Watching Sitcoms

All those DVDs I borrowed are gonna have to go back to the library soon, but I did manage to watch the entire disk of Welcome Back, Kotter episodes. I think there were six of them, and for some reason, the pilot episode didn’t air first, but was actually shown third in the series. I’m not sure why it was that way, but that’s how they are on the DVD as well. However, I’m a rebel, so I watched the pilot first and then went back and watched the other eps.

They were pretty funny. Even now, they didn’t come across as totally dated. OK, they were definitely dated, very 70’s and hip and all that, but still, it didn’t detract in any way from the show.

I think I must relate to that type of humor much better than I do to whatever is considered more modern humor. It was basically a bunch of one-liners and zingers back and forth. Gabe Kaplan was a stand up comedian at the time, which is very much a standard for your typical good sitcom scenario (think Raymond, Cosby, Seinfeld, etc.) He did a lot of voices and always told a joke at the beginning and end of each ep, with his sitcom wife, Julie, played by Marcia Strassman, as his straight man. She was great in that role, although she does, occasionally crack a smile. One of his favorite characters was Groucho Marx and, somehow, as hackneyed as that sounds, it was funny.

So much of that show crept into our culture at the time, plus, they gave us John Travolta. I’m always amazed at how many different genres in which he has performed and excelled. He’s been in comedies, dramas and musicals. He has sung and danced, delivered jokes and acted as the evil bad man, and he’s been believable. Plus, he’s been successful in both small and big screens . . . not many actors are versatile enough to do well on both TV and in movies. I’m not plugging him or anything, its not like he’s even one of my favorite actors, he’s just good.

He wasn’t the only good person on Kotter, though, they were all really funny in their own way and worked very well together as an ensemble.

If you have the time, Kotter is worth watching again. I’m not certain how it will appeal to a younger audience who didn’t actually grow up with the Sweathogs in their living room every week, but I really enjoyed it. Plus, there are 95 eps and I’ve only seen the first 6. It should keep me busy for a while.

Welcome Back Kotter, Gabe Kaplan, Marcia Strassman, John Travolta