DVD Corner

Welcome Back, Kotter- The Complete Series DVD Review

“Welcome Back, Kotter” is a dated 70’s comedy.

1975’s “Welcome, Back Kotter” is a TV sitcom that lasted 4 seasons and 95 episodes. The series revolved around the titular Gabe Kotter- a teacher who takes a job at his former high school Buchanan High in Brooklyn, New York. His position? To teach a remedial class known as The Sweathogs comprised of students Vinnie Barbarino, Horshack, Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington, Juan Epstein among others. While the series does address real life subject matters such as dating, careers, crime, loss, cheating, drugs, suicide and sexism, the plots involved on a lot of shenanigans including a field trip, misunderstandings, grades, and, yes, Horshack getting married. The 2 other key characters (who have numerous storylines throughout the series) are Gabe’s wife Julie and the grouchy Vice Principal Mr. Woodman. 

There’s undoubtedly a fair amount of viewers out there who grew up on “Welcome Back, Kotter” and have fond memories of the comedic series. ‘Kotter’ might even continue to be a comfort food type of series to some of those viewers and that’s perfectly fine. We all have series that we grew up with that we still cherish to this day. With that said, ‘Kotter’ is not one of those series that has any nostalgic meaning to me (but the theme song by John Sebastian still slaps though).

To say ‘Kotter’ is a dated product of its time is an understatement. The cornball jokes that open and close episodes, the shoehorned in catch phrases (“What? Where? Why?” and “Up your nose with a rubber hose”), the quintessential cartoony hit character (the class clown Horshack), the canned laughter, the over exaggerated drama, the cast members who don’t remotely look high school age, it’s all here. It’s very much a sitcom of yesteryear and it’s a reminder of just how pedestrian TV comedies could be. It’s also a reminder of just how far TV has come with much more nuanced and sophisticated TV. If you take the show at face value you might find yourself enjoying at least some of it. There is something endearing about a teacher (Gabe) developing a bond with his students that wind up listening to him and supporting him, but like many sitcoms, the premise is quickly worn thin. The fourth season is especially rough to watch with the titular character and Vinnie Barbarino only appearing in a few episodes before departing the series. It’s hard for any show to continue without the lead character and the biggest star in the show with John Travolta (Vinnie).

Speaking of Travolta, it’s no secret that this is the series that skyrocketed him to stardom. In fact, that’s probably one of the most noteworthy aspects of the entire series. His charisma, comedic timing, and movie star looks ensured he was going to have a long career outside of the series. Naturally, he did. Gabe Kaplan may be the star, but his shtick is rather stilted and hammy nowadays. Ron Palillo truly made Horshack his own. It’s not hard to see why the character became a big part of pop culture at the time. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs also shined as the cool and athletic Freddie. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: Fullscreen. Grade: B-

Audio Track: Dolby Digital 2.0. Grade: B

No extras.

June 16, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | 70's, John Travolta, Sitcom, Welcome Back Kotter, Welcome Back Kotter- The Complete Series DVD Review