That '70s Show: Season Seven

By the seventh season of the hit Fox series, That '70s Show, it had reached its popularity plateau, featuring endless guest stars and stale plotlines to sustain what was little more than protracted laziness. Lindsay Lohan, Brooke Shields, Shannon Elizabeth, Luke Wilson and Eliza Dushku are just a few of the celebrities to pop up through the season, doling out a handful of atrociously written one-liners amidst a cast of mostly bored, overly media saturated, actors. By 2004, Ashton Kutcher had already starred in the crappy comedies, My Boss's Daughter and Just Married while Topher Grace was popping up in more legitimate films like, P.S. and In Good Company. Really, the only responsibility of the show was to merely film the young stars doing exactly what they'd been doing for six years prior. Though, in season seven, things start with Eric (Grace) dealing with the aftermath of having cancelled his wedding with long-time neighbour and girlfriend Donna (Laura Prepon). Taking a year off from responsibility, his friendship with Donna sparks back up with more ease than expected, which helps the gang return to the status quo, only with Kelso (Kutcher) becoming a father. Jackie (Mila Kunis) and Hyde (Danny Masterson) continue dating, contemplating marriage once she gets a job offer in Chicago, while Fez (Wilder Valderrama) gets a job as a shampoo boy at a beauty shop. Eric winds up in an abundance of sticky situations—losing his pants and hiding a love of roller disco—as per usual and Kelso provides idiotic comic relief, rarely understanding the insults that Jackie and Hyde perpetually throw his way. Very little of it provides any amusement, mostly because the jokes are so astoundingly weak throughout the season. For example, in the first episode, the comedy is limited to endless cheesy gags about the diminutive nature of Donna's engagement ring. Being unfunny the first time someone mentions it, the trajectory only becomes more aggravating and obnoxious as it repeats ad nauseum. This tendency to rehash a single jab over-and-over again may reiterate the Scooby Doo template of stoned teenagers meandering about with limited ambition but it does little to entertaining a viewing audience that are not stoned themselves. No supplements are included with the DVD set, which isn't a surprise for an older show.