 |  That 70's Show: Complete First SeasonDirector: various PG 575 mins approx 20th Century Fox It seems that the hottest thing in DVDs is complete seasons of TV shows. Everyone's making 'em, and everyone's buying 'em; and I gotta say, I'm starting to see why. The fact that you get a whole lot of running time for your buck is a great incentive, and the re-playability is certainly higher than a movie. Sure, the production values aren't as high, but because the 22 minute episodes originally had to stand alone, there aren't any slow moments where "characters" are "established" or "backgrounds" are "explored". It starts, a bunch of stuff happens, and then it ends. Gold. 'That 70's Show' is the latest to join the fray, and it should be able to gun it with the best of them. Set in Point Place, Wisconsin, circa 1976, the show follows 17 year old Eric Forman (played by Topher Grace) on his journey through adolescence as he deals with his love for the girl next door (Laura Prepon) and his strict but loving parents (Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith). On one level it is just another American sitcom; canned laughter is the backdrop for a series of moral dilemmas faced by a group of stereotypical characters who strangely don't seem to have any other friends. At all. That's on the one level. But 'That 70's Show' is in fact quite original for what is a well-worn avenue in TV-dom. The 70's setting provides a lot of laughs and some nostalgia for older viewers (although some of the American pop-culture references are lost on an Australian audience). The characters are great: Ashton Kutcher's Kelso is more idiotic than Homer Simpson and exchange student Fes (Wilmer Valderrama) is just down-right hilarious. However, it's the show's ability to break formula that sets it apart. Fantasy sequences, from 70s style educational films to a glorious Star Wars homage, keep things interesting, as does the show's trademark round-table conversations: the camera sits in the middle and spins around as the gang have "important" conversations fuelled by their burgeoning drug habit (hey, it's the 70's). The humour is also fresh and honest, relying more on the interactions between the characters rather than neatly packaged situations. The DVD's extra features are naff (some dodgy promo material), but the show totally rocks. Just don't watch the whole season in two days, because it starts to warp your mind, and you'll forget you have any other friends. At all.  | |
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