The Fourth Season

In 1998 the creators of 3rd Rock from the Sun introduced That '70s Show. It's a very hilarious sitcom that takes place in, believe it or not, the 70s. Located in a fictional suburb of Green Bay, Wisconsin known as Point Place, the series revolves around the comical daily interactions of the Forman family and their friends and neighbors. This fourth season has twenty-seven great episodes and tackles similar issues as the earlier seasons, but mostly focuses on relationships and dating. These issues turn into a few sticky situations that should leave you rolling over with laughter. For more information about That '70s Show please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, and season three.

In the closing of season three, Eric and Donna broke up. Eric gave Donna a promise ring, which she couldn't bring herself to wear because of its symbolism. As such, Eric reacted badly and ended their relationship. Season four picks up with Eric dealing with the breakup. Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, 3rd Rock From the Sun) guest stars in the season premiere episode "It's a Wonderful Life" as a holy angel who shows Eric what life would like if Eric never dated Donna. The angel wants Eric to realize it is better to have loved and lost than it is to have never loved at all. Eric's cynical attitude and Newton's common antic performance make this a fun episode.

In the next episode "Eric's Depression" everybody tries to cheer Eric up and out of bed. The gang invites Eric to Fun Land, but he isn't up for it. They end up going with him. Just how well Kelso fits into the consumer base of the park is a riot. Red also tries to repair Eric's broken heart by giving him chores. They even share a touching heart-to-heart moment at the end. In "Pinciotti v. Forman", Eric's depression is better and he is up and about once again. Life is somewhat back to normal, except that Eric kicks Donna out of the basement while hanging out. This leads to Eric and Donna treating their friends like recently divorced couples do with their kids. They spoil everyone and try to make spending to with them better than the other.

Another big story for the series takes place in "The Relapse". The story is about Midge divorcing Bob. Midge left Bob and Donna to go to California because she was not happy with her life as a housewife. This sad and tragic event turns out to be fun. Hard ass Red is put in an uncomfortable position (being nice to Bob) several times over. The breakup also allows for a new recurring character to join the cast. Joanne Steupeck (Mo Gaffney) is a modern woman with a backbone. She makes for a fun character because she is more than willing to butt heads with Red.

"Donna's Story" is an episode where Donna writes a fictional story that is far too close to reality. It is about her relationship with Eric and after publishing it in the school paper everyone thinks he is a pig. In "Red & Stacey", Red tries to fix Eric up with the new cashier at Pricemart. Unfortunately, she only has eyes for Red. What really makes this fun is how awkward Red gets and acts after he finds out about her feelings. Not to mention, how Eric and Kitty both react when they find out. Hilarious.

"Jackie Says Cheese" is a fun episode because Jackie joins working America. Her father found out she is still dating Kelso and mandates if she continues to date him, he will cut her off financially. Torn between the most important things in her life, she chooses love and finds herself as the cheese girl at the Cheese Palace. In the later episode "Jackie's Cheese Squeeze" she cheats on Kelso with her geeky manager. Despite Kelso having cheated on Jackie several other girls, he freaks out and breaks it off. They spend the rest of the season trying to repair their relationship.

Fez starts dating big Rhonda in "Hyde Gets The Girl", which is more or less a side story that didn't have a huge impact on the season. There were some fun parts surrounding it, but it wasn't Fez's best moments. "Donna Dates a Kelso" is a pretty big episode for the season. Jackie convinces Donna she should get over Eric by dating other guys. She fixes him up with Kelso's older brother Casey (Luke Wilson, Old School). Wilson gives a great performance throughout the season as Casey, a cool suave, egocentric lady's man.

This season continues to be an absolute blast with the characters working well together to produce some fun episodes. I especially enjoyed the various reoccurring and guest characters that appeared this season such as Luke Wilson, Richard Karn, Mo Gaffney, Kevin McDonald, and Wayne Knight. Fans of the series should really appreciate getting to sit through the entire fourth season and relive the Eric/Donna breakup, as well as the departure of Midge.

Episode Guide
1. It's A Wonderful Life
2. Eric's Depression
3. Pinciotti v. Forman
4. Hyde Gets The Girl
5. Bye-Bye Basement
6. The Relapse
7. Uncomfortable Ball Stuff?
8. Donna's Story
9. The Forgotten Son
10. Red & Stacey
11. Third Wheel
12. An Eric Forman Christmas
13. Jackie Says Cheese
14. Eric's Hot Cousin
15. Tornado Prom
16. Donna Dates A Kelso
17. Kelso's Career
18. Leo Loves Kitty
19. Jackie's Cheese Squeeze
20. Class Picture
21. Prank Day
22. Eric's Corvette Caper
23. Hyde's Birthday
24. That '70s Musical
25. Eric's False Alarm
26. Everybody Loves Casey
27. Love Wisconsin Style

The DVD

Video:
This release is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality is very good, providing a clear and clean picture with minor color distortions and compression artifacts. Overall, it looks substantially better than its original television broadcast presentation, providing less grain in the picture.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is given in English Dolby digital stereo surround. The audio in this release comes off fairly flat. However as with most TV on DVD releases it's not necessarily bad, as the majority of the audio is spoken dialogue. The sound quality is very good, providing an audible and clean audio track. There is also very little distinction between audio channels. This release also has subtitles in English and supports closed captioning.

Extras:
For extras there are several audio commentaries, featurettes, and other assorted items of interest. The commentaries feature director David Trainer talking about episodes "Eric's Depression", "Class Picture", and "Hyde's Birthday". The commentaries are interesting enough to sit through if you enjoy the show, but don't expect to laugh at all.

The featurettes provide some mildly entertaining content. "Making Company: David Trainer on Directing That '70s Show", where Trainer talks about what he thinks is the most important part of directing the series. Then there is "A '70s Flashback: Laura Prepon", where Prepon reflects about her beginning on the series and her experience on the show. The final featurette is "A '70s Flashback: Mila Kunis" with Kunis talking about her character in a similar manner that Prepon did.

For assorted items, there are episode promos (watch an episode's TV spot before you watch the episode) and a montage clip "Season 4 in 4 Minutes". The montage clip features Trainer providing a brief introduction about the clip, which is a bunch of key moments from season four. After watching the fourth season, this clip was not entertaining. Overall there are a number of extras included, but they aren't too exciting.

Final Thoughts:
Season four of That '70s Show continues to be a lot of fun. The cast is goofy as ever and there are a number of guest stars and reoccurring characters to spice things up. Fans of the series should appreciate the chance to see season four in its entirety. I have seen all of these episodes before and I enjoyed getting to see them again.