‘That ’90s Show’: What’s changed and who remains the same in Point Place
Global News
'That '90s Show' contains tons of Easter eggs for fans of the original series and lots of references to the '90s, too.
The gang — both old and new — have descended upon Point Place, Wisc., and That ’90s Show is finally available to stream on Netflix in all its nostalgia.
A lot has changed over at Red and Kitty Forman’s house, which remains the de-facto hangout for both the original characters from That ’70s Show, as well as a new cast of (for now) relatively unknown teens.
The premiere episode kicks off on the Fourth of July weekend of 1995 and the Formans, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith), are preparing to welcome their son Eric (Topher Grace), daughter-in-law Donna (Laura Prepon), and granddaughter Leia (Callie Haverda) for a long weekend celebration.
That’s right — Eric is still a huge Star Wars fan and has named his daughter after one of the franchise’s main characters. He’s even managed to turn his fandom into a career and we learn that he’s an adjunct professor in charge of teaching a class called “The Religion of Star Wars.” (To dream.) We also learn that Donna is now a published author.
Eric and Leia are supposed to leave for a two-week father/daughter space camp after their weekend with the Formans, but that plan quickly dissolves when Leia — a self-professed nerd — meets some of the local kids and decides she wants to spend the summer with her grandparents and make some friends.
One of those friends, audiences soon learn, is none other than Jay Kelso, the son of original characters Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis). The real-life couple appears for a couple of minutes at the end of the pilot episode, revealing that they’re going to get “remarried” for the second time.
Fans of the first series will remember that Jackie ended up with Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), so it comes as a bit of a surprise to find Kelso and Jackie back together. In the second episode, Fez reveals to Kitty that 15 years before, he and Jackie were vacationing at a resort in Jamaica when he caught her talking to Kelso on the phone. Jackie left the resort to go back and be with Kelso, but Fez remained until the resort kicked him out “for talking too much in the hot tub.”
But don’t worry too much about Fez; he owns a successful line of hair salons called “Chez Fez,” still loves Tootsie Rolls, and is pursuing a (somewhat reluctant) love interest.
