Fez (That '70s Show)
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| Fez | |
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| First appearance | "That '70s Pilot" |
| Last appearance | "That '70s Finale" |
| Created by | Mark Brazill |
| Portrayed by | Wilmer Valderrama |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | The Foreign Kid, The Foreigner, Captain Pooface |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 17-20 |
| Date of birth | August 4, 1959 (Age 48) |
| Occupation | Student, shampoo boy |
| Spouse(s) | Laurie Forman (Ex-Wife) |
| Address | Point Place, Wisconsin |
Fez (born August 4, 1959) is a fictional character from the television series That '70s Show, portrayed by Wilmer Valderrama.
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[edit] Origins
The name "Fez" was created by the writers as an acronym for Foreign Exchange Student (although it ends with a "z" to reflect how it is pronounced). His friends know Fez's true name but consider it unpronounceable. Red usually calls him "the foreign kid," or refers to him with an random foreign name, e.g. Hadji, Sabu, Ali Baba, Pelé, etc. In the episode "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", Eric's grandmother calls him "Desi."
A flashback episode shows when Fez first meets the others. They rescue him from a janitor's closet that several bullies have put him into. They had asked him if he wanted to hang out, he tells the gang he "shouldn't have said yes." Moments later he states his real name, which is drowned out by a long, ringing school bell. Hyde says "Ok, I'm not gonna remember that." What Valderrama was actually saying was the first names of the main actors who appear in the show. The only known fact about his name is, as he states in the episode "Killer Queen", the first five K's of his last name are silent.
The reason that Fez's name and country of origin are never mentioned throughout the course of the series is that the creators could never decide on his origins, and eventually decided to leave it a secret. In an interview, Wilmer said he created an accent so no one would know what country he is from.[citation needed]
[edit] Fez's homeland
His secret country of origin is one of the longest running gags on the show. In one episode, he revealed it was an island but was interrupted before he could say the name of the island. In another episode, he spoke a line (the "I said good day" catchphrase) in his native language. He once said he had "Latin pride," which led Red to believe he was Latino. Fez retorted "No, only my pride is, and I have a Swiss sense of frugality." He once said that he could speak Dutch in a job interview, and viewed this as his "strongest point."
Fez once said that he had "Jamaican fire," but it turned out that was just the name of his cologne. Fez has also been shown to speak Spanish in an episode when he sang a Spanish love song to Jackie, but he may have only known the words and how to sing it correctly. Also, Fez once claimed his country has never fought a war. In another episode, however, he alludes to the fact that his country "won the war" against Britain. He once said that his forefathers were not Mayan. He once stated that his country has "more lizards than people." In episode 507, Hot Dog, Fez remarked that his people "eat bugs." He has also referred to having a sister who lives in the jungle 10,000 miles from Wisconsin in "Surprise, Surprise" but it is possible that 10,000 was just a ballpark figure. Also during a ski trip with friends, he marvels at the sight of snow, claiming he had never seen any before then. In another instance, a friend from his home country visits, and has a heavy English accent. Fez' explanation to this is that his friend is from the west side of the island. Another episode had Fez pointing out his island on a wall map. However, the audience's view was blocked by someone's head. After Eric offers him a chance to attend a Styx concert with him, Fez states that "where I am come from we have a saying, 'Ugh, Styx.'"
He also stated in one episode that he is from the opposite side of the world. In episode 199, "Love of My Life," Fez states he is going back to Brazil, but then says that he is only going there to take a plane to his country. At the end of that episode, Fez' country origin "Depended on whether you ask the British or the Dutch." The British hated them and would not answer such a question, and nobody can understand the Dutch's answer.
The actor who portrayed Fez, Wilmer Valderrama, had a Venezuelan father and Colombian mother.
Although there's no definitive answer given in the show, it would make sense that Fez is actually from Curaçao, an island nation with jungles, approximately 10,000 miles from Wisconsin which has been ruled by both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. When Fez' British friend visited, he brought along some drugs that were too heavy for Steven Hyde; an extra reference to Curaçao, which is known for its drug problems.
[edit] Fez's love for Jackie
In the first half of the series, Fez painfully longed for Jackie, worshipping her like a queen. Jackie either failed to realize her love for him or didn't act upon it because he was foreign, and therefore way below her standards. They did share a kiss in one episode when he mistakenly thought Jackie was opening up to him. Kelso, Jackie's boyfriend, promptly punched him in the face. They shared another kiss when pretending to be dating to help Jackie keep her job. Jackie revealed to her friend Donna that she thought he was a good kisser. Jackie has shown a small interest in Fez including the time when he wowed her with his dancing moves at a disco and when he helped her win at a roller disco contest. Jackie became inebriated to celebrate her win and hit on Fez. After battling with his light and dark side (shown as two shrunken Fezes on each of his shoulders dressed as Batman and The Riddler,) he decided to be a gentleman and not take advantage of her. The two did go on a "garden gate" when Jackie broke up with Kelso, but Fez was let down when he realized that Jackie had not yet gotten over Kelso. He was also disgusted that she was gorging herself with food and constantly asking about Kelso.
Fez' last real attempt to win Jackie over was in the episode "Ice Shack." Fez carefully planned for Kelso to look bad in front of Jackie so that she would realize that he was the man for her. However, his plan backfired and Jackie easily chose Kelso over him. This caused his obsession over her to wane over the next few years. In season eight, Jackie moved in with him after Kelso left for Chicago, adding a new dynamic to their relationship. After the two moved in together, Jackie began to develop feelings for Fez, and eventually told him about how she felt with a kiss. However, Fez refused her advances, saying that she had already dated Kelso and Hyde and did not want to be her "sloppy thirds."
After being turned down by Fez, Jackie decided to get revenge. She flushed his toothbrush, microwaved his lotion, and ruined his car with graffiti and in an attempt to get back at her, Fez dyed her hair green. He later said that she was now ugly on the outside like she was on the inside. Hurt by Fez's words, Jackie decided to move out. Realizing he wanted to be with her, Fez went to apologize but she was too hurt to accept his apology. They eventually reconciled, and in the final episode, Fez and Jackie finally did get together and kissed atop the water tower.
[edit] Fez's other loves
Besides his love for candy, pornography and masturbation others have been:
"Big Rhonda," a heavyset girl with whom Fez was constantly attempting to lose his virginity. One of his catch phrases was "I'm going to do eettt." Or alternatively, "We're going to do eettt."
Fez once mentioned an intense love for the book "Superfudge," which he claimed to read once a month.
Another short relationship he had was with a girl from school named Caroline, whom Donna had set up with Fez. They shared a few love-filled months together until Fez realized that Caroline was obsessed with him and also mentally unstable. He broke up with her, lying that he and Donna were in love so as not to make Caroline think he ended the relationship because she was crazy.
Fez often spoke fondly of Donna, though there is no evidence of feelings for her deeper than sexual attraction. He repeatedly hid in her closet and on another occasion took photos of her in her schoolgirl outfit. By season eight it became clear that Fez' attraction for Donna was purely admiration of her beauty and nothing more.
Eventually, Fez got a job at the DMV where he seduced his coworker Nina (Joanna Canton). The two had sex, finally ending Fez's agonizing life as a virgin. But, as Fez recounted, it was not a magical moment; there was no soft music "like in the movies so I had to hum" - Nina had asked Fez to stop humming but he started again without realizing it. There were then some sounds that "were certainly not applause." The night ended with him sneaking out of Nina's bathroom window, but he forgot his underwear on the floor. Nina did give Fez a second chance but it didn't work. He eventually proved too needy for her, and while he proved he was able to conquer this, he decided not to do it anyway and claimed "there is only one Fez, and that is a Fez with needs."
Near the end of the fifth season, Fez was arrested for vandalism of the town's water tower and came close to being deported back to his native country. But at the last moment, Laurie Forman slept with Fez and subsequently married him so he could stay in America. Red suffered a heart attack upon learning this. Their marriage was clearly not one of love, as Laurie went on their honeymoon to Cancún with someone else. Since Laurie's disappearance, Fez stopped mentioning he was married and was referred to as being married only once, by Kelso.
In season seven, Fez got considerably more female attention when he began working at a hair salon, and by season eight, he had been known for having one-night-stands every day of the week including one with a character named Danielle, played by Lindsay Lohan (notable because he stole her from Kelso).
[edit] Host parents
Fez began the show as living with fundamentalist "Bible-thumping" host parents, who forbade "devil's music" like Kiss. Hyde had Fez sneak rock albums into their house that were hidden in Pat Boone record jackets. He has also lived with host parents named The Erdmans. His host-mother was named Rebecca. The Erdmans only appeared in one episode throughout the show's run. In the seventh season, Fez' host parents realized that he had graduated from high school a year earlier and kicked him out of their house. Fez was forced to get an apartment with Kelso. When Kelso moved to Chicago to be near his baby daughter Betsy, Jackie moved in with Fez.
[edit] References
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