Top 10 Times That '70s Show Got Serious

Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart have one of the most tumultuous relationships on “That ‘70s Show.” While they’ve broken up and gotten back together multiple times, and although it was tempting to choose when Jackie broke up with Kelso, the inverse is arguably more serious. When the couple is arguing over their respective cheating, Kelso shows up to Jackie’s room and tells her that he’s realized that he was unfaithful because Jackie puts him down so much. He goes on to decide that they should break up, because he can’t be with someone who makes him feel bad about himself. Kelso may be an idiot, but even he can see that he deserves someone who will lift him up instead.

Speaking of Jackie’s relationships, her time with Steven Hyde isn’t free of heartbreak either. After Hyde catches Jackie apparently in Kelso’s arms, he sleeps with someone else. Although he does admit this to her, Jackie breaks up with him. This scene alone is a real gut punch, but the follow-up hits even harder. After trying to apologize again, Hyde admits that he loves Jackie. While it clearly affects her, she doubles down and tells him she doesn’t love him back. The acting from Mila Kunis and Danny Masterson is fantastic here and is some of their best in the series.

Bob Pinciotti, Donna’s dad, is kind of a goofy, loveable doofus. However, even he gets a serious storyline. When his wife Midge finally leaves him, Bob is unable to accept it. He remains in denial, making remarks throughout the episode about her coming back, even buying her gifts. Ultimately, it falls to Red Forman to set him straight. Although Bob is at first sure it’s just his neighbor being mean as usual, he eventually says that he knows Midge isn’t coming back. Spousal and parental abandonment isn’t something sitcoms usually tackle, but “That ‘70s Show” deals with it gracefully. Speaking of which…

Hyde hasn’t had the greatest family life. So when his alcoholic dad Bud shows up again after years of absence, tensions are certainly high. While Kitty tries to get them to get along, Red is more critical, particularly when he sees Hyde hand money over to Bud to help him with rent. While Red is ready to lecture Hyde about it, Hyde tells him he’s decided to move in again with Bud. After all, he’s family. Red holds back and instead wishes him luck. He continues playing tough, but it’s clear he’s come to see Hyde like a son. That Red tells Hyde he’s not going to hug him and then hugs him anyway is just heartwarming.

After Red has a heart attack, he can’t support his family the way he used to. With Eric poised to leave for college, Kitty must work more shifts to make ends meet. Eric is sure his parents are trying to guilt him into staying. Down in the basement, he vents to Donna, becoming increasingly emotional as he yells about how much he needs to leave. But ultimately, he decides he needs to stay to help his family. Overwhelmed that he’s given up his dreams, he just wants to hold Donna. The scene runs the gamut of emotions and Topher Grace absolutely kills it.

It’s a big deal when Fez meets his girlfriend Nina’s parents. Nina was reluctant to introduce him to them, and it turns out she had good reason. Although they initially seem enthusiastic, this changes when they realize that she and Fez are dating and not just friends. Their overt racism during dinner leads to Fez briefly breaking up with Nina, until she tells him she doesn’t share their ignorant views. Although Fez isn’t treated with much cultural sensitivity through most of the show, particularly by Red, few of his friends are malicious in how they treat him, which makes this a difficult watch.

We’ve touched on Hyde’s abandonment issues before, and as serious as his tense reunion with his dad is, we’d like to touch on the other half of that unfortunate equation – his mom. Midway through the show’s first season, Edna Hyde abandons her son. When Red and Kitty go to Hyde’s house and see how he’s been living, it’s pretty tragic. Kitty is of course ready to adopt Steven immediately, but Red doesn’t know how they can afford to support another kid. Although his profanity strewn decision to let Hyde stay with them is hilarious, Hyde being essentially orphaned is still a very real subject to cover.

“That ‘70s Show” has dealt with grief and death in several episodes. Although Kitty walking in on her mom crying after her dad’s death is also quite moving, this moment from season 1 is even sadder. Each of the Formans process the death of Red’s mother in different ways. Kitty makes too much food, Eric lashes out, and Red bottles up and turns wistful. Red sharing the things he loved about his mom with Eric is so special and uncharacteristically emotional for him. While Red’s reaction to Eric’s last words to his grandmother gives both him and us a laugh, Kitty’s breakdown soon after has us fighting off the waterworks again.

Let’s be clear - if this were purely a list of the saddest moments in “That ‘70s Show,” this could easily be number one. After Eric gets Donna a promise ring, it brings up questions for her about their future. She wants to give the ring back, claiming that if they’re meant to be, they’re meant to be and a ring isn’t going to make it any more likely. Eric argues that commitment to each other, like with the ring, is how they’ll be together in the future. We can see where both are coming from, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less heartbreaking when Eric suggests they break up. So often in sitcoms, break-ups can feel staged, but this feels all too real.

Red and Eric Forman don’t exactly have the most loving father/son relationship. Threats and insults on Red’s side and sarcasm on Eric’s part tend to be the order of the day. When the guys go hunting and the two of them are alone in a deer blind, a lot of their issues come up. Red eventually asks Eric to tell him what he thinks of him. Eric replies that he believes Red feels pushed around by life and that by being hard on his son, that Eric will have fewer difficulties later in life like he has. It’s a rare moment of honesty between them and it helps their dynamic feel very authentic and somehow just as loving as their rare moments of affection.