Welcome Back, Kotter!: Television Favorites

Someone coming upon this ‘70s sitcom for the first time today would no doubt ask themselves, “Why was this show so popular? And what did anybody see in Gabe Kaplan?” In case you've forgotten (and we don't blame you), Welcome Back, Kotter! starred erstwhile standup comedian Kaplan as an unorthodox teacher who returns to his old high school to instruct a remedial class of underachievers known as “the Sweathogs.” These modern-day Bowery Boys include handsome wisenheimer Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta in the role that catapulted him to stardom), Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), Juan Epstein (Robert Hegyes), and, last—and by all means least—Arnold Horshack (Ron Palillo). Among the sextet of episodes compiled here—two shows each from the first three seasons—are “One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” “Sweatside Story,” and “The De-Programming of Arnold Horshack.” It's hard to imagine that American primetime viewers were once convulsed with laughter over such deathless lines as, “Up your nose with a rubber hose”—frankly, this second time around most of the chuckles come from looking at those disco-era haircuts and clothes. Given the fact that true fans repeatedly insist that they want to see full season sets, the audience for this extra-less single-disc sampler is questionable. Not recommended. [Note: also newly available are The Drew Carey Show: Television Favorites and Night Court: Television Favorites.] (E. Hulse)