Eight years after it began on Fox, “That ’70s Show” finally ends Thursday with a two-episode wrap during which we learn, well, about as much as we did during the first 199 episodes.
The show that gave the world (and Demi Moore) Ashton Kutcher was never a huge hit with the audience or critics, yet it survived through the turning of the millennium. Clearly, this show has had its loyalists. You don’t stick around for 200 episodes on network largesse.
The first of the pair of episodes, “Love of My Life,” finds the usual setup before departure as things are sold or put on the block (like businesses and houses), friendships re-evaluated and relationships cemented.
And in the last one, “That ’70s Finale,” it’s now Dec. 31, 1979, and the gang gathers at the home of Red and Kitty Forman (Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp) for a New Year’s Eve bash. Michael (Kutcher) and Eric (Topher Grace) make guest appearances, and Red threatens to put his foot up someone’s butt a lot.
It’s a little sentimental, but not so much really. “That ’70s Show” was more about spoofing that kind of sentiment, and it remains true to its kitschy underpinnings to the end.