That 70s Show always did a sneaky good job of dealing with gender issues while set in a decade where the world was changing. Red is bored after his hours were cut back on the plant and he drives Kitty crazy by fixing things he doesn't need to. It is cheap laughs and brings the episode's momentum to a halt.ĭonna doesn't think it's a big deal that she beat Eric in basketball but her mother and Jackie disagree.

Something that doesn't work in this episode (and didn't work in the pilot either) is the adults doing a voice-over for the kids (or vice-versa in the pilot). Although it's a little sad to watch Kelly now knowing what happened to her life, she is perfect for this part. We also get to meet Lisa Robin Kelly as Eric's older sister, Laurie, in this episode.

This episode is more consistently funny than the pilot as Kitty trying to hide the obvious fact that she's throwing a party for Eric. Let me just say, the Petticoat Junction discussion is hilarious at the beginning of this episode even though most people watching it today probably don't even know what they're talking about in that scene. The episode loses some momentum when the kids head to the concert, but it still does a good job of building the 70s culture.Įric can't stop his mother from throwing a surprise birthday for him while he and Donna wrestle with their feelings for each other after their kiss. It's handled with a lot of humor and the scene with high Eric talking to his parents is pretty funny. I know that would become a staple of the show, but it could have been a turn off in the pilot and instead they went for it. I also think it was a little gutsy of them to do a 'getting high scene' in the pilot. We really get to know the personalities of so many of the characters within the first couple minutes of the pilot. The plot really isn't even that important here, the character development is. While it's a little hard to judge since I know the show well before this re-watching, I think the pilot of That 70s Show does a great job of world building. Eric gets his parents' Vista Crusier, but then disobeys them by taking it out of town where the car breaks down.

That 70s show season 1 episode 1