That '70s Show
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That '70s Show was an American television sitcom that centered on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin from May 17,1976 to December 31,1979. It debuted on August 23, 1998 and its final episode aired May 18, 2006, culminating with a two-episode special and commentary, drawing in an estimated 9.3 million viewers. Its eight season run and 200 episode total make it the fourth longest lasting sitcom on the Fox network (after The Simpsons, King of the Hill and Married with Children). It proved to be a launching pad for the film careers of all of its young stars, most notably Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher, both unknowns when the show started.
About the show
The first working title for the series was Teenage Wasteland, before being changed to That '70s Show. Other names considered were The Kids Are Alright, Feelin' All Right, Reeling in the Years, and Movin' and Groovin'.The show follows the life of geeky everyman Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and his five teenage friends: Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), his feminist girlfriend and next-door neighbor; Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), a rebellious hard-rocking stoner; Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), a dim-witted narcissistic ladies man; Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), a self-involved high school cheerleader overly preoccupied with wealth and status; and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), the nicknamed goofy foreigner whose country of origin is ambiguous, and whose hormones are out of control; Fez's real name is felt to be unpronounceable to the other characters and so they rename him Fez, which stands for Foreign Exchange Student (the spelling being poetic license). Fez never reveals where he is from until the last episode where he reveals that he is from brazil. Fez's real name was never actually revealed. In fact, the first time Fez introduces himself to the other characters, the school bell rings to drown out his words. (You can see his mouth moving as he says his extremely long name -- in reality, Wilmer Valderrama actually just said the names of all of the other cast members).
Eric drives a 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, a station wagon given to him by his father in the first episode.
Other main characters include Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith), Eric's overbearing war veteran father, obsessed with making "...him a man, which he's not" (Red Forman: episode 421: Prank Day), using the word "dumb-ass" frequently, and always threatening to put his foot up someone's ass; his overprotective menopausal mother, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), who is caught up in trying to be a fulltime mom and housewife, while maintaining a job as a nurse in a local hospital; and Laurie Forman (Lisa Robin Kelly, 1998-2001 and 2002-2003, and Christina Moore, 2004-2005), the promiscuous older sister who can do no wrong in the eyes of her father(although Kitty is not charmed by Laurie's often over-the-top sucking up). The show also follows the relationship of Midge and Bob Pinciotti (Tanya Roberts and Don Stark), Donna's parents, both of whom are slow-witted and easily influenced by the movements and fads of the '70s, which sometimes places stress on their marriage. Tommy Chong also appears as the recurring character of Leo, the hippie owner of the Foto Hut.
The show has gained recognition for providing a bold retrospective to a decade full of political events and technological milestones that have dramatically shaped the world today. The show cleverly tackles the significant social phenomena of 1970s America: feminism, new attitudes towards sexuality, the economic hardships of recession, developing mistrust in the American government among blue collar workers, teenage recreational drug use, and developments in entertainment technology, from the TV remote (or "the clicker"), to Pong, a video game.
-->Signature elements of That '70s Show include surreal dream sequences to illustrate the various characters' vivid imagination, and the 360-degree scenes, also known as the Circle. The Circle is usually used to illustrate the teens' marijuana use in Eric Forman's basement. The characters are never seen smoking marijuana, but it is obviously implied. In some episodes, the object in the center of the Circle is revealed to be a kind of incense, which is likely marijuana. As they discuss any current situation, the camera moves around the circle to whoever is speaking. All the segments are basically nonsensical dialogue complete with deadpan humor.The show was remade by the British ITV network as Days Like These using almost verbatim scripts with minor changes to cultural references. The show failed to attract an audience and was removed from the schedules after 10 of the 13 episodes had been broadcast. The remaining three episodes were shown in a later run of repeats.
After the failure of the UK remake, rival commercial terrestrial channel five started broadcasting the original show in primetime before moving it to a post 11pm timeslot.
The show was taped at CBS Studio Center in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Unlike most sitcoms, That '70s Show stuck with one director – David Trainer.
Timeline
Although the show was on for eight years, the timeline was noticeably slowed. When the show first aired on August 23, 1998, the show was set in May 1976. The series was set in 1977 from the middle of its first season to the end of the third (except for episode 23, Grandma's Dead which (possibly by mistake) takes place in 1976 (even though 1976 ended with episode 12, The Best Christmas Ever)), (though, due to Grandma's Dead's low production code (112), it was probably supposed to air earlier in Season 1), and then in 1978 until the sixth season. Hyde had an 18th birthday in 1978, despite dialogue that suggests that he is older than Eric, who turned 17 in episode two, Eric's Birthday, (which was in 1976). Eric also turned 18 in The Magic Bus in 1978, two years after turning 17. This, combined with the fact that new holiday-themed episodes run every year, means the sense of time on That '70s Show is loose at best. (M*A*S*H, which aired for eleven years despite the Korean War only lasting three years, also used this formula. The final episode took place on the last day of the decade, December 31, 1979, ending at midnight).
The way to check the time of the episode is to look at the last scene of the opening credits, a close-up on a Wisconsin license plate, with instead of numbers the names of the creators of the shows on it. Just like a normal license plate, there is an inspection sticker with the two-number year code--in this case, either "76", "77", "78" or "79" and in the final episode "80". The plate also appears at the end as the production logo for Carsey-Werner, also with the number code.
8th season changes
Eric Forman and Michael Kelso were written out of the series following the seventh season finale, as both actors opted to pursue interests outside That '70s Show. Ashton Kutcher's character guest starred a few times before his character moved to Chicago early on in the season. Both Kutcher and Grace guest starred in the finale. To replace Kelso as Fez's roommate Jackie moves in with him, as many episodes in season 8 focus on their dysfunctional relationship. Hyde's long time friend Leo also returns as a main character in season 8, and spends most of his time in Hyde's record store. A new character by the name of Randy Pearson played by actor Josh Meyers was introduced to take Eric Forman's place. The show's signature intro with the cast in Eric's Vista Cruiser is also changed in the final season. Instead, the cast sings the theme song in the famous circle created by Eric Forman, Steven Hyde and Michael Kelso. The 8th season was the final season of the show.
The Final Episode
The final episode aired May 18, 2006. As the series concluded, the Formans decided not to sell their home. Hyde gave up old habits, but returned to them shortly. Fez and Jackie started dating. Hyde's dad gave him ownership of the record store. The episode also featured the return of Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher). Donna prepared to finally leave Point Place and attend college, but stayed one final time for Eric. The group enjoys flashbacks from past years such as Hyde punching Kelso in the arm, and Red's numerous threats of shoving his foot up people's asses. The episode ended at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve 1979. The credits shown were the same used in the pilot with the teenage cast driving in the Vista Cruiser singing along to "Hello, It's Me!" by Todd Rundgren. When the license plate with the producers' names was shown at the start of the credits, an "80" sticker could be seen in the lower right hand corner of the plate, as opposed to 76/77/78/79.
Theme song
The show usually opens with the theme song, "In the Street," by Alex Chilton and Chris Bell of the band Big Star. It was initially sung by Todd Griffin, but beginning with the second season, the song was performed by the band Cheap Trick, whose version is referred to as "That '70s Song (In the Street)." The lyrics are as follows:
Hanging out, down the street
The same old thing, we did last week
Not a thing to do, but talk to you
We're all alright! We're all alright! Hello Wisconsin!
which differs slightly from Cheap Trick's version.
Ashton Kutcher, who plays Kelso, yells "Hello Wisconsin!" at the end of the theme song heard on television in every season. Only on the song's full-length recording can you hear Robin Zander, lead singer for Cheap Trick, say "Hello Wisconsin!" which was originally recorded when the song came out.
In the first season, the lyrics were the same except that instead of shouting "We're all alright!" twice, they shout "Whooa yeah!"
The final line ("We're all alright!") is inspired by the chorus to the Cheap Trick song "Surrender."
Trivia
- During the first season, the character of Tina was introduced as Donna Pinciotti's sister, she appeared once in the episode "Eric's Burger Job" and was forgotten. The only other allusion was in the episode "Vanstock" from the second season.
- That '70s Show was filmed at Stage 2 in CBS Studio Center, a space that totals 22,000 sq. ft.
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. The second is a collection of AOR songs.
DVD Releases
Season Releases| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | October 26 2004 | 25 | Bonus features include "Hello Wisconsin!" Season One Featurette, That '70s Tribute Show, Promo-Palooza. |
| Season 2 | April 19 2005 | 26 | Bonus features include Audio Commentaries, 6 featurettes, That 70's Show Season 2 Overview. |
| Season 3 | November 15 2005 | 25 | Bonus features include 18 intros, commentaries, That 70's Show Season 3 Overview. |
| Season 4 | May 9 2006 | 27 | Bonus features include 4 David Trainer commentary tracks. |
| Season 5 | October 17 2006 | 25 | Bonus features include Episode promos, season 5 in 5 minutes featurette, 70's flashback on Wilmer Valderrama and Danny Masterson. |
| Season 6 | TBA 2007 | 25 | |
| Season 7 | TBA 2007 | 25 | |
| Season 8 | TBA 2008 | 22 |
