(Remember, the general issue of growth not being apparent in weekly plot still applies.) While Kelso is now a cop and a dad, several characters embark on new careers, including Fez as a shampoo boy, Jackie as a TV host, and even Red as the owner of a new muffler shop. Now, Eric’s stagnation is truly glaring when almost everyone else has some forward momentum - at least, within story arcs. So, though Eight suffers for Eric’s loss, Seven suffers from his slow drawn-out demise you can choose which is more painful.
We don’t believe in them and we don’t believe in the show.
And ultimately, with neither Donna nor Eric being allowed to evolve for the better - and in fact devolving (see: Donna, who dyes her hair blonde and gets a ‘00s cut that further distances the series from its ‘70s setting, which has to be invoked in story again, since the year is having a terrible job doing this via character, and Eric, who wants nothing in life and therefore isn’t emotionally worth caring about anymore - especially because he wasn’t like this early on) - the series’ belief in their rightness is now a liability. And with Eric’s journey being ‘70s raison d’être, when he’s unable to move within the relationship (his primary vehicle for growth), and forced to stagnate as an individual - with an arc expressly about him doing nothing for an entire year - it isn’t just Eric that’s failing, it’s the show, too… Also, while I appreciate that Seven breaks their engagement, eliminating the tension of having to root for something we don’t actually want, the lack of repercussions for Eric/Donna aren’t buyable. This trapped Seven, too by holding on an extra year to the show’s most important character, it was asking for narrative leaps and character contortions counterintuitive to the series’ dramatic health. But Grace renewed mid-year, and ‘ 70s became stuck it couldn’t marry them and it couldn’t split them up, since the latter would negate the show’s thesis and the former would have made it even harder to oust Eric.
Thus, Seven, like Six, offers macro growth alongside micro disappointments, with trouble, in particular, for the lead character, whose usage remains hindered by these behind-the-scenes moves… Following an engagement that made it hard to support the thesis that Eric/Donna are good for each other and meant-to-be - because it neither felt earned nor beneficial to them individually - the core couple’s wedding was pushed to Grace’s believed wrap: the end of Season Six. That ‘70s Show continues its descent with a season that knew it would likely be saying goodbye at year’s end to two leads - Kutcher and Grace - even though there might be a renewal, as both the network and the ensemble wanted more. That ’70s Show stars TOPHER GRACE as Eric Forman, LAURA PREPON as Donna Pinciotti, ASHTON KUTCHER as Michael Kelso, DANNY MASTERSON as Steven Hyde, MILA KUNIS as Jackie Burkhart, WILMER VALDERRAMA as Fez, KURTWOOD SMITH as Red Forman, DEBRA JO RUPP as Kitty Forman, and DON STARK as Bob Pinciotti. Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, we’re continuing our coverage on the best of That ’70s Show (1998-2006, FOX), which is available on DVD, Blu-ray, streaming, etc.!