‘That ’70s Show’: Storylines That Almost Ruined the Show

Netflix has unfortunately announced That ‘70s Show will be leaving the streaming platform. Although we will greatly miss all the wild adventures in Point Place, Wisconsin, there are some storylines on the sitcom that we can do without. That ‘70s Show has a handful of moments that are so poorly-written, they nearly ruin the series. Keep reading to discover which storylines practically destroyed That ‘70s Show. 

Any storyline that involves Randy Pearson

When Randy Pearson joined That ‘70s Show, all hell broke loose. It’s not that there was anything particularly wrong with him. It’s that this additional character just seemed like a desperate attempt for show runners to fix what was glaringly missing from the series.

After Eric and Kelso left the program, the creators of That ‘70s Show decided to bring in a new character who was a mixture of the two missing leads. Randy Pearson had Eric’s geeky interests combined with Kelso’s stupidity. 

Unfortunately, this didn’t make for the most charismatic persona. While the actor who plays Pearson was originally going to replace Topher Grace for the role of Eric, he instead became his own character. Despite his efforts, Pearson just felt completely unnecessary to the show. Unfortunately, we nearly gave up on the series when this additional character came in, considering how forced all his scenes felt. 

Fez ending up with Jackie 

That ‘70s Show let down the majority of its fans by placing Fez and Jackie together at the end of the series. The fact that these two characters have zero romantic chemistry is only half of the issue. The real reason we were so upset when Jackie and Fez became a couple, was because we’ve been watching Jackie and Hyde’s relationship develop for so long. Considering everything they’ve been through, it felt totally unjustified when they abruptly called quits.

Since the series focused so heavily on the love story between Jackie and Hyde, it felt like a total betrayal when they didn’t end up together in the end. All of that build-up for nothing.  

Hyde’s biological father

Steven Hyde finds out that his biological father is Black, which makes him biracial. This would be an interesting storyline had it been handled with more care and respect. Yet, unfortunately, it is one of the most poorly written storylines in the history of television. This is mainly because Danny Masterson, who plays Hyde, isn’t biracial in real life. This storyline comes across as ignorant, and it just feels so poorly executed.   

Eric decides to leave for Africa 

Eric has been pining after Donna throughout the series. The entirety of his character’s arc seems to revolve around his love for the girl next door. So when things finally start to get serious between them, Eric randomly decides to leave for Africa. 

It just seems totally out of character and goes against everything that the series had been leading up to. The show just felt wrong without the central protagonist. Additionally, it was a bit odd that the rest of the gang still hung out in Eric’s basement, despite the fact that he moved to a different continent.