Characters

Set in the United States That ’70s Show depicts the life of teenager Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and his five teenage friends: Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), next-door neighbor; Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), a rebellious drug user who eventually moved in with the Formans; Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), a dim-witted ladies’ man; Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), a self-involved high school cheerleader overly preoccupied with wealth and status; and Fez (an acronym that stands for Foreign Exchange Student) played by Wilmer Valderrama (presumably somewhere in Latin America) that is never identified.

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 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 overbearing father, Red (Kurtwood Smith), veteran of World War II and the Korean War, his nice, yet overbearing 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, the aging hippie owner of the Fotohut.

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. 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, but both she and Meyers had their roles minimalized following a negative response from the fans over the season’s new characters. 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.”

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; other names considered were The Kids Are Alright, Feelin’ All Right, and Reeling in the Years,^[1] 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).^[2] The series did well, rating highly among several target demographics, including adults aged 18-49, as well as teenage viewers.^[2] 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.^[2] 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,^[3] and the final episode was filmed a month later, on February 17, 2006.^[4] “That ’70s Finale” originally aired on May 18, 2006.