Eric Forman

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Eric Forman
Eric
First appearance	That '70s Polit
Information
Family	Kitty Forman (mother) Red Forman (father) Laurie Forman (sister)
Relationships	Donna Pinciotti (girlfriend; ex-fiancea)
Episode count	All
Portrayed by	Topher Grace.

This article is about the character on the American TV series "That '70s Show". For the character on the American TV series "House", see Eric Foreman.

Eric Forman (born March 1960) is a fictional character on Fox Network's That '70s Show, played by Topher Grace. The character is based on the adolescence of show creator Mark Brazill. Most of the show takes place at Forman's home, particularly in the basement, where he and his five friends hang out. He has a doting mother with impending separation anxiety and menopause (Kitty Forman), a strict, war-veteran father (Red Forman), and a "promiscuous" older sister (Laurie Forman).

[edit] Controversies

There are contradictory references in the show to Eric Forman's birthday. One episode he said his birthday is in March, but another episode had his birthday exactly one month after graduation, which would make it July. In addition, Eric turned 17 in 1976 but 18 in 1978. Eric was almost 17 when the series began in 1998 (his 17th birthday was in the second episode of the series).

[edit] Personality

Though a nice guy at heart, Eric is also generally cowardly and weak, being mortally afraid of spiders and being unable to play sports, even quitting tee-ball as a child. Donna is far stronger than him (although there are indications that she is stronger than the rest of the guys in the group) and several jokes portray him as effeminate—Jackie once referred to him as a "really masculine girl", just like Donna. Eric himself compared himself to the Cowardly Lion in having "no courage", even as he compared Hyde to the Tin Woodman (no heart) and Kelso to the Scarecrow (no brains).

Eric has never taken a zit free yearbook picture, and has at least one on his face in every year. From the episode in which this is shown, each year also gives Eric more and more nicknames based on his last name, his pimples and/or other physical/character aspects. They include "Foreplay", "Foreskin", and "Zitty Stardust". In the episode "The Keg", Hyde calls Eric "Opie" (for the character Opie Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show), and in "The Velvet Rope", Eric is also called "Archie" by a nightclub doorman (for the doorman's apparent perception of Eric's resemblance to comic strip character Archie Andrews).

Despite this, Eric can show a surprising amount of spine and even physical prowess when necessary. To name a few instances, Eric righteously scolded a pair of jock bullies when they broke his beer tap, manipulated his way into a nightclub, plays basketball regularly and, in a rare display of masculine pride, refused to be Donna's second choice when Casey Kelso dumped her (see below). He stood up to Red when he was troubled upon Kitty's apparent pregnancy and told him to be a man for her, stood up against both of his parents in his insistence on marrying Donna despite their repeated attempts to stop him, was dead serious when he threatened to kick Casey Kelso's ass if Casey made Donna cry, and even defended his father when he broke the nose of another teen who made fun of Red losing his job at the auto parts plant. He also beat a fellow Packer fan up after he insulted Eric for wearing a Chicago Bears jersey. This made Red proud enough to compliment that Eric has "the Forman Rage". While it made Red glad that his son could be tough, Eric commented that he learned the moves from Spider-Man, making Red dismayed once again at his son's geekiness.

His skinny frame has been subject to many jokes by all his friends and even his own father: "Nobody wants to see an 80 pound boy dancing with his mother!" He is a smart-aleck with a lightning-fast wit and charming sense of humor, and is generally deadpan most of the time.

His best friend is Steven Hyde, whom Red often treats better than him, and he is a fan of Bruce Lee as well as Star Wars (much to the annoyance of his friends and family, Luke Skywalker is his idol), G.I. Joe, Star Trek, and other sci-fi shows. He likes the bands KISS, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Styx. It is also hinted that he is a Spider-Man fan, due to his having Spider-Man bedsheets and a considerable amount of comic books, most of them bearing the Marvel Comics logo with Spidey on the covers.

Red tends to put Eric down by calling him a dumbass or threatening to shove his foot up Eric's ass because Red thinks that Eric fails to fulfill the ideals of what a man should be. In many ways Eric is a younger version of his father, as both display a dry sense of humor and tend to be the sanest people in their circle of friends. Kitty, however, supports Eric against Red, and while Eric appreciates his mom's support, her overblown displays of affection often leave him feeling embarrassed. At times, Kitty's love for Eric borders on Hitchcockian. After Eric disobeys his parents' orders not to get married, Red finally considers Eric a man.

Kitty is often insecure about being replaced by Donna as the woman in Eric's life. Their rivalry is played up in many episodes (often comically, but sometimes to the point of it being a problem). For example, in one episode Kitty went into a depression after learning that Eric and Donna had sex; Eric assured Kitty he would always need her because, "Dad's going to be riding my ass for the rest of my life!"

Eric's jobs have included stints at the fictional Fatso Burger, at Price Mart with his father, at the local dog food factory, and at the Holiday Hotel as a waiter, before taking a year off in season seven to contemplate his future and enjoy being lazy. Red vehemently opposed Eric trying to get another job during the second season, citing that it would interfere with his school work and make it harder for him to get into a good college far away, and Kitty supported Red by using her demeaning nickname of Eric's job as being her "precious baby boy". Eric eventually got fed up, getting a job at Price-Mart behind Red's back, just before Red took a job there.

[edit] Relationship with Donna

Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti

Eric's first love is Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), the girl next door. Through thick and thin, their relationship has been one of the show's main storylines. They have been friends since they were very young. In the first season, their friendship evolves into a relationship. In early episodes, Hyde tries to steal Donna from Eric. This plotline was discarded until the "It's a Wonderful Life" episode, where it is revealed that Hyde was waiting for Donna after the Todd Rundgren concert the gang went to in the pilot. This episode suggests that, had Eric and Donna not kissed, Donna would have ended up with Hyde, and Eric would have ended up with Big Rhonda and as impossible as it sounds, even more miserable. Eric would have spent the rest of his childhood trying to win his father's approval, even kowtowing to him. And Eric, Donna, Jackie, Kelso and Hyde would have all ended up a lot worse (Fez seems more or less at ease with his situation).

Eric and Donna's relationship hits a major snag near the end of the third season, as Donna starts to put her job with the local radio station and her goals of being a writer and potential newswoman before Eric. The big turning point comes when the gang goes to a Chicago rock concert featuring Ted Nugent, for which Donna got tickets as an apology to Eric for blowing off so many of their recent dates. Donna is invited backstage after the concert. She wants to go, but Eric is upset that she would "ditch him". Donna ends up spending much longer backstage than Eric expected. She refuses to apologize, saying that Eric shouldn't be jealous that she got to have fun. They break up after Donna refused to accept Eric's "promise ring", sending Eric into a downward spiral and putting them on warring terms over their shared group of friends. Eric had trouble getting over his feelings for Donna in conjunction with finding a new girlfriend, all attempts that failed miserably, making him an object of ridicule among his friends, and an easy target of ridicule to Donna, who gleefully mocked his failed attempts to find a new girlfriend.

When Donna started dating Kelso's older brother Casey, Eric immediately objected, in light of the fact that Kelso's relationship with Jackie was in perpetual suffering. He also knew that Casey really wasn't the Prince Charming Donna thought he was, but merely a smarter version of Kelso - a smooth talking frat boy who just wanted to nail Donna and move on to the next girl. Eric tried to warn Donna, who thinks he is motivated by jealousy. He then threatened to hurt Casey if he hurt Donna, telling him "If you make her cry, I'm coming right back here to kick your ass!" Bob, Red, Kitty, and Eric try to get Donna to break up with Casey. This backfires when Casey instead decides to break up with Donna, lazily explaining that their relationship had gotten to be too much of a hassle and flatly admitting that he didn't really mean it when he said he loved her. Afterwards, Donna turned to Eric for comfort and support. Genuinely feeling sorry for her, Eric offered her all the sympathy he could, but when a tearful Donna said she wanted to be his girlfriend again, he refused, saying to her that he "can't be your second choice". Eric remained firm in his decision, despite pressure from Red and Kitty. Eric maintained "I'm not a rebound" as his defense for not taking Donna back, even though Red said he didn't have enough going for him to justify being too proud to take her back.

Unable to handle Eric's (and Casey's) rejection, Donna ran away to California with Kelso, who was running away from Jackie, and crashed with her mother till she could sort out her feelings. Donna decided that she did love Eric and tried to call him, but couldn't get a hold of him because he was "busy". When Eric finally found out about her calls, he tried to call her back but couldn't work up the courage. Hyde resolved this by stealing some of Eric's money to buy him a plane ticket and then sending him on his way. Eric showed up in California and found Donna on the beach. A magical moment of silence between them was ruined when Kelso playfully tackled Donna. Once that had passed, Eric confessed to Donna that he still loved her. She embraced him, and they returned to Point Place.

In season 5 Eric proposed to Donna at the Point Place water tower. They were able to keep their engagement secret until the episode titled "The Crunge", during which Eric accidentally slipped the information to the gang. In the episode titled "Over the Hills and Far Away", Eric revealed his engagement to Donna during an argument with Red. Red tried to break their engagement by firing Eric from Price Mart and pressuring the couple to marry, but Laurie suggested to Eric and Donna that they just move out of Point Place. They had plans to move to Madison, Wisconsin after graduating from high school, but during the episode "Celebration Day", Red had a heart attack, and Eric was persuaded to stay home in order to help his family.

Towards the end of season six, as Eric and Donna's wedding date drew near, Eric didn't show up for the rehearsal dinner. This is because he had a dream where a future Donna left him, unhappy with her life. He believed that she was giving up the future she wanted to be with him. Although initially upset with Eric, Donna admits that she also had cold feet. They have a relaxed relationship for most of the seventh season.

In the season seven finale, Eric left Point Place to teach in Africa to earn money to help pay for his college education. (This was due to the fact that Topher Grace had not renewed his contract so he could work on the movie Spider-Man 3). Eric broke up off screen with Donna during the 8th season, and this action is considered by many fans to be a jump the shark sign. Eric returned for the series finale of That '70s Show, which aired on Thursday, May 18, 2006. In the final episode, it is revealed that they still feel affectionate towards each other. It is implied that they renew their relationship, but it is not made entirely clear.