When co-creators Bonnie, Terry and Lindsey Turner agreed to circle back (pun very much intended) and continue the story of That ’70s Show with That ’90s Show, it felt like coming home. “It’s back to the same home — with different people, but the attitude is the same. And I think coming home is something everybody wants to do now and again,” Terry Turner tells Tudum.
“Home” was a common theme throughout the first season, which sees Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna’s (Laura Prepon) teenage daughter Leia (Callie Haverda) return to Point Place, Wisconsin, to live with her grandparents Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp) for the summer. While the Forman house was host to many in the ’70s, from teenage stoners to Bob Pinciotti’s (Don Stark) rotating girlfriends, it was all of the distinct touches throughout That ’70s Show’s set that made it truly feel like home — and made returning, with That ’90s Show, so nostalgic. Two decades later, we’re back in the Forman basement, with the same producers, writers and set designers who created it in the first place, recreating everything from Red’s flannels to The Hub, and even Kitty’s original hair.
Put on your Packers helmet and get out your Candy Land stash — here are all of the That ’70s Show easter eggs in That ’90s Show.
🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐
The 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser that Eric drives in the original series is so integral to the show that it’s the star of the opening credits sequence, in which the cast drives around while lip-syncing “In the Street.” That’s not to mention Eric and Donna’s many important heart-to-hearts on the hood of the car. So naturally it pops up in That ’90s Show, including in a major relationship moment for Leia and Jay (Mace Coronel). Fun fact: Wilmer Valderrama (who plays Fez) took the original Vista Cruiser from the ’70s set, and brought it back for That ’90s Show. While shooting the last scene of Episode 6, Haverda and Coronel found a sun visor with the original cast on it.
No, teenagers in the 1970s didn’t have a weird obsession with the children’s game Candy Land — it’s just where they kept their weed stash, and it’s where the ’90s teens discover it a couple of decades later.
The infamous Packers helmet which sat in the corner of the Formans’ basement has probably collected 20 years of dust (if it weren’t for the fact that Ashton Kutcher –– who plays Michael Kelso –– rescued it from the original set, only to bring it back for That ’90s Show). Although the helmet hasn’t been used yet, it was a staple in That ’70s Show, mostly worn by Kelso every time he did something so stupid and dangerous he needed to be punished for it, like the time he rode a canoe on an open road, or when he cheated on Jackie (Mila Kunis) with Laurie Forman (Lisa Robin Kelly).
Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” plays in Episode 2 as Red and Kitty go upstairs. The song was also featured on That ’70s Show when Eric accidentally caught his parents having sex, and quickly became Red and Kitty’s love theme.
Nothing says class like glass grapes, right? “Every so often someone tries to eat one, it’s a real conversation starter,” Kitty says in That ’70s Show. The glass grapes have made their triumphant return — from Rupp’s home, where they’ve lived since the original series ended — and this time are living in the recreated basement. You know, so the kids have something to talk about.
Hey there, hi there, ho there! That ’90s Show sees Stark reprise his role as Bob Pinciotti — or “Grandpa Bob,” as Leia calls him. And he hasn’t lost his, erm, unique style. While Bob’s updated his aesthetic for the ’90s, sporting a perfectly behind-the-times Miami Vice look, he’s maintained one very important and specific part of his look: elaborate gold jewelry. Once a topic of controversy between Donna and Eric (and sometimes even Fez — remember the “man ring”?), Bob’s jewelry has finally hit its mark: the Golden Grandpa era.
Although we never actually see Kevin McDonald’s Pastor Dave in That ’90s Show, we definitely feel him. Specifically in Episode 2 when Kitty takes Leia to the video store and spots an unseen Pastor Dave in the adults-only section. “That was very unholy,” she proclaims, quickly walking in the other direction. That ’70s Show aficionados will always remember (read: cringe) at the mention of Pastor Dave, who once had a deeply inappropriate infatuation with the elder Forman sibling, Laurie, throughout the original series.
Other mementos Rupp brought back to set included a few Forman family photos. Check out the living room bookcase for a peek at the one featuring Betty White and Tom Poston (who have both since passed away) as Kitty’s parents.
“I’m the landlord — the lord of the land.” OK, maybe this one is a deep cut, but the actor behind it certainly isn’t. Jim Rash returns as Fenton: Landlord to the Formans’ neighbor, recurring nemesis to Fez. In the Season 1 finale, Fenton appears when the Formans’ current neighbor, Sherri (Andrea Anders), has to speak to a man about a fallen tree in her driveway. Sherri happens to be dating Fez, who rushes over to speak to her landlord, Fenton, thus triggering a standoff reunion. Fear not, because the long-standing rivalry comes to a peaceful conclusion — and somehow ends with Rash sporting luscious blond locks.
Eagle-eyed viewers will immediately notice that the Forman kitchen received a makeover, switching out its owl theme in favor of fruit and roosters. (Let’s not question the logic of ’90s interior decor trends.) But the owls are still on set. In fact, while filming, Rupp would take time between takes to assure the live studio audience that Kitty had, in fact, kept some of the avian decor. You can spot them on the living room bookshelves among the family photos.
The chocolate-flavored taffy (which would later evolve into the Tootsie Pop) was a favorite of Fez’s — he ate them, cherished them and talked about them often. So, it was no surprise that in the commercial for Fez’s salon “Chez Fez” (with “chez” pronounced to rhyme with “Fez”, of course), he is seen unwrapping a Tootsie Roll. It’s also later revealed that he offers them for free at his salon. Needless to say, Fez has peaked.
That ’70s Show often paid tribute to shows that came before it, particularly in its occasional fantasy sequences. Shirley Jones popped up during a parody of The Partridge Family in the original series, and in That ’90s Show, Brian Austin Green appears in Leia’s Beverly Hills, 90210–inspired daydream.
The Point Place water tower was the setting for many of the original gang’s most sentimental moments — and Kelso repeatedly falling on his head. It’s also been tagged numerous times with declarations of romance, a really bad pot leaf that looks like it’s flipping people off, and now a declaration of friendship. In the Season 1 finale, the old “Michael + Jackie” graffiti appears faded, as does the flipping pot leaf — and a fresh, hot-pink and purple “Leia & Gwen ’95” appears alongside them.
Kelso’s catchphrase — just head to YouTube for a compilation if you need a refresher — makes a comeback when his son, Jay, utters it in the last episode of the season. Says Ashley Aufderheide, who plays Gwen and watched the original series after booking her ’90s Show audition, “I was like, oh my goodness, I’ve heard ‘burn’ so many times and now I’m hearing it in person. Crazy!”
Red’s classic flannel shirts reappear a few times in That ’90s Show: On Gwen’s face in the circle, in Nate’s car and on Red himself. They were a staple of his ’70s wardrobe and make for a funny ode to recycled ’90s fashion. Everyone in the grunge scene was dressing like Red.
“She had to rent a van to bring it all back,” Smith deadpans of Rupp’s ’70s Show haul. Rupp confirms that she took “everything” of Kitty’s from the original series when production wrapped in 2006 and was responsible for bringing many of those mementos back. Some notable Kitty touches that returned to the basement for That ’90s Show were the pea-green chair, the sewing machine, the kitchen wallpaper and the red, white and blue trunk (which Kutcher and Kunis returned to the set). And, to recreate the Forman basement, now with the living room furniture of the ’70s moved downstairs, set decorator Tara Stephenson-Fong, had each piece rebuilt from scratch. (Superfans may notice that the couch was rebuilt slightly smaller downstairs to fit the space.)
