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American television sitcom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That '70s Show is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 1976 to 1979.[1] The ensemble cast features Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon, Wilmer Valderrama, Lisa Robin Kelly, Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, Don Stark, Tommy Chong, and Tanya Roberts.
That '70s Show | |
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Genre | |
Created by | |
Directed by |
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Starring | |
Theme music composer | |
Opening theme |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 8 |
No. of episodes | 200 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Cinematography | Ronald W. Browne |
Editors | Timothy Ryder David Helfand Michael Karlich |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company | The Carsey-Werner Company |
Original release | |
Network | Fox |
Release | August 23, 1998 – May 18, 2006 |
Related | |
In 1999, the show was remade for the ITV network in the United Kingdom as Days Like These using almost verbatim scripts with minor changes to cultural references.[2] A sequel series, That '90s Show, set in 1995 and focusing on the children of the main characters of That '70s Show, was released on Netflix on January 19, 2023.
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 25 | August 23, 1998 | July 26, 1999 | |
2 | 26 | September 28, 1999 | May 22, 2000 | |
3 | 25 | October 3, 2000 | May 22, 2001 | |
4 | 27 | September 25, 2001 | May 21, 2002 | |
5 | 25 | September 17, 2002 | May 14, 2003 | |
6 | 25 | October 29, 2003 | May 19, 2004 | |
7 | 25 | September 8, 2004 | May 18, 2005 | |
8 | 22 | November 2, 2005 | May 18, 2006 |
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2018) |
The show was set in May 1976 in the August 23, 1998 premiere. After 12 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.[5] After the credits roll, the license plate from Eric's Vista Cruiser is shown with the year "80", indicating that the 1980s have begun.
Eric Forman was written out of the series at the end of the seventh season, as Topher Grace wanted to move on with his career.[6] Ashton Kutcher switched to a recurring guest role when he also chose to depart following the seventh season.[6] However, Kelso had not been written out yet, so to give better closure to the character, Kutcher appeared in the first four episodes of the eighth season (credited as a special guest star). Both Grace and Kutcher returned for the series finale, although the former was uncredited. Tommy Chong (who began reappearing by late season 7 after a long absence) became a regular again to help fill Kelso's role as the dimwit of the group. Eric was supposed to be replaced by his new friend Charlie, played by Bret Harrison, as an "innocent character", who proved fairly popular with audiences, but the character was killed off after Harrison was offered a lead role in the series The Loop.[7] Another new character named Randy Pearson, played by Josh Meyers (brother of Late Night host Seth Meyers), was introduced to take the place of both Eric and, to a lesser extent, Charlie.[8] Another new character, Samantha, a stripper played by Jud Tylor, was added as Hyde's wife for nine episodes. The location of the show's introductory theme song was changed from the Vista Cruiser to the circle.
The eighth season was announced as the final season of the show on January 17, 2006,[9] and "That '70s Finale" was filmed a month later on February 17, 2006, first airing on May 18, 2006.[10]
The working titles for the show were:
Requests to use the titles of songs by The Who were rejected, and though Feelin' All Right was used as the title of the show during its upfront presentation, Fox later decided it would not be memorable enough. Bonnie Turner proposed simply calling it That '70s Show, predicting that audiences would merely refer to it by its setting anyway.[11]
The show addressed many social issues of the 1970s such as sexual attitudes of the era, generational conflict, the economic hardships of the 1970s recession, mistrust of the American government by blue-collar workers, and underage drinking/drug use. The series also highlighted developments in fashion trends,[12] the entertainment industry, including the television remote ("the clicker"), reruns, VCRs, and cable TV; the video games Pong and Space Invaders; the cassette tape and Disco; MAD magazine; and Eric's obsession with Star Wars, which came out in 1977.[13] The show has been compared to Happy Days, which was similarly set 20 years before the time in which it aired.[14]
Beginning with season 5, each episode in the series is named after a song by a rock band that was famous in the 1970s: Led Zeppelin (season 5), The Who (Season 6), The Rolling Stones (season 7), and Queen (season 8, except for the finale, titled "That '70s Finale").[15]
In The Circle, a group of characters, usually the teenagers, sit in a circle (generally in Eric's basement, though occasionally elsewhere), as the camera pans, stopping at each character as they speak. It was usually apparent that the characters are under the influence of marijuana. Thick clouds of smoke, frequent coughing and an extreme wide-angle lens added to the "drug-induced" feel, although the audience never saw anyone actually smoking the drug. Also, no visible drug-related paraphernalia were seen, such as bongs or joint papers. Characters never spoke the word "marijuana" while in The Circle (except in one episode "Reefer Madness"), often referring to it as "stuff" or a "stash". In the episode "Bye-Bye Basement", Theo (Leo's cousin) refers to "weed"; in "The Relapse", Kelso tells Fez that the concrete wall behind the gym is used mostly for "smoking weed and beating up freshmen;" in "Ski Trip" Kitty asks Eric why he is taking so much oregano to Jackie's ski lodge; in "Eric's Burger Job", Kelso blames his "roach clip" when the water bed on which he is sitting at a party deflates; in two episodes ("That Wrestling Show" and "Hyde Moves In"), Eric and Hyde can be seen wearing shirts with the words "Cannabis sativa" written on a Campbell's soup can; and in "The Pill", Red, referring to Kelso, exclaims, "That kid's on dope!" A gimmick related to the circle and the marijuana smoking was Eric watching the kitchen wall moving erratically, although this technique was also used to show that Eric was drunk.
As the series progressed, The Circle became one of the series' recurring features. The only four episodes where the whole gang is in The Circle are "Class Picture", "I'm A Boy", "Substitute", and in the series finale. During the eighth and final season, The Circle (sans the smoke) replaced the Formans' Vista Cruiser as the setting of the opening credits.
Many of the show's episodes featured Eric and the rest of the kids in or around Eric's "Aztec Gold" 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, handed down to Eric by Red in the pilot episode (after Red begrudgingly buys a 1976 Toyota Corolla, a more economical car). For the first seven seasons of the show, the show's introduction showed the cast inside the Vista Cruiser. The particular station wagon was bought by Wilmer Valderrama at the show's conclusion from Carsey-Werner for "no more than" US$500.[16] The Vista Cruiser makes a brief appearance, in its original "That 70's Show" configuration, in the sequel series, That 90's Show.
In August 2009, the show's Vista Cruiser was named third-greatest television car ever by MSN Autos.[17]
![]() | This section possibly contains original research. (August 2017) |
In one of the show's major running gags, Red often threatens to punish Eric with many variations of the catchphrase, "my foot in your ass" or more generally "kicking your ass."[18] For example, in "Kitty and Eric's Night Out", Red mistakenly thinks Eric offended Kitty, so Red says, "I swear I'll kick his ass!" In "Eric's Hot Cousin", Eric tries to get out of something by claiming he is sleepwalking and Red says, "And I'm about to be sleep-kicking your ass", and, in "Prank Day", when Red gets covered in oatmeal, Eric tries to explain that it was just a prank that had gone "horribly, horribly wrong" Red says, "Well, I have a prank, too. One where my foot doesn't plow through your ass. Let's hope it doesn't go horribly, horribly wrong!" In the eighth season, Hyde asks Red, "did you ever actually do that?" To which Red replies "Once, during the war... I can't talk about it." Several of the running gags were shown in edited clips for the series finale.
Some other notable running gags and catchphrases are:
That '70s Show was released on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment at an increment of two seasons per year between 2004 and 2008 and a complete series release on October 14, 2008. Mill Creek Entertainment released all eight seasons between 2011–2013 and released a complete series set on May 14, 2013. On March 6, 2012, Mill Creek released the first season on Blu-ray and season two on October 16, 2012. On November 3, 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment released That '70s Show The Complete Series on Blu-ray 1080p, featuring all 200 episodes from the series, presented digitally remastered in High Definition from the original film negatives for optimum sound and video quality and for superior home entertainment Blu-ray presentation with remastered 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound and 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.[28]
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, called That '70s Album (Jammin'). The second is a collection of album-oriented rock songs, called That '70s Album (Rockin'). AllMusic gave both albums 3 out of 5 stars in their reviews.[29][30]
Netflix produced a spin-off of the series, titled That '90s Show, with Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp reprising their roles as Red and Kitty Forman, respectively. As of July 2024, it had two seasons, again produced by The Carsey-Werner Company, with Gregg Mettler serving as showrunner and Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, their daughter Lindsay Turner, Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner, Smith and Rupp as executive producers.[31] Topher Grace (Eric Forman), Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart), Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso), Laura Prepon (Donna Pinciotti), Wilmer Valderrama (Fez), Tommy Chong (Leo), Don Stark (Bob Pinciotti), Jim Rash (Fenton) and Seth Green (Mitch Miller), reprised their roles as guest stars in the series.[32] It premiered on Netflix on January 19, 2023.[citation needed]
That '70s Show's eight seasons, consisting of 200 episodes, made it Fox's second-longest-running live-action sitcom ever behind Married... with Children, though it[which?] did not have the same ratings success, despite surviving cancellation.
Season | Episodes | Timeslot | Premiere | Season finale | Rank | Viewers (in millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1998–1999 | 25 | Sunday 8:30 (1998-1999) Monday 8:00 (1999) | August 23, 1998 | July 26, 1999 | 11.7 | |
2 | 1999–2000 | 26 | Tuesday 8:30 (1999-2000) Tuesday 8:00 (2000) Monday 8:00 (2000) | September 28, 1999 | May 22, 2000 | 86[33] | 9.0 |
3 | 2000–2001 | 25 | Tuesday 8:00 | October 3, 2000 | May 22, 2001 | 10.8 | |
4 | 2001–2002 | 27 | September 25, 2001 | May 21, 2002 | 67[34] | 9.1 | |
5 | 2002–2003 | 25 | Tuesday 8:00 (2002) Wednesday 8:00 (2003) | September 17, 2002 | May 14, 2003 | 52[35] | 10.4 |
6 | 2003–2004 | 25 | Wednesday 8:00 | October 29, 2003 | May 19, 2004 | 49[36] | 10.0 |
7 | 2004–2005 | 25 | September 8, 2004 | May 18, 2005 | 85[37] | 7.0 | |
8 | 2005–2006 | 22 | Wednesday 8:00 (2005) Thursday 8:00 (2006) | November 2, 2005 | May 18, 2006 | 103[38] | 5.8 |
Over the course of its run, the series was nominated for a substantial number of awards, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards. The only win for the series at this event came in 1999, when Melina Root was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series for "That Disco Episode". Additionally, the show was nominated for a large number of Teen Choice Awards, with both Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama winning on three occasions.
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