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"That '70s Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of That '70s Show, and first episode overall. It aired on August 23, 1998.

Synopsis

May 17, 1976. Eric wants to borrow the family car to drive the gang to a Todd Rundgren concert.

Plot

While his parents Red and Kitty are having a party upstairs, teenager Eric Forman is hanging out in his basement with his best friends Steven Hyde, Michael Kelso, and Donna Pinciotti. Hyde and Kelso pressure Eric to go upstairs and grab beers for them, and he does just that before running into Red, who stops him in his tracks with a conversation about Donna's father Bob's new perm. Before long, Bob joins in, noting Red's new car, a Toyota. Red says he bought it because of the gas shortages, leaving his old Vista Cruiser to rust in the driveway because the local dealership is not interested in buying it for any decent amount of money. Eric chimes in that he could take the car for himself, to which Red doesn't seem to object before noticing Eric is holding cans of beer in his hands. Eric then runs down to the basement under the pretense of putting the beers into the kitchen fridge on his way there.

Returning to the basement, Eric shares the beers and the news he might be getting the Vista Cruiser. When Donna jokes that she finds Eric attractive, Kelso brings up the time Donna told him she thought Eric was cute which was supposed to be a secret. Hyde immediately puts an end to the awkwardness by raising a toast.

On a different day, Eric, Donna, Kelso, and Kelso's girlfriend Jackie Burkhart watch an episode of The Brady Bunch which Eric and Donna dub, and Jackie demands an earpiece because she doesn't understand the plot. Kelso brings up the Todd Rundgren concert the gang has planned to attend on the weekend, only for Jackie to invite herself along. After they leave, Eric and Donna sit on the stairs. Eric feels a bit awkward staying alone with her, but Donna reminds him they're been friends all their life.

On yet another day, Eric can't stop looking at the Vista Cruiser before Donna and Kelso snap him out of it. The gang goes to the local diner, the Hub, where the gang's latest member, a foreign exchange student nicknamed "Fez", is introduced. Hyde expresses exasperation at Jackie's constant presence, but Kelso assures the gang he is breaking up with her.

On yet another day, Eric, Kelso, Hyde, and Fez sit in a circle in Eric's basement and smoke weed. Eric tells he still knows nothing about the Vista Cruiser, prompting Hyde to bring up an inventor who came up with a car that runs on water. Red suddenly calls Eric upstairs where, oblivious to his inebriated state, Red and Kitty list him some car-related do's and don'ts before giving him the keys to the Vista Cruiser.

On the night of the concert, Red instructs Eric to not drive out of town, all while knowing the teens will do exactly that. The car breaks down on the way to the concert and the gang is reluctant to call their parents. The mechanic tells them the battery is dead and suggests a deal: a new battery for two concert tickets. With the girls out of earshot, Eric, Hyde and Fez suggest giving him Kelso and Jackie's tickets. Later, while Eric, Donna, Fez and Hyde are having fun at the concert, Kelso and Jackie fool around in the car, with Jackie unaware of the reason they've been left out and convinced Kelso gave up the tickets to spend more time with her.

After returning from the concert, Eric and Donna sit on the hood of the Vista Cruiser and look back at the day they've had. Donna leaves, but then comes back and kisses Eric, much to his surprise.

During the end tag, the episode flashes back to the gang driving back from the concert, singing "Hello It's Me". Jackie comments on the cacophonous sing-along with an ironic "Boy, we're good!" only for Fez to confirm it in earnest.

Cast

Starring

Guest Starring

Quotes

Eric – So…do I get the car?
(Red tosses Eric the keys. He catches them.)
Eric – Bitchin'!
Red – Eric! Not in front of your mother.
Eric – Thank you, Pop. Sir.
Red – (grins) Yeah, well... (gets serious) Clean the attic.
Kitty – Well, the kids are off. I wonder where they went.
Red – Out of town.
Kitty – How do you know?
Red – I told them not to.
Red – If I find one beer can in that car, it's over!
Kitty – And no donuts either! Ants!
Donna – Oh, have I told you how incredibly attractive you are Eric?
Eric – No
Kelso – You told me he was cute
Donna – No, I didn't
Kelso – I remember, cause you said not to say anything in front of Eric
Fez – I, too, must go to the bathroom. Eric?
Eric – No, it doesn't work that way with guys
Kelso – That's Fez. He's a foreign exchange student
Jackie – Who did we exchange for him?

Trivia

  • This is the first episode in which the title begins with "That 70's". The later episodes with this same title beginning would be "That '70s Christmas", "That '70s Musical", and "That '70s Finale".
  • The episode was shot approximately three months before the show would begin its official shooting schedule after being picked up by Fox. Due to this, certain hairstyles and set designs are slightly different then they would be in the next episode.
  • Steven Hyde is the first person to have a speaking line in this episode, making him the first character to ever speak in the history of the That 70's Show series.
  • Eric and Donna share their first kiss in this episode.
  • This is the only episode in which Eric calls Red "Pop." In every other episode he calls him "Dad" (or "Sir.")
  • The first scene after the cold opening has the gang dubbing an episode of The Brady Bunch. Their dialogue implies that Marcia got hit in the face by a football. This is a reference to the specific episode "The Subject was Noses".
  • Hyde tells Eric to get "Cold, definitely cold" beers, but, the beers Eric takes to the basement are warm, and supposed to be put in the fridge. Hyde never brings this up.
  • Eric is the first person to experience the Kitchen Wall Hallucination.
  • The end credits scene of the gang singing along to "Hello It's Me" in the car was used again for the show's series finale.
  • First appearance of Eric Forman.
  • First appearance of Donna Pinciotti.
  • First appearance of Michael Kelso.
  • First appearance of Jackie Burkhart.
  • First appearance of Steven Hyde.
  • First appearance of Fez.
  • First appearance of Red Forman.
  • First appearance of Kitty Forman.
  • First appearance of Bob Pinciotti.
  • First appearance of Midge Pinciotti.
  • First appearance of Jack Burkhart.
  • First and Last appearance of Randy.
  • The chair on the left side of the basement has not been established as Hyde's preferred sitting spot yet: Eric is the one sitting in it, while Hyde sits on the couch. From the next episode onwards, Hyde consistently sits in this chair and, as seen in "Fun It", is adamant the chair is his.

Goofs

  • In the scene where Eric steals two beers from the bar in front of Red when Eric talks about getting the cruiser, he holds up two cans of beer: one is upside down and the other is not. In the next cut both are upside down. Note also that the people in the background changes between the cuts.
  • In this episode, it is revealed that Eric is 17 as Donna addresses him as "A 17 year old man" in the car. However, in the very next episode, "Eric's Birthday", which directly continued the events of this episode, Eric had his birthday where he apparently turned 17. The only mention of his age was by Donna in Eric's dream that happened while he was sleeping in between the day before his birthday and his birthday and the in-dream events took place, late at night and likely before 12:00, so it is possible that she meant his current age at the time she was talking to him and not the age that he was becoming on his birthday.

Music

love will keep us together | CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (1975)
jackie blue | OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS (1974)
space truckin | DEEP PURPLE (1972)
i saw the light | TODD RUNDGREN (1972)
Hello It's Me | TODD RUNDGREN (1972)

Photos

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