That 70s Show - General Discussion

[bettername2come]

So, I'm not very far into 8, but besides missing Kelso and Eric, I really miss the credits. It's not right for them to not be in the car. I actually hit "skip intro." I never do this!

[GrtGzu]

kinda hard to watch this show now that I know that Masterson and Prepon are members of that Scientology thing.  And Masterson possibly being charged with  a crime...

 

Heard Prepon's show got cancelled....Something about orange being the new black?

[Chas411]

Doing a rewatch on Netflix. Are episodes out of order? In one episode Hyde goes to live with his dad but then the next he’s back in the house as though he never left.

[Avabelle]

Yes Definetly thinks some are out of order. 

So many of the jokes wouldn’t fly at all nowadays. Also the names they called Donna, so harsh. I’d be shocked if Laura Prepon didn’t end up with a complex.

id love a reunion.. if only to fix the awful ending of Jackie/Fez.

[anna0852]

I'm getting a kick out the early seasons watching Jackie and Kelso being a complete disaster. 

Knowing how Mila and Ashton *really* ended up makes it so much funnier.

[Avabelle]

Agreed it is very funny. My rewatch has gone a strange way. My opinion has changed a little since I originally watched it. 

Jackie is my least favourite character. She's not funny for the most part, her lines are just "I'm so pretty, because I'm so great or some variation of that", I'm all for a self obsessed character if they're funny but she was just boring and didn't add anything. She also tended to be the most serious of the gang in her storylines with Stephen and even Kelso but Kunis just was not (and still is not IMO) that good an actress nor was the show that good at the serious stuff so I ended up cringing for her a lot of the time. Having said that I still like her and would hate the show without her, I just remember being obsessed with her and her/Hyde when it aired first and it's funny how time changes. I still love season five for her and Hyde but even at that some of it is ruined by Kunis trying to act. I'm still so gutted about how it ended for them both as they were such a funny couple. 

Donna, who I disliked in original airing, I actually really enjoy. I hope Prepon had thick skin as she took a lot of hits about her height, size. It definitely wouldn't hold up now. I still love her and Eric together but I felt Donna could hold her own and I enjoyed her storylines with other characters as well as Eric. I don't think Prepon was a great actress but I think similar to Kutcher she just grew on me as the character as the show went on. The fact that the actress could barely get through a scene without stifling her laughs became a character quirk.

Kelso and Fez were my favourites by season six. I think the best thing for Kelso was getting him away from Jackie as the storylines he got from being single, the pregnancy etc were really funny. Kutcher was not great I earlier seasons but by season six he really comes to the forefront along with Fez who I can barely get through a scene without bursting into laughter.

There's a noteable shift in season six where I noticed Eric starts to have more storylines with his parents/Donna than with Kelso, Hyde and Fez. The latter three (Kelso in particular) start to come to the forefront in the "gang cause mischief" style storylines.

Also, Laurie's recast remains one of the worst recasts. I really think they should have just written her off again rather then recast as the actress was terrible and just couldn't pull it off. It was so distracting.

 

[suomi]

June 17, 2020

The actor Danny Masterson, known for his roles in the sitcoms “That ’70s Show” and “The Ranch,” has been charged with raping three women in the early 2000s, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said on Wednesday.

Masterson is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman whom he had invited to his home in Hollywood Hills some time between October and December of 2003, the district attorney’s office said in a news release. He is also accused of raping a 28-year-old woman that same year as well as a 23-year-old woman in 2001. All of the allegations of rape occurred in the actor’s home, the news release said.

Masterson, 44, was charged with three counts of rape by force or fear, and faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison if convicted.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/arts/television/danny-masterson-rape-charged.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

[readster]

7 hours ago, suomi said:

June 17, 2020

The actor Danny Masterson, known for his roles in the sitcoms “That ’70s Show” and “The Ranch,” has been charged with raping three women in the early 2000s, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said on Wednesday.

Masterson is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman whom he had invited to his home in Hollywood Hills some time between October and December of 2003, the district attorney’s office said in a news release. He is also accused of raping a 28-year-old woman that same year as well as a 23-year-old woman in 2001. All of the allegations of rape occurred in the actor’s home, the news release said.

Masterson, 44, was charged with three counts of rape by force or fear, and faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison if convicted.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/arts/television/danny-masterson-rape-charged.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

Can't actors from old hit shows just you know... have normal issues that come in Hollywood. Not things like this?

[Avabelle]

Jesus. It definetly sours the rewatch now. I wonder if any of his former costars will speak up - he’s close with Ashton and Wilmer isn’t he?

[GrtGzu]

I read somewhere that Topher is the only one who distanced himself from all the others...But the others remained good friends and went out partying together on occasion (Ashton, Wilmer, and Danny)...

[Avabelle]

I wonder would they take it off the air because of Masterson? 

[GrtGzu]

Thing is, I don't recall none of us sayin' stuff like "BURN!", and I graduated in '76...we also never said "totally" back then either.....

 

don't understand the "slang" used...clothing IS "vintage" though...Gawd, how I miss those sleek-fitting-cowl neck sweaters I used to have...

[Avabelle]

This is very sad news but Tanya Roberts has passed away.

Roberts reportedly collapsed at home following a walk with her dogs on Christmas Eve, a rep for Roberts told TMZ. She was hospitalized and put on a ventilator, but never recovered. The official cause of death is currently unknown

https://tvline.com/2021/01/03/tanya-roberts-dies-that-70s-show-charlies-angels-actress-dead/

 

[Joe Hellandback]

43 minutes ago, Avabelle said:

This is very sad news but Tanya Roberts has passed away.

Roberts reportedly collapsed at home following a walk with her dogs on Christmas Eve, a rep for Roberts told TMZ. She was hospitalized and put on a ventilator, but never recovered. The official cause of death is currently unknown

https://tvline.com/2021/01/03/tanya-roberts-dies-that-70s-show-charlies-angels-actress-dead/

 

Alas poor Tanya, Bond Girl, Charlie's Angel, super hot in Beastmaster, playing a supposed bimbo in T70sS but actually a smart cookie. 

[Avabelle]

And in a strange turn of events she hasn’t died it’s been conformed.

“The star was indeed hospitalized and put on a ventilator after collapsing at her home on Christmas Eve, but Pingel now says the actress is still holding on at the hospital, but that “it is very grim."

 

https://ew.com/movies/tanya-roberts-mistakenly-declared-dead/

[marketdoctor]

Since reports are conflicting, I'll just say "prayers for Tanya Roberts and her family."

I realize that mostly is so that I can feel like I've done something, but if it helps, it helps.

[KatWay]

she's passed away, I'm sadly sure of it. When the conflicting reports came out, it was clear from them that the situation was very bad, I think it was just a matter of officially calling it and ending life-support, rather than any chance of her really walking away fine.

Rest in Peace, Midge.

[KWalkerInc]

Tanya was great on this show.  I love the episode where Red and Kitty get stuck having dinner with Bob and Midge and their dates, who get ditched.  Bob says he forgot something in the car and Midge goes, "I forgot my...sex in the car with Bob!"  My friend also loves the way Tanya delivers the word "ass" when she keeps calling Bob one earlier.  Midge would always have some one-liner that would have me rolling, like when Eric and Donna were withholding sex and Midge just learns this is something that is possible, perhaps to get Bob to paint the bathroom.  Donna tries to steer her from this but it's, "Blah blah blah, I'm getting my bathroom painted!"  I was glad she did come back for a few episodes after leaving to care for her husband.  I remember that I thought they had just written her out for no reason.  I understand if she wanted privacy for her husband's illness of course, but I was mad at the producers because I didn't know it was Tanya's choice to leave.  RIP.

Wilmer Valderrama appeared on Kelly Clarkson's show today, where he and Kelly talked to each other from cars at a drive-in.  Wilmer revealed that he owns the Vista Cruiser, which he bought for $500 as the show was ending.  He considers it one of his most prized possessions because of sentimental value.

[anna0852]

Of course Eric named his daughter Leia 🤦‍♀️

https://tvline.com/2021/10/08/that-90s-show-netflix-original-characters-returning-that-70s-show/

[Egg McMuffin]

I’m guessing we’ll get to see Donna at some point. No Hyde due to Danny Masterson’s alleged rapes (I never liked his character anyway). I would like to see Topher Grace on there but it doesn’t seem like he would be into it;he only appeared briefly in the finale after leaving a year earlier, and was uncredited.

[KatWay]

if they do a revival/sequel, can they retroactively erase the last season out of existence? just pretend none of that ever happened.

[Avabelle]

Im Annoyed as wanted Hyde and Jackie to end up together and this would have been a  good opportunity to at least reference that happened offscreen.

[Egg McMuffin]

5 hours ago, KatWay said:

if they do a revival/sequel, can they retroactively erase the last season out of existence? just pretend none of that ever happened.

I never understood why they did the whole thing with Josh Meyers’ character. He was hugely unlikeable. I wonder if the season would have been better regarded had Bret Harrison stuck around as Charlie.

[Avabelle]

I think knowing that two of the big names were leaving and likely gave notice to at they were leaving they should have ended the show. They had had a good run. What they ended up doing just meant the show went out with a limp and although I loved the majority of seasons I mainly remember the crappy last series as it was just so bad. 

[Jillibean]

On 10/9/2021 at 5:14 AM, Avabelle said:

Im Annoyed as wanted Hyde and Jackie to end up together and this would have been a  good opportunity to at least reference that happened offscreen.

Very belated response, but I don't accept season 8 as canon, given that  allegedly the showrunners changed, they made every single person OOC, most of the actors apparently hated it, and apparently even the longterm director said it was a like an alternate universe. I've been rewatching and my feeling on season 8 was not only that the characters all felt like poorly written fanfic versions of themselves, but also that it was really mean and painfully unfunny. Some of the actors also seemed to compensate for the poor writing by playing almost caricature like deliveries, which added to the feeling of surreality.  This is a show that really should have ended at the end of season 7. It felt like everyone was phoning it in during season 8, and the new showrunners seemed particularly spiteful of Jackie's character and, in my opinion, wrote a big chunk of the first part of the season around just destroying her former relationship and tormenting her. I had loved Jackie and Hyde, and in addition to just being sort of nasty to the people who liked them, their season 8 stuff makes no sense with previous characterization. IMO they were the best couple on the show. 

And I'm probably not going to accept That 90s Show as canon either, because it's going to be based on what they need to have happen for that show and the previous actors' real life availability/situations, not what makes sense for the original characters. Without any further information, having a child so young isn't what makes sense for Donna, given a lot of her storyline on the original show. I think most people agree that Jackie and Hyde should have been endgame and if they had done this many years ago, the writers might very well have done that fix-it--but it's obviously not possible now. Add to the mix that Ashton and Mila are married (and honestly seem SO in love) and I am one hundred percent sure that they'll do a Jackie/Kelso are together cameo, which will be a cute shout-out given those actors' love story, but a real disservice to Jackie as a character.

[anna0852]

Yeah, I love the idea of catching back up with everyone but Donna having a 15 year old in 1995 makes no sense. Her looming college plans for 1980 are very clearly derailed and her life has gone a direction she always swore she never wanted.

[anna0852]

Look what's returning to streaming on September 1st!

https://tvline.com/2022/08/26/that-70s-show-where-to-watch-episodes-streaming-online-peacock/

[Avabelle]

Anybody watch That 90s show? Good god it’s awful. The best bit about it was Kelso and Jackies appearance. The rest of them were just phoning it in. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Avabelle

[Traveller519]

4 hours ago, Avabelle said:

Anybody watch That 90s show? Good god it’s awful. The best bit about it was Kelso and Jackies appearance. The rest of them were just phoning it in. 

I've found the whole original cast is good, but the new kids just have no chemistry, and are all obviously Gen Zers. They don't seem to have much 90s aesthetic. Even Andrea Anders character seems to fit into the normal flow better than the kids.

[Athena]

I did a selective rewatch of the show this past weekend. I didn't think I could but the show is still entertaining. All of the main characters are terrible people at various points but I guess that can be partly excused since they were immature and mostly neglected teens. The humor and the writing didn't always hold up. They made Jackie/Mila say the most racist lines against Fez which could be applied to Mila in real life. Like a lot of sitcoms, most things would have been solved if there was better communication. Most of the actors were phoning it in by S7, the Blonde Donna era, especially Topher who seemed really done. They flanderized most of the characters.

Having said that, the show's setting and reliance on its characters' chemistry made it rewatchable. You can tell how often the characters were trying not to break and how much fun the cast had. I am now closer to Kitty and Red's ages and really appreciate how great they were as parents especially to Stephen.  I liked that they were presented as a loving and stable couple that the show was anchored around. I think they are doing that with the 90s show too. I have not watched except for a couple of clips.

I found this behind the scene show filmed during S6 which has a Mila leading a nice tour of the set. TW: DM makes a gross joke about Mila at one point.