That 70s Show Wiki, Cast, Episodes and Characters – Why Did Topher Grace Leave?

Quick Facts

That 70s Show is a groovy comic TV show, revolving around the lives and challenges faced by a group of suburban teenagers on the verge of maturity in 1976 Wisconsin. The Fox production chronicles the experiences of the teenage characters Eric,
Jackie, Kelso, Steven, Donna, Fez, and Randy as they deal with life issues like; drugs, sex, as well as rock and roll. It also goes further to x-ray their challenges with parents and other juvenile issues. Also, their take on discos, as well as leisure suits is portrayed to the fullest.

The show is a protracted one which lasted for eight long seasons and notably, most of the cast members left before the end of the show, though there was still two – Topher and Kutcher who left at the end of the seventh season to face their acting careers squarely. It is also known that most of the cast of That 70s Show have all delved into other fields like writing, producing and directing, but a few of them still grace the screens as actors and actresses.

It is important to note that the show paved the way for the marriage relationship between and – one of the celebrity couples in Hollywood.

Wiki

The American sitcom debuted on the 23rd of August 1998, initially aired by Fox Television. That 70s Show lasted for almost eight years with a total of eight seasons and over two hundred episodes. The sitcom is historically set in the ’70s and its main cast made up of six teenagers residing in fictional Point Place, Wisconsin. It held public interest for a long while because of its hysterical scenes and lines which have been described as iconic by the viewing public.

Although the main cast were the teenagers, other adult members like; , ,, , and were also featured in the series. Also, while it lasted, the show employed special screen elements like split
the screen which divides the screen into two, showing sets of characters as they act out their different roles.

That 70s Show equally leveraged on another technique called dream sequence – meaning daydream sequence of the characters which were mainly parody fads, as well as movies of the 70s’ like Grease, Rocky and . Most times, the daydreams are narrated by the very character picturing the dream.

That 70s Show Cast & Characters

The plot of the story centers on the teen cast members who include:

Topher Grace 

He arrived as Eric Forman, the protagonist of the show who fell in love with his neighbor Donna Pinciotti and lasted from the 1st season of That 70s Show till the 7th season. He was later seen in the 8th season as an uncredited special guest and his character was that of a nice dude who was geeky and somehow clumsy.

Furthermore, during the course of That 70s Show, Topher’s character can best be described as a wise guy, complete with a deadpan sense of humor and a fast wit.

Mila Kunis

 She is the youngest among the cast of That 70s Show and portrayed the character of the eye-catching Jackie Burkhart Though pretty, Mila’s character can also be annoying, immature and selfish. Her character painted the picture of a spoiled rich brat with a crooked politician father who was later jailed, causing a turnaround in her fortune.

Jackie was also known for offering superficial and thoughtless advice but they eventually turn out to be true sometimes.

Ashton Kutcher

He was cast as Michael Kelso and stayed from the beginning of
season one till the end of the 7th season but later arrived as a special guest for the eighth season of That 70’s Show. His character is that of a pretty but dumb boy who thinks that his handsome face can put him through in life.

It is also worth knowing that Ashton character’s alias on the show is “The King”. He played a cop but was dismissed for always getting the wrong end of the stick, he eventually got a job as a Security Personnel in a Playboy Club in Chicago.

Danny Masterson

His role is that of Steven Hyde the best friend of Eric, regarded as the group’s anti-establishment member. After his mum deserts him, he moves in with Eric’s family which made him Eric’s foster sibling.

Also, Danny’s character in That 70’s Show is that of an unruly personality with a sardonic sense of humor – he is witty, smart, as well as blunt and other members of the cast often seek his advice.

Laura Prepon

She took the part of Donna Pinciotti – Eric’s neighbor, girlfriend, and fiancée for a short while. Her body statistics read athletic, tall and good looking. She depicted the role of a brilliant girl during her appearance in That 70s Show but she was not always in agreement with Jackie, however, they ended up as friends in the long run.

Wilmer Valderrama

He came in as the horny foreign exchange student named Fez who is described as having out-of-control hormones. His origin remained a mystery for the most part of That 70s Show. He is notable for his love to cool off with a bottle of beer, eat lots of candy and watch photographs.

In the early part of his appearance, Wilmer’s character found it almost impossible to get a girl’s attention, but he surprisingly turned into a ladies’ man before the end of the show.

Josh Meyers

He acted the role of Randy Pearson and appeared in just the 8th season of That 70s Show. His character represented a ladies’ man who is seen as gentle, laid back, as well as polite. Nevertheless, he was not able to hide his flaws which surfaced later in the season.

Meyers’ persona summed up both the characters of Eric and Kelso who had long left the show. His utterances were like Kelso’s but like Eric, he had a tendency to spout witty one-liners and come up with silly voices.

Other Members of the Cast

The adult characters are summed up as Debra Rupp who came as Kitty Forman – Eric and Laurie’s mum. The role of Red Forman was taken by Kurtwood Smith as the husband of Kitty, as well as Eric and Laurie’s dad.

Other members of That 70s Show cast include Lisa Robin Kelly who appeared as Christina Moore, Tanya Roberts playing Midge Pinciotti, Don Stark as Bob Pinciotti and last but not the least, we have Tommy Chong who arrived as Leo.

Episodes In The Sitcom

Season one of the show came with a total of 25 episodes which took off on the 23rd of August 1998, terminating on the 26th of July 1999. By September 28, 1999, season two of That 70s Show began and it ran till the next year as it was concluded on the 22nd of May 2000 with 26 episodes in all. The third season which commenced on the 3rd of October 2000 ended the next year – on the 22nd of May 2001 after the 25th episode.

The commencement date for season four of That 70s Show was September 25, 2001, with exactly 27 episodes – the last one was shown on the 21st of May 2002. The show went on a few months break, coming back on the 17th of September 2002 for the fifth season with 25 episodes which was concluded on the 14th of May 2003. October 29, 2003, saw the beginning of the sixth season of the sitcom with 25 episodes, ending on the 19th of May 2004.

That 70s Show still continued with season 7 on the 8th of September 2004 and it ended on the 18th of May 2005 with 25 episodes in all. Then came the 8th and final season which wrapped up the show. It took off on November 2nd, 2005, running till May 18th, 2006. Quite unlike the preceding seasons, it came with just 22 episodes.

Why Did Topher Grace Leave?

As his career progressed, Topher Grace made the conscious decision to exit That 70s Show – he made a quick exit at the end of the 7th season, almost the same time that his fellow cast member Kutcher left the show. But unlike Topher who left very fast like he couldn’t wait to vamoose, Kutcher had to wait for his final four episodes in order to give a clean closure to his role. However, Topher’s character, Eric made a quick exit from the show which was explained by his trip to Africa for a teaching post.

According to the records, Topher who had no professional acting experience before his role in That 70s Show needed to spread his acting wings a bit further and decided to answer the call of Hollywood. He appeared on the set of the film titled Batman 3 where he portrayed the character of Eddie Brook also known as Venom. The Venom character was a complete antithesis of his role as Eric Forman. It required that he put on an entirely different look, so, Topher went to work at the gym, putting on 24 pounds of muscle by the end of six months.

Other movies credited to the That 70’s Show star include Valentine’s Day which cast him in the role of ‘s love interest. He was also on the set of Getty – a 2014 adaptation of the popular movie Interstellar. The movie star played the starring role alongside veteran actor in the movie titled War Machine – released in 2017 as well as making appearances in other movies like Drunk History and Workaholics.

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