Why Has 'Welcome Back Kotter' Failed in Syndication & In DVD Sales?

[Rewound50]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

This thread was started 4 years ago which was

1. Before Antenna TV

2. Before the DVD complete series release of WBK

I caught that. But I was responding to the recent comments over the past 60 days that seem to still cater to that idea. It seems to have definitely found a niche in retro community.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Rewound50

I caught that. But I was responding to the recent comments over the past 60 days that seem to still cater to that idea. It seems to have definitely found a niche in retro community.

I found it funny that the show is in syndication now when it;s complete on DVD.lol


It was out of syndication from 2003-2012 and now it's back which doesn't make sense because now we have the option to buy it

[Rewound50]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

I found it funny that the show is in syndication now when it;s complete on DVD.lol


It was out of syndication from 2003-2012 and now it's back which doesn't make sense because now we have the option to buy it

That is true but I find allot of what is seen on the retro channels is so cut up in editing it serves you well to buy them on DVD if you're a big enough fan. Hell, I watched Starsky & Hutch on Antenna TV the other night and they even edited the damn intro to the show!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Rewound50

That is true but I find allot of what is seen on the retro channels is so cut up in editing it serves you well to buy them on DVD if you're a big enough fan. Hell, I watched Starsky & Hutch on Antenna TV the other night and they even edited the damn intro to the show!

I hate how Me-TV airs WBK the same time as the Jeffersons at 10pm

Since Antenna TV has removed Three's Company from the 12am slot in my local area and I am finished with the cycle of One day at a time

I have 2 hours of nothing to watch now, 11pm to 1am

[Rewound50]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

I hate how Me-TV airs WBK the same time as the Jeffersons at 10pm

Since Antenna TV has removed Three's Company from the 12am slot in my local area and I am finished with the cycle of One day at a time

I have 2 hours of nothing to watch now, 11pm to 1am

Ah, you have that problem too? I have the solution. I have WBK DVR'd and watch Jeffersons live. If you do that, then you have coverage from 11 to 1 to go back and watch Kotter.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Rewound50

Ah, you have that problem too? I have the solution. I have WBK DVR'd and watch Jeffersons live. If you do that, then you have coverage from 11 to 1 to go back and watch Kotter.

Yeah I guess I can do that now, since the 12am hour is open

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Maybe better than season 4

Season 4 of WBK, for all intents and purposes, killed the reruns on Nick at Nite 20 years later. Nick wound up pulling the show from their schedule because ratings dropped hard after airing that season.

[dee2364]

As someone who never got into this show as a kid and has tried and failed to get into it in reruns, I can guess why this show keeps doing poorly.

1. It was supposed to be a funny version of The Blackboard Jungle but then turned into a very cringe-inducing fanboy homage to The Marx Brothers.

2. The show became very "shticky." It started laying the Borscht belt humor and accents real thick. It was fine if Kaplan wanted his character to be this way but then everyone began acting and sounding like Henny Youngman (with the smart aleck, hyuk hyuk, fast-paced delivery). It's a real turnoff because that kind of humor is dated and it didn't fit the characters or the theme of the show. (Why does Horshack sound like a middle-aged yenta?)

3. The characters became too one dimensional and obnoxious, which undermined the premise (which was about a bunch of troubled inner city kids being inspired by their teacher).

4. The show stopped feeling like a sitcom and felt more like a bunch of actors playing up to the audience with nonstop one liners and mugging.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by dee2364

As someone who never got into this show as a kid and has tried and failed to get into it in reruns, I can guess why this show keeps doing poorly.

1. It was supposed to be a funny version of The Blackboard Jungle but then turned into a very cringe-inducing fanboy homage to The Marx Brothers.

2. The show became very "shticky." It started laying the Borscht belt humor and accents real thick. It was fine if Kaplan wanted his character to be this way but then everyone began acting and sounding like Henny Youngman (with the smart aleck, hyuk hyuk, fast-paced delivery). It's a real turnoff because that kind of humor is dated and it didn't fit the characters or the theme of the show. (Why does Horshack sound like a middle-aged yenta?)

3. The characters became too one dimensional and obnoxious, which undermined the premise (which was about a bunch of troubled inner city kids being inspired by their teacher).

4. The show stopped feeling like a sitcom and felt more like a bunch of actors playing up to the audience with nonstop one liners and mugging.

Well I guess it wasn't too much of a fail in reruns since the whole series is on DVD

[king of comedy]

Originally Posted by dee2364

As someone who never got into this show as a kid and has tried and failed to get into it in reruns, I can guess why this show keeps doing poorly.

1. It was supposed to be a funny version of The Blackboard Jungle but then turned into a very cringe-inducing fanboy homage to The Marx Brothers.

2. The show became very "shticky." It started laying the Borscht belt humor and accents real thick. It was fine if Kaplan wanted his character to be this way but then everyone began acting and sounding like Henny Youngman (with the smart aleck, hyuk hyuk, fast-paced delivery). It's a real turnoff because that kind of humor is dated and it didn't fit the characters or the theme of the show. (Why does Horshack sound like a middle-aged yenta?)

3. The characters became too one dimensional and obnoxious, which undermined the premise (which was about a bunch of troubled inner city kids being inspired by their teacher).

4. The show stopped feeling like a sitcom and felt more like a bunch of actors playing up to the audience with nonstop one liners and mugging.

You nailed it!! This is one of the many shows I now regret I ever saw. Room 222 was way better.

[dee2364]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Well I guess it wasn't too much of a fail in reruns since the whole series is on DVD

I attribute its "success" (and I use the term lightly) to John Travolta's stardom. When he made a splash the first time and then later had a comeback, I think it boosted the show. Fans of Travolta would watch it in reruns to get their Travolta fix or, of they had never seen it before, watch it out of curiosity. I don't think it was ever popular enough on its own without that Travolta factor.

[dee2364]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

You nailed it!! This is one of the many shows I now regret I ever saw. Room 222 was way better.

Thanks for mentioning Room 222. I'd heard of the show but never seen it. I think there are a few episodes on YouTube, so maybe I'll watch them this weekend.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by dee2364

I attribute its "success" (and I use the term lightly) to John Travolta's stardom. When he made a splash the first time and then later had a comeback, I think it boosted the show. Fans of Travolta would watch it in reruns to get their Travolta fix or, of they had never seen it before, watch it out of curiosity. I don't think it was ever popular enough on its own without that Travolta factor.

You maybe right because before it's release on DVD in 2014, the show was not seen at all on TV since 2002-03 on TV Land.

[MikeLutton]

kotter seems be finally finding sucess on antenna tv in the Afternoons

[Rewound50]

I think the days of measuring success by DVD sales or syndication are becoming dated as well. So much is now geared towards streaming, I believe the days of just going out and getting something on DVD as a box set are becoming a format of the past.