Toy-Ventures: Welcome Back Kotter toys
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- Опубликовано: 8 янв 2022
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Up your nose with a rubber hose!
Toy-Ventures looks at the 1970s phenom that was the Sweathogs with this special look at the Mattel Welcome Back Kotter action figure line. Did kids want sitcom figures? Was Epstein faking those notes from his mother? Find all the answers in this week's Toy-Ventures.
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Развлечения
In the 1990's, I worked in a video store in Silverlake. On day, Lawrence Hilton Jacobs walked in and I almost flipped out! He was so cool and I asked him if he would autograph my "Welcome Back Kotter" Freddy Washington doll when he came back to return the videos. He said sure, and I brought my doll in to get autographed. When he came back, he have a couple of WBK school folders with an illustration of Boom Boom on the covers and said they were mine! He also told us that he'd been cast as Joe Jackson for the Jackson Five movie that was coming soon to tv. Incredibly nice man!
that's really nice to hear, I remember that movie "Get me a switch!".
I like the show. When I was a kid, Freddy Washington was my favorite. I had no idea there were action figures of the Sweathogs! I knew about the DC Comics adaptation, and I even had a shirt!
I think I had a shirt too.
As a kid I passed on the action figures but I was a huge colorforms fan and I owned the Kotter set along with many others. Brian, would you consider doing a Toy Ventures on Colorforms? It was such a large part of my childhood
Yes, I plan to cover my colourforms collection.
I didn't watch Kotter and didn't become a fan until decades later but that didn't stop two frugal and clueless aunts from each gifting me two Kotter dolls at the time. I ended up with two Horshacks and two Kotters. It's the thought that counts, right?
Thank you, Mr. Mantooth! If that is indeed your real name...
Wow, the closeout twins ;)
I remember the show and the figures. I enjoyed the show but it wasn’t a huge favorite of mine. My disappointment in the figures, as a kid, was their lack of articulation in comparison to my Mego figures and they weren’t the same size. I was definitely looking to spend my allowance and lawn mowing income on superheroes and science fiction characters.
Yeah, I totally was the same, I wanted superheroes.
The fact that the bodies were out of scale with the Mego figures was a deal-breaker. Also, although the heads were pretty good, they weren't as good as the Space 1999 heads.
I remember the show, which I was OK with, but really a fan.
We definitely watched the show, but the only merch we had was the board game. Oddly enough, i don’t remember ever playing it, and was more a fan of the Happy Days game 😅
Born in 1970, I grew up with Welcome Back Kotter. I still think "Up your nose with a runner hose" is funny.
It is still funny.
i have NEVER watched a single episode, but was somehow always familiar with the theme song as a child.
The song is now in my iTunes library.
Yeah it was a big hit on it's own.
I've had mixed feelings about the show for many a year. As a kid, my sister and I very much enjoyed it when it premiered. As did my mother, since the Christmas after the action figures came out, between the two of us, we got all the Sweathogs. I don't believe that we had Mr. Kotter, or anything else.
BTW, I loved the indignation in your voice when you mentioned the bike. Very much: "How DARE they take something from the sacred Big Jim line, and give it to the Sweathogs!!!"
But on the other hand, being named Vincent, after the show came out, I found myself being constantly taunted with: "Hey, Vinnie Babarino!" And: "Ba, Ba, Ba! Ba, Babarino!" on the playground. Yeah, that killed any enthusiasm I had for the show or action figures real quick. I was happy when it ended, and relieved that it didn't stick around long in syndication.
A good review, despite my personal trauma. Always fun to see the shock look at the Sunshine Family and their giant creepy eyes too!
oof, yeah I guess the 70s were not kind to kids name Vinny or Arnold.
@@BrickMantooth No, they were not.
Especially loved the "Price i$ Right" 'Sorry'/Debbie Downer sound effect: Hilarious 🤣😂!
Oh, and "The Sunshine Family" tune! Shiver-Scream 🧟♀️😱! BWA-Hahahaha!!
I love the Sunshine stinger.
I would say " Now I've seen everything" but if it ends with THIS...!
I've got weirder.
That Halloween costume looked like something out of Tourist Trap and Terror Train.
I remember having the Welcome Back Kotter Metal lunch-box.
I remember getting one as a Kid. I liked the show. Thanks for sharing Brother 😀 👍 ♥️ 🇺🇸🇨🇦🌎🎉🎉🎉🎉👏👏👏👏🎉🎉💯💯
I remember my aunt promising me a John Travolta figure and fully expecting it to be John Travolta from Grease and being extemely disappointed when it was the 12inch figure.
Yeah, the late 70s was a tough time for 12" figures.
Seeing the toy catalog theses figures were in gave me such happy feelings!
happy to hear!
This show was pure 100% Bolivian comedy gold.
Knew of Gabe Kaplin's comedy, but I was too young to know what he was talking about, but the show was Spot on Fun.
Horseshack carried that show, along with some young blue eyed punk named John Travolta...
I wonder whatever happened to that guy?
i loved welcome back kotter, i never knew there were any toys till 10 years ago. i would love to have the set .
Great Video! Top Shelf! Sorry to have missed it live - still have the “Welcome Back Kotter ‘Easy Does It’ Math Wheel”
Now that's a clever bit of licensing.
I remember watching this as a kid and enjoying it, even though my memories of it are from later syndicated repeats. The only merchandise I ever had from this (and all that I was ever aware of) were a pack or two of the trading cards, which I never thought was weird because it seemed everything in the late-'70s had a card set.
The Good Times ones really seemed weird to me as a kid, a picture of James Evans (who terrified me) threatening his kids with a belt? Sign me up!
Don't forget Three's Company from Topps too!
Great episode all around...and "They wisely did not produce Conrad Janis" is the phrase I never knew I needed to hear LMAO
The virtual superintendents welcome to 2019/2020 school year began with the theme to this show...
Ha!
As a kid who grew up in the early 70’s, I was interested in the sweathogs, but not Kotter (the classroom setting was all I could tolerate). The only toy-related item I had was the “grease machine” car with Kotter’s molded head sticking out of the top. Very weird TV tie-in.
It's totally strange.
I must have that desk set before I pass on.
I had a belt!
I like the idea of the record with an episode.
Should have been done more.
Never saw this as a kid here in the UK, but watching this video has certainly got me interested in the figure line. Again, the attention to detail in the Kotter Classroom playset is just brilliant. 70's playsets made background detail an art in itself back then. The figures themselves are really quite collectable when viewed nowadays, so yeah, I'll definitely be looking into this show a bit more myself as a result, just down to sheer interest. Great video again, thanks for posting.
Are you ever going to review the MASH action figures and the play sets
somewhere down the line yeah.
I watched a few episodes of the show as a kid, but I couldn't say I was a fan really. I don't remember the toys and I'm sure I never had them. Interesting look at these toys here even so.
Great video. I had picked them up at a show about 15 years ago including the classroom set the price was good and the set and figures are nicely done and I like the quality of them. I noticed on the Gabe figure there are two versions of his head one is larger and one is smaller(also looks more like the actor too). During the Pandemic I took the heads and placed them on the S type bodies made for custom work and I like them better now then the crappy Ken bodies.
Liked the show and had a couple issues of the DC comic, but have no memory of the figures.
My brother recently got the board game from a flea market.
is it any good?
@@BrickMantooth Haven't had a chance to play it.
My brother collects old board games, so he always brings a couple to family gatherings.
I'll put in a request, next time we get together.
I totally wanted them all as a kid and would definitely want them now
Along with Big Jim, which I did have
We watched the show for the first couple of seasons at least. But no way I was going to spend anyone's money on Kotter dolls when there were Mego super-heroes still to buy.
When you cut to the shot of the pantless figures and the tuba riff I laughed like crazy. “No……they did not”
Never saw them as a kid. But those heads would be good for customs!
I made a custom set of these figures complete with the classroom play set diorama. Check out the Mego Museum forum to see photos of my customs.
Several talented people have made Mego customs of these. They look great.
Thanks for another fantastic episode….
thanks for watching!
Surprisingly Mego didn't re-launch Welcome Back Kotter. I liked the Norm from Cheers.
Yesss!!!!
Great show. It’s too bad the toys didn’t sell well.
Except for the comic books and the theme song 45 record, I had basically zero interest in these toys when I was a kid. Now I'm dying that I didn't pick these up $10-$15 each when I had the chance.
I had the comics, they were really great, that was it for me.
Have the DVD set. The line, and I type this in all seriousness, needed Julie and Mr. Woodman. Now if you"ll excuse me, I have a Max Wright custom figure to work on.
God speed.
@@BrickMantooth Will draw the line at figures of the Okmoniks, though.
Great episode. I loved Welcome Back Kotter as a kid, yet did not seek out the toys. Now where are my Chico and the Man toys? I really dug that show as a kid!
Cool retro toys
What they didn't consider was that Fonzie was a tough guy; you could have him fight your other characters. He was an unmasked Batman/Daredevil type (or Ben Grimm). Even the toughest Sweat Hog, Vinnie, was still a goofball. It's hard to be inspired to act out comedy routines with action figures. That said, I had that very comic when it came out (and up until a few years ago), so the show must've had some magic to it to make noiseless, still pages hilarious and engaging. Oh and I still like swiss cheese & corn flake sandwiches thanks to that show.
I have no idea whether this show was big in the UK, but I get the feeling it wasn't. As soon as you asked the question 'did they sell', the answer seemed obvious. Shows like that have a linchpin character who might sell if they have enough mass-appeal, but the rest become peg warmers. So - as you said - a Fonzie can sell, maybe his bike, but when the rest come out - sales slump.
Nope, never airred over here, we got English Knock offs like "Please, Sir" and the [super un P.C] "Mind your language"
And Grange Hill? Well, I guess that wasn't supposed to be funny. I watched it as a kid to see the teachers slap the kids around.
@@kumachan9311 _"Nope, never airred over here, we got English Knock offs like "Please, Sir" and the [super un P.C] "Mind your language"_ - 'Please Sir' well predates this. 'Mind Your Language' would fit as a knockoff though.
@@BrickMantooth 'Grange Hill' was a drama. They had stopped being physical with the kids by the mid 80's. If I remember correctly Corporal Punishment was made illegal in something like 1987, and I think it had mostly been phased out before then.
@@BrickMantooth Yeah, I was pointing out the "Adults as kids" type shows, love the first 10+ seasons of grange hill though [have the DVD sets] after the Zammo era it went crap and went more and more P.C
Not my generation but caught the show in syndication and consider it a good example of a sitcom from that era. Yep looked it up and Horshack is the easiest one to get on eBay lol. Conversely not shocked Barbarino sold well or that I can't find one now. Me I want the Mr. Kotter with his sweet briefcase. ;)
I had these toys.
Whatever that sure it is? It's awesome is what it is!
I'll check and see if they have your size.
RIP Horshack
taken from us way too soon.
Can you imagine if they did Modern Family and Married With Children merc?
Classic TV Toys did do Married... With Children figures. Mego also did an Al and Kelly.
Funko also 3 3/4" Married with Children figures
Yeah there are weirdly 3 MwC figure lines, I don't know why.
I have them all loose, but I need the classroom, and the basketball… impossible to find at a reasonable price.. I also have a locker, but not sure if this is a hack/mod or if this is part of the release line..
Wow, they used to be so cheap and easy to find.
Had the Gabe Kaplan...am I the only one that did??? And between him and Oscar Goldman had an inexplicable amount of briefcase play going on
First time I have ever seen them
We had a show in the UK called
Mind your language
A teacher and kids from different backgrounds
Maybe it was based on the same show
"Mind your Language" got an American Remake called "What a Country" and it was a vehicle for Yakov Smirnoff. It was not as good the UK version.
@@BrickMantooth
Mind your language got took of uk tv for being racist, I was only a kid in the 70s and still enjoyed the show
@@marineboy1964 it played here in the early 1980s, I haven't thought of it in years but I guess it probably hasn't aged terribly well.
This is off-topic, but when you got a Big Jim you had to buy the uniform/clothes separately? That's about one step removed from "Johnny Longtorso".
That was the norm, the "Razors and Razor Blades" system of selling toys, it sort of went away for boys toys but still happens with Barbie.
I wached stell do today
had the Freddy Washington figure and one issue of the comic
I wish I had bought the action figures, I did own several of DC Comics series
Lost this channel (had to change account) found it again! Yaaaaaaaaaaay Also: "Sometimes I'm...James Bond. Sometimes I'm...Billy the Kiiid"
TOMA TU 👍 318 EXECELENTE CANAL FELICITACIONES SALUDOS DESDE COLOMBIA 🇨🇴🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙
they didn't have very good articulation compared to Mego figures. but the likenesses were very good
I wish more sitcoms got toy lines. Imagine having your very own Jonathan Silverman figure from The Single Guy! Or a Bill Kirchenbauer as Coach Graham T Lubbock from Growing Pains and Just the Ten of Us! Speaking of Coach, how about Craig T Nelson, the titular Coach Hayden Fox?
…no? Not even from a more modern version of Kotter, Head of the Class? You could have Mr Moore (Howard “Johnny Fever” Hesseman*) or Dennis (Dan “I like underage girls’ feet” Schneider)! …wait, I see your point.
*actually, ngl, I’d seek out the entire WKRP in Cincinnati line if such a thing existed
Disclaimer: I’m an Xennial, born in ‘81, and I’ve never even seen Welcome Back Kotter, but I’m half insane and would have dug this dumb crap anyway
Oh! Oh! Barney Miller! An excuse to throw in a cop car as a vehicle even though the show only ever took place at the precinct!
I could go on for days! Latka Gravas from Taxi! Dang!
Up you noise with a rubber hose,twice affair with a chunky bar(that is a candy bar). Please excuse Juan for being late. He was kidnapped by the jet set and left tied up on a lawn in Hyannis Port.' Signed Epstein's mother. OOOHHH OOOOHHH OOOOOHHH!! And let us not forget Fred "BOOM BOOM" Washington.Arnold Horshack. I wish i had some of that World Famous Tuna Carousel Julie made. I forget who that other guy was in the show,but I do remember he wrote and acted in a movie called Staying Live. HA!
What? Where? When? Who?
Ba-ba-ba, bar-Barbarino
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