# Can't figure out why That 70's Show seems to be stuck in 1978... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797 "2003-05-08T00:24:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/21 "2003-05-08T16:38:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrainGlutton \* > \*\*“That 70s Show” . . . “That 80s Show” . . . God damn it, when are they going to give us something worthwhile, like “That 60s Show”? Yeah! Now that would be a creative challenge! A funny, lighthearted sitcom about 17-year-old New Left revolutionaries! \*\* NBC ran a 60’s miniseries a few years ago, but I didn’t watch it. Heard it was pretty bad. How about _American Dreams_, does that count? ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/22 "2003-05-08T18:32:37Z")
What about that horrible new FOX show, Oliver Beene? That’s set in the 60’s. Anyone know what ever happened to Donna’s little sister? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/23 "2003-05-08T18:52:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MissTake \* > \*\*What about that horrible new FOX show, Oliver Beene? That’s set in the 60’s. > > Anyone know what ever happened to Donna’s little sister? \*\* The character was dropped. Just like Chuck Cunningham (Richie’s older brother) on Happy Days. Speaking of sisters, pretty interesting to have Laurie back in the fold again. Oliver Beene is trying desperately to be “Malcolm in the Middle in the '60s”. Beene is trying to be a little different from past '60s shows by starting in the pre-turbulent Kennedy years. Any comedy that tries to use the late 60s as a setting will have to live up to inevitable Wonder Years comparisions. ---
**Author:** ![teemingONE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@teemingONE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teemingONE)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/24 "2003-05-08T19:41:06Z")
i didnt even remember donna’s little sister, what episode(s) was she in and what season did she last to. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/25 "2003-05-08T22:02:20Z")
We never actually see Donna’s sisters but she does mention them. Having to baby sit them, etc. We did see most of their parents but they’ve since all disappeared except for Bob. The dog and Pastor Dave haven’t been seen in awhile either. It doesn’t matter if the drinking age was 18. The show works as if all the kids are considered 17 or younger. Even when they turn 18 and have a party like Hyde did they get reset to a younger age by the next show. According to AAA the amount of time you’d spend on the road in MN if you drove from WI to Canada is about 3 hours. Road trips across the border to get beer know no bounds when you’re under 21. I know I lived in Arizona for awhile. Just don’t fall to temptation when it’s thursday and you have a major test the next day. Plus they were really stocking up so they were prepared. Although with Leo along one wonders why they couldn’t keep their beer. ---
**Author:** ![ASD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@ASD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASD)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/26 "2003-05-08T23:45:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dreamer \* > \*\* I was a little confused about the last scene in last night’s show being that it was the seasons cliffhanger, but I am looking forward to next season and am hoping to attend a live taping, or two, or three. \*\* Next week is the season finale. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/27 "2003-05-09T01:56:48Z")
Yay, I loved That 70s Show when it came out, and then I missed like 2 years of it, and it was on tonight! It still rocks! ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/28 "2003-05-09T03:32:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > **We never actually see Donna’s sisters but she does mention them. Having to baby sit them, etc. We did see most of their parents but they’ve since all disappeared except for Bob. The dog and Pastor Dave haven’t been seen in awhile either.** I’ve never heard Donna talk about babysitting sisters. The only time I’ve seen her sister was when her parents went away and she had a party. I think they dropped the character because they wrote her in as a whiny little brat, but she was 14. She was playing younger, but was really old enough to hang with Donna and her friends. Donna’s mom, Midge, left Bob and moved to California. Both of Hyde’s parents have run off. I’ve seen Jackie’s dad and Kelso’s dad, but not their moms. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > \*\*It doesn’t matter if the drinking age was 18. The show works as if all the kids are considered 17 or younger. \*\* Kelso is 18- he is a year older because he was held back for a grade. ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/29 "2003-05-09T03:47:11Z")
I remember hearing somewhere that two seasons of That 70’s Show = 1 year. The show’s in it’s fifth season, so the timing works out. Season 1 & 2: 1976 Season 3 & 4: 1977 Season 5 & 6: 1978 Season 7 & 8: 1979 So FOX can get another three seasons out of the show before it’s time to pack it in. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/30 "2003-05-09T03:58:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sugaree \* > \*\*I’ve never heard Donna talk about babysitting sisters. The only time I’ve seen her sister was when her parents went away and she had a party. I think they dropped the character because they wrote her in as a whiny little brat, but she was 14. She was playing younger, but was really old enough to hang with Donna and her friends. > > Donna’s mom, Midge, left Bob and moved to California. Both of Hyde’s parents have run off. I’ve seen Jackie’s dad and Kelso’s dad, but not their moms. \*\* The baby-sitting thing happened in the 5th show when Eric get’s a job at Fatso Burger. Hmm it says Tina Pinciotti was played by Amanda Fuller. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that episode. Early on the Formans had a party where Jackie’s parents attended. I think she may have had a line or two. ---
**Author:** ![nuthinboutnuthin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/96bed5/32.png) [@nuthinboutnuthin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nuthinboutnuthin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/31 "2003-05-09T04:24:53Z")
Has anyone ever heard any of them say “FAROUT!!!” ??? Back then ( 70’s) ,EVERYONE that we knew said it… constantly… and I cant recall it ever being said in the show… FAROUT MAN!!! ---
**Author:** ![Tradnor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@Tradnor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tradnor)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/32 "2003-05-09T04:58:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fibber McGee \* > \*\*I remember hearing somewhere that two seasons of That 70’s Show = 1 year. > > The show’s in it’s fifth season, so the timing works out. > > Season 1 & 2: 1976 > > Season 3 & 4: 1977\*\* I’ve heard this explanation as well. Unfortunately the Star Wars episode was in the first season (the movie was released in mid-1977) before they realized they were going through time too fast. ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/33 "2003-05-09T05:27:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tradnor \* > \*\*I’ve heard this explanation as well. Unfortunately the Star Wars episode was in the first season (the movie was released in mid-1977) before they realized they were going through time too fast. \*\* That’s explained away easily enough. The show takes place in an alternate timeline where Star Wars was released in 1976! This has no discernable effect on history as . . . well . . . it’s only a movie. So, do I get my No-Prize? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/34 "2003-05-09T06:46:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamia \* > \*\*Early episodes established the fictional town of Point Place as located somewhere south of Milwaukee. It’s close enough to Kenosha that the kids were excited to hear about a disco opening there, and close enough to East Troy for them to go skiing at Alpine Valley (now an outdoor concert venue, but it did use to be a ski resort). \*\* And Donna’s mother was taking a women’s consciousness-raising class at the fictitious Kenosha Community College. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/35 "2003-05-09T07:15:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > \*\*Eric was waiting in her bedroom to tell her he loved her when she ran away. After he found out she ran away Eric when to California to tell her he loved her and bring her back and back she came. This was all to the great displeasure of his parents. The main consequence of this was that her father was so angry he put Donna in an all girl school but other then that things returned to normal. \*\* Pretty hot outfit she had for those episodes, too! Wowie-zowie! ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/36 "2003-05-09T14:57:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*Yay, I loved That 70s Show when it came out, and then I missed like 2 years of it, and it was on tonight! It still rocks! \*\* I have to disagree. The whole “Hyde/Jackie” storyline ruins it for me. Hyde & Donna I could get behind. Hyde & Laurie I could see. Hell, Hyde and FEZ I might even buy. Hyde & Jackie? Unh-uh. No way. Not gonna happen. Prediction: the cliffhanger will have something to do with Fez’s possible deportation. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/37 "2003-05-09T15:23:15Z")
I predict Donna will agree to marry Fez so he can stay in the country. (They’ll ask Jackie and she’ll refuse) Eric will be bent out of shape but Donna will assure him it’s just a ruse and doesn’t mean anything. The cliffhanger will end as they are about to get married. ---
**Author:** ![shep\_proudfoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@shep\_proudfoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shep_proudfoot)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/38 "2003-05-10T10:34:40Z")
This is one of my favorite programs. I love the characters and it is usually funny as hell, especially Red Forman and Hyde. Saying this, I think “That 70s Show” has got the same writers as ST Enterprise. There is no continuation in the time line. It has been 1978 for four years. The guy who plays Hyde is 27 years old. Kelso is 25. The problem, I think is that they really don’t know where to move the storyline from where it is at, and the program gets good ratings from that prized 18-49 demographic. The writers are painting themselves in a corner. Also, Tommy Chong is gone from the series, who was hilarious. That retarded looking guy who is the kitchen manager at the hotel is a poor substitute. Is Fez gay or not gay? The girl who plays Donna looks like a younger Julianne Moore. Topher Grace is the real star of the program, he is a wise ass with charm and wit. I cannot even pronounce Ashton Kutchner, he is my least favorite character. I wish I look like him though, but if I did, my Johnson would fall off. SP ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/39 "2003-05-12T05:53:04Z")
Another anachronism; actually a double one. A few episodes ago, Eric made a Star Wars reference, and Donna reminded him of their new rule that every time he did that, he had to pay her a “geek dollar”. First of all, I’m certain that the word “geek” did not enter the vernacular until the early '80s. Second, a dollar was worth a **lot** more in '78 than it is now. My **allowance** at that time was a dollar! (Okay, I was eight years old, but still, I could get a magazine or two candy bars for that.) At that time, **quarters** were the legal tender, not dollars. That’s the same episode where Red balks at paying $4000 for Eric’s college education. Semester, year, or the whole shebang, I’m not sure, but if he was unwilling to part out with four grand, I imagine that Eric would be equally tight with a dollar; I can’t see him just handing it over. And this brings me to another point. So Donna’s trying to train Eric out of making Star Wars (and, in another ep, James Bond) refs? (Spoiler for those who haven’t been watching this season, but will catch up in reruns:) Why’s she marrying him, then, if he gets on her nerves so much? And a guy you can change is not one you want to stake your life on. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797/40 "2003-05-13T02:16:04Z")
A dollar wasn’t _that_ much in the late 1970s. I was a teenager then too, and I remember making dollar bets. $1.00 in 1979 was equal to $2.65 today. I also remember “geek” being a commonly used and understood slang term. There was a novelty song circa 1977 called “Geek’s Revenge” by Don Noone, and another called “Pencil Neck Geek” by Freddie Blassie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-figure-out-why-that-70s-show-seems-to-be-stuck-in-1978/173797.md?page=3)