When I was at uni, a friend turned me on to something great. No, not drugs. That '70s Show. I'd never heard of it, let alone seen it, which is quite surprising considering I'm quite the comedy aficionado.
Every time I went
round to his flat, we’d (aptly enough, given the show’s main location) go to his
basement and watch a disc. After uni, these visits became less frequent. Once I
moved to London, they stopped altogether.
I hadn’t finished
the series. I remembered it being good though, so I asked for the box set for my
birthday. Bizarrely the version my mum found was the German release. It had
subtitles and the original dub though, so I started binging.
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| Not a death threat to Swilden Siebziger. |
I soon was doing
three discs a night, three nights in a row.
This show is
unlike any sitcom I’ve seen before. The people feel so real. When characters
argue, their spat isn’t some Fight Of The Week that is resolved before the
final credits. They hold grudges. They mope. They break up and get back
together and break up again. At times, it was like a very funny soap.
This is a
show that’s not afraid to take its time, sit in a silence, or slowly bring
characters together. The scripts smartly write in and around people’s absences.
The creative team have a long memory, so each of the gang are rightly called
out as hypocrites when mocking others for something they previously did.
The writing is
incredibly consistent. Sure, there were arcs I didn’t like, couplings I didn’t
buy. The finale is part clip show which I feel wastes time which could otherwise
be spent giving us one more moment with our onscreen friends. But really, there weren’t any episodes that were ‘meh’. They’re all
decent right into, and including, the eighth series which infamously struggled due
to the loss of two key cast members.
Speaking of which,
I don’t hate the character of Randy as much as The Internet seems to, but I do
wish he’d been given more flaws. To that end, I very much share Kitty’s opinion
of him ‘he's so
charming and friendly and always willing to lend a helping hand. What a jackass’.
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| Stupid sexy Randy. |
This show
did so much right and very little wrong. Plus, they really struck lucky with
the cast. Everyone in that ensemble proves they are worth a place in the team.
They commit and sell every line. I could single out Ashton Kutcher as one
of the best – this series really showcases his gift for physical comedy – but
truly each of the team are great. They make their characters so endearing you mostly
overlook their seedier sides (I still find Fez a little unsettling).
While this may not
be my favourite show - that honour goes to 30 Rock - it has certainly jumped straight into my top five. Kelso playing with six dogs
at once ranks as one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, as does his repeated failed attempts to
understand what his dad’s job is. I found myself heavily emotionally invested
in Eric and Donna’s relationship and hoped so much they’d work things out. I
appreciate that the adults weren’t portrayed as sexless dullards, but instead were
as sympathetic and screwed up as the kids.
This show was smart and treated its viewers as such. I’m sad it’s over. I'm really going to miss
hanging out in the basement.
