EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Three

THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON THREE
2000-2001
25 episodes

Season 3 of That 70s Show graded out almost as strong as Season 2. Like every season, there are some duds but there are also some of my favorite episodes of the entire series. One thing this show does better than the previous season is they don't twiddle their thumbs as long with some of the major arcs of the series. On the other side, there are just a few episodes that feel completely like throwaway episodes. Still, this season is prime That 70s Show.

Starring
Topher Grace as Eric Forman (25 episodes)
Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart (25 episodes)
Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso (25 episodes)
Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde (25 episodes)
Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti (25 episodes)
Wilmer Valderrama as Fez (25 episodes)
Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman (25 episodes)
Kurtwood Smith as Red Forman (25 episodes)
Don Stark as Bob Pinciotti (14 episodes)
Tanya Roberts as Midge Pinciotti (13 episodes)
Lisa Robin Kelly as Laurie Forman (9 episodes)
Tommy Chong as Leo (8 episodes)

Allison Munn as Caroline (7 episodes)
Kevin McDonald as Pastor Dave (2 episodes)

52. Reefer Madness (10/3/00)
Red kicks Hyde out of the house after Hyde gets busted for marijuana possession, which was Jackie's. Jackie is in love with Hyde after he saved her.

Season three kicks off right where season two left off both from a story standpoint and also from a quality standpoint as the show continues to fire on all cylinders. This is a good conclusion to the previous season finale without the unnecessary Donna mooning story involved and better development in the Hyde/Jackie story. Also, That 70s Show continues to love its fantasy sequences but there's a very good one here with a Reefer Madness parody as well as a glimpse of Eric, Kelso and Hyde as young teens. The plot extension of all the kids and their pot use is a good way to launch the story forward.
RATING: 7.5/10

53. Red Sees Red (10/10/00)
Red imposes a curfew on Eric, Hyde and Laurie much to their chagrin and it impacts the rest of the group.

Maybe it's because I appreciate the parodies more when I'm more familiar with what they're parodying but boy do I love the Brady Bunch Variety Hour fantasy scene they do here, complete with guest appearances by Shirley Jones and Charo (ok, so Charo's not totally necessary but whatever). However, the biggest highlight of this episode is the bed checks scene which is equally funny in all three rooms that Red and Kitty check and feels like a madcap screwball comedy. This episode sort of brings to a close the marijuana arc and it's the perfect completion and is honestly one of the funniest episodes yet in the series.
RATING: 9.5/10

54. Hyde's Father (10/17/00)
The guys run into Hyde's father when they sneak into a bar. Donna is upset when she finds dirty magazines in Eric's room.

Watching this I realized how far That 70s Show has come with the Hyde character. This is a character who really had no dimension to him for most of season one but now he's become one of the most fascinating characters with a pretty compelling arc. I like that the story with his father is played with sincerity and not with too much sentimentality. Although what is Leo doing hanging out at the Forman house? The dirty magazines story is a pretty honest story too that probably a lot of couples can relate to. Another strong episode in a strong start to the season.
RATING: 8/10

55. Too Old to Trick or Treat, Too Young to Die (10/31/00)
Fez injures himself and recovers watching the Pinciotti house from the window. Kitty and Laurie try to take care of a neighbor's birds. Kelso argues with the paperboy. 

I absolutely love that this episode has a Halloween spin on the theme song. This homage to Hitchcock is a fan favorite and for good reason, it's very cleverly done and cleverly weaves together many Hitchock films, most prominently The Birds and Rear Window. Everything is done really well and it's pretty funny all the way through. My only complaint is it feels like they maybe tried to pack a little too much into one episode and the stories don't totally feel like they resolve as satisfyingly as I want them to. This probably could have benefited from being an hour long episode.
RATING: 8/10

56. Roller Disco (11/14/00)
Jackie wants to compete in a roller disco and only Fez will do it with her. Red has to deal with an unhappy former employee.

After a string of really strong episodes to start the season, this one isn't as funny. It seems more about the gimmick or getting Wilmer Valderrama to roller skate than anything else. There is a pretty funny moment in the Red story though where he tries to use Kitty's laugh to shrug off an uncomfortable situation. And while Fez's early lines about the Riddler in the episode are funny, the fantasy scene with Fez as both Riddler and Batman doesn't work at all. I will say, I don't hate Kelso and Donna sharing scenes together. For two characters who don't have a lot of scenes together in the series, their stuff works pretty well.
RATING: 5/10

57. Eric's Panties (11/21/00)
Eric is upset when Donna isn't jealous of his lab partner so he tries to make her jealous. Kitty insists that Red goes on a diet.

This is one of those episodes where it feels like nothing really happens. All the stories are fine but not particularly memorable. It's ok for shows to have episode like this that aren't aggressively bad, but don't really make an impact. The only problem is when there's a run of them. Not to harp, but we have another very bad performance from Laura Prepon who brings so many episodes down. I don't buy for one second that she is upset after she finds the panties in Eric's car. When I started watching this series in order for the first time, I thought Fez was my least favorite from sporadic episodes here and there. Now it's clear that it's Donna. This episode does have one great moment though, when Kelso and Fez think Eric fooled around with Donna's mom.
RATING: 3.5/10

58. Baby Fever (11/28/00)
After caring for a friend's baby, Kitty decides she wants another baby and Eric and Donna fight about their future parenting roles. Jackie and Kelso argue after Jackie has an accident with Kelso's van.

This is a very "meh" episode, like the definition of the middle of the road. There are some funny moments, especially with the baby, but it never really gets going. I think there could have been some funnier moments with Kitty and Red and the idea of having another child. The second story with Jackie and Kelso is a worthless story that doesn't really add any humor at all. Episodes that don't advance the narrative arc at all are fine if they're funny. But this one is just kind of there. That's probably why I'm having a very hard time even writing about it.
RATING: 4.5/10

59. Jackie Bags Hyde (12/12/00)
Jackie uses another guy to make Hyde jealous and succeeds. Eric and Bob hosting competing Veteran's Day barbecues.

Oh, Donna. Why didn't someone help Laura Prepon with her acting when she's supposed to be angry? Every time Eric and Donna have an argument, and this one about their dads could have been good, it's ruined by a completely terrible acting job by Prepon. Also, I don't think the writers have lived in Wisconsin because an outdoor BBQ every year on November 11th seems like a dicey idea. Despite all these frustrations, this is a pretty good episode because the competing BBQs is funny and the Hyde-Jackie story is actually worth investing in now that it seems more real. This is the first time I really saw some chemistry between Mila Kunis and Danny Masterson so that helps.
RATING: 7.5/10

60. Hyde's Christmas Rager (12/19/00)
Hyde hosts a Christmas keg party at his dad's apartment and Eric gets very drunk. Jackie and Donna go out so Jackie can meet a new guy.

Despite just having a Veteran's Day episode, we jump all the way to Christmas here. There's some good moments here. We have more development of Hyde's relationship with his father, a solid drunken performance from Topher Grace and some really funny moments from Debra Jo Rupp as she scolds Hyde's dad. While it doesn't particularly feel very much like a Christmas episode, it is fun nonetheless. I do wonder what the filming order was because it seems weird for Jackie to not at all be following up with Hyde from the last episode. Maybe there was a different intended order? Though I can't quite figure out what would make sense narratively.
RATING: 7/10

61. Ice Shack (1/9/01)
Kelso takes Jackie and others to his Uncle's ice shack to try to win her back where they play the Newlywed Game against Eric and Donna.

Any episode that pits the characters against each other in a game is always a ripe place for comedy and this is no exception. The show really peaks early on with the journey to the ice shack and the subsequent newlywed game which has great moments for everyone involved. It loses some of its momentum after that as the rest of the episode doesn't quite keep the humor going as much. The Red-Kitty-Laurie story doesn't really have any punch to it at all nor does the Leo and Hyde story. This is one of those episodes where the A story very clearly trumps the others.
RATING: 6/10

62. Who Wants it More? (1/10/01)
Donna and Eric both decide to withhold sex from each other. After a near death experience, Red decides to be a better friend to others.

An episode with a topic that probably comes up a lot in relationships, there's some good humor here. I don't usually like the split screen effect because it doesn't work often, but it does work here in the scene between Hyde & Eric and Donna & Jackie. After I've ripped on her so much, I think it's only fair to mention that I think Laura Prepon is strong in this episode and quite believable. Once again, we have a strong A story and a lesser B story. Red's change of life and fantasy funeral scenes don't land at all.
RATING: 6.5/10

63. Fez Gets the Girl (1/16/01)
Fez gets a date with his dream girl. Eric gets an employee of the month award that takes over his life. Kitty gets a makeover from Laurie.

After a couple episodes with only one good story, this one has several good stories even if none of them really feel like an "A" story. This is what I would prefer though because it makes the episode more enjoyable. There's a strong first appearance by Allison Munn as Caroline, a very solid Red-Eric story and a pretty funny sight gag with Kitty's hair thanks to Laurie. The Zeppelin concert tickets story doesn't really add a lot but it does play into the resolution to the Fez story. I watch these episodes on DVD and Wilmer Valderrama does an intro to this one where he says it's a great showcase for Fez and I don't know if I agree with that, it seems more about him than featuring him.
RATING: 7.5/10

64. Dine and Dash (1/30/01)
One by one, the gang ditches Eric and Donna without paying at a restaurant. Bob tries to get a job from Red.

This is actually a better showcase for Fez than the previous episode and the entire plot is predicated on a very funny idea - the idea of dining and dashing. This is one of the best constructed episodes of the season and perhaps the series, especially as each member of the group leaves the table. There's also more laugh out loud moments here too as the prank continues on to Eric and Donna putting laxatives in brownies and the discussion between Red and Bob about Bob taking a job. Wilmer Valderrama has one of his best physical comedy bits in the entire series as he tries to make-up with Caroline while feeling the effects of the laxatives.
RATING: 9.5/10

65. Radio Daze (2/6/01)
Donna gets a part time job at a radio station, which makes Eric jealous. Bob feels bad when his ex-employee Earl is fired from Fatso Burger because of him. Kelso wants to buy Leo's car.

This episode starts the off and on arc of Donna at the radio station and there are some good stories from there plus guest appearances from 70s icons Alice Cooper and Howard Hesseman. Fittingly, Hesseman plays a radio character after his memorable run on WKRP in Cincinnati (and there's a WKRP reference in the episode). There's a zillion stories that happen in this episode but the only one that seems to get developed is the radio station one. It works pretty well but the lesser stories don't really add anything to the episode.
RATING: 5/10

66. Donna's Panties (2/13/01)
Eric pulls down Donna's pants in front of everyone which leads the others to make fun of her. Kelso finds out Laurie has been cheating on him.

That 70s Show has an awkward situation here where Lisa Robin Kelly had abruptly left the show, but the Kelso and Laurie storyline wasn't finished. To their credit, they don't just completely ignore an unfinished story. But it still feels a little clumsy to try to wrap it up without Kelly involved. So, they needed to do it but it's not fun to watch. I'm also not a big fan of the Donna's panties story. I feel like we've already been down this road with Eric and Donna with different topics and there's no need to re-hash similar arguments between the two characters.
RATING: 2/10

67. Romantic Weekend (2/20/01)
Donna and Eric go away for a romantic weekend at the same place where Red and Kitty are having a romantic weekend. Kelso has trouble performing sexually.

I wanted this to be a good episode. It seemed like a great premise, but it's executed pretty poorly. I think the better comedy would have been mined from Eric and Donna figuring out that his parents were next door and having to play "keep away" from them. Instead, we get Red finding out about them right away, more absolutely terrible drunk acting from Laura Prepon and a plot that never gets off the ground. The Kelso story is a little funnier, particularly when he refers to himself as "omnipotent" and in a pretty solid I Dream of Jeannie parody. This is notable for the first "I said Good Day" quote from Fez, which becomes a popular catchphrase for him.
RATING: 3.5/10

68. Kitty's Birthday (Is That Today?) (2/27/01)
Eric and Red forget about Kitty's birthday. Kelso and Jackie decide to try to be friends and Jackie starts to see him as a girlfriend. Hyde starts to think Fez's girlfriend is crazy.

This is a fun episode and a fun premise but boy do Red and Eric come off looking like jerks for the majority of it. It allows for some great moments for Kitty and her very justified anger towards the two of them (no mention of Laurie at all). Kelso and Jackie trying to be friends is pretty funny and has some great lines from Kelso. The Fez-Caroline story continues to be funny too (it's the second straight episode where Fez uses the his new catchphrase "I said good day"). This is an episode where every member of the ensemble gets a funny moment, but it's Kitty who wins the day.
RATING: 8.5/10

69. The Trials of M. Kelso (3/13/01)
Jackie comes up with tests to see if Kelso has matured. Kitty is upset when she thinks the Pinciottis are having a party that she and Red weren't invited to. Eric, Fez and Hyde get locked in the school locker room.

There's only one story that's really worth watching in this episode and that's the Jackie-Kelso one. There's some really funny moments and it's clear just how much chemistry Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have. The other stories are a whole bunch of nothing. The story with the guys is pretty dumb and doesn't really add anything. The story with the adults could have been funny but just ends up being a little gross (and so is Don Stark's introduction to it on the DVD). But luckily, the Jackie-Kelso story by far dominates this episode which helps its cause.
RATING: 5.5/10

70. Eric's Naughty No-No (3/27/01)
Eric gets ideas about his sex life with Donna after seeing an X-rated movie. Kitty's sister visits and Kitty is jealous of her life. Kelso wants to come clean to Jackie about some of his secrets.

The late, great Valerie Harper guest stars as Kitty's sister, Paula, and she brings her great energy and vivacious self to the episode. She's also a great foil to Debra Jo Rupp. I wish she had made more than one guest appearance on the show. There's also a strong guest turn by Ashley Peldon as a teenage Kitty who nails her mannerisms in teenage form. While the Eric and Donna story doesn't really do much for me, Kelso's reveals to Jackie about things he's been keeping secret are pretty hilarious and must have been fun to come up with in the writers' room.
RATING: 9/10

71. Holy Craps! (4/17/01)
Kitty enlists the help of the guys at a church function and Red gets involved with a craps table there. Eric talks to a man who makes him question his future with Donna. Donna and Jackie try to get to know Caroline.

For a second episode in a row, we get a great guest turn by a classic TV guest star. This time it's John Ratzenberger. Although Ratzenberger always plays a similar type of sad-sack character, he does it so well and it's always enjoyable. The dream sequence for Eric and Donna is a little cringe-worthy but is true to Eric's high school boy character. Setting most of the episode at the church function is a fun way to get most of the characters together in a different setting. The on-going story of the group finding out that Caroline is crazy is a pretty funny arc and Allison Munn really leans in on the crazy.
RATING: 8/10

72. Fez Dates Donna (5/1/01)
Fez has to pretend to date Donna to keep Caroline away from him. Bob discovers that he owns some of Red's driveway and garage.

Don Stark is just the worst when it comes to introducing these episodes on the DVDs of That 70s Show. I don't really know him from anything besides this show but he seems even more annoying than Bob and I'm not a Bob fan. In this intro, he basically gives away the ending to the Bob/Red story. Oh well. This episode has some funny moments and it does bring the funny Fez-Caroline arc to an end. There's an I Love Lucy parody that could be better but props to Kurtwood Smith for a spot-on William Frawley impression.
RATING: 6/10

73. Eric's Drunken Tattoo (5/1/01)
Eric gets in trouble for reading Donna's journal and ends up getting drunk and getting a tattoo. Red and Kitty invite Pastor Dave for dinner. Jackie tries to figure out what Kelso was mumbling about in his sleep.

This is one of those episodes where I feel like That 70s Show just spins his wheels. We get another Eric and Donna fight and it plays out like all the other ones. We get another weird and silly side Kelso-Jackie story and we get a pretty standard Red and Kitty story. Now that the show is getting near the end of season three, it needs to work harder than this to come up with stories that feel fresh. This one feels tired. Although most of the main cast trying to run a football play at the end of the episode is a pretty funny moment.
RATING: 4/10

74. Canadian Road Trip (5/8/01)
The guys and Leo try to take a trip to Canada but Fez loses his green card. Jackie tries to get a modeling job. Red gets a VCR.

The best story in this episode is the Red and Kitty one which is a little bit of a throwaway story but is such a 1970s story with Red wanting to use the VCR to tape Roots and Kitty just wanting to watch it live. It's filled with some very funny bits and lines. The Canadian police scene uses an idea that the show has started to use more which is the rapid fire jokes in response to a situation with quick cuts. This works really well for That 70s Show with its wide variety of characters and their ability to deliver solid one-liners.
RATING: 7.5/10

75. Backstage Pass (5/15/01)
Donna gets tickets for the gang to a Ted Nugent concert. Red and Kitty struggle to remember when they met each other. After getting back together with Kelso, Jackie wants to wait to have sex.

This is an episode that hasn't aged all that well given Ted Nugent's life since this episode aired but it also feels like a pretty shameless plug for the big name guest instead of a solid story. That 70s Show was always hit and miss when it came to including big names from the era but they always seemed to go better when they were playing characters instead of themselves. Eric also comes across as a major jerk in this episode, but maybe that's the point. We have a good Red and Kitty story with the flashback to how they met and another strong performance from Ashley Peldon as young Kitty.
RATING: 5/10

76. The Promise Ring (5/22/01)
Eric gets a promise ring for Donna and it makes her question their relationship. Fez lets it spill to Jackie that Kelso bought her one as well.

Unlike some episodes where there are seemingly a zillion plot lines, this episode focuses almost exclusively on promise rings - one that Eric gives to Donna and one Kelso debates giving to Jackie. It makes sense as a season finale as it brings some stories together and there's a decent amount of drama that is played pretty well. However, the funny level is not quite where I want it to be to offset some of the more serious moments. There is one of the funniest moments of the season though when Kitty and Red walk out on Eric and Donna in the car.
RATING: 6/10

AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON THREE:
6.4/10

The Best Episodes
1. "Dine and Dash" (#64) - 9.5/10
2. "Red Sees Red" (#53) - 9.5/10
3. "Eric's Naughty No-No" (#70) - 9/10
4. "Kitty's Birthday (Is That Today?)" (#68) - 8.5/10
5. "Hyde's Father" (#54) - 8/10

The Worst Episodes
1. "Donna's Panties" (#66) - 2/10
2. "Eric's Panties" (#57) - 3.5/10
3. "Romantic Weekend" (#67) - 3.5/10
4. "Eric's Drunken Tattoo" (#73) - 4/10
5. "Baby Fever" (#58) - 4.5/10

Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week!

Next Thursday: A look at Season 4 of That 70s Show!