Creators
Bonnie & Terry Turner and Mark Brazill
Cast
Mila Kunis Jackie Burkhart
Ashton Kutcher Michael Kelso
Laura Prepon Donna Pinciotti
Danny Masterson Steven Hyde
Wilmer Valderrama Fez
Topher Grace Eric Forman
Debra Jo Rupp Kitty Forman
Kurtwood Forman “Red” Forman
DVD Release Date: May 8, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 543 Minutes on 4 discs
The Show
When you think of sitcoms focusing on teenagers, well it’s kind of hard to come up with any that are recent. I mean, honestly, the first shows to come to mind are Family Matters, Just the Ten of Us, Saved by the Bell, and even Growing Pains to some extent. If you’re looking for shows about teenagers, then they are usually watered down and showcasing corny humor on Disney or Nickelodeon. But when it comes to That ‘70s Show, there surely isn’t anything watered down about it.
Set in the seventies (duh), the series centers on a group of friends who are just trying to live their lives but with hilarious outcomes. First of all there are Eric and Donna who seem like any other teenage couple, but they are far from it. Eric is a self-confessed mama’s boy, and almost everything that happens in the show goes on at his house. Everyone gathers there to hang out and chill after school, well, anytime really. Eric’s parents, Kitty and Red, are the cool parents who everyone likes, but the feelings are not always returned. Well, from Kitty they usually are but Red is not fond of anyone to be honest. Red is the dad you don’t want to piss off, and is also the guy who can help you out of any jam. And Kitty, well she tries to be nicer of the two – alcohol works wonders.
Then there’s Donna, Eric’s now fiancée who at first seems kind of tomboyish, but has an odd sexiness about her. She is strong-willed and set in her ways, but has a weakness when it comes to Eric. He is “her man” after all.
Jackie and Hyde are also dating, for now. Jackie is in her own mind a little princess who loves to shop and deserves the best of anything which is actually whatever she wants. Hyde is almost her complete opposite but they just can’t seem to stay away from each other. Then there’s moments they can’t stand each other. Eventually they end up together again, and then apart, and the cycle repeats itself.
Kelso is your local village idiot. As Jackie’s ex-boyfriend, he doesn’t have the smarts to live up to any expectations, always figuring his attractiveness to work things out for him.
Finally there is Fez. Oh Fez: the token foreign guy who thinks he is just like any other American. But with an accent. He is the smart ass of this group of rejects without actually coming off as mean or insensitive to anyone. Fez has a certain charm about him in which he is able to woo women to him with just a word or slight touch of their hand. However, stepping up to bat and making it to third base is quite the obstacle for ole Fez. Which is why he typically ends up feeling rejected and lonely. Thank God for candy.
Season six showcases the gang as they are almost on their way out of high school and entering adulthood. Donna and Eric are ready to head off to college, but there are some things first back home that Eric has to take care of so it looks like a local school is in his future. It’s a shame because Donna doesn’t really want to follow suit; she still wants to go away to college no matter how much they are in love. It is her dream.
Hyde and Jackie are still having problems. It’s obvious that Kelso wasn’t ready to move on – he and Jackie used to be a couple – but he only wants Jackie to be happy and he knows that her happiness resides in Michael. It’s water under the bridge, as Kelso has found a new main squeeze. If only he can get her to remember him.
That ‘70s Show is a fantastic sitcom that can do so much with the decade they chose because it just delivers its own punch lines at times. The things that we take for granted as everyday items today weren’t even invented back then, but insinuations towards them make for hilarious moments. And you just can’t help but love every single member of the cast. For a weekly thirty-minute show, they do a fantastic job of making eight main characters and a host of side characters have meaningful roles in each episode. They always have their own storylines, while still always being involved with one another, and none of them are the least bit thin.
This season delivers some classic moments that are sure to stick in your mind for a long time to come. Seeing Red as Santa is a sight that you won’t ever be able to get out of your head. And when you think you’ve laughed too much, then they throw episodes like Magic Bus at you that will surely touch your heart.
The confession here is that I haven’t seen every episode ever and only watched few re-runs here and there. They always were very funny and provided me with a lot of laughs, but I’d forget it was on like I do with most shows. But after watching this entire season, I want to go back and catch up with all that happened beforehand. The progressions are kept up nicely from one episode to the next, so I know they had to grow from nothing to more and more each season. Everyone in the cast provides some great laughs and really keep things moving. Sure, a lot of you may not find drug humor funny, but if you can’t laugh at the roundtable segments where they smoke up and just make random observations then you are simply dead inside.
Episodes
Disc One:
The Kids Are Alright: Eric wants to go away to college but realizes he can’t when he is needed at home to help out his parents. It’s a shock to him, though, when he finds out Donna still plans on going. Jackie finally makes her decision between Hyde and Kelso, but it may already be too late.
Join Together: Eric has come to accept the fact that Donna will be going away to college. Mainly because he enjoys all the “going-away” sex she doesn’t mind having. Kelso does the right thing and tries helping Jackie and Hyde get back together with some disastrous results.
Magic Bus: It’s the day before Donna leaves for college and also Eric’s eighteenth birthday. Nothing is going right for Eric on “his” day, but after all is said and done he realizes that that the love of his life will be gone.
The Acid Queen: A new girl named Brooke is causing all kinds of commotion as Kelso claims he had sex with her, but she won’t verify his story for everyone else. And when Hyde says Brooke is pretty, that doesn’t sit so well with Jackie. Meanwhile, Eric has found hidden treasure at the library.
I’m Free: An INS agent has made his way to find out if Fez’s unhappy marriage to Laurie is legit, but Red steps in to set the record straight his own way. Brooke is still around and causing problems, but in the end she’s not really too concerned with Kelso.
We’re Not Gonna Take It: Laurie and Fez realize it is time to end their marriage since they both know it’s not going to work. Red even offers to help them. But when the wedding presents continue rolling in, then they may have changed their mind again. Eric and Kelso are both trying to get into the workforce, but unfortunately they are trying to get the same waiter job at a local hotel.
Christmas: Donna’s first turn at her radio station DJ job is a lot more then she bargained for when some girls call and dedicate a song to Eric. Kelso also thinks it’s time to at least salvage a friendship with Brooke. And in some hilarious moments from this season, Red is in the Christmas spirit as a mall Santa.
Disc Two:
I’m A Boy: Kelso and Brooke’s friendship is at another level as they go out on a double date with Jackie and Hyde. Eric’s lies are letting him sleep all day, play poker at night, and get babied by his mom but Donna isn’t going to take it anymore.
Young Man Blues: Everyone is trying to do something with their lives as Jackie decides to enroll in a program to be a “Big Sister.” Eric thinks a handyman is the right career move for him. And police cadet Kelso is all kinds of excited to go on a real ride-a-long.
A Legal Matter: Fez is studying as hard as he can to finally get his Green Card and become a U.S. citizen. Meanwhile, Kelso isn’t too happy being the class clown when he thinks he’s the laughing stock of his police academy class.
I Can See For Miles: Jackie and Hyde are happy together, finally. That is until Jackie thinks his room needs a bit of a woman’s touch. Kelso was nice enough to lend Eric and Donna his van to go check out somewhere to get married, but it’s too bad they weren’t nice enough to keep it from getting wrecked.
Sally Simpson: Red is visited by an expert on stress management who looks to tone down his temper, but when it’s all over it’s Kitty who needs the anger check. Kelso tries hooking up Fez with one of his police cadet classmates.
Won’t Get Fooled Again: In one of the best episodes of the season, Donna and Eric have a serious moment as they get a pregnancy scare and it freaks them out. Donna gets further freaked out when she finds out that Eric had plans for her to stay home and raise kids all along.
Baby Don’t Do It: Donna and Eric’s struggles continue as they head to a pre-marital counselor that they hope can resolve their differences. And beyond better judgment, someone entrusts a weapon to Kelso’s care, even if it is only a flare gun. Their judgment was right as he burns down the police academy with it.
Disc Three:
Who Are You: Jackie’s mother Pam (Brooke Shields) comes back from Mexico unexpectedly and Jackie thinks it’s time they made up. Until Pam starts dating Donna’s dad Bob and the girls learn Jackie’s mom is and will always be only after money.
Man With Money: Jackie and Donna need help to break up their parents and the only one who will help them is Fez. At the same time, Kitty and Red are at each other’s throats because Red’s heart monitor beeps every time Pam comes around.
Happy Jack: Hyde and Fez aren’t happy with Kelso errr Mike as he now calls himself because he has become a real jerk after trying to become mature as a police cadet. Donna catches Eric in some “private time” and is totally disgusted and can’t even look him in the face anymore.
Do You Think It’s Alright: Eric is doing his best at trying to register for wedding gifts and even gets some unlikely help from Red. The help proves to be even worse then Eric’s original choices so Donna decides to take over herself.
Substitute: The gang all make fun of a new guy they meet named Mitch (Seth Green) until he invades their group and starts hitting on Donna which causes all kinds of problems. Donna and Jackie’s attempts to break up their parents are backfiring as Bob asks Pam to move in with him.
Squeeze Box: Red and Hyde are helping Pam move and accidentally get a bit of a show as they see her topless. Meanwhile, Donna uncovers a secret about Eric she didn’t know. He dated someone while they were broken up and she was going out with Casey.
5:15: Kelso and Brooke attend a baby class together – Kitty’s baby class. And Eric isn’t happy as Donna decides to accept Mitch’s invitation to be his date to his brother’s wedding. More trouble stirs though as Mitch decides to introduce Donna to everyone as “his fiancée.”
Disc Four:
Sparks: Trouble before the wedding is everywhere as Red blows all his money for Eric’s wedding gift on a canoe and now must try and get something sentimental and cheap. Eric sees Donna’s wedding gown before their big day and accidentally rips it. He only makes matters worse by trying to fix it too.
My Wife: The bachelor and bachelorette parties bring a lot of drinking, a lot of strippers, and a lot of soul searching by Eric and Donna wondering if staying in Point Place is the best thing to do after they get married. This is one of the better episodes in the set when seeing all six of the kids try to make their way around the “small” trailer Donna wants to show Eric that they can live in.
Going Mobile : As the wedding draws closer, there’s more trouble with Hyde and Fez continuously arguing over who Eric’s best man should be. And Eric comes to the conclusion that he may be holding Donna back and ruining her life from something special. Without actually telling her, he keeps hinting around and eventually makes Donna think twice about the whole wedding.
The Seeker: Everyone, including Donna’s mother Midge, tries to console Donna when Eric disappears before the wedding. At the same time, Kitty finds out some shocking news about Hyde and his real father. One of the more serious episodes in the season, but also an extremely good one.
The Video
The episodes are shown in 1.33:1 Full Frame format and make a nice transition to DVD. That 70’s Show is full of virtually nothing but bright colors and they show up perfectly, so there are no complaints to be had for any of the episodes.
The Audio
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 sound and also come through great. No humming or static and they sound fantastic, so again no-one should be unhappy with the quality here. It’s also nice that the dialogue can be heard at a good level and when the little bumpers in between scenes come through, the music isn’t excessively loud.
Special Features
Episode Promo Spots – Every episode in the set has a small promo you can watch explaining what it will be about. Consider it the commercial that would have aired each week on television leading up to each new episode.
Audio Commentary – Director David Trainer gives his thoughts on all of about three episodes. Obviously he doesn’t do much public speaking because the poor guy really has a problem with stammering and trying to make it through his sentences. I’m not sure though why there wasn’t commentary on more episodes because he really gives some nice insight as to the seriousness behind the humor which takes center stage.
“Six Minutes Of Season Six” Featurette – It is what it says: six minutes of some funny clips from season six. They are broken down by character so as not to get confused or anything.
“A ‘70s Flashback: Debra Jo Rupp” Featurette – Debra Jo Rupp talks about her part playing Kitty and also how she felt when she first auditioned for the show. She actually didn’t even realize it was set in the seventies until after her first day on the set. She believes her character is there to offset the character of Red played by Kurtwood Smith. It’s a fun little segment seeing many of Kitty’s best moments put together.
“A ‘70s Flashback: Kurtwood Smith” Featurette – And now it’s Kurtwood Smith’s turn to talk about his character of Red Forman. Oddly enough, he considers the show to not only be a comedy, but a family show. Another fun segment as some of the best insults from Red are all put together one after another.
The Inside Pulse
The special features are rather short and mostly pointless since it essentially a highlight reel from season six. But the amount of humor you get from the season itself should more then make up for that. Each episode is absolutely hilarious and they just keep getting better. You’ll even find yourself feeling sorry for everyone at times and hoping things will actually work out for the exact same people you were laughing at, not with, for every episode.
