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"Battle of the Sexists" is the fourth episode of the first season of That '70s Show, and fourth episode overall. It aired on September 20, 1998.

Synopsis[]

Eric squares off with Donna in a game of one-on-one; Jackie clings to Kelso; Red's plant cuts back to half days.

Plot[]

Eric plays basketball against Donna in his driveway and loses, not taking the loss lightly. During a circle, the other guys add fuel to the fire by mocking him for losing against a girl, before he changes the topic to how Jackie controls Kelso. Meanwhile, Jackie and Midge try to convince Donna she shouldn't win at sports against Eric and let him feel superior, which Donna finds insane. Later, at the Hub, she and Eric play air hockey and Donna wins again, making Eric feel even worse.

The next morning Donna challenges Eric to another game of basketball, but very obviously throws the game, which upsets Eric again and he asks her to leave. Having witnessed their fight, Kitty advises Eric to not take defeat so seriously and tells him that whenever she and Red played games, they never kept score and focused on the fun. On meeting Donna in the driveway again later, Eric apologizes and they engage in another game, which quickly turns into childish wrestling. Donna gets called home and leaves, with both of them telling each other they weren't keeping score. Relieved at having finally put this fight behind him, Eric then sees the garage door open with Red standing inside: he saw everything and kept score, and Eric lost, so he will train him for the four hours he has left before his bedtime.

Meanwhile, Hyde and Fez get really annoyed with how much Jackie is controlling Kelso, which includes long phone calls interrupting their plans. During one of such calls Kelso is visibly annoyed and Hyde and Fez pressure him to hang up, but when Kelso agrees to lie about an emergency, Jackie overhears him, and hangs up first, furious. The next day, she joins the guys at the Hub and asks to speak with Kelso alone. Despite Hyde and Fez's support, he immediately caves and apologizes to her. During their next phone call, Kelso has Fez sub for him and tell him what he should answer, but he ends up accidentally replying directly to Jackie instead of having Kelso speak, giving away their ruse.

Due to his shift at the Plant being reduced to half days, Red spends most of the half days trying to "fix" everything at the house, much to Kitty’s dismay, who tries and fails to make him stop. When Red notices the kitchen table is wobbling, he becomes obsessed with it, but after a first round of "repairs", the table becomes crooked, and after the second one, too short to sit at. When he suddely turns his attention to the refrigerator, Kitty runs off to the garage and breaks its door opener for him to fix.

During the tag, Eric and his parents awkwardly eat at the kitchen table that has been "repaired" yet again, now so tall they have no other choice than to eat standing up.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Quotes[]

Red – For God sakes, I know how to cut the legs off a table.
Eric – You're tellin' me!
Kelso – I'm not pig-whipped!
Hyde – Are you kidding? (mocking Jackie) Michael, call me at 8!
Eric – [also mocking Jackie] Michael, do your Chico impression!
Fez – [also mocking Jackie] Michael, rub oil on my thighs before I spank you

Trivia[]

  • The title of episode is a play on the term "Battle of the Sexes".
  • First appearance of The Hub.
  • The air hockey table seen in the Hub never appears in the series again.

Goofs[]

  • Jackie tells Donna that if Maria and Tony from West Side Story had played basketball one-on-one and Maria had won, they never would have fallen in love. Donna retorts "And then Tony would never have been killed in that knife fight." Actually, Riff and Bernardo were killed in the knife fight during the rumble, while Tony was later shot by Maria's fiancé Chino.
  • The Formans' kitchen table is usually shown with only one leg, but it has four in this episode for the needs of Red's subplot. It goes back to having only one leg in subsequent episodes.

Music[]

Let It Ride | BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE
Sweet Home Alabama | LYNYRD SKYNYRD
All the Young Dudes | MOTT THE HOOPLE
Everything's Coming Up Roses | BETTE MIDLER

Photos[]

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