dragonfire88's Full Review: That 70s Show - Season 4
I honestly can't remember when I started watching That 70s Show, but I know it wasn't when the show first started. Once I did start watching it, I ended up really enjoying it. I decided to pick up the series on DVD and I just finished watching That 70s Show - Season 4.
Some of the things I talk about in this review will be spoilers for previous seasons of That 70s Show, especially the third season, for people who haven't seen those seasons yet.
That 70s Show aired for eight years on FOX starting in 1998. Even though it aired for eight years, only four years pass during the show. It is currently in syndication and airs on several channels that I get.
That 70s Show takes place in Point Place Wisconsin in the late 1970s. The fourth season takes place during 1978. During the opening and closing credits a license plate is shown. The sticker indicates which year the episodes are set in. Many of the episodes have plots that can stand alone, like when Kelso decides it is prank day, but there are also several ongoing stories being dealt with as well. Those ongoing stories will make more sense if the episodes are watched in order.
That 70s Show deals with teenager Eric Forman, his friends, and some of his family issues. Most episodes are somehow focused on Eric and what he is going through with his friends and family playing supporting roles. Every episode has at least one, if not more, scenes set in the Forman basement where Eric and his friends hang out. The basement is very important to the show and the dynamic between the friends. At one time, Eric calls the basement his Batcave. Eric and his friends still smoke in the basement at times and while it seem clear that they are high, once again the show isn't saying that they are getting high. Much of most of the episodes takes place in the Foreman house, including in the driveway and garage, making the house the central location for the show. A few places around town are also shown. This season has some flashbacks during one episode that includes one that shows how they met Fez. That sequence shares that Fez isn't actually his name. Some of the other characters heard his real name, but the audience didn't.
There are several developments during the fourth season of That 70s Show. There are more developments during this season than there have been in the previous three. The biggest one deals with the aftermath of Donna and Eric breaking up in the last episode of the third season. The first few episodes deal more directly with that while some things tied to the breakup continue to pop up throughout the season. There are some entertaining moments in the episodes even though they are more serious and not as happy overall. Those episodes aren't my favorites. Some of what happens during the season isn't that pleasant to see, like how they struggle to deal with each other after the breakup which does result in some fighting for a while. Both of them get a bit mean. They fight over their friends, with Donna using cable and the possibility of nudity to win over Kelso, Fez, and Hyde. Kelso was very excited about watching Barbarella. Things do get more normal between them for a while and then Donna starts to date Casey Kelso, Michael's older brother. I did not like that development at all because Casey was so obviously wrong for Donna but she was still going ga-ga over him. Eric gets jealous and Donna goes a bit wild, which Casey takes advantage of. The season ends with a cliffhanger that I think worked well to keep up the interest for the next season.
There are other developments during the fourth season of That 70s Show that are also important even though they don't receive as much attention as Donna and Eric's relationship. Donna's mother Midge leaves Bob after being missing from the first few episodes. That did cause issues for Donna and lead to Bob staring to date a woman named Joann later in the season. Red buys a Corvette and then seems to give it more attention then he gives Kitty. Hyde moves back in to the Forman's house. He just moves back in without saying anything until Red and Kitty wonder why he is there for breakfast one morning. Red and Kitty accept him back into the house without knowing fully what caused him to come back. I like Hyde living there and he has his own bond with the family. Jackie decided to take Kelso back late in the third season. Their relationship isn't without problems and is rather volatile.
I think that the fourth season of That 70s Show is still very funny overall even with the more serious issues being dealt with in some of the earlier episodes. I think Kelso did the most to make me laugh during this season. He is a bit of an idiot, but he does so many things that crack me up. Prank Day, when Kelso decides to play pranks on Hyde, Fez, and Eric is hilarious, especially when the plan for revenge backfires in a way that pulls Red into the situation. That is also the episode when Eric decides that Kitty is the Batman of their family when she outsmarts Red. Kelso gets offended when he's told he has Farrah hair because he's clearly Jacqueline Smith and only Jackie gets that. While trying to get a birthday present for Hyde, Kelso sets off a firecracker in his pocket and is surprised by the explosion. Fez continues to say and do a lot of things that make me laugh. Red still has some of his fits of temper that involve his threatening to stick his foot somewhere that I find very funny. All of the characters do things that make me laugh and I was laughing out loud during most of the episodes. There are some interesting and amusing dream type of scenes in some of the episodes. The funniest of those types of scenes was during That 70s Musical. Fez is going to perform in a choir concert and his friends don't seem that interested, so he has some daydreams that involve everyone - even Red - singing and dancing. The opening credits are changed slightly for the episode as well, with the letters being sparkly to tie in with Fez's different dreams. There are still a few pop culture references during the season, though not as many as the previous seasons have had.
Relationships continue to be important throughout the fourth season of That 70s Show. After taking some time to get over Midge leaving, Bob starts dating, and it is made clear that he and his girlfriend have a sexual relationship. He doesn't seem to deal that well with being alone. Red and Kitty are still sexual active. Eric does try to go out with other girls after the breakup, though not much ends up happening. Fez starts dating Big Rhonda and while they make out, they don't have sex because Rhonda keeps putting him off. Hyde really doesn't have a girlfriend, but he does go on some dates and is shown making out with at least one of the girls. Jackie and Kelso are sexually active since they got back together, but they also have other issues in their relationship to deal with. Donna starts going out with Casey and she becomes an idiot for a while. They are dating for a while, though most of their dates and interactions aren't actually shown, for which I'm thankful since I don't like this relationship at all. There really aren't any sex scenes during the episodes, but there are sexual situations and discussions which might bother or even offend some viewers.
There is some new development for some of the characters during the fourth season thanks to the things the characters have to deal with. The characters that end up with the most to deal with are Eric and Donna. Eric struggles to deal with the breakup even though he decided to end the relationship completely because of Donna's reaction to the promise ring he got her. He does come to realize at one point that his need for things to be his way all the time led to the end of the relationship, which was a big realization for him. He does act depressed for a while before snapping out of it. He does act like a jerk for a while when dealing with Donna, but she wasn't being that nice at the time either. I still like Topher Grace in the part.
Donna goes through even more during the season because of her mother leaving and her starting a new relationship. She'd had to deal with her parent's issues before, which did cause her to act out some, like when she was smoking at school. She seems to deal with her mom leaving better at first, but it still impacts her behavior. She didn't seem to be having as much trouble with the end of the relationship with Eric, but it turns out that she was acting like she wasn't bothered when she really was. She did seem slightly insensitive once or twice and she was getting just as nasty as Eric when they were fighting over their friends. It was much better once they got to the point where they were friendly again. Donna changed when she started dating Casey. At first she wasn't even interested and Jackie basically forced her to go on the date. Then she sees Casey and gets stupid. She things he is so good looking that she overlooks the bad way he tends to treat her when she would have ripped into Eric for doing those things before. Casey is a very bad influence on her, and she is acting horrible by the end of the season. Donna does seem to be using Casey as a rebellion, and she is devastated when she finally realizes how he really feels. Laura Prepon is still fine in the part. I just didn't care for Donna's attitude for much of the season.
Red and Kitty are the same as they have been for the most part. Red is still grumpy, though he shows that he cares in certain situations. He did buy a Corvette and start giving it more attention than he did Kitty. She shows her caring side again and is overbearing at times, like when she insists on giving Hyde a birthday party when he says he doesn't want one. That just shows that she considers him one of the family since she has done the same thing to Eric. Kitty is a bit overprotective at times, but her heart is in the right place. Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp continue to be really good in the parts. Bob is still clueless at times and he has trouble first accepting that Midge left and then with moving past it. Once he does start to date, he jumps right into it and seems to be just focused on finding a new wife at times. He doesn't seem to do well with being single. Don Stark handles the part well.
Hyde has some more issues with his father, though they really aren't dealt with completely. He just says that his dad left and he moves back into the Foreman house. Hyde continues to try to act like a loner and be independent, but he does look at the Foremans as his family. He acts irritated when Kitty fuses over him, but I think he actually likes it a bit. Danny Masterson still does well with the part. Leo, Hyde's boss as the photo hut, continues to turn up every so often, even hanging out with Donna and Jackie at one point. Tommy Chong does fine with the part.
Michael is still an idiot and sometimes acts like a jerk, but he is likable for the most part. He gets a big opportunity to be a model which makes Jackie jealous. They have more problems in their relationship, and he doesn't deal with some of them the best. He completely panics at one point, which is part of the cliffhanger for the season. I still like Ashton Kutcher in the part. Jackie is getting slightly more mature, but she doesn't handle everything that well. She is still incredibly bossy with Michael, and mostly only things about herself. Jackie can be annoying and even irritating at times, but she is an interesting character and Mila Kunis continues to do well with the part.
Fez ends up dating Big Rhonda, and while this relationship is a bit more stable than his previous one, things still aren't going like he wants. He is still obsessed with having sex and Rhonda keeps putting him off. Fez is also still obsessed with candy. He has to deal with a new foreign exchange student who everyone likes, which really upsets him. Fez is ticked because the new guy wouldn't say where he is from while avoiding answering where he is from. Wilmer Valderrama is still very entertaining in the part. Big Rhonda is around in several episodes without becoming a main character. She is just there as Fez's love interest, though Donna and Jackie do try to include her.
Casey Kelso, one of Michael's older brothers, ends up being in some episodes and is rather important to what is going on with Donna. He is mentioned in a few other episodes that he isn't in as well. It didn't seem like he and Donna went out that much, but he still was a bad influence on her. I don't like Casey at all and think he is a huge jerk who took advantage of Donna and didn't truly care about her. He even said at one point when Eric confronted him that ‘I love you' are just words and don't mean anything. He got Donna to do things that got her in big trouble at one point and then he just takes off because things aren't fun. I didn't like it when he turned up because I disliked his character so much. Luke Wilson did fine with the part, making him a huge jerk. Other characters, like some of the girls that Eric tried to date, turn up a few times without being that important.
Main Cast
Topher Grace - Eric Forman Mila Kunis - Jackie Burkhart Ashton Kutcher - Michael Kelso Danny Masterson - Steven Hyde Laura Prepon - Donna Debra Jo Rupp - Kitty Forman Kurtwood Smith - Red Forman Don Stark - Bob Wilmer Valderrama - Fez
DVD Stuff
That 70's Show - Season 4 has the twenty-seven episodes of the fourth season on four discs. There is the option to watch all the episodes one after the other or to select them one at a time. When selecting them one at a time, the option to see episode promo spots is available. There is commentary by David Trainer on a few of the episodes. The fourth disc has the majority of extras.
Season 4 in 4 Minutes featurette shows short clips from the season that show the more important developments. Making Company: David Trainer Talks on Directing That 70s Show features Trainer and the cast talking about making the show. The casting of some of the characters is mentioned as well. The cast and Trainer are sitting on the set and it looks like the interviews were taped during the seventh or eighth season. A 70s Flashback: Laura Prepon and Mila Kunis is actually two different short featurettes that focus on each actress talking about their characters. The extras were interesting and entertaining.
Episode List
It's a Wonderful Life Eric's Depression Pinciotti vs. Forman Hyde Gets a Girl Bye-Bye Basement The Relapse Uncomfortable Ball Stuff Donna's Story The Forgotten Son Red and Stacey Third Wheel An Eric Forman Christmas Jackie Says Cheese Eric's Hot Cousin Tornado Prom Donna Dates a Kelso Kelso's Career Leo Loves Kitty Jackie's Cheese Squeeze Class Picture Prank Day Eric's Corvette Caper Hyde's Birthday That 70s Musical Eric's False Alarm Everybody Loves Casey Love Wisconsin Style
That 70s Show is a very entertaining, funny show that I still enjoy. Some of the humor is a bit silly or crude, so the show won't appeal to everyone. That 70s Show - Season 4 is a great DVD set for fans of the show.
This review is part of elvisdo's 2009 Funny Pages Write-Off because of the few references to Batman and the mention of Barbarella.
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