In the first season of Facts of Life, the character of Tootie was stated to be 12 years old, since actress
Kim Fields was only nine and would have been too young to be attending the Eastland School. Six seasons later, she would be nineteen and would already have been eligible to drive for nearly three years. In this episode, the plot is written using Field's actual age of sixteen, overlooking that the character is supposed to be three years older.