That '70s Show

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That '70s Show
That 's Show logo
That '70s Show logo
Format Sitcom
Created by Mark Brazill
Bonnie Turner
Terry Turner
Starring Topher Grace (1998–2005)
Mila Kunis
Ashton Kutcher (1998–2005)
Danny Masterson
Laura Prepon
Wilmer Valderrama
Debra Jo Rupp
Kurtwood Smith
Tanya Roberts (1998–2001)
Don Stark
Lisa Robin Kelly (1998–2001)
Tommy Chong (2001–2002, 2005–2006)
Josh Meyers (2005–2006)
Opening theme "In the Street" performed by Cheap Trick & Ben Vaughn, written by Alex Chilton and Chris Bell
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 200 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 22 minutes (approximate)
Broadcast
Original channel FOX
Picture format NTSC (480i)
Audio format Stereo
Original run August 23, 1998 – May 18, 2006
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

That '70s Show is 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. That '70s Show was a launching pad for the film careers of some of its stars, who were mostly unknowns at the time they were hired.

The show remains in syndication around the world. The show still airs on both FX (FOX's sister station), and the CW. It will also begin airing on both The N on June 30,2008 at 9PM eastern, 8PM central; and ABC Family on July 4, 2008 at 7PM eastern, 6PM central.

Contents

[edit] Series overview

[edit] History

That '70s Show is the brainchild of 3rd Rock From the Sun creators Bonnie and Terry Turner and writer Mark Brazill. The working title for the series was Teenage Wasteland; other names considered were The Kids Are Alright, Feelin' All Right, and Reeling in the Years,[1] all of which lyrics from popular songs of the period.

The series was commissioned by the Fox Network, and the first season premiered on August 23, 1998, with an initial order of 22 episodes (extended to 25 on January 12, 1999).[2] The series did well, rating highly among several target demographics, including adults aged 18-49, as well as teenage viewers.[2] In February 1999, Fox ordered a second season, and as ratings rose the following September, the network opted to renew the series for two more seasons, bringing the total to four.[2] Continuing success saw changing time slots (Sundays to Mondays to Tuesdays to Wednesdays to Thursdays), as well as four additional seasons.

The eighth season was announced to be the final season of the show on January 17, 2006,[3] and the final episode was filmed a month later, on February 17, 2006.[4] "That '70s Finale" originally aired on May 18, 2006.

[edit] Characters

Set in Point Place, Wisconsin, That '70s Show depicts the life of teenager Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and his five teenage friends: Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), his girlfriend and next-door neighbor; Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), a rebellious stoner who was eventually adopted by the Forman family and lives in their basement; 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 (an acronym that stands for Foreign Exchange Student played by Wilmer Valderrama), an exchange student from a country that is never identified.

Relationships among the teens are explored, the primary focus being between Eric and Donna, who are the responsible ones, as evidenced in episodes such as "Dine and Dash." Their relationship sharply contrasts with the on-again, off-again relationship between Kelso and Jackie, who were usually portrayed as mutually obsessed despite their arguments and denials of love to spite one another. In both relationships, the couples have harsh disagreements, but come to terms with their differences. Jackie subsequently moved on to Hyde and later Fez as the series progressed.

Other main characters include Eric's overbearing Korean war and WW2 veteran father, Red (Kurtwood Smith), his nice, yet overbearing mother Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), who is struggling to be a caring mom and housewife while working as a nurse in a local hospital, and his older sister Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly, 1998-2003 and Christina Moore, 2003-2004), whose promiscuity is the brunt of many jokes by the teenagers but does not deter Kelso from making moves on her. The show also depicts the relationship of Midge and Bob Pinciotti (Tanya Roberts and Don Stark), Donna's dim-witted parents, both of whom are easily influenced by the 1970s movements and fads, which places occasional stress on their marriage. Tommy Chong appeared as a frequently recurring character, Leo, the aging hippie owner of the Foto Hut.

[edit] Eighth season changes

Eric Forman and Michael Kelso were written out of the series after the seventh season, as actors Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher were to star in movies to be filmed during that season (Grace in Spider-Man 3 and Kutcher in The Guardian). Longtime character Leo returned with a more prominent role to help fill the gap. A new character named Randy Pearson, played by Josh Meyers, was introduced to take Eric Forman's place. Another new character, Samantha, played by Judy Tylor, was added to the cast as Hyde's wife for nine episodes, but both she and Meyers had their roles minimalized following a negative response from the fans over the season's new characters.

Kelso appears in the first four episodes of the eighth season (with Kutcher credited as a special guest star) before moving to Chicago; both he and Eric returned for the series' final episode. The location of the show's introduction was also changed from Eric's 1969 Vista Cruiser to the "Circle."

[edit] Cast

Actor/Actress Character name Years credited as regular cast
Topher Grace Eric Forman 1998–20051
Laura Prepon Donna Pinciotti 1998–2006
Danny Masterson Steven Hyde 1998–2006
Ashton Kutcher Michael Kelso 1998–20051
Mila Kunis Jackie Burkhart 1998–2006
Wilmer Valderrama Fez 1998–2006
Kurtwood Smith Red Forman 1998–2006
Debra Jo Rupp Kitty Forman 1998–2006
Don Stark Bob Pinciotti 1998–2006
Tanya Roberts Midge Pinciotti 1998–20012
Lisa Robin Kelly Laurie Forman 1999–20013
Tommy Chong Leo Chingkwake 2001–2002, 2005–20064
Josh Meyers Randy Pearson 2005–20065

1. Was present in a recurring role in the eighth season.

2. Was present in a recurring role in the sixth and seventh seasons.

3. Was present in a recurring role in the first and fifth seasons.

4. Was present in a recurring role in the second and third seasons.

5. Didn't appear in the first episode of season eight, guest starred in the second episode and joined the main cast as well as the opening credits in the third.

[edit] Elements of the show

[edit] The Seventies

An example of the show's use of split screen.
An example of the show's use of split screen.

The show gained recognition for providing a bold retrospective of a decade full of political events and technological milestones that have dramatically shaped today's world. The show tackled significant social issues of the times, such as feminism, progressive sexual attitudes (although in some episodes more traditional values would carry the day, such as when Red ended his friendship with a fellow veteran who invited Kitty and him to a key party and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, co-starring as Eric Forman's possible gay love interest, was rebuffed), the economic hardships of recession, mistrust in the American government among blue-collar workers, political figures such as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter (though both presidents are very rarely referenced throughout the series), teenage drug use, and developments in entertainment technology, from the television remote ("the clicker") to the video game Pong. The first season of the show focused extensively on current events and cultural trends, with each successive season focusing less and less on the socio-political aspects of the story, to the point that the decade simply became a backdrop against which the storylines unfolded. Likewise, the first season of the show also featured a recurring, non-comedic storyline in which the Forman family was in constant danger of losing their home due to Red's hours being cut back at the auto parts plant where he worked. Recurring storylines in later seasons, even when they carried dramatic elements, were always presented as primarily comedic.

The series is something of a homage to the hit 1970s series Happy Days, which itself looked back twenty years to the Wisconsin of the 1950s.

[edit] Dream sequences

Signature elements of That '70s Show include surreal, sometimes elaborate, dream sequences to depict various characters' vivid imaginations or dreams, some of which include references to or parodies of fads and films of the time, such as Star Wars, Rocky, and Grease.

In early dream sequences, the characters who were dreamt of were talking with voices of those who were imagining the scene. In That '70s Pilot, for instance, as the boys imagine the party scene, the partying adults speak with their voices. This was soon phased out.

Sometimes, those who imagine scenes are heard narrating them, but even if they don't, the other characters perceive them (which means those who imagine tell them what they are dreaming about while we get to see the scene). In the episode Stone Cold Crazy, Jackie even mentioned she liked the song which was playing in Fez's dream sequence. Such scenes are usually introduced by the wabbling screen transition. Sometimes, the transition is absent when the characters imagining the scene believe those scenes are real (for example, Eric's dream about Donna in Eric's Birthday or Jackie's dream about Hyde proposing in It's All Over Now).

In the 100th episode That '70s Musical, all singing scenes were Fez's dream sequences.

[edit] The 360

The "Circle" was used to illustrate the teens' marijuana use, usually in Eric Forman's basement.
The "Circle" was used to illustrate the teens' marijuana use, usually in Eric Forman's basement.

Another signature element is frequent use of the 360-degree scenes, also known as "The Circle". It is presented as some characters (usually three or four, sometimes five, in the season 7 episode Take It Or Leave It there was a circle with only two characters, and in the season 6 episode 5:15 there is a unique circle with only one person sitting against a TV) sitting in a circle, usually around a table, with the camera panning from one character to another as he or she is speaking. Sometimes, for comic effect, the last sitting person in the circle is someone unexpected or absurd, like the gym teacher, Jackie's stuffed unicorn, Eric's dog, Fez's music teacher or a ceramic clown.

The "circle" is essentially used to illustrate the teens' marijuana use, typically occurring in Eric's basement and later in Hyde's record store. All of these segments combine nonsensical dialog with deadpan humor. No actual smoking is depicted in these scenes; smoke is visible only in the background and foreground. The circle is sometimes used for other purposes. Early episodes often used the "circle" during dinners at Formans' when Laurie came home. Sometimes, the "circle" takes place at the Formans' dining room when characters eat desert or drink cocktails. In the last season, the "circle" is used in a sauna with Hyde, Red and Red's old friends.

As shown in flashbacks, Eric, Kelso, and Hyde were the original basement "circle" members, and Fez joined them prior to the pilot. Donna first joined them in the episode Hyde Moves In and Jackie joined them in the episode Cat Fight Club.

[edit] Running gags

The many running gags of the show include the following:

  • Split screens, which tend to involve two characters talking to each other about a given topic, as two other people conversed about the same topic - the viewpoints were disturbingly similar yet contradictory in key ways for optimal comic effect.
  • Red's being constantly mad at Eric and wanting him to leave the house, while at the same time being the loving father for Laurie. This only lasts until the end of the second season, as Red gets annoyed with Laurie for dropping out of school and dating Kelso.
  • Red's calling everybody "Dumbass" and threatening to "put [his] foot in [someone's] ass" (which he often says to Eric and Bob), as well as his social awkwardness.
  • Kitty's drinking whenever she's stressed.
  • Red and Kitty's running upstairs to have sex when they are alone in the house.
  • Eric's physical weakness, compared to Donna's. Eric is shown to be the weakest member of the gang.
  • Eric's taking the blame for the gang's misdeeds.
  • Hyde's continual mention of "a car that runs on water" during 360 scenes.
  • Jackie's dislike of poor, ugly (as she calls everybody else, save for Kelso) and foreign people, people from the south and the south in general as well as her love for unicorns and stuffed animals.
  • Hyde's conspiracy theories and sarcastic remarks whenever someone else gets in trouble.
  • One character tells another character something sarcastic, but the other character thinks it's real.
  • Kelso's, then Eric's obsession with Star Wars, as well as Eric's obsession with GI Joes and comics.
  • The use of "Burns" (comic insults) also play a significant part in the series' humor, with a character (usually Kelso) shouting "Burn!" after another is insulted or humiliated. Each character has its own way to say "burn". Eric shouts a short "Burn!", Kelso yells "BUUUUUURN!", Jackie says: "Burn, [name], burn!" and Fez calmly says: "Ah burn". Often, Kelso's burns are less than appropriate.
  • Kelso usually yelling "Ow my eye." when he gets in a fight with one of the gang, usually Hyde.
  • Kelso's advice that eventually turns against him.
  • The gang's incapacity of keeping a secret.
  • Hyde punching Kelso in the arm.
  • Characters falling off the town Water Tower, usually Kelso.
  • No one knowing where Fez is from and what his full name is.
  • Fez's constant attempts to get Jackie and his spying on Donna from her window, under her bed or from inside her closet.
  • Fez's tantrums after feeling insulted, where he says "Good Day," someone else says "But Fez..." and Fez interrupts and says "I said Good Day!" before leaving.
  • Red calling Fez ethnic names, such as "Sabu", "Haji", "Pélé", "Tutankhamen" or "Tarzan".
  • Hyde's extensive knowledge and frequent mentions of stupid Kelso's antics in the past.
  • All fifth season episodes are named after songs by Led Zeppelin, all sixth season titles are The Who songs, all seventh season titles are The Rolling Stones songs and, except for the finale, all eighth season titles are Queen songs.
  • While most characters in the opening sequence sing, there are two of them who have their own particular behavior which is reprised every time a new opening sequence is shot: from season 2 to season 8, Kurtwood Smith as Red appears in the opening credits, but never sings (he didn't appear in the season 1 opening); from season 1 to season 7, whenever he is in the driver's seat, Wilmer Valderrama as Fez barely sings, and concentrates more on driving, seeming slightly nervous (doesn't drive in season 8 opening, as it was relocated to the Circle).
  • The wallpaper in the kitchen often does odd things as someone (usually Eric) is being scolded by Red and/or Kitty while stoned. In the season 2 episode Garage Sale, in a twist it was Red who saw the wallpaper do tricks after he ate some brownies that had been laced with marijuana and while under the influence sells Erics car, which led Eric to chewing Red out. In the season 8 premiere Bohemian Rhapsody, it was Kitty who was scolded by Red and Hyde after trying the guys' marihuana to see "what all the hop-hop [was] notĜ about".

[edit] Scene transitions

In the first season, transitions between scenes included:

  • The yellow smiley often doing things relevant to the plot (e.g. showing its derrière, smiling with growing devil's horns, or throwing itself at the camera).
  • Photos of seventies' celebrities, poorly animated as if they were singing.
  • Some short scenes with the characters saying things, while standing against colorful, psychedelic backgrounds.
  • Shots of lava lamps.
  • Flowers falling off the top of the screen to the bottom.
  • Short scenes from the seventies' documentaries and TV shows, also relevant to the plot.

From the second season and on, those scenes were almost completely removed, and replaced by the main characters dancing or posing in front of abstract, psychedelic backgrounds. In holiday themed episodes, the backgrounds were themed as well, and in the episode It's a Wonderful Life, which happened entirely in Eric's dream, the background was replaced by clouds.

Almost all of the show's regular characters often appeared in these transitions. However, there are exceptions:

  • Bob appeared once, in the episode Substitute.
  • Laurie did not appear while Lisa Robin Kelly was a regular actor, but appeared in one in the episode Nobody's Fault But Mine as a guest star.
  • Midge didn't appear in any.

[edit] Timeline

Due to the show's long run, the timeline was noticeably slowed. The show was set in May 1976 upon its August 23, 1998 premiere. After twelve episodes of the first season (as well as episode 23, "Grandma's Dead", due to it being aired out of production order), the series transitioned to 1977, where it remained until late in the third season, then the time setting was 1978 until early in the sixth season. The remaining episodes took place in 1979. Hyde had an 18th birthday in 1978, despite dialogue suggesting that he is older than Eric, who turned 17 in episode 2, "Eric's Birthday" (set in 1976). Eric then turned 18 in episode 131, "Magic Bus" in 1978, two years after turning 17. Furthermore, all of the teenage characters are juniors in high school at the beginning of the series (except for Jackie, who is a year younger) and they don't become seniors until Season 5, which they also graduate in the season finale. This, combined with the fact that there were holiday-themed episodes almost every season, indicated a sense of time on That '70s Show that was loose at best.

The year is determined in the last scene of the opening credits, which reveals a close-up of a Wisconsin license plate that reads the names of the creators and the sticker with the two-digit year — in this case, either "76," "77," "78,"or "79," and, in the final episode, "80." The year stickers for Wisconsin plates are issued for the upcoming twelve months (e.g., a sticker for "80" would be issued in 1979). The plate also appears at the end as the production logo for Carsey-Werner, also showing the year.

[edit] British remake

In 1999, 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 were broadcast. The remaining three episodes were shown in later reruns.

[edit] International broadcasts of US version

The American version of the show is currently shown on Global TV in Canada; Trouble, Paramount Comedy, Virgin 1, MTV One, and Bravo 2 in the UK and Ireland, and RTÉ Two, Channel 6 in Ireland; Paramount Comedy in Spain; Star World in Asia; Jack TV in the Philippines; Polsat in Poland; Comedy Central in the Netherlands; TV2 Zulu in Denmark; TV 2 (Norway) in Norway; Seven Network and FOX8 in Australia; MBC4 in the Middle East; Sony Entertainment Television and Rede 21 until 2006 (now Play TV), and Rede Bandeirantes in Brazil and Latin America; Sitel in the Republic of Macedonia; Eesti Televisioon in Estonia; Nelonen in Finland; TV 2 originally (later airing on rival station TV3 (New Zealand)) in New Zealand; 2BE in Belgium; M6, Comédie and NRJ12 in France; Kabel 1 in Germany; TV4 (Sweden) in Sweden; B92 in Serbia; Nova TV in Croatia; Atlas TV in Montenegro; GTV in Bulgaria; Sitel in Republic of Macedonia; and TV8 in Turkey.

[edit] 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)." In a Rolling Stone magazine article in 2000, Chilton thought it was ironic that he is paid $70 in royalties each time the show is aired. [5]

According to the official That '70s Show website, Danny Masterson (Steven Hyde) yells "Hello Wisconsin!" during the first season and Rick Nielsen (lead guitarist/songwriter for Cheap Trick) in all other seasons.[1] The lyrics were also slightly different during the first season, with instead of "We're all alright!" being shouted twice (a reference to Cheap Trick's 1978 single "Surrender"), "Whooa yeah!" is heard. The first season's theme was also in the key of G, whereas in subsequent seasons it was lowered to the key of D.

Alternate holiday versions of the theme song were arranged for Halloween, Christmas and musical specials, using organ music and bells, respectively.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Nielsen ratings

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2007)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

1998-1999 Season: #49

2001-2002 Season: #67

2004-2005 Season: #85

2005-2006 Season: #103

[edit] DVD releases

Main article: That '70s Show DVDs

[edit] Production team

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b That '70s Show FAQs.
  2. ^ a b c The FOX Network has ordered an additional 3 episodes of "That '70s Show" to bring the 1998/1999 season order to 25. That'70sShow. Retrieved on 1999-01-12.
  3. ^ "THAT '70S SHOW" SAYS GOODBYE TO AN ERA WITH THE 200TH EPISODE AND SERIES FINALE THIS MAY ON FOX. TheFutonCritic. Retrieved on 2006-01-17.
  4. ^ That '70s Show Episode Guide. That'70sCentral. Retrieved on 2006-02-17.
  5. ^ Alex Chilton Set to Go.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
v • d • e
That '70s Show
Characters
Related articles