Donna, Hyde, Jackie, and Fez (Laura Prepon, Danny Masterson, Mila Kunis, and Wilmer Valderrama) find themselves faced with having to find a direction in their lives, as their friends and loved ones start to drift apart.

CRITIQUE

Now that Eric (Topher Grace) has gone off to Africa to find himself, his friends and family back in Point Place come to realize that they have to find their own direction in life.  However, things (as always) are complicated.  Hyde had gone off to Chicago to ask Jackie to marry him, only to find her back with Kelso (Ashton Kutcher.)  Heartbroken, he runs off to Vegas and ends up getting married to a stripper.  Kelso makes one final bid for Jackie’s heart before he starts a new life in Chicago working security at the Playboy Club.

The gang finds a new friend in the “new guy,” Randy (Josh Meyers,) who starts a relationship with Donna, who has been dumped by Eric.  Fez and Jackie move in together and Jackie discovers that Fez is her perfect guy, but only after he starts a fairly serious relationship. And even Kitty and Red (Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith,) now that their children have grown, decide that they need to move on. With their ties to Point Place slipping, the two decide to move to Florida.  And as the decade comes to an end, what will become of Eric? And with all the changes going on will he even want to come back?

The 8th and final season of That ‘70s Show is an odd one. On one hand, everything about it feels tacked on.   The new characters, Randy and Samantha (Hyde’s wife,) don’t really add anything to the mix.  Samantha is such a minor character that very little time is devoted to fleshing out her character (not that there would have been much to say) and Randy ends up coming off far more annoying than fun and witty.  Still, the final season does manage to bring most of the main character’s stories to a close.  Hyde is given the record store that he works at, Jackie and Fez hook up, Kelso has a good job close to his child, and even Donna manages to reunite with Eric.

While the season doesn’t have too many outstanding episodes, there are still a few to note. The highlights of the final season include: “Misfire,” in which Kelso must choose between proposing to Jackie and moving to Chicago for work; “Long Away” which reveals a little bit of Leo’s (Tommy Chong) past – something that actually earns him the respect of Red; “My Fairy King” in which both Hyde and Jackie discover something about the people that they are in love with; and “That ‘70s Finale,” the last day of the ‘70s  is the first day of heroes new lives.

There are also a few notable guest stars, including: Don Knotts, as Jackie and Fez’s sitcom fantasy landlord; Bruce Willis, as Vic, Kelso’s new boss at the Chicago Playboy club; and Mary Tyler Moore as Jackie’s tyrannical boss at the TV station.

THE VIDEO

The presentation for That ‘70s Show is good. There are no noticeable flaws in the picture at any point.  The colors and the black levels are consistent throughout.  Even the psychedelic transitions, which in previous releases have varied in quality, look good.

THE AUDIO

That ‘70s Show is presented with a standard Dolby Stereo Surround mix. The mix is good, but nothing worth noting.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary by director David Trainer on “Bohemian Rhapsody, ”Keep Yourself Alive,” “We Will Rock You,” and “That ‘70s Finale”.  These are a decent series of commentaries, flawed only by the fact that Trainer ends up repeating himself quite a bit over the course of each commentary.

A ‘70s Show Flashback: Tommy Chong: Tommy Chong talks about being a ‘70s icon in a show about his time, as well as how different it was working on this show than how he used to work.

A ‘70s Show Flashback: Josh Meyers: Meyers and director Trainer discuss the challenges of bringing Randy into the fold in the final season and how successful they believe they were.

Season 8 in 8 Minutes: The best 8 minutes of the final season.

That ‘70s Set Tour: David Trainer takes us on a tour of the set.

That ‘70s Show Through the Years: An interesting series of interviews with the cast (most of which come from the first season,) in which the actor talk about what the show is and how they connect to it. Sadly, there are no real retrospective interviews. It’d be interesting to hear the actors discuss the show then and now.

FINAL THOUGHT

A decent conclusion to a decent show.