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Welcome Back, Kotter

(Rated TV-PG, Comedy, Starring John Travolta, Gabriel Kaplan, Robert Hegyes, Where to watch: TV Land, Syndicated, DVD)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 9; suggested age 9.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Classic high school hijinks from the '70s.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 9 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Students engage in some troublesome behavior -- minor stealing, truancy, etc. -- but these incidents mostly lead to moral lessons. Kotter helps the students that others treat poorly, showing that you don't have to be smart or rich to deserve respect. That said, the students' chronic underachievement and lack of smarts are often tapped for laughs.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Off-screen fighting, some physical threats -- all slapstick humor.

  • Sex:

    Mr. Kotter and his wife sometimes kiss and hug chastely. Discussion of dating and making out. Some episodes feature sexy Sweathogs with some sexual innuendo.

  • Language:

    Insults fly regularly, like "cream puff" for a weak male, and "dog" for an ugly female.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Rare episodes deal with drug and alcohol addiction, though without graphic detail.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Welcome Back, Kotter

Parents need to know that this often-silly sitcom follows a bunch of remedial students attending an inner-city high school. Teens make fun of each other constantly, calling guys things like "cream puffs" and women "dogs," but other than that, the language is pretty clean. Race, poverty, and drug/alcohol use are occasional topics, though the treatment of the issues is always sanitized. The students are under-achievers, and their apparent stupidity is a source of humor.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the difference between the school experience portrayed on the show and kids' own experience. Do you think the differences between the TV version and the real-life version were less notable in the '70s? How have high school and high schoolers changed since the show first aired? Does the relationship between teacher and student seem realistic? Do teens have a teacher like Mr. Kotter? What kind of trouble do kids get in at your school? How is discipline handled?
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