That '70s Show Season 7 DVD Review

It was the end of an era on May 18, 2006, when Fox's hit sitcom That '70s Show took its final bow and finally entered the 1980's. Following a group of high school friends coming of age in a small Wisconsin town, the show was an instant -- and arguably groundbreaking -- sitcom that delivered on unconventional humor and transformed its young cast into household names within the span of its eight seasons.

However, many fans of the series (this reviewer included) felt that the show didn't necessarily go out on top, but rather stuck around for a season or two longer than necessary. After re-watching the final season, that sentiment was only drilled home even more so.

A quick season recap: while Eric (Topher Grace) is away in Africa, the group welcomes a new friend to the fold named Cousin Olive - er, rather, Randy (Josh Meyers), and rumors begin to circulate about a romance between him and Donna (Laura Prepon). Meanwhile, Jackie (Mila Kunis) moves into an apartment with Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) and soon realizes that he may be the man she's been looking for all this time. Kitty and Red (Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, respectively) toy with the idea of moving to Florida but ultimately decide against it, and the series comes to a close on New Year's Eve, 1979, with surprise visits by Eric and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), and one final session in "the circle".

Despite a few high points to the series, - most notably the return of Tommy Chong's Leo to the fold - we could've easily been done without Season 8 of That '70s Show. Especially given that two of the show's most prominent stars (Grace and Kutcher) were no longer cast members (both actors left the show to star in big budget films). Much of the show's story points either seemed forced or oftentimes predictable, but at the end of the day the show continued to serve its purpose. It still managed to be funny, and above all else, fun to watch.

As for the 4-disc box set, fans of the show looking for hours of extras will no doubt be thoroughly disappointed. As Don Stark (who played Donna's dad, Bob, on the show) says in one of the retrospective interviews, eight years for a sitcom is no easy feat, but you wouldn't think that by this DVD set. No cast members show up on the episode audio commentaries (only show director David Trainer shows up for four commentary tracks) and any behind-the-scenes featurettes are sorely lacking in substance. Arguably the most interesting of the special features are an interview with Chong, who admits that working on the show was similar to going to acting school, since he never had to work with scripts before (gee, wonder why?). Also notable was a tour of the set, where fans finally get a glimpse of how the "circle" shots were filmed. Beyond that, there are a few filler interviews with the cast who all say pretty much the same thing ("we're all one big, happy family"), and a "Season 8 and 8 Minutes" featurette that, truth be told, doesn't really make you want to watch the actual shows.

For the die-hard completists out there, you obviously need to pick this box set up, but for those of you with insomnia who manage to catch the show in syndication in the middle of the night, that's pretty much all you need to keep up with the show. Stick with the early seasons.