Besides All In The Family Welcome Back Kotter was without a doubt one of the funniest sitcoms to ever hit television screens during the 1970's and still remains a classic. I used to watch this a lot as a teenager and then it was removed from the afternoon line up on channel 54, this show helped to launch the career of many especially John Travolta who instantly became a super star.
Gabe Kotter, (Kaplan) an understanding teacher returns to his old school James Buchanan High in Brooklyn to teach a remedial class and social studies to a new generation of troublemakers called the Sweathogs. They are a group of unteachable and underachieving young men led by Vinnie Barbarino (Travolta) a funny guy with tons of insults. Juan Epstein, (Hegyes)a Puerto Rican Jew, ultra cool Freddie Boom Boom Washington (Jacobs) and big nerd Arnold Horshack (Palillo). Kotter once a sweat hog himself tries to use his own experiences to get through to his students but they're often interrupted by Mr. Woodman (White) the cranky principal.
By the second season Gabe and his wife Julie (Strassman) became the proud parents of twin daughters and she became a teacher at Buchanan High. At the start of season 3 Vinnie graduated from high school and a new guy Beau De Labarre (Shortridge) was introduced into the Sweathogs he too was a troublemaker.
Season four was a little boring without the presence of Kaplan and Travolta however the main highlight was when Arnold fell in love and married his girlfriend Mary Johnson (Arranga)at the end of the series. My favorite characters were Horshack who had this laugh that sounded more like wheezing and Epstein who always had excuse notes to get out of anything. For fans of old classics pick up a copy of Welcome Back Kotter season 1 now out on DVD it's sure to bring laughs.
Gabe Kotter, (Kaplan) an understanding teacher returns to his old school James Buchanan High in Brooklyn to teach a remedial class and social studies to a new generation of troublemakers called the Sweathogs. They are a group of unteachable and underachieving young men led by Vinnie Barbarino (Travolta) a funny guy with tons of insults. Juan Epstein, (Hegyes)a Puerto Rican Jew, ultra cool Freddie Boom Boom Washington (Jacobs) and big nerd Arnold Horshack (Palillo). Kotter once a sweat hog himself tries to use his own experiences to get through to his students but they're often interrupted by Mr. Woodman (White) the cranky principal.
By the second season Gabe and his wife Julie (Strassman) became the proud parents of twin daughters and she became a teacher at Buchanan High. At the start of season 3 Vinnie graduated from high school and a new guy Beau De Labarre (Shortridge) was introduced into the Sweathogs he too was a troublemaker.
Season four was a little boring without the presence of Kaplan and Travolta however the main highlight was when Arnold fell in love and married his girlfriend Mary Johnson (Arranga)at the end of the series. My favorite characters were Horshack who had this laugh that sounded more like wheezing and Epstein who always had excuse notes to get out of anything. For fans of old classics pick up a copy of Welcome Back Kotter season 1 now out on DVD it's sure to bring laughs.