That '70s Show was an American television sitcom that centered on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place from May 17, 1976 to December 31, 1979. It debuted on the FOX TV network on August 23, 1998 and ran for eight consecutive seasons, concluding with the 200th episode airing on May 18, 2006. That '70s Show was a launching pad for the film careers of some of its stars, who were mostly unknown at the time they were cast.
As of April 2009, the series is syndicated worldwide.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Series overview
o 1.1 History
o 1.2 Characters
* 2 Cast
* 3 Elements of the show
o 3.1 The Seventies
o 3.2 Split Screens
o 3.3 Dream sequences
o 3.4 The Circle
o 3.5 The Stupid Helmet
o 3.6 The Water Tower
o 3.7 Scene Changes
* 4 Timeline
* 5 Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
* 6 British remake
* 7 International broadcasts of US version
* 8 Theme song
* 9 Soundtracks
* 10 U.S. ratings
* 11 DVD releases
* 12 Production team
* 13 See also
* 14 References
* 15 External links
[edit] Series overview
[edit] History
That '70s Show was created by the writing-producing team of Bonnie and Terry Turner and writer Mark Brazill.[1] The primary working title for the series was Teenage Wasteland, inspired by the lyrics of the 1971 The Who song Baba O'Riley; other names considered were The Kids Are Alright (also by the Who), Feelin' All Right (by Traffic), and Reeling in the Years (by Steely Dan),[2] all of which are lines 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).[3] The series did well, rating highly among several target demographics, including adults aged 18–49, as well as teenage 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 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,[4] and the final episode was filmed a month later, on February 17, 2006.[5] "That '70s Finale" originally aired on May 18, 2006.
[edit] Characters
Set in Point Place, Wisconsin, That '70s Show depicts the life of seven teenagers: Eric Forman (Topher Grace), the show's main protagonist, a skinny teenager who loves Star Wars; Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), his girlfriend and next-door neighbor; Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), Eric's best friend and a rebellious recreational drug user who eventually moved in with the Formans after his mother abandoned him; Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), a dim-witted ladies' man, commonly called Kelso; Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), a self-involved high school cheerleader overly preoccupied with wealth and social status; and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), a Foreign Exchange Student from a country that is never identified; During the show's final season, Randy Pearson (Josh Meyers) becomes Donna's new love interest after Eric goes off to Africa. He is a handsome young man who works with Hyde.
Relationships among the teens are explored, the primary focus being between Eric and Donna. 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 aggressive, overbearing yet humorous and well-intentioned father, Red (Kurtwood Smith), veteran of World War II and the Korean War, his kind-hearted, considerate yet pushy 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 butt 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 Chingkwake, the aging hippie owner of the Fotohut. Leo was originally a recurring character until he was promoted to a larger role after the departure of Eric and Kelso.
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 the eighth season. (Grace in Spider-Man 3 and Kutcher in The Guardian). Kelso appears in the first four episodes of the eighth season (with Kutcher credited as a special guest star) before moving to Chicago. Longtime character Leo returned with a more prominent role to help fill the gap. Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis) became the show's new main protagonist. Eric Forman was originally supposed to be replaced by his new friend Charlie, played by Bret Harrison, but the character was killed off after the actor was offered a lead role for the show Reaper. 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. Both Eric and Kelso 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 Years credited as regular cast Notes
Topher Grace Eric Forman 1998–2005, 2006 Uncredited appearance in series finale
Laura Prepon Donna Pinciotti 1998–2006
Danny Masterson Steven Hyde 1998–2006
Mila Kunis Jackie Burkhart 1998–2006
Ashton Kutcher Michael Kelso 1998–2005, 2006 Recurring role, season eight
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 1998–2001 1 appearance in season six, Recurring Role in season 7, and uncredited appearance in series finale
Lisa Robin Kelly Laurie Forman 1998–2003 Recurring role, seasons one to five
Christina Moore Laurie Forman 2003-2004 Recurring role (six episodes), season six
Tommy Chong Leo Chingkwake 2000–2002, 2005–2006 Recurring role, seasons two, three, four,seven and eight
Josh Meyers Randy Pearson 2005–2006 Main character in season 8
[edit] Elements of the show
[edit] The Seventies
The show gained recognition during its first season 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 and progressive sexual attitudes and the reaction of the Greatest Generation to their burgeoning influence; the economic hardships of recession; mistrust in the American government among blue-collar workers; teenage drug use; and developments in entertainment technology, from the television remote ("the clicker") to the video game Pong.
Beginning with the second season of the show, the series' theme changed dramatically, and 1970s current events no longer had a significant bearing on the plot of the series. Successive seasons focused 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. The dynamic of the relationship between Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti, which was the focal point of the series through most of its run, was dramatically altered in later seasons to more closely resemble the relationships of other "power couples" on teen dramas, removing the emphasis on their awkward attempts to reconcile their conservative upbringings with their desire to have a "progressive" relationship founded on 1970s values. Likewise, the first season of the show 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 comedic.
[edit] Split Screens
An example of the show's use of split screen.
One common scene in the show is to depict a split screen in which two groups of two characters speak. One character is usually seeking advice on some sort of problem with someone in the second pairing, and the other character advises them. The humor in such scenes stems from the conversations usually mirroring each other, but coming to entirely different conclusions. It is most often used for the couples of the show, which each member of the couple being advised on their relationship in a different fashion. For example in one such scene, Donna and Eric consult Jackie and Kelso for advice on attending a drive-in; as the scene closes, Kelso offers to accompany them and is rejected by Eric, while Donna asks Jackie to accompany them and she agrees.
[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 the audience gets 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 Circle
The Circle was used primarily to illustrate the teens' marijuana use, usually in Eric Forman's basement. The scene shown is the final scene of the series.
Another signature element is The Circle scene, in which a group of characters sitting in a circle engage in a conversation in Eric's basement room, as the camera slowly spun around in a circular direction, stopping at each successive individual as he or she speaks. It was primarily used as a means for conveying to the audience that characters were under the influence of marijuana. Thick clouds of theatrical smoke and an extreme wide-angle lens added to the "drug-induced" feel of these sequences.
To prevent any issues with standards and practices, the producers avoided any visual appearance of marijuana, matches, water pipes, or any similar substances. Characters never spoke the word "marijuana" or any slang term for it unless it carried negative connotations. However, in the episode "Bye-Bye Basement," Theo (Leo's cousin) refers to it as "weed." In another episode, Red explains "That kid's on dope!" about Eric while learning about the side effects of it. Positive references to marijuana always used vague, broad terms such as "stuff" or "stash."
However, a creative problem arose from attempting to demonstrate that the characters were under the influence of drugs without blatantly depicting its effects. The characters' erratic behavior during "Circle" scenes, combined with the rapid spinning of the camera and the presence of great quantities of smoke and incense in the background, allowed the inclusion of recreational drug use in the show without the need to constantly address it. One of their occasionally-used gimmicks was Eric watching the kitchen wall moving around erratically, performed as a mechanical special effect live on the set. As the series progressed, the circle became one of the series' defining features, and it was quickly adopted by the shows' writers as a narrative technique to streamline the flow of dialog even in non-drug influenced scenes.
[edit] The Stupid Helmet
Another common feature of the show is the "stupid helmet". The stupid helmet is an old Green Bay Packer helmet that a character is forced to wear when he or she does something that is deemed stupid by the rest of the gang. This helmet is most commonly worn by Kelso, however he isn't the only one to have worn it. Eric had to wear it when he told the gang he wanted to propose to Donna, and Fez wore it when he started banging his head on the table after he helped Kelso keep Jackie. The helmet can be seen in the basement on a shelf behind the main cast. When the series concluded in 2006, Ashton Kutcher took the helmet with him.[citation needed]
[edit] The Water Tower
In many episodes the main characters are often hanging out on the water tower (usually painting graffiti); at the end of each water tower segment at least one of the main characters fall off (usually Kelso). When Charlie fell off in season 8, he died. The water tower was renamed in his honor.
[edit] Scene Changes
The scene changes were used for almost every scene transition. they featured the main characters doing something in front of a colorful background. These sometimes included the mirror image of the character doing the exact same thing. Transitions included:
* The gang dancing
* A shot from below of Red suspiciously looking at the camera (sometimes with Kitty or Eric on screen)
* A shot from below of Donna walking/dancing
* A shot from above of Eric jumping
* A shot from above of Donna jumping
* Various characters jumping as if on a trampoline
* Red yelling at the camera while Kitty dances
* Kelso looking confused with people around him
* Eric falling to the ground (usually when in trouble)
[edit] Timeline
The creators had wanted the show to have a 1970s "feel" from the beginning, and so opted to set the series later in the decade, when trends and political ideologies had become firmly established and disseminated. The idea that the duration of the series would carry socio-political undertones also necessitated a chain of social events which could influence the characters. Thus, 1976 was chosen, which allowed episodes set within a short time frame to address streaking, the Equal Rights Amendment, the 1973 Oil Crisis, and Richard Nixon's presidency, all of which were culturally influencing events that occurred over the spanse of several years earlier in the decade. The shift to 1977 during the last half of the first season also allowed the inclusion of a Star Wars episode as a ratings tactic in episode #22, as its premier airing roughly coincided with the box office debut of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Throughout the show, every episode opened with title cards stating the season/month and year (example: Late Spring, 1977 or June, 1977). These, however, were eventually abandoned after seasons 1 and 2, with few episodes after using them. From the premiere onward, the year in which the episode took place could be determined by the registration tags on Eric's Vista Cruiser at the end of the opening credits and the end of the closing credits. The final episode's closing credits showed an "80" year tag.
The show was set in May 1976 upon its August 23, 1998 premiere. After twelve episodes, the series transitioned to 1977. The 23rd episode, "Grandma's Dead," was also set in 1976, because it was supposed to be the season finale of Season 1. The show remained in 1977 for the next two seasons. Near the end of the third season, the series transitioned to 1978 until early in the sixth season. The remaining episodes took place in 1979, and the series finale abruptly ends during a New Year's Eve party as the characters reach "one" during a countdown to January 1, 1980.
The show's unexpected longevity (it was the only series to debut on Fox in 1998 to survive cancellation) combined with the first season jump to 1977 necessitated a slow-down of the series' time line, which over time proved problematic from a narrative standpoint: Nearly every year featured a Thanksgiving and/or Christmas episode, and the teenaged actors playing high-school student characters all aged into their mid-twenties by the time their characters graduated high school after five seasons. As the series time line sped up and slowed down with more rapidity near the series' climax, the time line necessitated that several major events depicted as having occurred months apart would have in fact happened within weeks or even days of one another.
[edit] Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
Tina Pinciotti appeared once in the season 1 episode "Eric's Burger Job". Midge also mentioned once about having a daughter in college named Valerie. The creators of the show decided to leave Donna as an only child so Tina (and Valerie) were written off. In the season 2 episode "Vanstock" they make an inside joke at then end of the episode when the soap announcer says "And what ever happened to Midge's daughter Tina? Find out all this and more next week on That 70s Show!" [1]
[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
Country ↓ Channel ↓ Notes ↓ Foreign Title ↓
Canada VRAK.TV In French 70
Canada FOX, Global TV, CH As the US television station FOX is available in Canada, Canadians were able to watch the series for its entire run on that network. In addition, seasons 1-7 aired on Global TV, while season 8 aired on Global-owned CH. It also aired on latenight on Global in markets where CH isn't available.
Canada TVtropolis
UK Trouble
UK Paramount Comedy
UK Virgin 1
UK MTV One
UK Bravo 2
UK VH1
UK Channel 5
Ireland RTÉ Two
Ireland Channel 6
Spain Paramount Comedy, Antena.neox and Localia Aquellos Maravillosos 70 (The Wonder 70s)
Asia Star World First started airing in 2000, every Monday nights from 8:00-8:30pm for a few months, then are replaced by other shows in the same block in while later seasons are acquired. That 70's Show
Philippines Associated Broadcasting Company, Jack TV Although ABC 5 (now TV5) aired Season 1 in 2002 (not in order), Jack TV took the lead and started airing all eight seasons in 2006.
Poland Polsat Różowe lata siedemdziesiąte(Pink '70s years)
Netherlands Comedy Central
Denmark TV2 Zulu Dengang i 70'erne
Norway TV2 That 70's Show
Romania Naţional TV www.rebelii.70
Australia Seven Network First Run
Mexico Canal 5 El show de los '70
Australia 111 Hits 7:30 Weeknights, 12:30p.m.-2:00p.m. Weekend afternoons, 7:30-8:30p.m. Sunday nights.
Middle East MBC4, dubai channel ONE , SHOWtime comedy channel subtitled to Arabic, aired several times in the region
Latin America Sony Entertainment Television
Brazil Rede 21 Until 2006
Brazil Rede Bandeirantes
Republic of Macedonia Sitel
Estonia ETV Kuumad seitsmekümnendad (The Hot '70s)
Finland Nelonen 70's Show
New Zealand TV 2 Now airing on rival station TV3 & the BOX (see below)
New Zealand TV3
New Zealand the BOX
Belgium 2BE
France France 2
France Comédie!
France NRJ12
Germany Kabel 1, RTL Last two seasons didn't air until August 2008. Die wilden Siebziger (Those Wild '70s)
Sweden TV4 That 70's Show
Serbia B92 Vesele sedamdesete
Slovenia Kanal A All seasons aired. Oh, ta sedemdeseta (Oh, that 70s)
Slovakia Markíza Aired first four seasons dubbed in Slovak. Tie roky 70
Montenegro Atlas TV
Croatia Nova TV Lude sedamdesete (Crazy 70s)
Bulgaria GTV Premiered in 2008. Seasons 1 and 2 dubbed in Bulgarian. Шеметни години (Dizzy Years)
Turkey TV8, ComedySmart
Colombia Canal Capital
Israel Hot 3, Star World, HOT VOD, Bip מופע שנות השבעים (The '70s Show)
Portugal TVI Que loucura de família (What a crazy family)
Bosnia and Herzegovina OBN Lude 70 (Crazy 70)
Venezuela Televen
Thailand True Series
Star World That '70s Show
Pakistan Star World That '70s Show
South Africa M-net That '70s Show
India Star World That '70s Show
[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. [6]
According to the official That '70s Show website, during the first season, at the end of the opening song, Danny Masterson (Steven Hyde) yells "Hello Wisconsin!" Robin Zander (lead singer for Cheap Trick) takes over this job in all other seasons.[2] The lyrics were also slightly different during the first season, with instead of "We're all alright!" being shouted twice, "Whooa yeah!" is heard.
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.
* That '70s Album (Jammin')
* That '70s Album (Rockin')
[edit] U.S. ratings
Season Episodes Premiere Season finale U.S. ratings
1 1998–1999 25 August 23, 1998 July 26, 1999 11.7 million (49th place)[7]
2 1999–2000 26 September 28, 1999 May 22, 2000 9.06 million (66th place)[8]
3 2000–2001 25 October 3, 2000 May 22, 2001 —(65th place)
4 2001–2002 27 September 25, 2001 May 21, 2002 9.1 million (67th place)[9]
5 2002–2003 25 August 30, 2002 May 14, 2003 10.06 million (54th place)[10]
6 2003–2004 25 October 29, 2003 May 19, 2004 10.04 million (49th place)[11]
7 2004–2005 25 September 8, 2004 May 18, 2005 7.0 million (85th place)[12]
8 2005–2006 22 November 2, 2005 May 18, 2006 5.8 million (103rd place)[13]
[edit] DVD releases
Main article: That '70s Show DVDs
[edit] Production team
* Mark Brazill - Creator/Executive producer
* Bonnie Turner - Creator/Executive producer
* Bonnie and Terry Turner - Creator/Executive producer
* Marcy Carsey - Executive producer (Carsey-Werner Productions)
* Jackie Filgo - Executive producer
* Jeff Filgo - Executive producer
* Caryn Mandabach - Executive producer
* Tom Werner - Executive producer (Carsey-Werner Productions)
* Ben Vaughn - Composer
* Jeff Sudakin - Co-composer (season 2-4)
* David Trainer - Director
* Timothy Ryder - Editor
[edit] See also
* List of That '70s Show episodes
* List of recurring characters of That '70s Show
* Point Place
* Days Like These
* That '80s Show
* That '70s Finale
[edit] References
1. ^ Wertheimer, Ron (1998-08-22). "Television Review; Discovering a Bit of Heart in the Sitcom Cupboard". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...75BC0A96E958260. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
2. ^ a b "That '70s Show FAQs".
https://www.that70sshow.com/index_faq.htm. [dead link]
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.
https://www.that70sshow.com/index_news.htm. Retrieved on 1999-01-12. [dead link]
4. ^ ""THAT '70S SHOW" SAYS GOODBYE TO AN ERA WITH THE 200TH EPISODE AND SERIES FINALE THIS MAY ON FOX". TheFutonCritic.
https://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20060117fox02. Retrieved on 2006-01-17.
5. ^ "That '70s Show Episode Guide". That'70sCentral.
https://that70scentral.com/guide.php. Retrieved on 2006-02-17.
6. ^ "Alex Chilton Set to Go".
https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/alexch...ilton_set_to_go.
7. ^ "1998–1999 TV Ratings Retrieved July 29, 2008.
8. ^ "1999–2000 TV Ratings Retrieved July 29, 2008.
9. ^ "How did your favorite show rate? Retrieved July 29, 2008.
10. ^ "Nielsen's TOP 156 Shows for 2002–2003 Retrieved July 29, 2008.
11. ^ "2003–2004 TV Ratings Retrieved July 29, 2008.
12. ^ "2004–2005 TV Ratings Retrieved July 29, 2008.
13. ^ "2005–2006 TV Ratings Retrieved July 29, 2008.
[edit] External links
Sister project Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: That '70s Show
* Official website
* That '70s Show at the Internet Movie Database
* That '70s Show at TV.com
* The That '70s Show Wiki
[hide]
v • d • e
That '70s Show
Characters
Teenagers: Eric Forman • Donna Pinciotti • Michael Kelso • Jackie Burkhart • Laurie Forman • Steven Hyde • Fez • Randy Pearson
Adults: Kitty Forman • Red Forman • Midge and Bob Pinciotti • Leo • Recurring characters
Related articles
DVDs • Episode list • List of actors • That '80s Show • Days Like These • Point Place
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Categories: 1970s in fiction | 1998 television series debuts | 1990s American television series | 2000s American television series | 2006 television series endings | American television sitcoms | Baby boomers in fiction | Fox network shows | Period television series | Teen dramas | Television series by Carsey-Werner Productions | Television shows set in Wisconsin
