Welcome Back, Kotter: Follow the Leader, Part 2

Welcome Back, Kotter: Follow the Leader, Part 2
ABC
January 22, 1976
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Yes, the show aired twice that week, as the conclusion of the two-parter heralded the switch from Tuesdays to Thursdays (which is the weekday I associate with the series).  The Rannows wrote Part 2 as well, and although not as sharp as Part 1, it has its moments, including Gabe & Julie playing George & Gracie.

A few things to note.  For all its grittiness (by ABC sitcoms aimed at preteens and younger teens standards), there's a certain innocence to the show, as when Kotter wakes up in bed with half-naked Vinnie.  (Barbarino claimed on the "sit-in" episode that he slept in the nude.)  The studio audience goes crazy at the sight of Vinnie, especially when he gets up to answer the window, but there's no innuendo about him and Mr. Kotter, quite a contrast to the scene a few years later of Jack waking up with Mr. Roper on Three's Company.  The studio audience is very vocal at this point (and this was a time for that, especially with ABC sitcoms aimed at teens and younger teens), and one girl can be heard saying, "I heard that," when Kotter tells Washington to "take his whistle and blow."

We learn more about Julie in this episode, like that her last name is Hansen and she's from Nebraska.  (The latter fact may've come up before.)  She apparently is unemployable as an Anthropology major, although she will get a job by the end of the series.