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.<!--Please don't change end date to anything else, including January 1, 1980--> The ensemble 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. A sequel series, That '90s Show, set in 1995 and focusing on the children of the main characters of the original show, was released on Netflix from 2023 to 2024.

Premise

200px|thumb|The Circle illustrated the teens' marijuana use, usually in [[Eric Forman (That '70s Show)|Eric's basement. The image is of the final scene of the series.|left]]

Setting and timeline

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 the 12th episode that was produced, and was originally, going to air earlier in the debut season. 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. After the credits roll, the license plate from Eric's Vista Cruiser is shown with the year "80", indicating that the 1980s have begun.

The series has gained some notoriety due to perceived continuity errors present in its timeline. Although it is implied that one year passes in congruence with each season of the series, the characters remain of high school age from the beginning of the series until the conclusion of season five. Additionally, characters can be seen listening to albums that would have not yet been released at the time of the episode's setting.

Themes and references

The show is a 1970s nostalgia sitcom. The show addressed numerous social issues of the 1970s such as sexual attitudes of the era, generational conflict, the economic hardships of the 1970s recession, mistrust of the American government by blue-collar workers, and underage drinking/drug use. The series also highlighted developments in fashion trends, the entertainment industry, including the television remote ("the clicker"), reruns, VCRs, and cable TV; the video games Pong and Space Invaders; the cassette tape and Disco; MAD magazine; and Eric's obsession with Star Wars, which came out in 1977. The show has been compared to Happy Days, which was similarly set 20 years before the time in which it aired. Many of the show's episodes featured Eric and the rest of the kids in or around Eric's "Aztec Gold" 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, handed down to Eric by Red in the pilot episode (after Red begrudgingly buys a 1976 Toyota Corolla, a more economical car).

The series also contains references to the popular music of the 1970s, such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Kiss, The Grateful Dead, ABBA and The Steve Miller Band. Additionally, the series featured cameos from prominent rock musicians such as Nugent himself, as well as Roger Daltrey of the Who.

Running gags and catchphrases

In one of the show's major running gags, Red often threatens to punish Eric with many variations of the catchphrase, "my foot in your ass" or more generally "kicking your ass."

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 "Stolen Car", or Fez rambling in "Love of My Life".
  • Fez's real name was also never revealed. Even Fez stood for FES, Foreign Exchange Student. 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.
  • Kelso yells "Ow, my eye!" when Hyde rough-houses with him. For example, in the episode "Class Picture", a series of flashbacks feature Hyde beating up Kelso. While the two are out of the immediate sight of the audience, Kelso yells, "Ow, my eye!" and the scene cuts to the next flashback. This gag is repeated several times throughout the series, although the only time Kelso appears with an injured eye is in "Jackie's Cheese Squeeze" after he was punched by Todd, Jackie's manager. On that occasion, Kelso did not yell, "Ow, my eye!"
  • Fez's sex life or usually lack thereof. Often Fez accidentally reveals some perverse behavior he performed, like hiding in Donna's room.
  • 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.
  • Eric's attempted "secret" money stash locations are known by everyone, such as the Candy Land box.
  • Characters (usually Kelso) being made to wear a Green Bay Packers helmet following an especially ignorant comment.

Format

That 70's Show featured a multi-camera setup and was filmed before a live studio audience with canned laughter. 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 marijuana. Thick clouds of smoke, frequent coughing and an extreme wide-angle lens added to the "drug-induced" feel, although the audience never saw anyone actually smoking the drug. Also, no visible drug-related paraphernalia were seen, such as bongs or rolling papers. Characters never spoke the word "marijuana" while in The Circle (except in one episode, "Reefer Madness"), often referring to it as "stuff" or a "stash". In the episode "Bye-Bye Basement", Theo (Leo's cousin) refers to "weed"; in "The Relapse", Kelso tells Fez that the concrete wall behind the gym is used mostly for "smoking weed and beating up freshmen;" in "Ski Trip" Kitty asks Eric why he is taking so much oregano to Jackie's ski lodge; in "Eric's Burger Job", Kelso blames his "roach clip" when the water bed on which he is sitting at a party deflates; in two episodes ("That Wrestling Show" and "Hyde Moves In"), Eric and Hyde can be seen wearing shirts with the words "Cannabis sativa" written on a Campbell's soup can; and in "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 "Class Picture", "I'm A Boy", "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.

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").

For the first seven seasons of the show, the show's introduction showed the cast inside the Vista Cruiser. The particular station wagon was ultimately bought by Wilmer Valderrama at the show's conclusion from Carsey-Werner for "no more than" .

Mila Kunis lied about her age to get her role as Jackie Burkhart in the series. She was 14 years old, though the show required its actors to be 18.

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. Ashton Kutcher switched to a recurring guest role when he also chose to depart following the seventh season.

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.

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. 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, and "That '70s Finale" was filmed a month later on February 17, 2006, first airing on May 18, 2006.

Cast

Cast

  • Topher Grace as Eric Forman (seasons 1–7; uncredited guest season 8): The leader and straight man of the group, Eric is a nice person, quite slender and somewhat clumsy. He has a fast wit and a deadpan sense of humor. His obsession with movies, particularly Star Wars, is often referred to throughout the show. For seven seasons Eric is in a relationship with his longtime love and neighbor Donna Pinciotti. His father, Red, is frequently hard on him and casually insults him. He convinces his parents to let his best friend 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.
  • Mila Kunis as Jacqueline "Jackie" Beulah 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. 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 the Chicago Playboy Club and leaves the show. Kelso, along with Eric, returns for the series finale.
  • Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde: Eric's best friend and the anti-establishment member of the group. By the end of season one, the Formans allow Hyde to move in after he was abandoned by his mother, making him a foster brother to Eric. Hyde has a witty, blunt and sarcastic sense of humor and a rebellious personality. He is also experienced and the other group members often ask for his advice. Although Hyde dates Jackie for three seasons, in the final season he marries an exotic dancer named Samantha. Hyde later discovers Samantha was married to another man when she married him. As Donna points out in "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.
  • Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti: Eric's longtime girlfriend (and briefly fiancée) who is literally and figuratively "the girl next door". 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.<!--Sources can be found on List of That '70s Show DVDs.-->

In 2019, Rupert Murdoch sold most of 21st Century Fox's film and television assets to Disney, but That '70s Show was not included as part of the sale, as the show's underlying rights were with production company Carsey-Werner. That same year, a sublicensing deal for the show with streamer Netflix ended in the United States, with the deal ending globally in 2020. In 2022, Carsey-Werner sublicensed it to NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock.

Remake

Days Like These

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 premiered on Netflix on January 19, 2023 and ran for two seasons before being cancelled in October 2024. Like the original series, it was 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. 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), Jim Rash (Fenton) and Seth Green (Mitch Miller), reprised their roles as guest stars in the series.

Reception

American ratings

That '70s Show 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.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

|-

!colspan="2"|Season !!Episodes !!Timeslot !!Premiere !!Season finale !!Rank !!Viewers<br />(in millions)

|-

| 1 || 1998–1999 ||25 || Sunday 8:30 PM (1998–1999)<br/>Monday 8:00 PM (1999) ||August 23, 1998 || July 26, 1999 || || 11.7

|-

| 2 || 1999–2000 ||26 || Tuesday 8:30 PM (1999–2000)<br/>Tuesday 8:00 PM (2000)<br/>Monday 8:00 PM (2000) ||September 28, 1999 || May 22, 2000 || 86 || 9.0

|-

| 3 || 2000–2001 ||25 || rowspan="2"|Tuesday 8:00 PM ||October 3, 2000 || May 22, 2001 || || 10.8

|-

| 4 || 2001–2002 ||27 ||September 25, 2001 || May 21, 2002 || 67 || 9.1

|-

| 5 || 2002–2003 ||25 || Tuesday 8:00 PM (2002)<br/>Wednesday 8:00 PM (2003) ||September 17, 2002 || May 14, 2003 || 52|| 10.4

|-

| 6 || 2003–2004 ||25 || rowspan="2"|Wednesday 8:00 PM ||October 29, 2003 || May 19, 2004 || 49 || 10.0

|-

| 7 || 2004–2005 ||25 ||September 8, 2004 || May 18, 2005 || 85 || 7.0

|-

| 8 || 2005–2006 ||22 || Wednesday 8:00 PM (2005)<br/>Thursday 8:00 PM (2006) ||November 2, 2005 || May 18, 2006 || 103 || 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.

Legacy

In August 2009, the show's Vista Cruiser was named third-greatest television car ever by MSN Autos.

References

  • That '70s Show at Carsey Werner Television