It’s a sitcom that shouldn’t work. It really shouldn’t. Friends had the cultural cachet. Arrested Development had the cleverness. That ’70s Show had… well, it had a basement in Wisconsin and four friends who were terrible at life. And yet, here we are. Decades later, the show maintains a diehard following that insists it was one of the best things on television during its run. We’re unapologetically part of that camp.
The series operates in a weird, wonderful vacuum. It isn’t historically significant enough to be taught in schools, but it’s heartfelt and funny enough to keep the fanbase alive. It captures the spirit of the late 1970s with surprising deftness. We’re talking about Eric, Donna, Jackie, Hyde, Kelso, and Fez. We’re talking about Point Place, Wisconsin. We’re talking about the chaos they stirred up while navigating high school.
So, let’s get into it. Here are the ten best episodes of That ’70s Show.
Hyde Moves In (Season 1, Episode 24)
Every great friendship needs an inciting incident. For Eric Foreman and Steven Hyde, that incident is a traumatic family separation.
At the end of the first season, Hyde’s mother, Edna (played with glorious, unhinged energy by Katey Sagal of Married… with Children fame), runs off with a long-haul trucker. Suddenly, the bad boy has nowhere to go. He moves into the Foreman basement.
This is where the pseudo-brotherhood begins. It’s a dynamic that defines the series. But it’s also a episode that showcases the Foreman parents, Red and Kitty, at their absolute peak.
Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp are incredible. They provide the most adorable, convincing depiction of parental figures on sitcom television. Red is the tough dad. Kitty is the overbearing mom. Their dynamic with Hyde creates a found-family tension that the show never quite replicates again.
Also? Kelso is repulsed by a sick Jackie. It’s early days. The stakes are low. The humor is sharp.
Eric’s Corvette Caper (Season 4, Episode 22)
The nerdy boy wants the cheerleader. It’s a trope older than dirt. But That ’70s Show knows how to twist it.
In this fourth-season highlight, Eric sees his only shot at dating a high-eligible bachelorette as a chance to borrow Red’s newly purchased Corvette. He needs the status symbol. He needs the car.
Naturally, it goes to hell.
His date insists on driving. She crashes the car. Now Eric has to clean up the mess before Red finds out. It’s a classic setup for disaster.
What makes this episode work is the chaos that follows. Hyde and Fez try to help Eric escape. They also try to get him caught. They drink all of Red’s beer in the process. It’s a perfect storm of bad decisions.
Meanwhile, Jackie and Donna try to sneak into Kelso’s house to retrieve a misplaced textbook. Two groups of kids. One broken car. Zero supervision.
We’re Not Gonna Take It (Season 6, Episode 6)
Sitcoms have a shelf life. Most shows peak before season four. After that, characters become caricatures. They lean on old archetypes until the humor turns stale.
That ’70s Show is no exception. Most episodes on this list land in the early years. But the show isn’t without its later triumphs.
Episode six of season six proves the point. Eric and Kelso are competing for the same waiter job at Roy’s hotel restaurant.
Brains versus brawn. Always a funny fight.
But setting it in a restaurant? That’s the genius. Hot soups. Breakable plates. A high-pressure environment where one wrong move means a tray of coffee in your crotch.
The slapstick is top-tier. The rivalry is established. The stakes are professional. It’s one of the highest-rated episodes of the later seasons for a reason. It reminds you that even when the show is winding down, the chemistry between Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace remains electric.
Garage Sale (Season 2, Episode 1)
People forget how important That ’70s Show was for cannabis normalization. It wasn’t explicit. It was subtle. It was indirect. But the show made frequent allusions to the gang’s use of marijuana in a way that felt grounded, not preachy.
Season two, episode one is the apex of this storytelling.
Hyde contributes to the Foreman garage sale. He brings brownies. Special brownies.
They are delicious. They are also laced with weed.
Then, they get misplaced.
A tray of adult-eating brownies is consumed by the adults at the garage sale. Hilarity ensues. Red sells Eric’s car in the confusion. The gang has to track down the buyer. They have to explain the situation without revealing they just fed a stranger a psychedelic meal.
It’s riotous. It’s chaotic. It’s the kind of episode that defines the show’s unique tone. A mix of genuine heart and absolute absurdity.
This is just the start. The basement has more stories to tell.
Why Ski Trip is Still Peak That ‘70s Show Comedy
The romantic chaos of Jackie and Kelso defines the first season’s emotional landscape. Usually, it is just tension with Eric and Donna. In Ski Trip (Season 1, Episode 13), they are officially broken up. Kelso kissed Pam Macy. Big mistake.
He loses his invite to Jackie’s family cabin. The gang is going for a riotous weekend. He is left in the dark. It feels ripped from Friends. Shamefully so. Yet, the payoff hits hard. Fez runs through the snow in his underwear. Drunk. Naked. Who could ask for more?
Misty Mountain Hop and the Cabin Heist
Later seasons often suffer, but Misty Mountain Hop (Season 5, Episode 12) defies the trend. It stands out as a top-tier funny moment in the series history.
Jackie’s parents sell the cabin. Red and Kitty go to clear out the furniture. Jackie, Eric, and Donna tag along as movers. Meanwhile, Kelso, Hyde, and Fez sneak in to party. No adults allowed.
Eric and Donna get lost. The parents stumble into the basement. They find the stash. The devil’s lettuce is discovered. Chaos follows naturally from there.
When Casey Kelso Joins the Group
Guest stars can make or break a sitcom. That ‘70s Show had its share of talent. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Amy Adams. Melissa Joan Hart. Jim Gaffigan. Mitch Hedburg. All good.
But Luke Wilson in Donna Dates a Kelso (Season 4, Episode 16) delivers something special. Wilson plays Casey Kelso. He is Michael’s older brother. He is airheaded. He is ill-intentioned.
Donna breaks up with Eric. She tries an older man. Casey provides both laughs and drama. His performance cements this episode’s place among the best.
How Reefer Madness Dismantled Stereotypes
Television was cautious about marijuana in 2000. This show pushed boundaries. Reefer Madness (Season 3, Episode 1) tackles the issue head-on.
Eric and Hyde are in trouble. Red finds their stash. The episode uses this setup to mock outdated stereotypes. It does not explicitly mention the drug by name in a clinical way. It pokes fun at old-school thinking.
The handling is surprisingly deft. Marijuana was less central to culture then than it is now. The episode predicted that shift. It dismantles fear with tact.
The Velvet Rope and Disco Drama
The ’70s were a changing time. Disco encroached on rock territory. Most people hated it. The show captures this clash in The Velvet Rope (Season 2, Episode 3).
Eric and the gang try to dance at a new disco. They get hassled by a bouncer. He thinks they are not stylish enough. Everyone gets turned away except Donna. Her red hair and look secure her entry.
Neil Flynn plays the bouncer. Fans know him as the Janitor from Scrubs. He lets them in one by one. Eric has to prove his worth. He is trying to enter one of the hottest clubs in the Midwest.
That is a low bar.
The Canadian Road Trip Masterpiece
Sometimes a show pulls an ace. An episode becomes head and shoulders above the rest. Canadian Road Trip (Season 3, Episode 23) is that episode.
It is a three-camera comedy masterclass. Kelso, Eric, Fez, Hyde, and Leo (Tommy Chong) drive to Canada. They want beer. Fez loses his ID. The Mounties stop them.
Road trip plots usually inspire shenanigans. Here, it produces gold. The gang sings “O Canada.” They sing it heartily. They just want to avoid jail.
Canadian jail is like regular jail. Except with hockey sticks.
You still want to watch it.
