Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete First Season
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Actor: Gabe Kaplan, John Travolta, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Robert Hegyes, Ron PalilloBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 553 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-06-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete First Season
DVD Review: Welcome back to a revolutionary show
Summary: 5 Stars
So many sitcoms produced in the 1970's attempted to address `real life' issues and emergent social trends, and did an overall good job with that heady charge. You watch the shows and instantly know they were produced in the 1970's--there is no second guessing their era of production. Yet, because the `current issues' and/or terms of debate have largely since changed, those same shows now appear dated when trying to be viewed today
However. our nation's current emphasis on standardized testing and high scores as a measure of all achievement ironically ensures that Mr. Kotter and the antics of his sweathogs are readily welcomed back onto your TV screen today! Nothing has changed.
Having been in special education myself and now seeing my friends return as special education teachers, I know that this series still speaks to our own experiences--even though we graduated high school in the 1990's and they are now teaching in the 21st century. When this show originally ran, special education had just been authorized in the United States and the idea that students with disabilities were entitled to a free public education honestly was far more `radical' than it is today.
He's not wearing an armband or button, but Mr. Kotter is every bit the `countercultural hero' just for wanting to give his students the very same quality of education which his teachers and the school principal (ironically now his employer) had once denied to him--and for still being `outside the system' he gets picked on by the establishment' in a couple of episodes.( "Mr. Kotter. Teacher", "Mr. Kotter Makes Good"). Recognizing he is their advocate, the sweathogs stick up for Mr. Kotter.
22 episodes make up this 1975-1976 season. "Father Vinnie" is a good episode because Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta) attempts to honor the dying request of his grandmother and become the quintessential Italian priest. However, our teenage ladies man discovers that being true to himself means that he will not then be able to successfully fulfill this obligation. It's still funny seeing John Travolta looking so young in this show! Travolta was then being marketed as a `teen heartthrob' but he's had the last laugh on everybody with a very long and successful acting career, replete with substantial acting roles.
I also like "The Telethon" because it raises the specter (especially in those early years) of how special education classes recieved their funding (if at all). Requiring a school to have remedial classes is nice, but then how will the eligible students receive the education to which they are entitled to let alone what quality of education can those students recieve without an appropriate amount of money being allocated to run the programs? A program without sufficient money essentially does not exist.
Like "Dr. Epstein, I Presume" a misguided high school guidance counselor had only seen my own future in terms of my disability rather than my specific capabilities and career interests. "Arrividerci, Arnold" echoed the sense of loss everybody sincerely felt upon somebody's promotion out of the remedial program because being an `outcast' inadvertently had forced us to become a very close-knit family! Watching both episodes honestly was like revisiting my own high school experiences during the 1990's.
Obviously this show remains good entertainment. I'm seriously convinced that it also should be an essential component of current teacher education curriculums across the country, particularly for those who are considering entering the field of special education.
Yes, there obviously were some changes, but so many issues discussed in this series continue to cross-over. Watching a couple of episodes could provide today's teacher education students with an opportunity to launch into a discussion about how society's definitions of `smart' and `success' consequently impact the classroom environment and student capabilities.
Description of Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete First Season
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/12/2007 Run time: 553 minutes Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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