Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete Series DVD review
Jun 09, 2024- Permalink
From the oddball characters and Gabe Kaplan family stories, to the John Sebastian theme song and memorable catchphrases, Welcome Back, Kotter is a familiar TV friend for those of us who grew up in the Seventies. It follows teacher Gabe Kotter (Kaplan), who finds himself teaching not only at his old high school, but also the same remedial “Sweathogs” he was a member of. The show ran for four seasons from September 9, 1975 to May 17, 1979. The four seasons and 95 episodes acted as a launchpad for the film career of John Travolta and his Barbarino character appeared in fewer episodes in season four. Contract disputes with Gabe Kaplan also saw his titular character mostly absent from the final season but, man, those first few seasons left an impression. The cast also included Marcia Strassman as Kotter’s wife Julie, John Sylvester White as the gruff vice principal, Ron Palillo as Horshack, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington, and Robert Hegyes as the proudly Puerto Rican Jew Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein. Warner Brothers has just released Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete Series and I had a chance to look. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.
The standard definition episodes are presented in their original 4:3 aspect ratio. The 95 episodes are spread over 12 discs. Compression artifacts aren’t really a major issue. This is 1970’s television transferred from tape so don’t expect razor sharp detail or a stunning colour palette, but I thought it looked very good given the source material. On home media it will look much better than compressed versions on streaming services or retro broadcast channels.
On the audio side of things, the set comes with a Dolby Digital mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. I didn’t notice any pops or hisses and the jokes and trademark zingers come out very clear as does the memorable John Sebastian theme song.
Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete Series has all 95 episodes spread over 12 DVD discs. Unfortunately, the set is missing the extras and booklet that were present in the 2014 Shout Factory release, but as that set is out-of-print it’s great to see Warner Brothers releasing this classic sitcom again.
Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete Series DVD has very good video and audio presentations for the DVD format. Again, home media will look better than streaming so if this series has a special place in your heart, you’ll love to have this box set in your home library.