The Fifth 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, season three, and season four.

In season five, the multi-season story arc continues to deal with Eric and Donna's relationship. It hit a roadblock in season four, which was Donna's new romantic love interest Casey (Luke Wilson). Casey and Donna were on and off, and it ended on a bad (but funny) note. Kelso and Jackie's relationship was also at the fore and towards the end of the fourth season, they broke up. In the season four finale, Donna and Kelso hopped in Kelso's van and drove to Malibu, California to get away from all of the drama in Point Place.

In the opening of season five, summer is coming to an end and senior year is about to start. Eric considers what to do about Donna and decides to go after her, despite Red and Kitty forbidding him to do so. In the aftermath, Eric and Donna renew their romantic relationship and when they get back to Point Place, they are in for a world of trouble. Red takes the vista cruiser away from Eric and Bob puts Donna in private school. Throughout the remainder of the season, Eric and Donna's love story remains a key development. It follows them into minor bouts of jealousy, an engagement, and college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

The other leading season story is a love triangle with Kelso, Jackie, and Hyde. While Kelso was off in California spending time with his new girlfriend Annette (Jessica Simpson), Hyde and Jackie hooked up. It is an odd pairing, as the two have hated each other from day one. But over the summer, more or less from boredom, they found comfort in each other's arms. The background story about how they got together is a riot, see episode "I Can't Quit You Baby". At first, Hyde and Jackie were just fooling around, but they both develop strong feelings for each other. Hyde does, especially, when Kelso comes back into the picture. Soon the three find themselves locked in a love triangle, as Jackie cares about both guys and she is not sure who she should be with.

Complicating Jackie's life even more are her parents, or rather the predicament they left her in. Jackie's dad, Point Place City Councilman, is caught accepting a bribe and goes to prison. And Jackie's mother is off partying in Mexico and has no desire to come home to care for her daughter. Jackie is left without a home and looks to her friends, Red, Kitty, and Bob for help.

Besides the love triangle dealing with Jackie, Hyde and Kelso both get jobs at a hotel working in the kitchen. Kelso decides to become a police officer because he thinks it is the best way to stay pretty forever. He quits modeling and takes a job at the hotel. Hyde deals with the fact that Leo left Point Place without saying good. At the hotel, a new reoccurring character is introduced, Roy (Jim Gaffigan). Roy runs the kitchen and he offers a stupid-than-Kelso-character. Good for a quick cheap laugh.

Fez joins the working force at the Department of Motor Vehicles. While at the DMV with Kelso, Fez is exposed to the kind of people who work there. He sees it as the "belle of the ball," being able to boss people around and treat them like crap no matter their social-economical status or ethnic background. He gets a job there and pursues a relationship with his boss Nina (Joanna Canton). Nina is an overly neurotic character who loves her job at the DMV a little too much. There are some silly stories with Fez and Nina. The best is "Whole Lotta Love", where Fez loses his virginity to Nina and his recounts of the event are a riot.

The entire Foreman family goes through some troubling situations. First of all, Kitty announces she is pregnant in "What Is And What Should Never Be". The idea of another kid puts Red into fret, and gives Eric a chance to be the man and set Red straight. Fun change of pace. But the newborn news becomes a sad story when Kitty finds out it is menopause. Throughout the season, Kitty struggles with her mood swings and the various situations that arise from Eric and Donna's engagement. There are also some traumatic events for Kitty, Red, and Eric to deal with concerning Kitty's parents Bea (Betty White) and Burt (Tom Poston). Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly) also returns to the show for a couple of episodes. Notably in the season finale, she and Fez do the unthinkable.

Overall, season five presents some strong episodes and story arcs about the cast, their relationships with each other, and the all around goofy situations the get into. I particularly loved the dynamic between Eric and Red. The two were at odd ends for a portion of the season, and it made for some hilarious stories with the entire cast caught in the middle of it all. How both Grace and Smith act together is fantastic. The rest of the season's events were done nicely as well. In the end, fans of the series and sitcom-goers should check out this season set.

Episode Guide

1. Going To California: Eric goes to California to try to persuade Donna to come home, while Kelso tries his hardest to persuade a young California beach babe to lose her virginity.
2. I Can't Quit You Baby: Hyde and Jackie are busted while making out, and Donna and Eric learn their separate punishments for taking of to California.
3. What Is And What Should Never Be: Kitty tells a shocked Red that she's pregnant while Kelso receives an equally shocking surprise when he sees Hyde and Jackie kissing in the Formans' driveway.
4. Heart Breaker: Kitty gets more news from her doctor and Kelso vows to kick Hyde's butt over Jackie-especially after learning everyone knew about their affair and no one told him.
5. Ramble On: While Eric doesn't know what to do with an ugly ring Donna buys him, Fez is convinced the ring has magical powers after he wears it to an interview and ends up getting hired.
6. Over The Hills And Far Away: Eric worries that he and Donna may end up going to separate colleges, and Jackie is upset that Hyde won't promise to be faithful while she's gone for the weekend.
7. Hot Dog: Eric is elated when Donna decides to keep the ring he bought her, while Red buys Kitty a dachshund puppy in a desperate attempt to calm her wild menopausal mood swings.
8. Thank You: Eric's plan to announce his engagement to Donna at the Formans' big Thanksgiving dinner ties in nicely with his "promotion" to the adult able, but then Fez has to open his big mouth.
9. Black Dog: Jackie is disappointed when she turns to HYDe for comfort and support after her father is sent to prison, and Fez finds love during a fingerprinting lesson at the DMV.
10. The Crunge: When Eric learns that everyone (Even Kelso!) scored higher than him on their SAT exams, he's convinced that his distracting thoughts about Donna are the problem.
11. The Girl I Love: Kitty throws a dinner party so Fez can introduce Nina to the gang, but when Red asks Nina to fix a traffic ticket for him, the evening quickly turns into a "Battle of the Gender Stars."
12. Misty Mountain Hop: The Formans after to help Jackie move her family's possessions out of their foreclosed ski cabin only to arrive to find Kelso, Fez and Hyde partying it up.

13. Your Time Is Gonna Come: While Kitty faces her own grief over the death of her father, Jackie must deal with her feelings for Kelso after his blonde beach babe shows up from California.
14. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You: Kelso, Hyde and Jackie try to sort out their tangled feelings for each other as Kitty feeling rejected by her mother, refuses to get out of bed.
15. When The Levee Breaks: When Donna's parents leave town, Eric lies to his parents so he and Donna can spend the weekend together, and Kitty makes a shocking discovery at the jewelry store.
16. Whole Lotta Love: Eric is delighted to receive the silent treatment form his father concerning his engagement to Donna, and Fez confesses that he finally lost his virginity with Nina.
17. The Battle Of Evermore: Kitty hopes to create a bit of bonding between Red and Eric by entering them in a father/son competition, while Hyde's bond with his father ends-but on a very high note!
18. Hey Hey What Can I Do: At the job fair, Kelso decides that becoming a cop will let him stay sexy forever, while Eric loses out on a job with a bank due to a bad reference from a very surprising source.
19. Bring It On Home: Red and Kitty discover that Jackie, in her parents' absence, has been staying in the basement with Hyde, and Fez feels insulted when he finally meets Nina's parents.
20. No Quarter: Jackie moves in with Donna and quickly takes over the whole room, Eric has to return Donna's engagement ring, and Hyde gives Kelso a hard time at his new job.
21. Trampled Under Foot: Fez is rushed when Nina dumps him, but he takes Hyde's advice and gives her the brush-off when she stops by the next day and says she wants to get back together.
22. You Shook Me: Fez freaks out after a sexy nurse in his dream morphs into Kelso, and Eric believes that his new job in a dog food factory means that he and Donna are ready to get married.
23. Nobody's Fault But Mine: Fez is horrified when a boy who always gave him a hard time at school finds out about his Kelso sex dream, and Jackie breaks up with Hyde after he confesses he cheated on her.
24. Immigrant Song: When Kelso, Hyde and Fez climb the water tower as part of a senior prank, Fez gets arrested by the police, who then make a surprising discovery about the status of his student visa.
25. Celebration Day: While Eric and Donna are excite about moving into their new apartment, Kelso and Hyde fight over Jackie, and Fez is heart broken about having to leave America.

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:
"Episode Spots" are included for all twenty-five season episodes. The episode selection menu allows you to watch the episodes with the optional TV promos (watch the preview for the episode before seeing the full episode). Extras specifically found on disc 4 include three featurettes. First is "A '70s Flashback: Wilmer Valderrama" (8:35), Valderrama (Fez) makes some comments about his character and his time on the show. Next is "A '70s Flashback: Danny Masterson" (6:50), which is similar to Valderrama's, but features Masterson (Hyde). Lastly is "Season 5 in 5 Minutes", which features a recap of key moments in season 5. Overall, the extras are decent at best. The interviews are the only items of real interest. Past seasons have had audio commentaries, and while they weren't funny, they were enjoyable enough to sit through. I think it is too bad they did not include any commentaries.

Final Thoughts:
Season five of That '70s Show continues to have a solid cast with well-written stories and goofy dialogue. The season five episodes offer multiple story arcs about Eric and Donna's romantic relationship, the Kelso, Jackie, and Hyde love triangle, Fez losing something he can never get back!, Kitty developing wild mood swings, Laurie returning home, and more. In the end, season five offers some great content with an excellent cast. You won't want to miss out on it. It comes highly recommended.