Welcome Back, Kotter

[ClassyCo]

I can't remember which station, but I used to watch reruns of WELCOME BACK, KOTTER a few years ago. It was enjoyable enough, and there were even times the show made me laugh. It aired on ABC from 1975 to 1979, producing four seasons and 95 half-hour episodes. It was a star vehicle for Gabe Kaplan, and made John Travolta into a heartthrob.

Any fans out there?

​

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I recall watching it regularly at the time. It was one of those shows I didn't love but sat through... Nearly everybody died youngish (okay, in their sixties -- I just checked) except Kaplan and Travolta.

It was mildly amusing enough to keep me tuning in -- though once Travolta left for SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, I watched less often. Not that he was my favorite.

Marcia Strassman had that Diane Keaton thing goin' on.

 

[Chris2]

Marcia Strassman was one of the best things about Kotter (she and Jan Smithers of WKRP remind me of each other). Gabe Kaplan wasn’t a great actor, though I have mad respect for him putting blowhard Robert Conrad in his place on Battle of the Network Stars.

James Komack was a lousy producer. He also produced the equally cringeworthy Chico and the Man. And he ruined the TV version of 9 to 5 after he wrested control of it away from Jane Fonda and her producing partner.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Marcia Strassman was one of the best things about Kotter (she and Jan Smithers of WKRP remind me of each other). Gabe Kaplan wasn’t a great actor, though I have mad respect for him putting blowhard Robert Conrad in his place on Battle of the Network Stars.

James Komack was a lousy producer. He also produced the equally cringeworthy Chico and the Man. And he ruined the TV version of 9 to 5 after he wrested control of it away from Jane Fonda and her producing partner.

Agreed. I remember Komack asserting that "and now it's a hit!" once he took over 9 to 5, as the ratings promptly crashed and it was cancelled.

Wishful thinking PR doesn't guarantee Neilsen numbers.

 

[Seaviewer]

I'm not sure how well it would hold up now but I was a big Kotter fan at the time. The catchphrases are still very repeatable.

 

[Crimson]

I think I only saw KOTTER a few times on TVLand or something when I was in my 20s. It was one of those shows with high school "kids" that looked like they were old enough to have a mortgage and a second marriage.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

I watched it when I was a kid in it's first run. It started off not bad, but seemed to run out of steam early. Some of the gags became annoying fast, like Horseshack and his laugh.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

This is one that to be fair, I would really need to go back and give it another chance. My only real memory is..Nick at Nite again..only I seem to recall it during a summer, when each night would be dedicated to only one show..something along those lines, and I remember never being wild about Kotter night. LOL. I just have the memory of each episode starting out with a few licks from the actual intro, and all the sayings..didn't the teacher himself leave the last season, or was it his wife?

 

[Seaviewer]

Kotter made only sporadic appearances in the final season, his absence explained by a promotion to vice-principal, despite his having said he would never want that job earlier in the series.
I'd say the first two seasons are very funny, albeit formulaic. From memory, in the third they tried to open it up by getting out of the classroom, and that wasn't so successful. The final, Travolta-free season would probably have best been avoided altogether.