The other three, Esptein, Vinny, and Freddie had a unique COOLNESS about them that made the show funny. Freddie had his-"HI THERE", Vinny had the walk and the "YOU CAN"T DO THAT TO ME, I"M VINNY BABARINO!, and Esptein had the cool walk too. Arnold on the other hand was a weirdo with no love life and a crazy laugh that gave him a unique DORKINESS. I understood why a nerd character was necessary.

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
The other three, Esptein, Vinny, and Freddie had a unique COOLNESS about them that made the show funny. Freddie had his-"HI THERE", Vinny had the walk and the "YOU CAN"T DO THAT TO ME, I"M VINNY BABARINO!, and Esptein had the cool walk too. Arnold on the other hand was a weirdo with no love life and a crazy laugh that gave him a unique DORKINESS. I understood why a nerd character was necessary.

I guess they needed someone to balance the coolness of the other Sweathogs; they needed someone who was not as cool as them or as attractive to make them seem even more appealling...

Originally posted by Undercover Angel
I guess they needed someone to balance the coolness of the other Sweathogs; they needed someone who was not as cool as them or as attractive to make them seem even more appealling...



The balance was Mr. Kotter and Mr. Woodman. They could have 4 Hip dudes and with Kotter and Woodman being the balance.

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
The balance was Mr. Kotter and Mr. Woodman. They could have 4 Hip dudes and with Kotter and Woodman being the balance. Then what the hell was the deal with Beau?:lol: Was he the replacement for John Travolta? What a joke..I always thought he was more annoying than Arnold and Mr. Woodman put together!

Originally posted by Undercover Angel
Then what the hell was the deal with Beau?:lol: Was he the replacement for John Travolta? What a joke..I always thought he was more annoying than Arnold and Mr. Woodman put together!


Yes sadly, He was Vinny's replacement.

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
Yes sadly, He was Vinny's replacement. Yeah..what a joke...Beau was not as sexy or smooth as Vinnie..he couldnt even touch Vinnie when it came to charisma with a ten foot pole...


Who was the actor who played Beau...Stephen Shortbridge..or a.k.a. Stephen Shortcareer:lol:

Horseshack- goofy laugh, goofy character, and the complete opposite of the other 3=ratings. Every good sitcom needs a Horseshack to be successful for the long run. otherwise, the audience has nothing to tune in for.

Originally posted by FoxTailMusic
Horseshack- goofy laugh, goofy character, and the complete opposite of the other 3=ratings. Every good sitcom needs a Horseshack to be successful for the long run. otherwise, the audience has nothing to tune in for.


If Kotter was already the complete opposite of the Sweathoggs why did they need Arnold?

I recall an episode where Arnold gets moved up to the regular class. I guess he was the smart one in the group.

Originally posted by Undercover Angel
Yeah..what a joke...Beau was not as sexy or smooth as Vinnie..he couldnt even touch Vinnie when it came to charisma with a ten foot pole...


Who was the actor who played Beau...Stephen Shortbridge..or a.k.a. Stephen Shortcareer:lol:

:lol: The 2nd one definitely.

He was probably hired for the sole purpose of being eye candy.

Originally posted by Katie
:lol: The 2nd one definitely.

He was probably hired for the sole purpose of being eye candy.


And the other weird thing was having Beau and Vinny in the same scene.

:D Yeah. Beau giving Vinnie advice, all all things.

Originally posted by nerrad
:D Yeah. Beau giving Vinnie advice, all all things.

Yeah, I never thought i'd see the day that would happen.

Should've been the other way around.

Originally posted by TVShow Analyzer
If Kotter was already the complete opposite of the Sweathoggs why did they need Arnold?

Actually, Mr. Kotter WASN'T the exact opposite of the sweathogs...he was an ORIGINAL sweathog that made good. If anything, he was as unruly as his students.

The whole point of the series was to show how a former classroom cut-up could turn his life around and become an example to the next generation of sweathogs on how to survive the rules of society without selling your soul. That he managed to connect with his students (or at least four of them, anyway) by utilizing the same attitude he possesed when HE himself was a student gave him an advantage over his fellow educators. That's why the sweathogs trusted Mr. Kotter: despite his stature as an educator, an authority figure, he was still One Of The Gang.

Now, as to why the other sweathogs would associate with Horshack, it's just like what one poster already stated above: contrast of character. If all four sweathogs were "cool", they would become somewhat stale pretty quick. (and, on the real tip, as a viewer who was actually in high school the same time "Kotter" was originally broadcast, I suspected even then that the "cool" quotent had been skewed for network tv...if these kids were REALLY cool, they'd sure as hell wouldn't be hanging around the remedial class, or its teacher {no matter HOW hip he was}, that's for damn sure...in fact, actually coming to class would put their "cool" reps in serious jepardy.)

But the point is that all four sweathogs couldn't be the same...nobody'd be able to identify with them. So, yeah, Vinnie's the charismatic leader, Freddy's laid back (and, this from personal experience, "Hi, there!" is NOT cool!!), Juan reveled in his brutality, and Horshack was...us, the uncool viewer who was home on Thursday nights watching tv sitcoms instead of running the streets at all hours with the cool kids.

THAT'S why Horshack was there.;)