Looking at these episodes some 30-plus years later, I'm amazed how silly most of this humor is - but yet, still funny and entertaining. Yeah, it's not exactly clever comedy but the crudeness of it, with a big layer of sweetness underneath the gruff exteriors of the kids, make it almost innocent in many ways. It's just an odd TV series, unlike any other sitcom. It was, an remains, unique.
In this first episode of the season (after the great pilot show which is listed third year on the IMDb listings), the jokes are dumb, the humor is mainly insulting stuff, the clothing outrageous, the characters all stereotyped big-time....yet it all works. From the Sweathogs to the nerdy debate team led by drama teacher "Alex Welles," you couldn't get worse stereotyping.
To my shock, the prissy drama teacher ("Alex") - complete with ascot - was none other than tough-guy James Woods, the famous movie star! I looked it up here and discovered this was his only appearance on this show. Although he did other things, I don't believe he really made it big until almost a decade later in "Once Upon A Time In America."
Anyway, if you want to see the silliest "debate contest" ever held at a high school, check out this "Welcome Back, Kotter" episode.