9 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About That '70s Show
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9 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About That '70s Show
With Netflix's sequel series That '90s Show bringing back many of the characters we know and love, it's a perfect time to revisit the excellent slapstick sitcom that came before it: That '70s Show. The original show had the magic of a stellar cast where no one was dropping the ball comedically, plus a rock-solid foundation as a fun coming-of-age story set in the Midwest. Here are some facts you may not have known about the hit series.
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Some Kiss references became a full collab
As titans of the '70s, it only made sense to have a few nods to the hit rock band. Protagonist Eric Forman has a Kiss poster in his room, and there are other gags throughout the show like a Kiss alarm clock being sold at a store in season 4. In 2002, the band and show came together for the special That '70s Kiss Show, to celebrate the sitcom's launch into syndication with a live performance. They also aired a Kiss music video featuring the show's ensemble for this event.
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Glenn Howerton starred in a failed '80s spinoff
That '90s Show is actually not the first attempt to keep the hype going in this universe. Fox aired That '80s Show in 2002, while '70s was still running. It featured a completely new cast of characters with no overlap, with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Glenn Howerton as the lead, and was of course set in the following decade in 1984. Unfortunately, it aired only 13 episodes before it was canceled by Fox.
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It could've been named Teenage Wasteland
That '70s Show had several placeholder titles, mostly derived from song titles or lyrics, through its development. Teenage Wasteland was taken from a line in "Baba O'Riley" by The Who, and others included "Reelin' In In The Years" (a Steely Dan song) and "The Kids Are All Right" (also by The Who).
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Tommy Chong missed some episodes due to his prison stint
Chong played one of the series' best supporting characters as Leo, a hippie who operated the Foto Hut store. Leo abruptly disappeared from the series after season 4, and that was actually because Chong fell into legal troubles when his company Chong Glass/Nice Dreams was one of many businesses raided in the nationwide investigations Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter in 2003. He served nine months in prison, and eventually returned to That '70s Show for season 7 until the end.
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Mila Kunis actually was the age she played on TV
Unlike the common Hollywood tradition of casting 20-year-olds as teens, Mila Kunis began playing the rich kid Jackie Burkhart at the age of 14. As for her cast-mates, Laura Prepon and Wilder Valderama began the series when they were 18, while Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace were both 20. Danny Masterson was the oldest at around 22.
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An abundance of cameos
Plenty of TV, music and movie greats have had guest spots on That '70s Show. One of the most memorable ones was in a season 3 cold open that showed Alice Cooper playing Dungeons & Dragons at the radio station Donna worked at. Other great cameos included the comedian Mitch Hedberg, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Roger Daltrey and Lindsey Lohan.
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Kunis & Kutcher had bumps in their friendship before marriage
Kunis admitted in an interview with Glamour in 2016 that she and her eventual hubby, Ashton Kutcher, didn't always get along. She said there was a time where "I thought he was crazy," and they had several "friendship breakups" before striking up a romance. They've been married since 2015 and have two children.
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Topher Grace dropped out of college for the role
Grace was a freshman at the University of Southern California when he received the offer to audition for Eric Foreman in That '70s Show with no prior acting experience besides high school plays. Bonnie and Terry Turner, the show's creators, saw Grace in said school plays because their daughter was a classmate of his. He eventually dropped out of college to play the part, and stayed on for seven seasons before leaving the show.
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ITV tried a British remake
In 1999, ITV aired Days Like These, a UK remake of That '70s Show which recast the characters and shifted locations from Wisconsin to the town of Luton, England. Basically, it was like a reverse The Office. Unfortunately, it only aired 6 episodes before being canceled, even less than That '80s Show across the pond.
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