“That ’70s Show” Easter Eggs Hidden in “That ’90s Show”
Hello (again), Wisconsin! “That ’90s Show” is officially here, bringing us back to Point Place more than 15 years after the finale of “That ’70s Show.” A new generation of teenagers – including the kids of a few of the original characters – take their own turn in the basement to figure out life, love, friendship, and a lot of ridiculous sticky situations.
Although the story is new, there’s plenty to love for fans of the original series. Many of the original cast members make appearances, from recurring roles to quick cameos. Even more fun are the Easter eggs scattered throughout, calling back to some of the most memorable moments and running jokes from “That ’70s Show.” If you’ve watched through the first season of “That ’90s Show” (or don’t mind a few minor spoilers), read on to see if you caught all of these references and throwbacks to the original!
In the original “That ’70s Show,” one of Eric Forman’s defining geeky traits is his absolute devotion to all things Star Wars. Now, in the reboot, we see that his fandom has followed him well into adult life. He and Donna have named their daughter Leia, and he teaches a college course called “The Religion of Star Wars.” If the show lasts long enough to get to 1999, imagine how excited he’ll be about “The Phantom Menace”!
Red Forman spends a good portion of “That ’70s Show” calling out anyone and everyone (but especially his son and his friends) for doing or saying dumb things. His favored phrases are to threaten to “put his foot in [someone’s] ass” or just a blunt “dumbass.” Time hasn’t changed Red that much, as he frequently falls back on his iconic lines in the sequel series, too – and even Eric repeats it at one point!
“That ’70s Show” transitions between scenes with clips of the cast dancing in front of colorful, geometric backgrounds. For “That ’90s Show,” they’ve brought back the same transitions, only now with a new cast and era-appropriate dance moves.
Leia quickly befriends the girl next door, Gwen, in the first few minutes of “That ’90s Show.” As soon as we see Gwen’s room, we recognize it: it was Donna’s room in the original series when her family lived next door to the Formans. Her dad, Bob, moved to Florida at the end of “That ’70s Show,” making way for a new family – Gwen’s – to move in.
By the time the first episode of “That ’90s Show” ends, the new Point Place gang have discovered one of their predecessors’ favorite spots: the water tower. In the original series, the core crew often hang out and drink at, graffiti, and occasionally fall from the tower. If you look closely, you can even see some of Kelso’s original graffiti still visible!
The Formans’ classic car plays a notable role throughout “That ’70s Show.” Sitting in the family’s driveway, it’s the backdrop for many scenes, and it’s where Eric and Donna often sit and have important conversations. It gets rolled out of storage in “That ’90s Show” for Leia to learn to drive in. And, of course, Eric and Donna get to sit on its hood in a sweet throwback to the early days of their relationship.
After Leia breaks up with Jay Kelso, Donna has her own story to share to try to give her daughter some advice. She alludes to the time that she, too, dated a Kelso, referring to season four of “That ’70s Show” when she dates Michael’s brother, Casey.
The basement of Red and Kitty’s house becomes a hangout for a mismatched group of teenagers once again. If you look around, you’ll see a few things haven’t changed since Eric and his friends hung out there in the ’70s. Pause at the right moments, and you can even see the infamous “Stupid Helmet”!
One of the running gags on “That ’70s Show” is that we never actually find out where Fez is from. We know he’s a foreign exchange student, but we never learn his name or country of origin. His nickname “Fez” is just short for “Foreign Exchange Student,” and anytime someone mentions his real name or country, something happens to make noise so that the viewer never hears it. The joke continues on “That ’90s Show,” this time with a tea kettle whistling to obscure the answers.
One throwaway line from Red on “That ’90s Show” actually references one of Kelso’s dumber mistakes on “That ’70s Show.” When Jay owns up to his mistakes, Red comments how he’s different from his father, who often tried to wiggle out of the ridiculous situations he got himself into. Red brings up one incident in particular, reminding Kitty and revealing to Jay, “Michael Kelso glued himself to our refrigerator,” in a callback to a season seven episode where Kelso manages to do just that.
It’s not just the main characters of “That ’70s Show” who reappear for “That ’90s Show.” We also get to check in on past characters including Leo, Bob, and Fenton.
Arguably the signature image of “That ’70s Show” is “the circle,” where the camera pans around the gang sitting in the hazy basement to imply the passing around of a joint without actually showing it. In “That ’90s Show,” Leia and her new friends discover the “stash” that the previous group accidentally left behind and start a new “circle” of their own. At one point, Fez even rejoins the circle to get advice from the next generation, leading to a quick montage of flashbacks from the original.
Throughout “That ’70s Show,” Michael Kelso has one phrase to fall back on in any circumstance: “Burn!” It’s only fitting, then, that his cameo on “That ’90s Show” starts with him running into the Formans’ kitchen yelling that catchphrase. As it turns out, it runs in the family: by the end of the season, his and Jackie’s son, Jay, is “burning” his friends, too.
