Welcome Back Kotter, where are you?

I believe - and please take this with a grain of salt, because I haven't researched it, really - part of the problem with that title is the simple fact that there are several companies involved, and it's unclear which of them has home video rights to the property.

ABC originally sponsored and aired it, and Warner Brothers syndicates it, but then there are The David L. Wolper Company ("Wolper Productions"), which produced it, and the James Komack Company ("The Komack Company"), which created it and whose owner, James Komack, was Executive Producer on the show.

A similar situation exists with "Chico and the Man"; the only difference being that it was NBC instead of ABC. But the other players are still the same. James Komack was a writer/producer on that show.

To my knowledge, the only other TV show that Komack Co. was involved in was Roller Girls, and that's according to the IMDB. James Komack himself wrote or directed in about 20 TV series, including directing the Star Trek episode "A Piece Of The Action" (now everyone will understand where I know the name from! ). He had face time on-screen in a Get Smart episode, IIRC.

Of course, Wolper's been involved in loads of stuff, not the least of which was the L.A. Olympics back in 1984. He Exec Produced "Get Christie Love", along with Glen Larson. He was behind many big mini-series, including Roots, Thorn Birds, and North & South. The original Willy Wonka film is one of his. So is "Nostrodamus: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow" with Orson Wells (many guys my age saw that countless times on cable in the 80s). You get the picture.

So I think either Wolper's company or Komack's company (Komack himself died a few years back) probably own both Kotter and Chico. Or maybe WB has the rights now, as part of the syndication deal.

And with Kotter, you never know if Travolta may be involved in some way in the hold-up. I doubt it, but it's a possibility. Just thinking out loud, though.

 

This is another must buy for me when its released.

 

Nahhh, I think the holdup is they're waiting on a note from Epstein's mother...

 

Did I ever tell you about my Uncle [Insert Proper Name Here]?