That '70s Show
| That '70s Show | |
|---|---|
 That '70s Show logo | |
| 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) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 200 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes (approximate) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company (and some FOX-owned UPN affiliates) |
| Release | August 23, 1998 – May 18, 2006 |
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, Wisconsin[1] or Green Bay, Wisconsin,[2] from May 17, 1976 to December 31,1979. It debuted on August 23, 1998 and its final episode aired May 18, 2006. Its eight-season run and 200 episode total makes it the second longest-running live action sitcom for the FOX network, after Married... with Children. That '70s Show proved to be a launching pad for the film careers of all of its young stars, unknowns at the time they were hired.
The show remains in syndication on the FX Network in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom, and on CH in Canada.
Series overview
History
The first season of That '70s Show premiered on Sunday, August 23, 1998, with an initial order of 22 episodes (extended to 25 in January 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 Thursdays to Mondays to Wednesdays to Thursdays), as well as four additional seasons.
The eighth season was announced as 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, culminating in a two-episode special and commentary, and drawing in an estimated 9.3 million viewers[citation needed].
Characters
The show follows 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; 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 (Wilmer Valderrama), the nicknamed foreigner whose country of origin is ambiguous and whose hormones are out of control. Fez's real name is felt to be unpronounceable to the other characters and so they rename him Fez, which stands for Foreign Exchange Student (the spelling being poetic license).
In this group, various relationships are explored, the main focus being between Eric and Donna, who share the roles as the more responsible couple of the group, evident in such episodes as "Dine and Dash". This stands in sharp contrast to the on-again, off-again relationship between Kelso and Jackie, in which both are usually portrayed as being obsessed with each other, despite instances when they argue and deny their love just to spite one another. In both relationships, the couples would often disagree, only to learn to tolerate their differences. Jackie would eventually move on to Hyde, and later Fez as the series progressed.
Other main characters include Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith), Eric's overbearing war veteran father; his overprotective menopausal mother Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), who is caught up in trying 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, 2003-2005), Eric's older sister, whose promiscuity is the brunt of many jokes by the six teenagers, although it does not stop Kelso from making moves on her. The show also followed the relationship of Midge and Bob Pinciotti (Tanya Roberts and Don Stark), Donna's parents, both of whom are slow-witted and easily influenced by the movements and fads of the '70s, which sometimes places stress on their marriage. Tommy Chong frequently appeared as the recurring character of Leo, the hippie owner of the Foto Hut. Kitty also had a pet dachsund named Schotzie.
Eighth season changes
Eric Forman and Michael Kelso were written out of the series following the seventh season finale, as both Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher opted to pursue interests outside That '70s Show. While Kelso would make appearances in the first four episodes of the 8th Season before moving to Chicago, a new character by the name of Randy Pearson, played by Josh Meyers, was introduced to take Eric Forman's place. Other long-time characters such as Leo would return with more prominent roles to fill the gap. The show's signature intro with the cast in Eric's Vista Cruiser was also changed, with each character singing the theme song in the Circle, with the exception of Red, who glares at the camera, and Leo, who is confused when the song ends. Kelso and Eric both appeared in the series finale.
Elements of the show
The show gained recognition for providing a bold retrospective to a decade full of political events and technological milestones that have dramatically shaped the world today. The show tackled the significant social phenomena of 1970s America: feminism, new attitudes towards sexuality (although in some episodes more traditional values would carry the day, such as Red breaking off a relationship with a fellow veteran when he was unknowingly invited to a "key party"), the economic hardships of recession, developing mistrust in the American government among blue collar workers, political figures such as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, teenage recreational drug use, and developments in entertainment technology, from the television remote ("the clicker") to Pong.
Signature elements of That '70s Show include surreal, sometimes elaborate, dream sequences to illustrate various characters' vivid imaginations, some of which include references or parodies of fads or 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, usually in Eric Forman's basement. All the segments include nonsensical dialogue complete with deadpan humor. Of note, no actual smoking is shown in these scenes; instead, smoke is visible in the background and foreground. However, as the series progressed and the teens matured, the actual smoking became less and less frequent, and often they would merely sit in a circle to discuss issues in their lives.
Other elements include the use of split screen, which involves two characters talking to each other about the same topic (often relationships) as two other people with foil viewpoints: almost disturbingly similar but differing in a few major key points for comic effect.
Timeline
Due to the show's long run, the timeline was noticeably slowed. The show was set in May 1976 upon its premiere on August 23, 1998. After twelve episodes of the first season (as well as episode 23, "Grandma's Dead", due to its being aired out of production order), the series transitioned to 1977, where it remained until late in the third season. It was then 1978 until early in the sixth season. The remaining episodes took place in 1979. Hyde had an 18th birthday in 1978, despite dialogue that suggests that he is older than Eric, who turned 17 in episode 2, "Eric's Birthday", (which was 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 nearly each season, meant the sense of time on That '70s Show was loose at best. M*A*S*H, which aired for eleven years despite the Korean War lasting only three years, also used this formula.
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".[6] The plate also appears at the end as the production logo for Carsey-Werner, also with the year. The license plate technique was adapted from the TV series L.A. Law.
Some modern references slip accidentally into the show from time to time. For example, when Donna visits Marquette University, there are "Golden Eagles" pennants displayed, but in the 1970s, Marquette was still known as the "Warriors." They did not become Golden Eagles until the mid-1990s.
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 had been broadcast. The remaining three episodes were shown in later re-runs.
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 and Channel 6 in Ireland.
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, Steven Hyde yells "Hello Wisconsin!" during the first season and in every season afterwards. The same yell from the first season's theme was tacked onto the end of the future seasons theme by Cheap Trick.[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, and the lyric "but time to lose" is instead "but talk to you."
Alternate holiday versions of the theme song were arranged for Halloween and Christmas 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.
DVD releases
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Notable special guests
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Crew
- Mark Brazill - Creator/Executive producer
- Bonnie Turner - Creator/Executive producer
- 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)
See also
Notes
- ^ The gang goes to a disco in Kenosha; Midge Pinciotti takes a class at the (fictitious) Kenosha Community College.
- ^ a b "That 70s Show.com FAQs".
- ^ a b c http://www.that70sshow.com/index_news.htm
- ^ "That '70s Show packs it in".
- ^ "That '70s Show episode guide (under "next tapings")".
- ^ The year stickers for Wisconsin plates are issued for the upcoming twelve months; e.g., a sticker for "80" would be issued in 1979.
External links
- Official website
- That '70s Show at IMDb
- Template:Tv.com show
- The That '70s Show Wiki - known as Groovypedia
- Articles with unsourced statements from December 2006
- 1998 television program debuts
- 2006 television program cancellations
- That '70s Show
- Fox network shows
- Sitcoms
- 1990s American television series
- 2000s American television series
- Period piece TV series
- Seven Network shows
- 1970s retro movement
- Television shows set in Wisconsin
- WikiProject That '70s Show Related Articles