That '70s Show - Season 8 DVD Credits:

Region: 1

That '70s Show - Season 8 DVD Release Date: 31st March 2008

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That '70s Show - Season 8 DVD Review:

It may have felt like much longer, but it was only this final season that featured only partially with the original cast. Topher Grace is completely missing until the final minutes of the series finale, and although Ashton Kutcher is still billed as a special guest star, he is gone after the first couple of episodes and doesn’t return until the final episodes. I purposefully mention these shining moments, because try as the new cast might, most of the episodes are just filler for the finale. They tried shamelessly to drag the show out one last season, even changing the opening credit sequence to resemble more of a spin-off than an actual show.

If it weren’t for the familiar sets and predictably bad dialogue with a foot-in-the-ass every couple of minutes and fantasy sequences with dancing, this wouldn’t feel like That 70s Show. The miracle is that it still does feel like That 70s Show, because the show has gotten progressively worse over the years, and all that kept it interesting was the characters and/or actors playing them. By all accounts it shouldn’t still feel like the same show, perhaps with the inclusion of past characters into the regular cast, most notably Tommy Chong, the adapting was made easier. It certainly helped that the writing improved none and the way of wrapping up the cliffhanger between Jackie (Mila Kunis) and Hyde (Danny Masterson) in the previous season is simply to have Hyde marry a stripper to end it finally with Jackie.

There are some cast additions that do the show no good at all. At the end of season seven they tried to work in a new guy, and it didn’t seem to work, so they got rid of him in one of the only clever moments in season eight. This looked good, until Randy (Josh Meyers) entered the picture. Randy is the new love interest for Donna (Laura Prepon) while Eric is away in Africa. The only good thing about Randy is how lame his final line of the show in the finale is, just before he leaves. I only wish he could have been killed off as well.

Using New Years 1979 as the setting for the season finale is a brilliant, if not obvious idea, and perhaps the only real reason they had for stretching the show another season. During this time we see Kelso leave for Chicago, allowing Jackie to move in with Fez. It is at this point that the show starts to resemble another long running show which was more successful with inter-group dating and room-mate swapping. Friends had many of the same plot twists used in That 70s Show, but they stumble through it awkwardly having Jackie fall for Fez, who has liked her all along. There are marriage proposals, plans for moving, returning psychotic girlfriends and many more familiar scenarios. The DVD has the usual special features, including commentaries on four of the episodes, but there is less gusto than usual.

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That '70s Show - Season 8 DVD review written by: Ryan Izay