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- That 70s Show Season 1
- That '70s Show: Season 1 Episode 1
- That 70's Show - Pilot Episode S1 E1 On Vimeo
Point Place, Wisconsin, May 17, 1976. Nerdy teenager Eric, who smokes weed with some classmates in the basement, is in heaven when his dad Red decides to hand him the keys of his flashy Vista Cruiser, at the price of extra chores and forbidding him to take it out of town, knowing that won't be obeyed anyway. Point Place, Wisconsin, May 17, 1976. Nerdy teenager Eric, who smokes weed with some classmates in the basement, is in heaven when his dad Red decides to hand him the keys of his flashy Vista Cruiser, at the price of extra chores and forbidding him to take it out of town, knowing that won't be obeyed anyway. The gang, which just adopted foreign. That '70s Show Season show reviews & Metacritic score: The gang goes skinny-dipping and Jackie gets sick. Hyde moves in with the Formans when his mom runs away with a trucker. Bob takes a liking to one of Midge's fe. That '70s Show Season 1 subtitles English. AKA: That 70 Show, that 70's show, Feelin' All Right, The Kids Are Alright, Reeling in the Years. That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that originally aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006.
That '70s Show (1998–2006) is an American television sitcom centered on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin during the late 1970s.
And the marriage of Donna's (Laura Prepon) parents is in big, big, trouble. Those are the conditions that prevail as That '70s Show concludes its first season.
That '70s Pilot [1.1][edit]
- [First lines of the series, in May 1976]
- Steven Hyde: Eric, it is time.
- Eric Forman: Why don't you do it?
- Steven Hyde: It's your house.
- Michael Kelso: Your house!
- Steven Hyde: [points upward] Listen to them up there. The party has reached critical mass. In ten minutes, there will be no more beer opportunities.
- Eric Forman: If my dad catches me copping beers, he'll kill me!
- Steven Hyde: I'm willing to take that risk.
- Michael Kelso: Don't worry about it! Just remain calm, keep moving...
- Donna Pinciotti: And above all, don't get sucked into my dad's hair.
- Eric Forman: What's wrong with your dad's hair?
- Donna Pinciotti: Just don't look at it.
- Steven Hyde: [grabs Eric's face] And Eric: cold. Definitely cold.
- [Eric nods. Hyde pats him on the shoulder. Eric begins to run up the stairs. He pauses, looks back down, and continues]
- Fez: I may not say this right because I am new to English, but [points to Donna] she has tremendous breasts, yes?
- Jackie: Michael, who is this guy?
- Kelso: Oh, that's Fez. He's the foreign exchange student.
- Jackie: What did we exchange for him?
Eric's Birthday [1.2][edit]
- Fez: [seeing Laurie] Holy Mother!
- Kelso: Hello Laurie.
- Laurie: Hello Kelso, Hyde.
- Fez: Who is the goddess?
- Kelso: The goddess is Eric's sister.
- Hyde: She's not a goddess, she's more the earth mother whore type, which works for me.
- Red: So, how's your friend Janice?
- Laurie: Pregnant.
- Kitty: Oh, she was such a nice girl, how does that happen?
- Eric: Well, first the egg travels down the fallopian tube to the uterus where it attaches to the wall...
- Red: Eric, for God's sakes, that's no language for a woman to hear!
- Laurie: It's okay Red, I know what a fallopian tube is. I think Mom does too.
Streaking [1.3][edit]
- Red: Eric, say that your job was sent to a plant in Guatela-who-the-hell cares. Now, are you gonna vote for the guy that let that happen?
- Kitty: Red, President Ford didn't take your job, he took Nixon's.
- Red: Eric, we're waiting!
- Eric: Uh, well, I believe that everyone's political opinion is valid and worth hearing.
- Red: Well, that's, that's perfect Eric. Use that line when you're up for Miss America.
- [At the Ford campaign rally, Red stammers, but recovers after seeing a masked Eric streak]
- Red: Hey Gerry, here's my question: How the hell could you pardon Nixon?
Battle of the Sexists [1.4][edit]
- [The guys have been talking about women and their physical features, but whenever Red and Kitty walk by, they switch to talking about the Bible.]
- Eric: Hey Kelso, quick question. Why can't you date someone a little less annoying?
- Kelso: Like who?
- Eric: What about Barbara Vanson?
- Kelso: Nah, she's just as annoying as Jackie.
- Hyde: Yeah, but her boobs are huge.
- Kelso: So?
- Hyde: [opens up Playboy] Do you find that annoying?
- Kelso: [laughs] ...Pam Macey! Now she's got some knockers, baby!
- Hyde: True, but they're not bigger than Barbara's.
- Kelso: Yeah they are.
- Eric: You're dreaming. It's like comparing... [Red walks in] Exodus and Deuteronomy, both of which have taught us very valuable lessons.
- Red: Damn dryer's broke. Aw, nuts. I need my vicegrips. [the guys wait until Red leaves]
- Kelso: Have you seen Pam in a tube top? It's like looking into the Grand Tee Tons. In a tube top!
- Hyde: Look, the issue isn't, 'Are Pam's big?' Right. The issue is, 'Are they bigger than Barbara's?' Because Barbara's are bigger than... [Kitty walks in] the walls of Jericho, which as we all know came tumbling down, right?! ...Hello, Mrs. Forman.
- Kitty: Hi. Eric, did your father come down here?
- Eric: Yeah, he's fixing the dryer.
- Kitty: Oh, dear. You know, ever since the plant cut back his hours, he's spent all his time fixing things. Things that don't need fixing! Things I need, things I use, things I love. I gotta go hide the crockpot. [the guys wait until Kitty leaves]
- Hyde: Sounds like your dad is losing it.
- Kelso: Geez, if [Red]'s like this now, he's going to be a total headcase when they shut down the plant. He's just going to be this pathetic guy...[Red walks in; loudly]...with breasts the size of watermelons! [pauses] ...Is what Moses said to the Egyptians.
- Red: Kelso, go home.
- Kelso: Donna beat you in basketball?
- Fez: Is this true, Eric?
- Eric: Yeah. What? Is that a big deal?
- Hyde: Of course not. Unless Donna happens to be...you know...a girl! [chuckles]
- Kelso: Especially a girl you love!
- Fez: You know, in my country, if a woman beats you it makes her want you.
- Eric: Really?
- Fez: Yes. But this is America, wuss.
- Kelso: Wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss...
- Hyde: Kelso! KELSO! Would you stop that? ...Wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss, wuss!
- Eric: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What about Kelso? I mean, Jackie has him totally whipped.
- Fez: Whipped like the family pig.
- Kelso: I am not pig-whipped. Where do you even get that stuff?
- [The guys start impersonating Jackie]
- Hyde: Are you kidding? 'Michael, call me at 8:00!'
- Eric: 'Michael, do your Chico impression!'
- Fez: 'Michael, rub oil on my thighs while I spank you!' [The guys stare at Fez and say nothing] ...Please someone else talk now.
Eric's Burger Job [1.5][edit]
- Ricky: Tell me, what do you consider your best quality?
- Eric: Well, I'm a real people person.
- Hyde: I don't answer stupid questions.
- Fez: I speak Dutch.
- Kelso: My eyes. Oh, and I guess my butt, too.
- Ricky: Name something about yourself that you consider to be a weakness.
- Eric: I allow people to boss me around.
- Fez: I love chocolate.
- Hyde: I'm brutally honest. Pinhead.
- Kelso: ...Umm [falls out of chair]
- Ricky: Where do you see yourself in five years?
- Eric: Fatso Burger.
- Fez: Covered in gold chains.
- Kelso: Rock star. No, movie star. No. Yeah, rock star.
- Hyde: Prison.
The Keg [1.6][edit]
- Eric: Yeah, we'll throw a party, charge two bucks a head.
- Kelso: [quickly] Two bucks a head. A keg is equivalent to seven cases; that’s 168 beers. If we each drink three beers apiece...
- Hyde: No way. Sophomores gonna drink one, maybe.
- Kelso: True.
- Hyde: Yeah, and the freshman, he's gonna drink a half.
- Kelso: So that averages out to 1.5 beers per person, which means we can invite 112 people, and that’s 224 bucks.
- Hyde: Cash.
- Kelso: Which is...
- Kelso and Hyde: Decent!
- [Red and Bob are investigating the wine store when a kid tries to snitch on the party]
- Sleazy Kid: You know, I may have heard something about a party? Can't recall, but maybe ... Andrew Jackson could remind me?
- Bob: Andrew Jackson, huh? [Counts dollar bills] He's not in, but Abe Lincoln is hanging out with the Washington twins. I suppose they have knowledge of the festivities? [Red suddenly grabs the money]
- Red: So, a real wisenheimer, huh. Well, let's see how smart you are when I [gets closer to kid] SNAP OFF YOUR HEAD!
- Sleazy Kid: Okay, okay, man! They said something about a ... a vacant house on Sherman.
- Bob: I know that place. It's the vacant house on Sherman.
- Red: Good work, Starsky. Let's roll.
That Disco Episode [1.7][edit]
- [Donna and Eric talk about the gang's disco date]
- Eric: Donna, I hate dancing.
- Donna: Why did you go?
- Eric: I like you.
- Donna: So... you're in like with me?
- Kelso: I went to the mall today...and I bought a pair of new shoes...and they're the coolest kicks in the cave!
- Eric: So, no more for Kelso. He's toasted!
- Fez: I would like some toast if you're making some. Or food of any kind would be good. I am starving!
- Hyde: Oh! I read somewhere that there are these people in India who fast, man! Yeah. [laughs] And their minds are so advanced, they can actually think themselves to death, man!
- Kelso: Well...I hope I'm not doing that right now. My mind's always doing things that I don't even know about.
- Eric: Man, we always think of so many brilliant things down here! But then later, I can't remember any of them! I mean, they're brilliant, man!
- Fez: ...Someone go make toast right now.
- Hyde: Hey, we should record our conversation, man. Yeah! Then we can play it back and write it down! I'll bet that's how the writers at National Lampoon do it!
- Kelso: [laughs] Yeah, well...I read somewhere that there's these people in France!
- Hyde: What do they do?
- Kelso: You see, they're incredibly...French!
- Eric: See, that's brilliant, man! I'm gettin' the tape recorder! [gets up and leaves]
- Fez: Where's my toast, you idiots?!
Drive-In [1.8][edit]
- [Fex talks about his foster parents' concerns over him listening to rock albums]
- Fez: I am telling you. I heard it. The devil is singing backwards on the record.
- Hyde: [coughs] It's not the devil, man! It's Congress. They passed a secret law to put backward messages in our records, man! They wanna kill rock 'n roll because they know it makes us horny, man!
- Eric: Doesn't pretty much everything make us horny?
- Kelso: Cartoons make me horny! Oh, and food!
- Fez: When you play the record backwards, you can hear the devil speak. I am starting to hear him everywhere! [whimpers]
- Hyde: [demonically] Satan is your master, Fez! Worship Satan!
- Fez: [whimpers again]
- Hyde: But before you worship Satan, get him a cherry pop. Get Satan a cherry pop! Get Satan a cherry pop! [normal] Get a pop, man. Get me a pop! Fez, man, get me a pop!
- Fez: Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood.
- Hyde: SATAN'S SECOND CHOICE IS ROOT BEER!
- Jackie: I understand. Everybody wants their first makeout to be special, in some place romantic like Ireland or Disney World.
Thanksgiving [1.9][edit]
- [Donna leaves after finding out that Eric kissed Laurie's friend, Kate]
- Hyde: Hey Donna, you wanna talk?
- Kelso: I guess she didn't take it well.
- Red: Take what well? [looks at Kelso]
- Kelso: [smiles] Eric made out with Kate.
- Red: Anything else?
- Fez: Your son is a whore.
- [Red is upset at Eric over kissing Kate]
- Red: Donna's such a sweet kid. How could you do this to her?
- Eric: I don't know. It's like bad things always happen to me, like I have bad luck or something.
- Red: [slowly] Son, you don't have bad luck. The reason that bad things happen to you ... is because you're a dumbass. Now fix it.
Sunday, Bloody Sunday [1.10][edit]
- Donna: [to Jackie and Kelso] Finally! Where have you guys been?
- Kelso: We had to look for the paper, and eat... and then some stuff happened, you know.
- Eric: Your shirt's on inside-out.
- Kelso: Yeah, that's the stuff.
- Hyde: The three true branches of the government are: military, corporate and Hollywood.
Eric's Buddy [1.11][edit]
- Kelso: I miss Eric.
- Jackie: Well, you still have me.
- Kelso: It's not the same, Jackie! I can talk to Eric about things that... that I can't talk about with you.
- Jackie: OK, well like what?
- Kelso: Well, for instance, the annoying things that you do.
- Jackie: MICHAEL!
- Kelso: See, I can't talk to you.
- Frank: Number 10, your order is ready.
- Kelso: Yeah, I'll be right there.
- Frank: Number 10, I have limited counter space. Please remove your hot dog.
- Kelso: Al-right! I don't see why you can't just serve us our food Frank! We are paying customers, you know!
- Frank: Hey, I did not lose a leg in Vietnam, so that I could serve hot dogs to teenagers.
- Kelso: You have both your legs Frank...
- Frank: Like I said, I did not lose a leg in Vietnam.
That '70s Christmas [1.12][edit]
- Eric: Ah, come on, Hyde, did you have to write your name in the snow so close to the tree?
- Kitty: So, Laurie, who are you seeing up at the college?
- Laurie: Oh, I like to date around.
- Eric: [coughs] Slut!
- Kitty: Bless you.
- Eric: Thanks, Mom.
Ski Trip [1.13][edit]
- [Kelso hitches a ride on a truck.]
- Gus: Well, hello there!
- Kelso: Hey, thanks for stopping. Are you going all the way to Alpine Valley?
- Gus: Oh, I’m going... wherever you’re going!
- Kelso: Wow, that’s lucky!
- Gus: So, did it hurt?
- Kelso: What?
- Gus: When you fell down from heaven!
- Kelso: No, I’m fine!
- Fez: I love the snow! I am a winter nymph! I love America! [passes out]
Stolen Car [1.14][edit]
- Eric: [sitting in a jail cell] We're not all in trouble here. [to Kelso] Your parents have seven kids. They won't even notice you're gone. [to Fez] Your parents don't even live in this country. [to Hyde] And your mom? Probably one cell over.
- [The guys argue over who they should call to get them out of jail]
- Eric: I'd call Red, but I feel safer in jail.
- Fez: I...uh, don't know my phone number.
- Hyde: I can't call Edna, man. It's poker night.
- Kelso: No offense, but isn't every night [nudges Hyde] 'poker night' for Edna?
That Wrestling Show [1.15][edit]
- [at the encounter group, when the leader asks people to share their real thoughts]
- Kitty: Laurie, you're mean to your brother and you're screwing around at college. We don't even see you unless you run out of clean clothes or need cash. The fact is, you're an ungrateful, spoiled brat.
- [Red and Eric visit Rocky Johnson in his locker room]
- Red: I wonder if you'd mind giving my son an autograph.
- Manager: [cuts off Red] No, no autographs.
- Red: Look pal, I might be the only guy in here who's actually killed a man.
- Manager: [to Johnson] Give the kid an autograph and then no more autographs.
- Rocky Johnson: That's really nice, bringing your kid to a wrestling match. You know, I got a son, and one day he's gonna become The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment!
- Red: Yeah, well, good luck with that. Uh, wanna make that out to Red Forman.
- Eric: No, no, I don't think so. It's Eric Forman, capital E-R-I-C.
- Red: Yeah but see, his nickname is Red.
- Eric: No, it's not.
- Red: Stop kidding around, Red.
The First Date [1.16][edit]
- Red: Damn good thing I went with him. He wanted to buy a leisure suit.
- Eric: Come on, Dad. Leisure suits are cool. Everybody wears them.
- Red: Leisure suits are for dumbasses. Believe me.
- [Bob walks in wearing a leisure suit]
- Kelso: Tonight, [sniffles] I learned there's a price to be paid for doing it. She said forever, man. And I think she meant it.
- Fez: The inside of my mouth feels like cotton. As if cotton was in my mouth.
- Hyde: Kelso, man, women are like muffins. Okay? And once you've had a muffin, man, you will put up with anything to have another muffin. And they know that! Now she really owns you, man.
- Eric: Hyde, you sure know a lot about women. But, I mean, you've never really had a steady girlfriend. So, what's that all about?
- Hyde: I'll tell you what that's all about, Forman. My mind is pure, man. I don't fall victim to the female race. I'm here, sans girlfriend, to help you guys out.
- Fez: Then I have a question, Hyde. How much masturbation is too much?
- Hyde: No such thing as too much, Fez.
The Pill [1.17][edit]
- Eric: Sorry I was late. We Were at the Hub and then I had to drive everyone home and then Kelso says...
- Red: Bla Bla Bla, You're late. Be responsible for your own actions.
- Kelso: [Very angry] That's Real easy for you to say, pal! [Leaves]
- Red: That kid's on dope.
- [Red and Kitty counsel Eric on sex and the fact that he was caught receiving the OrthoNovum pills for Donna]
- Kitty: OK, cleanliness. Now that reminds me, always make sure your finger nails are trimmed and clean. Oh...[tries to remember] Foreplay is very important.
- Red: [dismisses the thought as Eric is disgusted] Ah, no, it's not.
- Kitty: [side glances at Red as she looks offended. pointedly] Yes. It is.
- [Later...]
- Eric: I had a nice discussion with Red and Kitty about foreplay.
- Donna: I'm sorry.
- Eric: Yeah, me too.
Career Day [1.18][edit]
- Donna: So, what do you guys wanna do when you grow up?
- Eric: Um, not touch dead people. Ever.
- Fez: Oh, I am so excited to be in the food service industry. May I cut the cheese?
Prom Night [1.19][edit]
- Kelso: Guys, guess who's taking Pam Macey to the prom?
- Hyde: Anyone with a quarter?
- Kelso: NO, ME!
- Fez: Damn, and I had a quarter.
- Jackie: Well, I have a date, too.
- Kelso: Who is he? What's his name?
- Jackie: His name is... not important. What's important is, he's better than you, in every conceivable way.
- Kelso: Well... Damn, Jackie, that could be anybody!
A New Hope [1.20][edit]
- [The guys are heading to the nearest cinema to watchStar Wars: A New Hope]
- Fez: I'm so excited about Star Whores.
- Hyde: Fez man, it's Star Wars.
- Fez: Screw that.
- Hyde: Hey, Forman, man, this thing better be good. If I don't see some space jugs, I'm going to be super pissed.
- Eric: Oh, hey, guys, I heard it was okay.
- Kelso: Well, there is no way it's better than the Planet of the Apes. I mean, those apes were really good actors.
- [Eric seeks advice from Red and Bob about fighting David because he is hitting on Donna]
- Red: The bridge of the nose, it's very vulnerable.
- Bob: Oh, and hit him with a banjo.
- Red: [exasperated] A banjo, Bob?
- Bob: Yeah.
- Red: Where is he gonna get a banjo?
- Bob: I don't know. But I saw a guy get hit with a banjo once, and he went down!
- Red: Hitting a guy with a banjo is dirty. [to Eric] You can hit him in the groin.
- Bob: You can hit him in the groin with a banjo.
Water Tower [1.21][edit]
- Eric: Gentlemen, we have finally done it. A pot leaf on the water tower!
- Fez: This is the proudest moment of my life.
- Hyde: It doesn't look like a pot leaf.
- Kelso: What?
- Hyde: It looks like a hand giving the finger.
- Kelso: It doesn't have to look perfect, Hyde, it's art.
- Hyde: Get up and make it better!
- Kelso: Fine!
- [Kelso gets up on the railing and takes the paint brush.]
- Hyde: Just make it wider. Yeah, right up there. Out further, though. Yeah, right up there-[Kelso leans to the right and falls off the water tower.]
- Jackie: [Gasps] Oh, my God! Michael! [Branches snapping; thud.]
- Hyde: Hey, Kelso!
- Kelso: [weakly] Yeah?
- Hyde: How's it look from down there?
- Kelso: It looks like it's giving me the finger!
- Red: Are you on dope? Are you?
- Kitty: Because, because, we can help get you clean. There's counseling, hospitalization—
- Red: My foot kicking your ass.
Punk Chick [1.22][edit]
- Eric: Do you know how many cool guys live in New York? There's like... Lou Reed, man!
- [Kitty and Red are trying to talk Hyde out of going to New York]
- Red: We don't think that you should go.
- Kitty: New York is a dangerous place.
- Red: A young man today needs a high school diploma.
- Kitty: In New York, you get mugged for no good reason.
- Red: Do you have any idea what the job market is like?
- Kitty: The people are rude. And you have feelings.
- Red: Without that sheepskin, you are nothing. And not the kind of nothing that you are now. An even lower, more pathetic nothing.
- Kitty: They spit. That's right, they spit!
- Red: What're you gonna put on your resume? 'Dumbass'?
- Hyde: I'm not afraid of anything and I'm going!
- Red: Well, that didn't go that great. Way to go, Kitty.
Grandma's Dead [1.23][edit]
- Eric: I killed her. She was old, and the shock of her grandson telling her that she was nasty killed her.
- Donna: Have you talked to Red about this?
- Eric: I'm not talking to my dad about this. Do you remember how angry he got when I didn't rake the yard? This is like, twice as bad!
- [Hyde has been helping Eric and Red go through boxes of Grandma's belongings, and has found old photography supplies; Red explains that his father had been an amateur photographer.]
- Hyde: Hey, Forman. Got any naked pictures of your grandma?
- Eric: [shocked and angry] NO!
- Hyde: [laughing maniacally, hands him the box] Well, you do now!!
Hyde Moves In [1.24][edit]
- Red: Pork chops? I thought we agreed to stick to a budget! Pork chops aren't cheap!
- Kitty: Well, you know, on the way to the market, I tried to run over a cat. But they are just so darn speedy!
- Eric: Hyde's mom is gone, and he is going downhill. I mean, he's sitting over there in the dark eating ketchup off crackers.
- Kelso: I ate gum off a parking meter once. But it was on a dare. I made a dollar. Man, there's some suckers out there!
- Fez: Crackers and ketchup are 'K' words. Which makes them naturally funny.
- Donna: [laughing] Oh my God! I can feel, like, all the molecules in my body. I'm gonna count them! One, two, three...
- Eric: [playing with View-Master] You guys disgust me. Does anyone care about Hyde? Oh my God, run Scooby! Now, run!
- Kelso: You know what's freaking me out? I saw Jackie sick, without makeup. And it was, like, the freakiest thing I've ever seen in my entire, entire life. Including the class trip to the sausage factory.
- Fez: Ai, if I never see the inside of another cow, it will be too soon! Jerky?
- Donna: Eighteen, nineteen... I have the biggest hands in the world! Damn it! One, two...
- Eric: So his mom's gone, and I know he doesn't want any help. But the Donner party didn't get any help, and then they ate each other so... [to Fez] Hey, don't bogart that jerky.
- Kelso: Yeah, no parents would be cool! Like The Lord of the Flies!
- Eric: Kelso, did you ever finish Lord of the Flies?
- Kelso: No. So?
- Eric: Nothing. Look, what are we gonna do about Hyde? We should tell someone.
- Kelso: What am I gonna do about Jackie? I can't even look at her!
- Fez: She's unpleasant when she's healthy, so I can only imagine how she looks like!
- Donna: Hey, Kelso... Jackie's my friend. [points finger at him] And you're shallow... [looks at finger] and pathetic. And you know what else? [shows hands] My hands are huge! They're like boxing gloves. [impersonating Muhammad Ali] I am the Greatest!
- Eric: Okay, champ. Whatever you—[Donna punches Eric]
The Good Son [1.25][edit]
- Donna: So, my parents are, like, fighting all the time, and they want me to choose sides. But I can't, because they're both idiots.
- Donna: Excuse me, Jackie, when exactly did you lose your soul?
- Jackie: Um, cheerleading camp.
External links[edit]
That 70s Show Season 1
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'That '70s Show' Season One DVD Review (Mill Creek Release)
| That '70s Show: Season One (1998-99) Show & DVD Details Creators: Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Mark Brazill / Executive Producers: Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Mark Brazill, Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner, Caryn Mandabach Writers: Terry Turner, Jeff Filgo, Jackie Behan, Bonnie Turner, Mark Brazill, Joshua Sternin, Mark Hudis, Linda Wallem, Philip Stark, Jeffrey Ventimilia, Arthur F. Montmorency, Eric Gilliland, Dave Schiff, Dave Schiff / Regular Director: David Trainer / Pilot Director: Terry Hughes Regular Cast: Topher Grace (Eric Forman), Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart), Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso), Danny Masterson (Steven Hyde), Laura Prepon (Donna Pinciotti), Wilmer Valderrama (Fez), Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty Forman), Kurtwood Smith (Red Forman), Tanya Roberts (Midge Pinciotti), Don Stark (Bob Pinciotti) Recurring Characters: Lisa Robin Kelly (Laurie Forman), Marion Ross (Grandma Bernice Forman), Paul Kreppel (Mr. Burkhart), Carolyn Hennessy (Sharon Singer), Gary Owens (Announcer/Narrator), Mark Bramhall (Principal Pridwell) Notable Guest Stars: Wayne Pere (Randy), Danny Bonaduce (Ricky), Amanda Fuller (Tina Pinciotti), Eve Plumb (Mrs. Burkhart), Kevin Farley (Matthew Erdman), Jenny Maguire (Kate), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Buddy Morgan), Mitch Hedberg (Frank), Nick Bakay (Gus), Ernie Ladd (Manager), Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (Rocky Johnson), Katey Sagal (Edna Hyde), Francis Guinan (John Kelso), Gloria Gaynor (Mrs. Clark), Jennifer Lyons (Pam Macy), Grey DeLisle (Ms. Diane Kaminsky), Scott White (David Milbank), Jade Gordon (Chrissy), Pat Skipper (Marty Forman), Carlos Alazraqui (Jackie's Scary Face Man), Mitch Pileggi (Bull), Arlene Pileggi (Joy) Running Time: 560 Minutes (25 episodes) / Rating: TV-PG 1.33:1 Fullscreen/1.78:1 Stretched Widescreen (Varied by Player) / Dolby Stereo 2.0 (English) Subtitles: None; Closed Captioned; Extras Not Captioned Season 1 Airdates: August 23, 1998 - July 26, 1999 DVD Release Date: September 13, 2011; Wide Black Keepcase with Envelopes Suggested Retail Price: $14.98; Three single-sided, dual-layered discs (DVD-9s) |
'That '70s Show' belongs to a long tradition of entertainment set twenty years in the past. 'Happy Days', Grease, and 'The Wonder Years' are three of the more noteworthy other examples in a pattern that makes complete sense when you think about. Teenage years seem to make the biggest mark on a person culturally and developmentally. People love to look back at their adolescence nostalgically. Add twenty years to a teenager and you have thirty-something with the power to create. That the 20-years-earlier phenomenon seems to be morphing into a 30-years-earlier phenomenon, reflected in the films most recently chosen for remakes and reboots, suggests that life expectancy is growing and power is now more likely to elude creators until their forties. I'm ready for a television show set in the early '90s, but it seems like the rest of the world is not. Just as 'Happy Days' now provides '70s/'80s nostalgia to go with the '50s/'60s longing of its design, 'That '70s Show' has begun to offer distinctly '90s/'00s sensibilities to complement its period of fascination. To the bell-bottoms, disco balls, and unmistakably implied drug experimentation, the show now adds transportation to the last hurrah for the traditional sitcom at every network but CBS. The first season of '70s Show' is set in 1976-77. It centers on six teenaged friends from fictional Milwaukee suburb Point Place, Wisconsin. Our protagonist is sarcastic, gangly Eric Forman (Topher Grace). Often joining him in his basement are girl next door/love interest Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), male bimbo Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), his sophomore girlfriend Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), antiestablishment tough kid Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), and foreign exchange student Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), whose real name and country of origin remain mysteries as a running gag. Eric's parents regularly feature and, in defiance of sitcom tradition, they are cast age-appropriately and even a bit on the older side. Kurtwood Smith makes a particularly lasting impression as hard-assed father Red, who disciplines Eric sternly and often calls him out as a 'smartmouth' and a 'dumbass.' A nice counter to him is his nurturing wife Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), who coddles Eric and can score laughs from simply a well-placed signature awkward laugh. Donna's parents -- afroed, thickheaded salesman Bob (Don Stark) and ditzy wife Midge (Tanya Roberts) -- also number as regulars and as Red and Kitty's friends. Donna has a younger sister who appears once and an older sister merely mentioned, both of whom are soon forgotten. Eric, meanwhile, has an older sister in slutty, scheming University of Wisconsin student Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly), who recurs in Season 1 and would be made a regular for the next two years. 'That '70s Show' is not a parody or a spoof of the decade, nor is it just a parade of pop culture jokes (though there are plenty of them). Instead, it is a nostalgic but unsentimental look at end-of-the-decade adolescence experienced with a spirit of rebellion and a tight-knit group of friends. The series hails from Bonnie and Terry Turner, the husband-wife team that spent seven seasons as 'Saturday Night Live' writers, created '3rd Rock from the Sun', and penned a number of the more celebrated comedy films of the early '90s, including Wayne's World, Tommy Boy, and The Brady Bunch Movie. They created 'That '70s Show' with '3rd Rock' writer Mark Brazill. Again, the Turners and Brazill counted the successful Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner ('The Cosby Show', 'Roseanne') among their executive producers. Though Carsey-Werner, as usual, produced the sitcom independently, 'That '70s Show' has the clear makings of a Fox sitcom at a time when the network was still a distant fourth in viewership. '70s Show' quickly became Fox's fourth most highly-rated series behind 'The Simpsons', 'Ally McBeal', and 'The X-Files.' It was no doubt aided by its desirable 8:30 Sunday night timeslot, airing in between 'Simpsons' and 'X-Files.' Fox moved '70s' to Monday night the summer and Tuesday the following season and it never again matched its first season ratings, although it did repeat its series-best 49th ranking in 2004, when it was made the lead-in to 'American Idol.' Fox clearly targeted and found more of a young audience than one that had similarly had their teen years in the late '70s. While never a ratings behemoth, 'That '70s Show' went on to run an impressive eight seasons for a total of 200 episodes. Even more notably, it managed to launch careers for most of its young cast members, with Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher, and, most recently, Mila Kunis picking up major feature film credits as leads. Grace disappeared for a while, letting Spider-Man 3 stand as the only film release of his late twenties, and his most recent output (the bomb Take Me Home Tonight) has cast doubt on his star status. Kutcher has run a gamut, from producing success on 'Punk'd' to lightweight romantic comedy vehicles to serious acting and back. The romcoms have earned him his biggest audiences and prevented him from being known as more than just one of the most followed celebrities on Twitter. He returned to TV tonight in the much-publicized 'Two and a Half Men' retooling following Charlie Sheen's much-publicized meltdown. Meanwhile, Kunis, by far the youngest '70s Show' cast member (a mere 14 at the start), might just have the healthiest career at the moment, after Black Swan became the rare picture to find both a huge audience and widespread acclaim. 'That '70s Show' entertains with amusing cultural references and the authentic, easy to appreciate flavors of period Midwest working class living. The detail cannot be faked and even though most of the show's viewers weren't even alive back in the late '70s, the camaraderie and youthful adventures have a timelessness to them which is soaked up by the responsive studio audience and those who have made the show a fixture in syndication, where it currently airs four times a weekday on ABC Family (with viewer discretion advised) and four times at night on Nick at Nite. One area where the show deserves special notice is in its visuals. The vast majority of sitcoms leave nothing to be said regarding mise-en-scène. 'That '70s Show' not only nails its era with set and costume design (the latter, the subject of the show's only Emmy win), it also supplies some inventiveness in camera and editing techniques, from split-screen scenes to characters dubbing others to inspired fantasy sequences. The trademark rotating circle scenes are an accomplishment when you consider how they have to be shot and lit. The show does lay the transitions on a bit heavy, from animating mouths on Farrah Fawcett's famous poster and other photos to cast disco dancing, but this lightens as the first season progresses. The season mainly focuses on two couples: slowly advancing the relationship of lifelong friends/neighbors Eric and Donna, and treating Michael and Jackie more impulsively, comedically, and flimsily. 'That '70s Show' started appearing on DVD in October of 2004 from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Four years later, all seasons were released individually and in a groovy 'Complete Series Stash Box.' All of Fox's DVDs of the shows have since been discontinued with Carsey-Werner bringing this and three other hit sitcoms to value distributor Mill Creek Entertainment, who reissued the first two seasons last week. Part of the attraction of Mill Creek's new editions of 'Roseanne' and '3rd Rock' is that the shows resurface with their original broadcast cuts intact, having previously been presented on DVD in trimmed syndication form. The packaging for '70s Show' makes no such claim and there is little information on whether Fox's DVD offered syndication edits of episodes. The runtimes here are uniform, which typically suggests abbreviated syndication cuts, but the 22½-minute lengths are in line with complete 1998-99 half-hour network broadcasts after commercials are removed. A more definite area of concern is in the soundtrack. 'That '70s Show' is somewhat loaded with period songs and the likelihood of all of the season's being cleared at a list price of $14.98 seems distant. TV.com provides a list of songs used in each episode and while I can't vouch for their accuracy, I can confirm that a number of the songs cited there are never heard on Mill Creek's DVDs (among them, Mott the Hoople's 'All the Young Dudes', David Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel', the Vince Guaraldi Trio's 'Christmas Time is Here', Kool & the Gang's 'Jungle Boogie', and Elton John's 'Bennie and the Jets'). With the list price so low, one wonders if Mill Creek could have raised it a little and cleared more songs, although the studio does pride themselves on low pricing and minimal effort. Disc 1 1. Pilot (22:26) (Originally aired August 23, 1998) 2. Eric's Birthday (22:26) (Originally aired August 30, 1998) 3. Streaking (22:25) (Originally aired September 6, 1998) 4. Battle of the Sexists (22:26) (Originally aired September 20, 1998) 5. Eric's Burger Job (22:25) (Originally aired September 27, 1998) 6. The Keg (22:25) (Originally aired October 25, 1998) 7. That Disco Episode (22:26) (Originally aired November 8, 1998) 8. Drive-In (22:26) (Originally aired November 15, 1998) 9. Thanksgiving (22:25) (Originally aired November 22, 1998) Disc 2 10. Sunday Bloody Sunday (22:24) (Originally aired November 29, 1998) 11. Eric's Buddy (22:26) (Originally aired December 6, 1998) 12. The Best Christmas Ever (22:25) (Originally aired December 13, 1998) 13. Ski Trip (22:25) (Originally aired January 17, 1999) 14. Stolen Car (22:25) (Originally aired January 24, 1999) 15. That Wrestling Show (22:25) (Originally aired February 7, 1999) 16. First Date (22:25) (Originally aired February 14, 1999) 17. The Pill (22:25) (Originally aired February 21, 1999) 18. Career Day (22:25) (Originally aired February 28, 1999) Disc 3 19. Prom Night (22:24) (Originally aired March 7, 1999) 20. A New Hope (22:26) (Originally aired March 14, 1999) 21. Water Tower (22:24) (Originally aired June 14, 1999) 22. Punk Chick (22:24) (Originally aired June 21, 1999) 23. Grandma's Dead (22:28) (Originally aired July 12, 1999) 24. Hyde Moves In (22:24) (Originally aired July 19, 1999) 25. The Good Son (22:24) (Originally aired July 26, 1999) VIDEO and AUDIO There was only one real problem with the DVD presentation, but it was a huge one; on my Sony Blu-ray player, nearly all of the 1.33:1 full screen presentations stretched to fill my 16:9 Panasonic television. This is not the first Mill Creek disc that has done this for me, but your mileage could definitely vary. The DVDs displayed the proper aspect ratio when played on my computer's DVD-ROM drive. Still, on my TV, this was bizarre, annoying, and not easily remedied for me. Adding to my bewilderment, tinkering with my player's settings seemed to have an effect only on the menus, which were sometimes similarly stretched, but could more often appear properly. And, for whatever reason, one episode on each disc (the third from last) displayed correctly in 1.33:1 for me, as if they were encoded more accurately than the others. Stretching full screen programming to widescreen is one of the more offensive things a disc can do and I'm glad that the occurrence remains rare even in the converting of SD television to HD ratios. Though seemingly not deliberate or something you are certain to experience with a 16:9 TV, it is most unfortunate. Besides that, the picture is gladly quite clear and clean. There is some light grain and the rare white speck, plus the limits of DVD compression are regularly illustrated. The video is a bit on the dark side, which is true to the show's original design (and other FOX sitcoms from the time). The Dolby stereo soundtrack is clear but limited. Void of subtitles, the set does include closed captioning, though their accessibility seems hit and miss. BONUS FEATURES, MENUS, PACKAGING and DESIGN Three extras, all recycled from Fox's Season One DVD, appear on Disc 3 and two of them were also stretched to 16:9 on my TV. 'Hello Wisconsin: Season 1' is an 18-minute making-of featurette. It's heavy on episode clips and promotional, but includes some insightful actor and producer remarks on characters, co-stars, and the show's themes and appeal. 'That '70s Trivia Show' (2:20) has cast members ask simple questions about the series followed by clips revealing the answers. Evidently created for syndication, these bits are cool but few. 'Promo-palooza' (3:44) is a montage of clips used in series and Season 1 episode promos. I'd rather see the original promos as they were, but this is better than nothing and I noticed at least one line otherwise not included on the DVD. All menus loop the theme song at a volume louder than the episodes, with one character singled out on both the backdrop-animated main and static episode pages. Episodes are fitted with just two chapter stops each, making scene access more of a chore than usual. Mill Creek packages Season 1 in a thick keepcase, with the discs cheaply held in paper/plastic envelopes. CLOSING THOUGHTS 'That '70s Show' is too rowdy and mean-spirited for me to consider it a favorite, but this sitcom is easy to watch, enjoy, and get into. Mill Creek's Season One DVD is less of a no-brainer than you'd think for fans who didn't get around to picking up Fox's comparable box set. I don't think it's plagued by syndicated cuts, but music replacement seems both apparent and unfortunate. Meanwhile, the stretched widescreen presentations are practically unwatchable, if you're someone whose player and widescreen TV prove a challenge to the disc's puzzling authoring. If you're sure they won't and are interested, there's no reason not to pick this up. Aside from the low price, this doesn't appear to offer anything above what Fox's discontinued set did. Those who have become diehard fans in just the past few years probably ought to wait until Mill Creek's inevitable complete series release. Those just wanting a taste of the show might be better served by the even lower-priced Biggest Hits, a disc collecting '10 fan favorite episodes' from the first four seasons. Support this site when you buy That '70s Show: Season One from Amazon.com |
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That '70s Show: Season 1 Episode 1
Reviewed September 19, 2011.
That 70's Show - Pilot Episode S1 E1 On Vimeo
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