That '70s Show
| That '70s Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer |
|
| Opening theme |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 200 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Cinematography | Ronald W. Browne |
| Editors | Timothy Ryder David Helfand Michael Karlich |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company | The Carsey-Werner Company |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | August 23, 1998 – May 18, 2006 |
| Related | |
That '70s Show is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 1976 to 1979.[1] The main cast features Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon, Wilmer Valderrama, Lisa Robin Kelly, Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, Don Stark, Tommy Chong, and Tanya Roberts.
In 1999, the show was remade for the ITV network in the United Kingdom as Days Like These using almost verbatim scripts with minor changes to cultural references.[2] A sequel series, That '90s Show, set in 1995 and focusing on the children of the main characters of That '70s Show, was released on Netflix on January 19, 2023.
Cast
Young cast
- Steven Hyde move in with them, making Hyde like a brother. He decides to become a teacher after high school and he leaves the series at the end of the seventh season to teach in Africa. Although Eric is mentioned at least once in every episode, he does not appear during the final season until the end of the series finale.
- Jackie Burkhart: The youngest member of the group, Jackie starts the series as the pretty, spoiled rich, selfish, oftentimes annoying immature girl. She likes to give thoughtless and superficial advice, which occasionally turns out to be correct. As the series progresses she becomes more genuine, after her father, a crooked politician, goes to jail and her fortunes take a reversal. Partly as a result of these changes, she and Donna become better friends.[3]By the end of the series, Jackie had dated three of the four guys of the group: Kelso, Hyde and Fez.
- Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso (seasons 1–7; special guest season 8): Kelso is the dumb pretty boy of the group, who hopes to coast through life on his good looks. He spends the first half of the series in a relationship with the equally vapid Jackie. Their relationship comes to an end when Laurie (Eric's older sister) reveals their affair to Jackie. Kelso fathers a daughter, named Betsy, from his relationship with a librarian named Brooke during the seventh season. He becomes a police officer, but is fired for utter incompetence. In the fourth episode of the eighth and final season, he becomes a security guard at a Chicago Playboy Club and leaves the show. Kelso, along with Eric, returns for the series finale.
- My Fairy King", that means Hyde and Samantha are not legally married. In the seventh season, Hyde meets his biological father (William Barnett, played by Tim Reid), a wealthy black businessman (making Hyde, who was presumed white, biracial). Barnett, who owns a chain of record stores, makes Hyde first an office worker, then a manager and later the owner of the Point Place record store. He also previously worked for Leo in a Photo Hut earlier in the series.
- Donna Pinciotti: Eric's longtime girlfriend (and briefly fiancée) who is literally and figuratively "the girl next door".[4] Donna is tall, intelligent, good-looking and athletic. Donna is embarrassed by her parents' escapades – especially sexual ones. Although she does not agree with what Jackie represents in the beginning of the series, they become friends.[3]Donna is in a relationship with Eric for seven seasons (despite their break-up during season 4). She has brief romances with Randy and Kelso's brother Casey. She rekindles her relationship with Eric at the end of the show's finale.
- foreign exchange studentof the group whose hormones are usually out of control. He constantly flirts with Jackie and Donna and often makes romantic advances toward them. Initially, he has trouble getting attention from girls, but during the eighth season he becomes much more charismatic and promiscuous. He is in love with Jackie throughout the series but his love is not reciprocated until the eighth season when they become a couple. His home country is often referenced throughout the course of the show, but is never named specifically.
- Josh Meyers as Randy Pearson (season 8): Hyde's employee at the record store. He is introduced in the final season. Randy appears laid back, gentle, polite and a ladies' man, although many of his flaws surface later, encompassing parts of the departed Kelso and Eric's personalities and other attributes. Tall (like Kelso), he tends to spout witty one-liners (like Eric), and makes silly voices. He forms a friendship with Red after showing Red how good he is at fixing things. While Hyde, Jackie, Donna and Kelso embrace him as a new member of their group, Fez initially does not, but soon warms up to him. Randy dates Donna for the majority of season eight, but she later breaks up with him. The two end on good terms and remain friends. He makes a brief appearance in the series finale.
Older cast
- Kitty Forman: Red's wife and mother of Eric and Laurie, and Hyde's informally adoptive mother, Kitty is a cheerful, doting mother, but can also be assertive when pushed. A nurse by profession, she drinks heavily and is a former smoker. Her major mood swings are usually attributed to menopause, although the lack of affection and attention from her daughter (Laurie) and her mother (Bea) is also partly to blame. She is also a nurturing mother figure to Eric's rather dysfunctional friends, especially Fez.
- Red Forman: Kitty's husband, father of Eric and Laurie, and Hyde's adoptive father. A conservative Navy combat veteran, he served in World War II and the Korean War. He is frequently hard on Eric and casually insults him, often calling him "dumbass", and finding ways to cheat Eric and Kelso out of any cash they have. Despite his mean exterior, Red also displays a soft side. His hobbies include working with his power tools, drinking beer, watching television, reading the newspaper, hunting and fishing.
- Lisa Robin Kelly (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1; special appearance season 5) and Christina Moore (recurring season 6) as Laurie Forman: Eric's manipulative and dishonest older sister. She flunked out of college during the first season and moves back home with her parents. Laurie enjoys tormenting Eric and manipulating her parents. She is promiscuous, often seen with various men, mainly Eric's friend Kelso, who cheats on his girlfriend Jackie, which eventually leads to Jackie physically assaulting Laurie. Eric, Hyde, and Donna often insult her for her promiscuity. She also has a strained relationship with her mother who thinks of her as a freeloader. She leaves the series during the third season, but returns in a recurring role during the fifth and sixth seasons. In season five, she marries Fez to prevent him from getting deported. She leaves the series part way through season 6 and is never seen again. During the seventh season, she is mentioned as having moved to Canada, where, as Eric puts it drolly, "bottomless dancing is legal".
- Tanya Roberts as Midge Pinciotti (seasons 1–3; special guest appearance seasons 6–7): Bob's wife, Donna's mother, and Kitty's best friend, Midge is a woman about whom Eric and his male friends fantasize when coming of age. Although often dim-witted, she later adopts some feminist ideals. She is written out of the series in 2001 after the third season after divorcing Bob and moving to California, but returns in a limited guest appearance during the sixth and seventh seasons.
- Don Stark as Bob Pinciotti: Midge's husband and Donna's father. Bob often brags about his service in the National Guard, which invariably irritates Red, a veteran of foreign wars. Bob is known for walking around his house with his robe wide open and no underwear. He eats constantly, even in bed. Bob is almost always in a good mood. His best friend is Red, who usually considers him to be a nuisance. He usually takes the brunt of Red's abuse in a jolly manner. After Midge divorced Bob in the fourth season, he began dating Joanne (in seasons four and five) and Pam Burkhart (played by Brooke Shields replacing Eve Plumb from the first season), Jackie's mother (in seasons six and seven).
- The Battle of Evermore" when the gang goes on a mission to find him, but with no luck. He returns in season seven and remains on the series until the show's end. In Season 8, he gets a new job working for Hyde at Grooves.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 25 | August 23, 1998 | July 26, 1999 | |
| 2 | 26 | September 28, 1999 | May 22, 2000 | |
| 3 | 25 | October 3, 2000 | May 22, 2001 | |
| 4 | 27 | September 25, 2001 | May 21, 2002 | |
| 5 | 25 | September 17, 2002 | May 14, 2003 | |
| 6 | 25 | October 29, 2003 | May 19, 2004 | |
| 7 | 25 | September 8, 2004 | May 18, 2005 | |
| 8 | 22 | November 2, 2005 | May 18, 2006 | |
Timeline
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2018) |
The show was set in May 1976 in the August 23, 1998, premiere. After 12 episodes, the series transitioned to 1977. The 23rd episode, "Grandma's Dead", was also set in 1976, because it was supposed to be the season finale of season 1. The show remained in 1977 for the next two seasons. Near the end of the third season, the series transitioned to 1978 until early in the sixth season. The remaining episodes took place in 1979, and the series finale abruptly ends during a New Year's Eve party as the characters reach "one" during a countdown to January 1, 1980.[5] After the credits roll, the license plate from Eric's Vista Cruiser is shown with the year "80", indicating that the 1980s have begun.
Eighth season and series finale
The character of Eric Forman was written out of the series at the end of the
seventh season, as Topher Grace wanted to move on with his career.[6] Ashton Kutcher switched to a recurring guest role when he also chose to depart following the seventh season.[6] However, Kelso had not been written out yet, so to give better closure to the character, Kutcher appeared in the first four episodes of the eighth season (credited as a special guest star). Both Grace and Kutcher returned for the series finale, although the former was uncredited. Tommy Chong (who began reappearing by late season 7 after a long absence) became a regular again to help fill Kelso's role as the dimwit of the group. Eric was supposed to be replaced by his new friend Charlie, played by Bret Harrison, as an "innocent character", who proved fairly popular with audiences, but the character was killed off after Harrison was offered a lead role in the series The Loop.[7] Another new character named Randy Pearson, played by Josh Meyers (brother of Late Night host Seth Meyers), was introduced to take the place of both Eric and, to a lesser extent, Charlie.[8] Another new character, Samantha, a stripper played by Jud Tylor
, was added as Hyde's wife for nine episodes. The location of the show's introductory theme song was changed from the Vista Cruiser to the circle.
The eighth season was announced as the final season of the show on January 17, 2006,[9] and "That '70s Finale" was filmed a month later on February 17, 2006, first airing on May 18, 2006.[10]
Production
Title
The working titles for the show were:
- Teenage Wasteland (named after the lyric from "Baba O'Riley" by The Who)
- The Kids Are Alright (named after "The Kids Are Alright" by The Who)
- Feelin' All Right (a Traffic & Joe Cocker song)
- Reeling in the Years (named after the song by Steely Dan)
However, due to song-rights refusals (including The Who's
Bonnie Turner suggested that the show should be titled That '70s Show, after hearing an audience member saying "I loved that show about the '70s." It was at that point where it ultimately became the official title for the show.[11]
Elements of the show
The 1970s
The show addressed many social issues of the 1970s such as
cassette tape and Disco; MAD magazine; and Eric's obsession with Star Wars, which came out in 1977.[13] The show has been compared to Happy Days, which was similarly set 20 years before the time in which it aired.[14]
Beginning with season 5, each episode in the series is named after a song by a rock band that was famous in the 1970s: Led Zeppelin (season 5), The Who (Season 6), The Rolling Stones (season 7), and Queen (season 8, except for the finale, titled "That '70s Finale").[15]
The Circle
Eric's
basement. The picture is of the final scene of the series.In The Circle, a group of characters, usually the teenagers, sit in a circle (generally in Eric's basement, though occasionally elsewhere), as the camera pans, stopping at each character as they speak. It was usually apparent that the characters are under the influence of
The Pill
", Red, referring to Kelso, exclaims, "That kid's on dope!" A gimmick related to the circle and the marijuana smoking was Eric watching the kitchen wall moving erratically, although this technique was also used to show that Eric was drunk.
As the series progressed, The Circle became one of the series' recurring features. The only four episodes where the whole gang is in The Circle are "
Substitute
", and in the series finale. During the eighth and final season, The Circle (sans the smoke) replaced the Formans' Vista Cruiser as the setting of the opening credits.
The Vista Cruiser
Many of the show's episodes featured Eric and the rest of the kids in or around Eric's "Aztec Gold" 1969
That 90's Show
.
In August 2009, the show's Vista Cruiser was named third-greatest television car ever by MSN Autos.[17]
Running gags and catchphrases
 | This section possibly contains original research. (August 2017) |
In one of the show's major
Prank Day
", when Red gets covered in oatmeal, Eric tries to explain that it was just a prank that had gone "horribly, horribly wrong" Red says, "Well, I have a prank, too. One where my foot doesn't plow through your ass. Let's hope it doesn't go horribly, horribly wrong!" In the eighth season, Hyde asks Red, "did you ever actually do that?" To which Red replies "Once, during the war... I can't talk about it." Several of the running gags were shown in edited clips for the series finale.
Some other notable running gags and catchphrases are:
- Fez's country of origin is never revealed. Sometimes, Fez is about to disclose where he is from, or at least hint at it, but something happens to prevent him from doing so, like someone entering the room as seen in "Love of My Life".[19]
- Fez's real name was also never revealed. Even Fez stood for FES, Foreign Exchange Student.[20][21] Red often calls Fez by some exotic foreign names when he is speaking directly to him, including Tarzan.
- Someone, usually Kelso, falls off the Water Tower. Charlie is the only one to fall off and die from the tower in "Bohemian Rhapsody" due to him having weak endurance.[22]
- Kelso yells "Ow, my eye!" when Hyde rough-houses with him. For example, in the episode "Jackie's Cheese Squeeze" after he was punched by Todd, Jackie's manager. On that occasion, Kelso did not yell, "Ow, my eye!"[23]
- Fez's sex life or usually lack thereof. Often Fez accidentally reveals some perverse behavior he performed, like hiding in Donna's room.[24]
- The best thing to do or the best solution can be found by "The Circle", sometimes from the Circle, Hyde will start to talk about a car that runs on water or conspiracies towards the Government.[25]
- Eric's attempted "secret" money stash locations are known by everyone, such as the Candy Land box.[26][27]
In other media
Home media
That '70s Show was released on
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment at an increment of two seasons per year between 2004 and 2008 and a complete series release on October 14, 2008. Mill Creek Entertainment released all eight seasons between 2011–2013 and released a complete series set on May 14, 2013. On March 6, 2012, Mill Creek released the first season on Blu-ray and season two on October 16, 2012. On November 3, 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment released That '70s Show The Complete Series on Blu-ray 1080p, featuring all 200 episodes from the series, presented digitally remastered in High Definition from the original film negatives for optimum sound and video quality and for superior home entertainment Blu-ray presentation with remastered 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound and 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.[28]
Soundtracks
Several prominent songs from the decade can be heard on the series, and two soundtracks were released in 1999. The first is a collection of funk, soul, and disco, called That '70s Album (Jammin'). The second is a collection of album-oriented rock songs, called That '70s Album (Rockin'). AllMusic gave both albums 3 out of 5 stars in their reviews.[29][30]
Remake
Days Like These
Related shows
That '80s Show
That '90s Show
Netflix produced a spin-off of the series, titled That '90s Show, with Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp reprising their roles as Red and Kitty Forman, respectively. It is again produced by The Carsey-Werner Company, with Gregg Mettler serving as showrunner and Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, their daughter Lindsay Turner, Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner, Smith and Rupp as executive producers.[31] Topher Grace (Eric Forman), Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart), Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso), Laura Prepon (Donna Pinciotti), Wilmer Valderrama (Fez), Tommy Chong (Leo), Don Stark (Bob Pinciotti), and Jim Rash (Fenton) reprised their roles as guest stars in the series.[32] It premiered on Netflix on January 19, 2023.[citation needed]
Reception
American ratings
That '70s Show's eight seasons, consisting of 200 episodes, made it Fox's second-longest-running live-action sitcom ever behind Married... with Children, though it did not have the same ratings success, despite surviving cancellation.
| Season | Episodes | Timeslot | Premiere | Season finale | Rank | Viewers (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
1998–1999 | 25 | Sunday 8:30 | August 23, 1998 | July 26, 1999 | 11.7 | |
2 |
1999–2000 | 26 | Tuesday 8:30 (1999-2000) Monday 8:30 (2000) |
September 28, 1999 | May 22, 2000 | 86[33] | 9.0 |
3 |
2000–2001 | 25 | Tuesday 8:00 | October 3, 2000 | May 22, 2001 | 10.8 | |
4 |
2001–2002 | 27 | September 25, 2001 | May 21, 2002 | 67[34] | 9.1 | |
5 |
2002–2003 | 25 | Tuesday 8:00 (2002) Wednesday 8:00 (2003) |
September 17, 2002 | May 14, 2003 | 52[35] | 10.4 |
6 |
2003–2004 | 25 | Wednesday 8:00 | October 29, 2003 | May 19, 2004 | 49[36] | 10.0 |
7 |
2004–2005 | 25 | September 8, 2004 | May 18, 2005 | 85[37] | 7.0 | |
8 |
2005–2006 | 22 | Wednesday 8:00 (2005) Thursday 8:00 (2006) |
November 2, 2005 | May 18, 2006 | 103[38] | 5.8 |
Awards
Over the course of its run, the series was nominated for a substantial number of awards, including 16
Primetime Emmy Awards. The only win for the series at this event came in 1999, when Melina Root was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series for "That Disco Episode". Additionally, the show was nominated for a large number of Teen Choice Awards
, with both Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama winning on three occasions.
References
- That '70s Finale". That '70s Show. Season 8. Episode 22. May 18, 2006. 21:20 minutes in. FOX.
- ^ "From Tube to Telly, the Exchange Is Pop Culture". Los Angeles Times. April 5, 1999. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 9780312334321.
- ^ Smith, Laura (March 28, 2014). "Tomboy Chic: That 70s Show's Donna Pinciotti". Hollywood.com. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ISBN 9781493405855.
- ^ a b Bernhard, Lisa (May 18, 2008). "Ashton, Topher Departing 'That '70s Show'". Entertainment. Fox News. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
- ^ DVD commentary of episode 25 of season 7 by director Trainer.
- ^ Tribune Media Service (November 30, 2005). "Celebrity Spotlight". Observer-Reporter. Washington, PA. p. C6. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
- ^ "That '70s Show Says Goodbye to an Era with the 200th Episode and Series Finale This May on FOX". TheFutonCritic. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
- ^ "That '70s Show Episode Guide". That'70sCentral. Archived from the original on February 17, 2006. Retrieved February 17, 2006.
- ^ "From 'Lost' to 'Friends,' the Strange Art of Picking a TV Title". The Hollywood Reporter. March 6, 2012.
- ^ "1970-1979 | Fashion History Timeline". fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ "13 Times That '70s Show Tackled History". IFC. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ Hochman, David (February 12, 2006). "Even Those 70's Kids Should Have Seen It Coming". The New York Times.
Like 'Happy Days', 'That 70's Show' blends smart comedy with light social commentary.
- ^ "From 'Grey's Anatomy' to 'Supernatural': TV shows that used song titles for episode names". Yahoo. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- YouTube
- ^ Tate, James. "MSN Autos list of 'Ten Greatest Cars On Television – Ever!'". Editorial.autos.msn.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ^ Adams, Erik (July 30, 2014). "That '70s Show took TV adolescence down into the basement (where it belongs)". TV Club. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ^ Carter, Brooke (February 13, 2017). "What Happened to Wilmer Valderrama – 2017 Update – The Gazette Review". The Gazette Review. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". That70sShow.com. Carsey-Werner LLC. 2004. Archived from the original on February 6, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ Barlow, Helen (January 3, 2007). "Charmer out of the '70s". Herald Sun. Melbourne. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
- ^ "10 Running Gags From Your Favorite 90s TV Shows". EMGN. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- ^ "15 Weirdest Running Jokes You Didn't Notice In Favorite TV Shows". Screen Rant. December 15, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ISBN 9781885219237.
- ^ "10 of TV's Most Memorable Weed-Based Episodes". Splitsider. April 7, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- ^ "That '70s Show Episode Synopses". www.carseywerner.net. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- ^ "That '70s Show S2E12 – English Transcript". Readable. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- ^ "Mill Creek Entertainment: News – THAT '70s SHOW COMPLETE SERIES ON BLU-RAY NOVEMBER 3!". Mill Creek Entertainment. August 17, 2015. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
- All Media Network. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
- All Media Network. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 8, 2021). "'That '70s Show' Spinoff 'That '90s Show' With Kurtwood Smith & Debra Jo Rupp Ordered By Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- ^ "'That '70s Show' to return for sequel with original stars, this time in the '90s - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings for 1999–2000". Sfgate. May 26, 2000.
- ^ "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ^ "2002–2003 Season Ratings for Network TV Primetime – Sitcoms Online Message Boards – Forums".
- ^ "ABC Medianet". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
- ^ "Final 2004–05 TV Ratings Now Out".
- ^ "Alias Community".
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to That '70s Show.
Wikiquote has quotations related to That '70s Show.
- That '70s Show at IMDb
- That '70s Show at Carsey Werner Television
