's the only person [aside from the negligent Monica, who's currently vacationing in Bolivia] who can get her baby sister to stop fussing.

Mrs. Garrett calls from a payphone to report that she's at a rest stop in a remote corner of New Jersey and likely won't make it home in time to look after Bailey during the awards ceremony. Blair assures her it's A-OK and that she'll work something out...then tells the Facts gals they're all going to have to head over to the venue and keep their fingers crossed that Bailey doesn't cry too loudly during her feeding time, which is around the time Blair is scheduled to deliver her acceptance speech.

"I think we're lost in the Pines."

"In that case, we hope to see you in time for the Season 7 finale."

The Facts gals (plus Andy and Bailey) arrive at The Palaces, aka a grand old European style hotel that's scheduled for demolition. Blair wheels Bailey around the lobby in her carriage...and when an old woman hovers over the snoozing tot and remarks on how sweet she is, a stressed Blair snaps, "Touch her and die." LOL.

When the elevator opens, the Facts gang piles inside...and the commotion wakes Bailey, who starts crying again. Blair urges everyone to head up to the banquet room her while she stays behind to change the baby's diaper.

Blair catches the next elevator and wheels Bailey's carriage inside with the help of the friendly elevator operator named Sam, who coos about how darn cute her baby is. When the elevator comes to an abrupt stop a few seconds later, Sam breezily says it looks like "Bessy" is on the fritz again. He picks up the emergency phone, calls someone named Marge, and engages in some banal chitchat before informing her that he and a woman with a baby are currently stuck between floors and could probably use the aid of Harry the repairman.

The rest of the Facts castmates, meanwhile, are milling around outside the banquet room, wondering what could be keeping Blair. Andy rushes over and says he just learned that The Palaces is being torn down next week - just as Tootie notices that the elevator hasn't moved in the last several minutes and is likely stuck. Jo suddenly realizes it's 7pm, which is Bailey's feeding time...and somehow Andy has her bottle of formula. Natalie points out that if Blair doesn't emerge within the next minute or two, one of them is going to have to go onstage to accept her plaque...and Tootie eagerly volunteers and says she'd looooove to fill in and give a dramatic Oscar style acceptance speech.

Sam asks Blair about the plaque she's receiving, and Blair says it's for some entrepreneurial idea she came up with and is sooooo proud of herself for being on the cusp of corporate geniusness - but hastily adds that regardless of her career, she'd never neglect her little sister. Sam glances around and says that Harry can sometimes be difficult to track down, given his penchant for napping on the job...and a dismayed Blair picks up the emergency phone and snappishly orders Marge to send Harry over to the elevator pronto. When Marge responds by sobbing into the phone, Blair sheepishly asks her to please just do whatever she can whenever she feels like getting around to it. An amused looking Sam asks Blair what she has planned for her acceptance speech...and as she begins to recite it to him, she looks aghast when he rolls up his sleeve and reveals a concentration camp identification number tattooed on his forearm.

As Jo and Natalie continue to wait for Blair to emerge from the elevator, Sam sings to Bailey...but soon notices that Blair has caught sight of his arm tattoo. He tells her that, yep, he was imprisoned in a concentration camp during WWII, but that he's worked hard to put the horror of the Holocaust behind him after immigrating to the U.S. and building a manufacturing plant. Things in his life were going fine - until one day, while he was riding in a taxi, he was certain he saw his brother Carl walking down the street. By the time he was able to exit the cab, Carl had disappeared...and despite walking that street every day for the next month, he had no luck spotting him ever again. He subsequently went bankrupt launching an intensive search for Carl, then figured that since his brother loved to explore buildings with old style European architecture, it was only a matter of time before he stepped foot into The Palaces...which is why he spends his days working inside the decrepit Bessy. 

Sam pulls out a poem that Carl wrote decades ago and says he carried it in his shoes for as long as he had shoes, then memorized it so he could write it down after the war. He reads it aloud for Blair, and she looks visibly touched by the words detailing the boys' pre-WWII family life and promises to slow her future corporate go-go-go lifestyle down in order to always make time for Bailey.

"I would give everything I have to find my long lost brother."

"In that case, I will try to set aside at least a minimal amount quality time for my baby sister."

Marge calls Sam to report that Harry is on the case and should get Bessy moving soon - but by this time Blair is no longer in a rush and warmly tells Sam she's not one bit sorry about how her evening turned out.

When Blair finally emerges from the elevator, Tootie informs her that she delivered her acceptance speech in grand form, then hands her her plaque. Blair says she actually had quite a lovely time while stuck between floors, then shoots Sam a smile. She asks him how he feels about the imminent demolition of The Palaces, but Sam just shrugs unconcernedly and says he'll likely get a job as an usher at an old movie-house that Carl would, no doubt, frequent if he happens to be in the area...and with that said, Blair bids Bessy adieu and exits the hotel with Bailey and the rest of the Facts gang.

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