#t70s spoilers

[thestupidhelmet]

Do you feel like the writing in T90S is worse than in T70S? There are inconsistencies in 3x02 but it's not just that, I feel like the jokes don't land and aren't as well written as in T70S (at least in the early seasons) and some plot lines seem primitive and Disney Channel-y. Do you agree?

T7S seasons 1-5 have an emotionally satisfying amount of depth, which makes the humor hit harder. T9S continues to lack the depth of T7S (that's because of the writing).

The T9S characters don't have the complexity of the T7S characters, which makes their conflicts lack complexity and emotional intensity, which lowers the stakes, which creates an emotional disconnect between me (as the viewer) and the characters.

While I continue to be interested in these characters' stories, I'm not very emotionally invested in them.

The superficiality of the writing is a major cause of the Disney Channel-esque aspect of T9S. Also, T9S has a pedantic aspect that T7S doesn't. Some lessons in T9S are explicitly stated. In T7S, one can learn simply through observing the characters' choices and their consequences. There are no scenes where Character X and Character Y sit on a couch while sappy music plays and the lesson is discussed. The conversations are organic and imperfect.

Subtext, man. Subtext.

Spoilers follow.

Leia and Jay's first time together is literally portrayed in cartoon form. It does not have the emotional impact or intimacy of Eric and Donna's first time in T7S. The scene of Eric and Donna in Eric's room, the song choice ("Dream Weaver"), the way Eric kisses Donna's neck and begins undressing her -- Topher's acting is on point. Through it, we see and feel what this moment means to Eric. How much he loves her.

Donna feeling secure and safe enough to have sex with Eric because of her parents' vowel renewal -- the vows she herself wrote while thinking about her relationship with Eric -- again, the writing is impactful.

I see and hear Eric and Donna's scene in my mind as I write about it, and I'm getting emotional. I'm still affected by it after all these years, and that's a testament to the writing and acting. The build up from season 1. The character and relationship development. The emotional truth depicted in that scene.

Leia and Jay's scene is cartoonish before it turns into an actual cartoon. The build up happens in the same episode where they have sex.

I do appreciate, however, the character development for Jay depicted in the following episode (e.g., sex with Leia actually means something to him; he felt emotions during sex for the first time, and this could be interpreted as him being a high libido sex-enjoying demisexual -- despite that the writers probably don't know what demisexuality is).

[thatseventiesbitch]

That '90s Show Part 2 Review

Overall, I'm giving Part 2 4.5 Stars out of 5!!!! I completely loved it, and thought it was an improvement from last season. I am now all the more excited for part 3, given what I know is still coming. 😜

If you're interested, here's my real-time reactions thread from Twitter (pinned to the top of my bio).

Stay tuned for my breakdown (warning: there be spoilers here):

The Good

The H U M O R continues to be the brightest spot for me. This is a genuinely funny show - I laughed out loud (okay, closer to howled if we're being honest) several times. It feels similar (though not identical) to T70S' brand of humor. I can tell it was made by the same people. This season, like last, Ozzie was my main man and had the one-liners that sent me the most but I can say the same for Jay, Gwen, Nate, and Leia too. And Bob. Oh hell, all of them! I'm sure I'll be reblogging my favorite moments for months to come while we wait for part 3!

The C H A R A C T E R D E V E L O P M E N T is the other shining star for me. The first season was limited (disappointing?) in this regard - to be fair, they only had 10 episodes to introduce us to a whole new handful of characters and make us care about them, and they mostly did. But this season brought the depth I was looking for - and we're only halfway through! 🤯 We learn more about Jay's playboy past, and see how he's actively working to grow and change and do his relationship with Leia differently. Ozzie is humanized when he has his heart broken - and his friends are there to pick up the pieces 💔. Nate struggles with his feelings and relationship with Nikki all season, and by the end of episode 8 he seems to be grappling with still having real feelings for her that he can't move on from. Nikki's pregnancy scare really affected her, and not in the way one would necessarily expect. She ended part 2 feeling lost and unsure of her direction, or what she truly wants (and not her parents), for the first time in her life. Gwen's storylines were perhaps my favorite of all (I'm a big Gwen stan, okay?). I was impressed that they decided to 'go there' with the racism plot, and even more impressed at the frank conversation she had at the end of the episode with her white (and well-intentioned, but bumbling) mom. Was it perfect and resolved? No. I think that was kind of the point. Not to mention her navigating her first real feelings and her relationship (?) with Cole. And Leia, my lovely Leia - she is learning about communication, forgiveness, honesty - all with the gentle guidance of her family and her friends. And that's not to mention Red and Kitty, who had sweet, plot-driving storylines of their own. I loved their realization that they like their rut - but loved even more when Red was inspired to live every day like it's his last and pushed through his fears to go to Paris with Kitty 🥰. This longer season has afforded more 'filler-like' episodes for us to just hang out with the characters, and get to know them more intimately. What are their wants, fears, insecurities, innermost thoughts? We are getting there. We are really getting there. Let's see what 8 more episodes will bring!

BOB! Bob gets his own point, because I enjoyed him so much (and seeing him and Red eventually come together to be overprotective grandpas 🤣. I laughed so much at his relationship with Leia, how they were just chilling in the basement, how he wanted all the teen gos. And Gwen's "What the heck, do you tell your grandpas everything?" 😂

DONNA! I adore Donna Pinciotti (Forman?), always have, and I adore her even more in the '90s than I thought possible. I love seeing her as a mom and her relationship with Leia. More pls.

This season felt more '90s to me! They incorporated more '90s references and brought back the regular fantasy sequences that always set the original apart. Off the top of my head, I loved: Kitty's Carmen Electra fantasy/nightmare (😂), Leia's Lisa Loeb fantasy (🤣), the Macarena (that shit was e v e r y w h e r e in the mid-90s, man), the Mentos commercial, Jay and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith cameo!!! also, Leo's son???) and all of Kitty's '90s slang that she picked up from the kids at school 😂👏🏻

The guest stars! Mitch and The Angel returned from T70S, and I am a big Will Forte/that era of SNL stan so I thoroughly enjoyed his appearance, too (and know he's been involved on the OG series on the writing/production side).

Red's trains (callback to season 1 of T70S - whoa!!) 🥰

I thought they struck a good balance this season between those heartfelt, 'very special episode'-type moments that '90s sitcoms were infamous for, without actually being too sickly-sweet, ala a Full House or Girl Meets World type moment. Donna and Leia's interaction in Nikki's bedroom regarding the voicemail comes to mind, as well as the is-Nikki-pregnant storyline and Nikki and Nate's celebratory dance at the end 🤣.

Which reminds me - I thought Nikki and Nate's storyline was intriguing. I have always been sort of a fan of their relationship - I don't think it's as bad as some others seem to - but remain unconvinced that they're 'meant to be' or endgame or whatever. But I enjoyed watching them navigate their break-up this season and then reluctantly find their ways back to each other, though. We'll see where it goes in part 3!

I immediately noted (and was pleased!) that there was a Laurie mention and a Midge mention this season. Both very off-hand, but it was something I was curious about. Who will be next? Betsy Kelso? ����

The Bad

For me, ngl, Topher Grace's (Eric) absence was really felt. It is definitely the kids' show now and a substantial storyline isn't one I'd ever expect, but gosh I missed him from the family scenes at the beginning (both those with Red & Kitty, and those with Donna & Leia). The silver lining is how the other characters continue to reference him - almost in every episode, really - and so we still learn things about him and his relationships to his wife, daughter, and parents through these mentions from other characters. There will always be a part of me that is crossing my fingers for another Eric appearance, though, and I think there always will be.

Kitty's characterization as an overbearing mother was overdone. To be fair, this isn't a deviation from the original show. This is how she was often written towards the end of T70S - overbearing, possessive of Eric, lashing out at Donna or feeling in competition with her. It was done for laughs, but it wasn't particularly funny to me (and never was) 🤷‍♀️.

Not enough Geia content for my 'shipper heart 😩. We got one boob touch 😂, and it is clear that Leia still prioritizes her friendship with Gwen above all else (I lol'ed when she worried Gwen was in jail and that she would have to commit a crime to join her) but I want more, damn it! Part 2 solidified for me that Geia is never going to be anything more than a crack!ship. 😰

Which reminds me - Jay and Leia are kind of 'meh' for me. They're fine, I don't dislike them together, and I do like how we're seeing them both learn and grow through their relationship but... it just inspires kind of lukewarm feelings, I guess.

There wasn't a lot of Sherri in part 2. I love Sherri. Hope to see more of her in the next part.

The Ugly

I am pleased to say that I can't think of anything!!! Fez was absent (although they didn't directly reference their break-up, Sherri is clearly single and on the prowl all season) but I didn't miss him (🤭). Ditto to Kelso and Jackie - although we did get one reference to Jay's dad and the Kelso family heirloom (aka porn). I would say the ugliest part is that I now have to wait until October for part 3!!!

[topperscumslut]

Let’s Talk About Jay Kelso

Warning: spoilers for That 90s Show

So I just binged T90S, and I’m not really sure how to feel, particularly about Jay. On one hand, I did really like his character, but not as much as I thought I would. And part of me thinks that’s my own fault for creating this idea in my mind of exactly what I thought he would be like without the show even being out yet, but part of me feels justified in my disappointment in the way his character was written and I’m wondering if anyone else agrees with me on this.

Jay started out really strong, he was flirty and charismatic, yet cheesy and respectful. The first two episodes have kind of blurred together at this point since I pulled an all nighter to watch this and I’m coming down from my caffeine high, but I saw a lot of potential for his character that I really didn’t see fulfilled in the rest of the series. Let me preface this by saying that I do not blame Mace Coronel, who plays Jay, AT ALL for this. I adore Mace and believe he’s beyond talented and did the best he could with what he was given. I blame it on lazy writing. As much as I love both T70S and T90S, a lot of the writing REALLY pisses me off (especially the treatment of Jackie in both shows, but that’s a topic for another time).

In my opinion, Jay peaked in episode three and it was all kind of downhill from there. Again, I still enjoyed his character, but it wasn’t what I expected or wanted from him. And maybe I am just projecting and set unreasonable expectations for his character, but I have a strong feeling the fandom will agree with me on this. Ep3 Jay really felt like the fanon Jay that I had imagined in my mind and had seen in posts from other users on here. He was still a charismatic flirt, but he was also slightly awkward, incredibly sweet, and a little dorky like I had imagined him. Between what I’d seen in trailers, official character descriptions, other tumblr users’ fan theories, and my own imagination, I imagined Jay having the charm of Kelso but much more depth. I saw him as being a bit of a nerd who loves girls but, unlike his father, isn’t a womanizer and genuinely respects them. I imagined him as very introspective, poetic, and intelligent, which I didn’t really see much of at all after episode three. Kelso himself even says in the pilot that Jay has his good looks and Jackie’s brains. And Jackie was always truly intelligent, even though she usually wasn’t treated that way. He was also described as always having a camera with him and constantly taking videos and photos of his friends which, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think we saw that even once in this season. In my mind, Jay Kelso was a goofy film geek who’s popular with the ladies due to his good looks and charisma, but in a much more unconventional way than his father is. But as the series progressed, I felt like he became more and more like Kelso. Which sucks because I despise Kelso with a passion.

Let’s talk about what I liked about Jay in episode three. When Leia tries to get Jay to kiss her, he turns her down because he doesn’t want her to be a meaningless fling and because he can tell this isn’t really what she wants. So I was like okay, consent king, respecting women, we love to see it. I also fully expected Jay to be a virgin for a couple reasons. First of all, in the original series, all of the core cast (except maybe Hyde) were virgins at the beginning of the series, EVEN KELSO, and besides Jackie, they were all older than the T90S crew at 17/18, whereas the next gen of Point Place kids are all 14-16, maybe some of them 17. But in T90S it’s heavily implied that the whole gang beside Leia (and possibly Ozzie, since his boyfriend lives in Canada) have all lost their virginity. Secondly, it would be such a plot twist. A Kelso being a virgin? Unspeakable! I fully expected this grand reveal of Jay saying he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes of his father and that he’s waiting for the right person, someone he’s truly in love with, and that person being Leia (though I am glad that Jay and Leia didn’t have sex for multiple reasons. The age of the characters, their lack of chemistry, and the age difference between the actors, to name a few). I was also genuinely surprised at Jay’s lack of daddy issues. All the posts with spoilers from before the show was out from people who had seen tapings suggested Kelso being an absent father who doesn’t really love or care for Jay, which led me to believe Jay would want to be as little like his father as possible, but there was literally nothing about that in the show. Also, a bit off topic, but can we talk about how awful the circumstances of Jay and Leia getting together were? Sure they developed genuine feelings for each other eventually, but it literally starts with Leia being like “hey, I want my first kiss, and my only option’s Jay. Eh, might as well, better than nothing.”

All of these hopes were crushed in episode four when we find out that not only has Jay had sex, which okay, fine, whatever, but he’s also a player who’s broken multiple girls hearts, and it’s implied that he does this on purpose. So basically Kelso 2.0. Cool. While I do have critiques for the other episodes, I did genuinely enjoy them, whereas I absolutely despise episode four to the point where I hardly even consider it canon. Between the horrible light it painted Jay in and the insensitive and disgusting Menendez brothers joke that made me actually pause the show for a good ten minutes to process it and almost give up on the show completely, episode four was horrendous. When Nikki suggests that Jay has feelings for Leia and actually sees her as a person and not just a sex object, Jay seems genuinely surprised at best, if not disgusted. While him telling Leia in the previous episode that he doesn’t want her to be a meaningless hookup implied that he treated all women with this level of respect, this seems to flip the script to say that he sees only Leia this way, because she’s “different.” Why, because she’s the main character, because she’s a “pure” nerdy virgin, because she’s “not like other girls?” Why is Leia put on a pedestal and treated like she deserves better than other girls whereas the rest aren’t worthy of basic respect? (If this sounds familiar, it’s because this is exactly how Donna was treated in the original series as opposed to every single other girl on the show, particularly Jackie.) Because Leia is “special” she “deserves” to be treated with basic human decency, unlike “other girls,” because fuck them, right? At the rave, we see what could have been a cute moment where Leia and Jay confess their feelings for each other, but instead, Jay takes advantage of her vulnerability and arrogantly declares that he “knew it” when Leia admits her feelings rather than telling her he feels the same way. However it’s hard to hold all of this against Jay considering how out of character this seems for him. Episodes 1-3 paint him as kind and empathetic, whereas episodes 5-10 continue that sort of personality for him, but also turn him into a one note love interest that doesn’t have much else to his character. Episode four Jay literally feels like an entirely different character than the rest of the series.

In either episode four or five, forgive me for not remembering, we meet Serena, who could essentially be replaced with a piece of cardboard and nothing would change. Serena literally only exists to be “the other woman” getting in the way of Jay and Leia’s relationship. While Leia, thankfully, isn’t unkind to her just because she’s with Jay, the writers are. Unlike Leia, apparently Serena doesn’t deserve a happy ending, a good boyfriend, or a shred of respect. She’s older, she dresses in a more conventionally attractive way, and her personality is nonexistent. It’s unclear if Jay *technically* cheated on Serena; while Leia calls her Jay’s girlfriend, it’s important to take into account that Leia is an unreliable narrator and it’s entirely possible that Jay and Serena were just casually going out and not official (especially considering they were just going on their first date a day or two before Leia’s birthday), but it’s also a very real possibility that Jay did cheat on her when he kisses Leia on her birthday. Regardless of if they were official or not, it’s pretty shitty that Jay entirely casts her aside as soon as Leia shows interest. Serena who, right? No seriously, that’s literally what he says. If the roles were reversed and it was Leia he did this to, Jay would be seen as a total asshole, but since it’s Serena, we’re not supposed to care. For my swifties out there, Leia is Betty, Jay is James, and Serena is Augustine - just a “summer thing.” So not only is Jay a “player” and a “man whore” as he’s called by his own friend group, he’s also likely a cheater. Sure, he’s Kelso’s son, but that doesn’t mean he has to be a carbon copy. It’s like the writers copy and pasted Kelso into the 90s, edited a few things, and said “yeah, that’s good enough, no one will be able to tell.”

While this may sound like I hate Jay, I really don’t. In fact, he’s still probably my favorite character in the reboot, although I’m probably a bit biased due to my affections for him from before the show came out (and my eight year long crush on Mace Coronel, but that’s irrelevant.) Jay does prove himself throughout the rest of the season, showing that he does care about Leia and exhibiting empathy his father could never muster, but he still doesn’t feel like his own character. While Kelso habitually cheats on Jackie and then blames her for it, admits to using her for sex and money while she’s 15 and he’s 18, and hounds her into sex until she eventually gives in and says yes so he’ll leave her alone (ie: rape), Jay is genuinely kindhearted and would never do those sorts of things (or at least I hope he wouldn’t, but it wouldn’t shock me if the writers decide to ruin his character in later seasons.) Like Red says when Kitty points out that Jay is better than Michael, the bar isn’t all that high. However, Jay does prove himself to be a good boyfriend who genuinely cares about Leia (I don’t use the word love since their relationship developed so quickly and they’re so young, so it’s unlikely that it’s real love, despite the fact that they believe it is). He exhibits true selflessness throughout the series and continually puts himself in the line of fire (usually from Red) to protect Leia.

Nevertheless, good person or not, Jay doesn’t feel original. He seems to exist only to be Leia’s love interest boy toy. Jay lacks the soul I imagined him to have before watching the show. While it’s nice to see the female characters fleshed out for once, as was very lacking on T70S, the male characters lack dimension in comparison. Leia, Gwen, and Nikki, all have their own personalities, values, and ambitions, whereas Ozzie tends to be the sassy token gay friend (although let’s bffr, none of these new kids are straight, but the writers don’t want to admit it), Jay not only feels like Kelso Lite ™, but as the series progresses, him and Nate seem to morph into basically the same person. Two well intended, yet dumb horndogs who lack depth or any true personality of their own beyond being love interests for their girlfriends and comic relief. Again, I love, love, LOVE Mace Coronel, and have since seeing him on Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn on Nickelodeon, and don’t blame him at all for the way his character is written. Now if you follow my blog, you probably already know that I absolutely adore not only Mace, but also his NRDD costar Aidan Gallagher, who I fell for after seeing him in The Umbrella Academy. However, Mace was the one I had a crush on as a child and it was very exciting to rediscover him when I first found out about T90S. While Aidan’s NRDD character Nicky Harper and TUA character Five Hargreeves share the same cunning spirit, they’re extremely different in most ways and I was incredibly excited to see Mace show this same sort of range on T90S. And I do believe that Mace has that range, but he unfortunately seems to be being typecast, considering Jay basically feels like teenage Dicky Harper in the 90s. Maybe I’m being overdramatic, but I was really hoping for more for Jay’s character and I was slightly disappointed, and I hope he gets fleshed out more and more deeply explored in later seasons.

Thanks for reading my long ass rant lmao. TLDR; I love Jay Kelso (and Mace Coronel) but hate how he was portrayed. Justice for Jay (oh, and for Serena)

Tagging my favorite T70S/T90S blogs for engagement: @thestupidhelmet @lily-267 @thatseventiesbitch @einsteinsugly @that90sshowgoldencouple

[uglypastels]

ok i've watched all 10 episodes

i'm trying to keep it spoiler free

i am really, happily, surprised with the show. at the end of the last episode I actually wanted more.

first of- ranking the kids

ozzie- he is a fucking legend. love his line deliveries and just in general super fun original character. he's probably the least like any of the OG teens from t70s which is really appreciated. absolute scene stealer.

jay- off the bat, fantastic fucking casting. the guy looks like a Kelso. i also love how the character is so clearly A Kelso but is not just a copy of Kelso. he's so cute, and i immediately fell in love with him, but i think that might be the reason why some of his plotlines worked, as he's the charisma in the dynamics so you want to root for it even though it might not be the best or even make sense. i would also love to see more of him and his dad in future episodes.

nate- he and jay are just bestie goals. there is not a lot to say about him (more on that later) but every scene he was in, i was enjoying it. I'm not sure how to feel about the ending of the season when it comes to his story, but that's more because of the lack of nate at the beginning---

which brings me to nikki - honestly she and nate are equal and i am angry at how left behind those two were. there was maybe one episode in which they had an actual purpose and character traits besides sucking eachother's faces off which is just a rob because they have so much potential, especially as separates! nikki deserves the world. i wish i had more of her

gwen - perhaps its the performance, but she was the only one out of the point place kids that i couldn't really enjoy. everything felt a bit awkward. she is funny tho, great style and just gorgeous, but there is little chemistry ngl.

i hate leia with a fiery passion. she's everything that was annoying about eric but double that. not saying that all the jokes in the show land but her character especially just made me cringe and I'm so tired of this naive dorky girl act that seems to be her only personality trait. (also absolute vile behaviour at the mall. i lost all respect)

it only being a 10 ep season, you can not have that slow build up as opposed if you had a full length series so a lot of things just felt rushed. i would have really preferred it if they kept more separate so you could just focus on the fun little stories instead of the drama forming in there because all those singular plot lines were super fun.

also, in the second half of the show they start to use more of those cut off imaginary gag bits, and not all of them land as well as they could. like, you can see what they were going with and the idea is fun, they just could have maybe spent a bit more time fine tuning it and to maybe get that energy that the originals had, because it's just different and that makes it feel off. just like the circle scenes (please get rid of the CGI smoke filter) something about it feels off, even if what the characters are doing is funny, I'm like :/ ((but then laugh. honestly, i did not expect to laugh as much as i did watching it))

i also really like Sherri! her and red are a super fun neighbour dynamic, reminiscent of him and bob, but still very different. that's basically everything about the show. it's familiar because it does call on a lot of the original, but it twists it around in its own way and it works-- not all times, but often

Is t90s worth watching? I love the original and ngl the trailer was not it

I absolutely love that 70s show, so i was very sceptical about this sequel show but honestly, its cute and pretty fun (so far, i've seen half the episodes)

more comments below cut

It doesnt have the exact energy that made the og show but i also dont think its fair to hold it up to that standard and immediately fail it if its not the exact same. It has its own cast and charm. So far the og characters (besides red and kitty) have been only making small cameos which is clearly fan service, and i dont even think its that necessary. I would happily watch season 2 without them (i mean, i DO want them, but if they werent there, id still enjoy the show since they dont add that much to the plot besides the audience cheer tracks)

Of course red and kitty are the king and queen, and im so happy they are the focus of the b plots instead of f.e. eric and donna. Seeing them be sweet grandparents is just the best and their energy has barely changed from t70s.

As for the new kids, i love them as a group. There are clearly things they writers passed down onto the new characters from the older ones but not in a 1 by 1 parallel way i feel like. Its a mix combined with their own personalities. Do i love all of them? No (*cough* leia can fuck back off to chicago *couch*) but thats fine. I love ozzie and jay, they're my homeboys. Jay and nate are himbo bestie goals. Nikki (i had to look her name up after a while bc istg they did not introduce her by name until ep 3 unless i missed it) is fun and so is gwen, just the acting is a bit choppy, but still watchable- its a sitcom, i dont expect much. And leia is also there i guess. Do i agree with the dynamics they went for??? Not all, but i see the potential the group has for any later plot lines and im excited

One point of critique id give is perhaps some of the jokes were... choices. The writers have a bit of a Victorious approach to it when it comes to stuff like consent... and fez... is fez

(Again i only watched half the season so im only going off of the first five episodes)

[thelovewittch]

That ‘70s Show

[mydearburkhart]

*watching Eternals at the movies*

Eric: Sometimes, I wish I was a giraffe too.

Donna: I love women.

Kelso: Of course he's the bad guy, villains are always the hottest.

Fez: YOU SONUVABITCH!

Hyde: Flying into the sun to avoid therapy? Yeah, I can relate.

Jackie: It's the way he said 'my beautiful, beautiful Makkari', it's giving me 'the best couple' vibes.

[70seric]

this scene screams otp material part 2

[haaam-guuuurl]

The "OMFG Stop Being So Likeable, You're Supposed to Be the Romantic Rival" Squad

Rachel Elisabeth Dare

Jackson Marchetti

Ola Nyman

Luka Couffaine

Cedric Diggory

Nick Scratch

Toni Topaz

Walt Stone

Jess Mariano

Leo Valdez

Simon Lewis

Mark Blackthorn

Kieran Kingson

Jem Carstairs

Will Herondale

Asami Sato

Buddy Morgan

Viktor Krum

Wells Jaha

[amyjacob]

donna and eric are so cute?? i hope they stay pure and unproblematic but also what are the chances they are endgame AND stay good in a 90s/00s sitcom with 8 seasons

[secondratefiction]

Head cannon on Being Eric formans twin sister and the gang finding out you and Hyde are together.

Ok... my first time write t70s, so please be kind as I blunder my way through this.

- It wasn't supposed to be a secret, you weren't trying to hide it, you just weren't broadcasting it...

- Donna was the only one to actually figure it out in the early stages. She of coursed teased you mercilessly when the others weren't around, but then... a few days went by and nobody else seemed to pick up on it.

- By the end of week two, all three of you were actively trying to see how long you guys could go without the others finding out.

- The sneaking around was kind of fun, the little thrill of trying to act naturally when other people unexpectedly came bursting into the basement, seeing how far you could go with your affections without getting caught.

- Spoiler Alert: Apparently anything short of literally shoving your tongue down his throat in front of everyone flew right over their heads.

- The novelty wore off very quickly after the first month, and by the third you were beginning to wonder if your friend group was just that dense

- By the six month mark, you're stealing his clothes - Hyde "not sulking" something awful at the loss of his Zeppelin shirt (the saving grace is it looks much better on you, his words) - and you've honestly considered tattooing his name across your forehead to see if they finally get it then.

- True friend that she is, Donna tells you you're being dramatic.... Then offers to writen it in sharpie, a "less permanent" alternative.

- The penny finally drops one afternoon at the Hub...

- You were with Jackie and Donna waiting for the guys to join you when another group of guys started hovering and trying to chat to the three of you.

- One particularly persistent bastard set his sights on you and would not back off no matter what you said, and only got worse once the guys finally joined you.

- The new guy went so far as to grab you by your arm and actually try and yank you away from everyone. The reaction through out the group was instantaneous, but it was still Hyde that moved first, completely laying the guy out.

- You didn't even get the chance to fully take in what happened before Steven was moving you away from the whole situation, and then trying to check you over.

- To say everyone had been highly confused would be an understatement...

- Kelso and Fez immediately started in with the invasive questions while Jackie questioned your judgment and if you'd actually thought about this.

- All three of them were quickly shut down by a pair of matching, unimpressed stares.

- Eric however wanted the indignant 'that's my sister' rant, but betweens Hyde's stare and you pointing out he was about six months too late because of he missed all the signs ("We weren't even subtle"), the fight quickly went out of him

[zeppelin-and-unicorns]

“Flash of the Blade” ask game!

As some of you probably know by now, I’ve been working on a “Scream” inspired T70S AU fic for the Halloween week, and I want to share some of it with you guys.

So... send me a ask with a random word, and if it’s on the document, I’ll answer your ask with a sentence that it appears in. You can also just straight up ask me a question about the story and I’ll answer it.

PS: If necessary, I will censor a few words or names so I won’t reveal any major spoilers.

[thestupidhelmet]

Hey! I just finished watching T70S all the way through for the first time and I love it so much! Going to check out some fanfiction next. Just want to say that I love your blog and all the cool stuff you post about the characters! Wanted to ask how long you have been a fan of the show, what originally got you into watching, and your top 5 favorite episodes!

Thank you so much! 😊

I’ve been a fan of T7S since it originally aired. I saw commercials for it, and they seemed interesting and funny enough, so I checked out the first ep and watched the show regularly until season 4. I felt less motivated to watch every episode after Eric and Donna’s broke up, so I didn’t see every episode of season 4 during their original airing. 

Then I saw the commercial for “Going to California” (5x01). Not only were Donna and Eric reconciling, but Jackie and Hyde had started a secret relationship. The show in season five became must-see for me, and I became off-limits during that half-hour every week. 😂

I continued to watch the show regularly through season 7. Then season 8 happened.

I watched the first episodes of season 8 ... then watched the season sporadically. I checked the T7S spoilers board on Fan Forum for news about Jackie and Hyde’s relationship. Once I learned a producer (I believe) told a fan (who’d brought to a S8 taping a stack of letters from J/H fans, asking for J/H to be reconciled by the end of the show) that J/H were never, ever, ever getting back together, ether, ether ... I was out.

Until I read spoilers that Topher Grace would be in the finale and Eric would reconcile(-ish) with Donna. So I watched the finale ... and stopped watching or thinking about the show for the next three years.

Then one night (at three a.m. or so), I happened to catch “Thank You” (5x08) on TV. It drew me in and rekindled my love for Jackie and Hyde -- and the show. I read T7S fanfic for the first time, trying to heal the pain of S8.

I lurked on then joined the T7S message board on Fan Forum, started discussing the show analytically with fellow fans and making @those70scomics. Was encouraged to write my That ‘70s Show/10th Kingdom idea as a fanfic (by the moderator of the T7S board at the time).

Ten years later ... hi? 😅

As for my top five favorite episodes, I’ve been asked this question (or similar ones) before. This list might contradict previous answers. I go with whatever are my faves in a given moment, and here is my list for this moment.

In order of when they aired:

1. “Prom Night” (1x19) 2. “Hyde Moves In” (1x24) 3. “Cat Fight Club” (2x25) 4. “I Can’t Quit You, Baby” (5x02) 5. “Magic Bus” (6x03)

[thatseventiesbitch]

would love to hear more about ur verse covering the gap between t70s and t90s 😁

Thanks for the ask!

Well, it's a massive story. The longest one I've ever outlined (and I wasn't finished) - it was like 60 chapters. It attempts to bridge the two series, so it started on New Years Eve 1979 and went right up to the 4th of July 1995. Each of the characters had their own major plotline - quite complex, to explain how they got from the '70s to the '90s. I truly don't think I'll ever finish and post it, so here are some details (be forewarned, this is long 😅):

Eric and Donna of course, were the center. The story was about how they handled their unexpected pregnancy with Leia, and then raising Leia, along with navigating turbulence as their friend-group imploded, stress in their careers, and eventually fissures in their marriage. A lot of angst, which is something I haven't been writing much of these days but I rather miss it. A few big spoilers about their plotline:

Eric finally grows up when Leia is born. We see him struggling to find his purpose at the end of T70S, and when his daughter is born he finally finds it.

They end up going to college in Milwaukee, not Madison, because it's much closer to Red & Kitty (who help them immeasurably when Leia is little). Donna gets to attend Marquette - the private school she loved but was going to give up so she could go to UW-Madison with Eric.

They want to have a second child when Leia is around 5 or 6, but unfortunately Donna loses the pregnancy/has a miscarriage. When it happens a second time, she goes into her self-destructive spiral and runs away to her mom's in California (deja vu). Eric goes and brings her back home, once again.

Donna's a journalist when she graduates from college, and after several years of work she gets her dream job opportunity: writing for Rolling Stone. The job requires a lot of travel, though, and Eric is concerned by that (Leia's around 10) and nags her about it. The plotline culminates in Donna missing Leia's birthday. Things become even more tense between Eric and Donna, and then on an international work trip, she's drunk and pissed and she cheats (like, somewhere in between kissing and sex). They work through it in marriage counseling. (This storyline was partly inspired by the marriage and family therapy course I had to take in grad school, and partly by Jim and Pam on The Office 🤣)

Donna changes careers after the whole ordeal, and ends up as a writer/author. She publishes her first novel to modest success, but her second becomes a Bestseller. It's about her mom. Midge died of cancer and the book is Donna processing her relationship with her mom/her mom's death.

Obviously from T90S, they end up happy (and together). By 1995 they've worked through their stuff, and they're happier than ever. Well. As happy as you can be when you're raising a teenager (marriage and family therapy course taught me that statistically, families are at their most volatile stage when their children are teenagers 🤓)

Jackie and Kelso

I originally had Jackie with Hyde when I drafted this story, but I changed it after That '90s Show came out and I became intrigued by the idea of Jackie and Kelso for the first time. What makes them keep going back to each other time and time again? How do they work? How does parenthood change their dynamic? I wanted to explore it in a story. A few big spoilers about their plotline:

When Jackie realizes she's pregnant (and it's Kelso's), the first person she turns to is Hyde. He doesn't know why she's telling him that she's pregnant ("I don't know why you're tellin' me. I ain't the daddy,") but Jackie confesses she didn't know who else to go to. She confesses that she doesn't want to be with Michael, she wants to be with him - but Hyde gets upset and tells her it's too fucking late for that. Upset, Jackie leaves. Hyde goes after her, but it's a few moments later after he's collected himself. She's gone.

Jackie flees to her father in Boston (he's just been released from prison and has promptly remarried and is quite literally starting a new family). He's still rich somehow, and he's vowed to take care of Jackie and his grandchild. He's relieved when he learns the baby daddy is Michael and not Steven, because he 'will be easier to manipulate'.

Jackie's dad threatens and then bribes Kelso to ensure loyalty to her. He gets him a job, implied he's paying him off, etc. Jackie quickly sees through this/realizes it, but admits she could really use the help with newborn baby Jay.

Kelso just straight up ditched Brooke and Betsy for Jackie and Jay, once Jackie's dad started manipulating him. There's bad blood between Brooke and Jackie/Kelso - even though Betsy lives with them part-time (in the summers, etc).

They get divorced because Kelso reveals her dad's bribes to marry her - and because Jackie feels she can't trust him, and he's cheating (he is). Their kids (they now have another baby) are tired of seeing them fight. Etc.

Kelso has a playboy era for a few years, but it loses its appeal rather quickly and he comes crawling back to Jackie. He misses his family. She makes him work for it for a year, but when he's 'proven his love', she takes him back and they remarry.

The second divorce has to do with them being competing local news anchors, ala Anchorman.

Years in the future, beyond 1995 (this was going to be an epilogue, maybe?) Jackie and Hyde run into each other again. Jackie's kids are grown/almost grown, and she's finally left Michael behind for good and been happily single (parenting) for many years. Jackie and Hyde's chemistry is still there - until Hyde reveals he has a 7 year old. Jackie's crushed, but forces herself to ask about his wife. He grins and says no wife, just a co-parent, he's not with Jamie's mom. It ends on a flirty note and we're led to believe they get together like that, later in life. (*Found a way to make it Zenny!*) (Maybe sort of inspired by Daisy Jones and the Six)

Hyde

He turns away Jackie when she comes to him with her pregnancy - lashes out at her from a place of deep hurt and regret. Unfortunately for him, he drives her away one final time and she's married to Kelso within the year.

He eventually moves to NY, with W.B. It's related to running Grooves, he's gotten a promotion and is making quite a bit of money. Work is his life now - he never thought he'd be one of those people.

He still comes back to Point Place, though rarely. For Eric, Donna, and Leia. For Red and Kitty. He always says hi to Fez. Etc. But he avoids Jackie and Kelso.

He doesn't date or have a serious girlfriend for a long time after Jackie - like 7+ years. When he visits, Eric always tries to tell Hyde that he can have what he has too, he can settle down and find someone. Hyde just brushes him off.

Fez

Fez is completely blindsided by Jackie's revelation that she's pregnant (with Kelso's baby) when they're in Jamaica. He comes home and is devastated. Jackie was his dream girl. But Hyde assures him that his destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves. He inspires Fez to do something for himself, and he decides to go to beauty school so he can be a hairdresser.

It's hard for him to be around Jackie and Kelso. He stops having ill-will towards them after a few years, and he eventually just defaults to avoiding them. The splinter between Fez and Kelso/Jackie - along with Hyde bailing to New York - means the gang essentially dissolved. It's really hard for Fez (and some of the others). He still talks to Eric, though, and sees him and Donna every time they're in town visiting Red and Kitty.

He dates quite a bit over the next several years, even trying dating some men, but he never feels that soul connection he had with Jackie. He quietly resigns himself to settling. Until he meets Sherri.

That was a lot. And yet, only a snippet. 🤣

[ericlwoods]

This Old Lens: Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C

This Old Lens: Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C

Preface

Film or digital, no matter the camera, if the lens is no good none of those other things will matter. There will be no spoilers as I will like all of these lenses. This lens was a byproduct of my odd obsession with the Canon T70. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps a mild obsession with oddballs. But the T70 is quite the capable oddball.

https://flic.kr/p/2iTXEKc

Anyhoo. The lens.

h…

[thatseventiesbitch]

8, 12, 65 (drops of jupiter :)

Thanks for the ask! Fanfic ask game

8. Post an out-of-context spoiler from a wip.

Ooh, this one's tricky! Okay in my latest (and longest 🥵) WIP that seeks to bridge T70S and T90S I can give a little spoiler about each major arc:

Eric and Donna both end up finishing college, but not in Madison (or Chicago) 👀

Kelso's storyline intersects with Jack Burkhart's (Jackie's father) in a significant way 👀

Jackie and Hyde remind me of Billy and Daisy from Daisy Jones and the Six (iykyk) 👀

12. Do you outline your fics?  If yes, how detailed are your outlines?  How far do you stray from them?

Yes, I do. Well, usually. For like a drabble or something quick that comes to me out of nowhere (rare), no. But a multichapter story with intersecting plotlines like I mentioned above, absolutely.

My outlines can be too detailed sometimes - to the point that I have to remind myself to not get too wrapped up in the outlining that I neglect the actual writing. How far I stray from the outline varies. I've had fics where I stick to it almost exactly and I've had fics where what I ended up writing was nowhere near what I initially outlined. That's why it's an art, not a science. 😘

65. If you wrote a sequel to [Drops of Jupiter], what would happen in it?

I have actually never thought about this, because I wrapped up DoJ with an epilogue that was like 15 or 20 years later (Natalia's wedding day) and we see that all of the characters are happy and get a quick summary of what happened to them.

Not sure which route I would take - filling in those 15 years, Eric and Donna getting to know each other again, getting married, Eric becoming a parent to Natalia, having their son Ben? Jackie and Hyde getting married and raising their daughter Briah? Or if I would jump off from the epilogue - we know Natalia and her new husband are off to join the Peace Corps. Eric's son likes Jackie and Hyde's daughter. I don't know. Truth be told, my disinclination to center a story around OC's makes this a not particularly interesting direction to me. But it was a fun thought experiment! Thanks for the questions. 😊

[thatseventiesbitch]

Behind The Scenes Pictures of That ‘90s Show Sets!

Seeing The Hub again warms my heart, hbu? 🥰