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This 4 disc set presents the second to last season of
the wildly funny "That 70's Show". The series basically
revolves around the daily life experiences and interactions
between Eric Forman, his family, friends and neighbors.
Eric is your basic geeky 70's nice boy next door looking
to break out of his shell. Donna is the smart, strong, witty
hot girl next door and Eric's main love interest. Eric's
friends consist primarily of Hyde, the intellectual rebel
and hippie wannabe whose own highly dysfunctional family
has made him an honorary member of the Forman family, which
only hovers at the normal level of dysfunctional. Fez, the
obligatory foreign exchange student with his own culturally
skewed viewpoints and misconceptions. Jackie, the shallow,
self-absorbed and catty gal-pal of the more stable Donna.
And Kelso. Every group of friends has a Kelso. The kid who
is so amazingly naive or dimwitted that his contributions
either drive everyone crazy or amuse the whole group as
they watch him trip over his own ineptitudes.***
By season 7 the group has gone through a lot of changes.
Donna and Eric have dated, engaged, broken up, fought, made
up and here, finally begin to deal with their decisions
to call of the wedding and just be friends with benefits.
Jackie has gone from dating Kelso, who was actually pretty
well matched for her character, to developing a much more
mature relationship with the unlikely Hyde. By this time
most of their differences have been hashed out, and both
characters have actually had an interesting impact on each
other. I've really enjoyed watching these two characters
develop and mature over the seasons. In this season though,
Jackie is faced with the realization that Hyde may never
want more out of their relationship than they have right
now, and she offers him an ultimatum. In real life, ultimatums
in personal relationships are rarely ever a good thing.
This is a particularly tough year for Hyde as we watch him
meet his biological father, played by Tim Reid, and his
half-sister... who starts dating Hyde's least favorite Wisconsinite,
Kelso!***
Kelso has been in and out of relationships with all
sorts of girls, and despite the occasional flash of potential
maturity, has remained very close to his original goofy,
prat-falling, foot-in-mouth, airhead self. Most of his major
developmental changes were witnessed in previous seasons,
but at this stage he is hit with the birth of his child,
a life altering event. It's interesting to see this flighty
guy who is still so much a child himself trying to wrap
his mind around how to deal with this tiny little girl of
his. Like many before him, the birth of his daughter has
him questioning his own behavior towards and relationships
with the women in his life.***
Eric takes a year off, tries a few new things, and
ends up making some major life decisions. Fez finally finds
a job that lets him indulge his rather odd fetish of hair
touching and becomes a hair stylist. The ever grumpy and
strict Red Forman starts a new career by purchasing a local
muffler shop, and Kitty continues to battle out 70's homemaking
issues. All in all, this season is a lot more drama and
lighter on the laugh factor than any other season. It's
the free-range, nostalgic, and edge of maturity humor that
has made this show so beloved, but by season seven die-hard
fans are ready for the increased drama needed to develop
these characters. This season seems a bit awkward and uncomfortable
though with the inevitable final season looming fast behind
these familiar and likable characters. ***
Some moments feel forced and the show stutters a bit
climbing up this last hill in preparation for it's final
season downhill coast. It's clear that Topher Grace and
Aston Kutcher are ready to move on to other things, and
when something like that is visible, it's always a downer
to devoted fans. There are still some great comedic moments,
like the rampant marijuana/Kelso induced paranoia in "Can't
You Hear Me Knocking", and Eric's life-altering encounter
with his potential future self, an extreme 30-something
Star Wars geek! Bringing a popular and funny series to a
good conclusion is always a challenge, and while "That 70's
Show" doesn't always make the mark it delivers some excellent
television entertainment making the effort. ***
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| Special
Features: |
Audio Commentaries with director David Trainer for episodes
"Time Is On My Side", "Angie", and "Til The Next Goodbye".
Featurette "A 70's Show Flashback: Don Stark" is just over
seven minutes with Stark, who plays Bob Pinciotti - Donna's
father. He discusses the show, his character, and experiences.
"Behind the Polyester: Writing that 70's Show" is another
7 plus minutes interviewing executive producers Rob Des
Hotel, Mark Hudis, and Dean Batali. They discuss their visions
for the show, the characters and writing. "That Seventh
70's Season" is perhaps my favorite extra, a season montage
highlighting the most dramatic or silly moments. At 12:36
minutes, it's an amusing roller coaster of clips. Episode
Promo Spots- we are given the option of watching episodes
with promo spots.
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