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That '70s Show

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That '70s Show
That 's Show logo
That '70s Show logo
Created byMark Brazill
Bonnie Turner
Terry Turner
StarringTopher 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 United States
No. of episodes200 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time22 minutes (approximate)
Original release
NetworkFox Broadcasting Company
ReleaseAugust 23, 1998 –
May 18, 2006
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That '70s Show is an American television sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenagers living in Point Place, Wisconsin, a fictional suburb of either Kenosha or Green Bay[1] 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 proved to be a launching pad for the film careers of its young stars, unknowns at the time they were hired.

The show remains in syndication on FX and various broadcast television stations in the United States and United Kingdom, CH in Canada, as well as the Seven Network and FOX8 in Australia. It will begin airing on ABC Family and The N in 2008.[2]

Series overview

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, before being changed to That '70s Show. Other names considered were The Kids Are Alright, Feelin' All Right, and Reeling in the Years.[1]

The series was commissioned by the Fox Network, and the first season premiered on Sunday, August 23, 1998, with an initial order of 22 episodes (extended to 25 on January 12, 1999).[3] The series did well, rating highly among several target demographics, including adults aged 18-49, as well as teen viewers.[3] 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.[3] Continuing success saw changing timeslots (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, [4] and the final episode was filmed a month later, on February 17, 2006.[5] "That '70s Finale" originally aired on May 18, 2006.

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 liberal girlfriend and next-door neighbor, Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), a rebellious hard-rocking stoner who was adopted by the Forman family and lives in their basement, Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), a dim-witted narcissistic ladies man, Jacqueline Burkhart (Mila Kunis), a self-involved high school cheerleader overly preoccupied with wealth and status, and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), the nicknamed immigrant from an ambiguous country of origin and whose hormones are raging out of control. The latter character's name is known to have originated as a loose acronym for Foreign Exchange Student.

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 would have harsh disagreements, but would come to terms with their differences. Jackie eventually moved on to Hyde and later Fez as the series progessed.

Other main characters include Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith), Eric's overbearing war veteran father, Eric's overprotective menopausal mother Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), who is struggling to be a fulltime mom and housewife while maintaining a job as a nurse in a local hospital, and Laurie Forman (Lisa Robin Kelly, 1998-2003 and Christina Moore, 2003-2004), Eric's older sister, 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 dimwitted 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.

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 characters such as Leo returned with more prominent roles 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.

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 Vista Cruiser to the "Circle".

Cast

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

* Was present in a recurring role in the sixth season (2003-2004).

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

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

Elements of the show

File:That 70s Show - Who Wants It More?.jpg
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 phenomena 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 when he was unknowingly invited to a key party), the economic hardships of recession, mistrust in the American government among blue-collar workers, political figures such as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, teenage drug use, and developments in entertainment technology, from the television remote ("the clicker") to the videogame Pong.

Signature elements of That '70s Show include surreal, sometimes elaborate, dream sequences to depict various characters' vivid imaginations, some of which include references to or parodies of fads and films of the time, such as Star Wars, Rocky, and Grease, and the 360-degree scenes, also known as "The Circle" (seen below). The "Circle" is used to illustrate the teens' marijuana use typically occurring in Eric's basement. All of these segments combine nonsensical dialogue with deadpan humor. Of note, no actual smoking is depicted in these scenes, as smoke is only visible in the background and foreground.

Other stylistic elements include the use of split screens, which tends to involve two characters talking to each other about a given topic, as two other people with foil viewpoints speak. The viewpoints are disturbingly similar yet contradictory in key ways for optimal comic effect.

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.

Timeline

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

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, when 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. 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. M*A*S*H, which aired for eleven years despite the Korean War lasting only three years, also made liberal use of time settings.

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.

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.

After the failure of the UK remake, rival commercial terrestrial Five started broadcasting the original show in primetime before moving it to a post 11pm timeslot.

The American version of the show is currently shown on Trouble, Paramount Comedy, and Bravo 2 in the UK and Ireland, and RTÉ Two, Channel 6 in Ireland, Paramount Comedy in Spain, Star World in Asia, Fox in Latin America, Jack TV in the Philippines, Comedy Central in the Netherlands, TV2 Zulu in Denmark, TV 2 (Norway) in Norway, Channel 7 in Australia, MBC4 in the Middle East, Sony Entertainment Television in Brazil, Sitel in the Republic of Macedonia, Eesti Televisioon in Estonia and Nelonen in Finland, TV 2, in New Zealand.

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!

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.

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.

Nielsen ratings

2001-2002 Season: #67

2003-2004 Season: #49

2004-2005 Season: #85

2005-2006 Season: #103

DVD releases

Season Episodes Release date Additional features
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
1 25 October 262004 May 152005 September 212005 (Parts 1 and 2)
May 242006 (Complete Season) 		"Hello Wisconsin!" Season One Featurette
That '70s Tribute Show
Promo-Palooza
2 26 April 192005 September 192005 September 212005 (Parts 1 and 2)
May 242006 (Complete Season) 		Audio Commentaries
Episode Promos for every episode, matched up to the discs they are on
Behind the Scenes: Kelso's Serenade Featurette (Disc 3)
Behind the Scenes: Jackie Moves On Featurette (Disc 4)
Behind the Scenes: Holy Crap! Featurette (Disc 4)
Behind the Scenes: Red Fired Up Featurette (Disc 4)
Behind the Scenes: Cat Fight Club Featurette (Disc 4)
Behind the Scenes: Moon Over Point Place Featurette (Disc 4)
Checkpoint Music Video (Disc 4)That '70s Show Season 2 Overview (Disc 4)
3 25 November 152005 February 272006 May 242006 Eighteen Intros
Audio Commentaries
Season 3 Overview
4 27 May 92006 August 212006 August 92006 Episode Promos
Four David Trainer Commentary Tracks
Promos for every episode
5 25 October 172006 April 22007 April 182007
 Promos on every episode
Season 5 in 5 Minutes
A '70s Flashback: Wilmer Valderrama
A '70s Flasback: Danny Masterson
Promos for every episode
6 25 May 82007 August 62007 August 152007
 A '70s Flashback: Debra Jo Rupp
A '70s Flashback: Kurtwood Smith
Six Minutes in Season 6
2 Commentaries with David Trainer
7 25 October 162007 TBA TBA A '70s Flashback: Don Stark
3 Commentaries with David Trainer
Behind The Polyester: Writing That '70s Show Featurette
That Seventh '70s Season Featurette
Promos for every episode
8 22 TBA TBA TBA

Notable special guests

Production team

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "That '70s Show FAQs".
  2. ^ "ABC Family unveils upcoming schedule". ABCFamily. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
  3. ^ 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 1999-01-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ ""THAT '70S SHOW" SAYS GOODBYE TO AN ERA WITH THE 200TH EPISODE AND SERIES FINALE THIS MAY ON FOX". TheFutonCritic. Retrieved 2006-01-17.
  5. ^ "That '70s Show Episode Guide". That'70sCentral. Retrieved 2006-02-17.
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