Welcome Back, Kotter: Frog Day AfternoonABC
November 25, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
B-
This Barret & Bloom story has a bit of in-joky casting, Dena Dietrich as Ilona Garland the Biology teacher. In addition to her roles as the sisters of Helen Roper and Dorothy Petrillo, she's probably most recognizable as Mother Nature in a series of Chiffon butter commercials. (And the slogan "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" pops up on various sitcoms of the day, including What's Happening!!)
Ms. Garland threatens to flunk Arnold if he won't dissect a frog. He manages to convince everyone that it's braver to stand up for his beliefs than to kill an animal. I feel like Epstein is getting a bit Flanderized at this point (his "excuse note" for the frogs that Arnold wants to free falls flat), but this is still one of the better episodes of the last season. Note that Mr. Woodman, who was fleeing Miss Fishbeck a couple seasons ago, seems quite taken with Ms. Garland.
John Travolta is absent (along with Kaplan, Shortridge, Fleischer, and Harcum) but sister Ellen shows up in her last appearance as Horshack's mother.
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