Tag Archives: Sitcom

Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete Series (DVD)

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Now Available from Warner Home Entertainment.

“Welcome Back Kotter” is mainly known as the launch pad for John Travolta’s huge career beginnings, but on its own it’s a solid sitcom. “Welcome Back Kotter” garners a fun premise teeming with so much comedic cache, and it’s remained immortal thanks to John Sebastian’s theme “Welcome Back.” Sebastian who spent most of his career in the band Loving Spoonful delivers on a theme that sets the stage for the series quite well and is definitely catchy enough to where you’ll hum along to it on occasion. Comedian Gabriel Kaplan is a teacher who returns to New York to teach in an inner city school.

He’s an idealist tasked with teaching the special ed class which is taken up by local gang “The Sweathogs.” Kotter, being an ex-“Sweathog,” takes an interest in getting his students in the right track amounting to some hilarity.

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The Bootleg Files: The Laverne & Shirley Reunion

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BOOTLEG FILES 841: “The Laverne & Shirley Reunion” (1995 television special celebrating the popular sitcom).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It should have been included in DVD releases of the series.

In 1995, ABC decided to offer a 20th anniversary tribute to “Laverne & Shirley,” one of the network’s most popular programs in the late 1970s. While audiences enjoyed the show (at least for its first four seasons before the ratings crashed), there were reports during its production about the two stars, Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, not having the most harmonious working relationship. This partnership ended badly with Williams leaving the show at the start of the eighth season amid litigation – the actress was pregnant, but the network insisted she continue performing her character’s knockabout comedy despite her condition.
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“Primo” Has Potential to be a Family Sitcom Classic

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“We’re gonna fill this house with joy or I swear to God I will slit all of your throats.” – Drea

Shea Serrano’s “Primo” is probably one of the better TV shows I’ve seen all year, and in a period where we’re flooded with new series, “Primo” stands out. Serrano’s series is a classic single camera family sitcom in the tradition of shows like “Modern Family” and “Blackish,” except “Primo” revolves around a contemporary Mexican family. This family in particular is unusual but tight knit, and often times they manage to be their own worst enemy, more than their best ally. But that’s all apart of what makes “Primo” such a great , funny series. And at eight episodes clocking in at a half hour each, it’s also a very easy watch.

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Five Movies from “Seinfeld” I Definitely Would Have Seen

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It’s been exactly twenty five years since “Seinfeld” ended and left television as one of the most popular and influential series of all time. To this day its influence continues to be felt, and I’m still a huge fan. It’s my number three TV series of all time (Behind “The Simpsons” and “The Honeymooners”) and continues to be one of my favorite comfort food TV shows to binge. One of the best aspects of “Seinfeld” was that it consistently made up fake movies that would act as plot devices or plot catalysts for the episodes.

While they had stuff like “The English Patient” and “Home Alone 2,” they also had their own in-universe movies, ranging from comedies, dramas, and action films. They became prominent gags throughout the series, and as a fan I thought I’d list five of the fictional in-universe movies that I definitely would have seen, and likely loved.

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The Bootleg Files: W*A*L*T*E*R*

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BOOTLEG FILES 771: “W*A*L*T*E*R*” (1984 television pilot).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived commercial reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

In 1979, Gary Burghoff decided it was time to step away from his Emmy Award-winning role as Corporal Radar O’Reilly on the long-running television series “M*A*S*H*.” Burghoff was the only actor in the 1970 film version “MASH” to transition to the television series, and after a decade he became tired of playing the character after seven seasons.
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The Bootleg Files: Diana

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BOOTLEG FILES 739: “Diana” (1973-74 sitcom starring Diana Rigg).

LAST SEEN: One episode is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Unavailable for many years.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

Yesterday brought the sad news of the passing of Dame Diana Rigg at the age of 82, and there were countless tributes to her glory days as Emma Peel on the cult television series “The Avengers” along with her performances in film classics “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and “Theater of Blood” and her late-career success in “Game of Thrones.” Much less attention was paid to one of Rigg’s more curious endeavors: an American sitcom called “Diana” that ran for 15 episodes in the 1973-74 television season. In a career that was rich with artistic and commercial successes, “Diana” was a very rare misfire for the gifted actress.
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TV on DVD: Head of the Class: The Complete First Season (DVD)/Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet – Season 12 [Blu-Ray]

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After the end of the seventies series “WKRP In Cincinnati,” star Howard Hesseman went on to more downbeat fare that, while formula, was at least a different direction. “Head of the Class” is a childhood favorite, a series I fondly remember watching as it came to a close, and then re-watching in reruns. I loved the show then, and years later it’s perfectly fine. As an eighties multi-camera prime time sitcom, it’s a serviceable and occasionally funny series about a substitute teacher who manages to take charge of a group of mismatched students with high IQ’s.

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