On Aug. 23, 1998, Fox took a trip back to the disco era with its premiere of That ’70s Show. The series brought Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and his five cannabis-loving friends from a smoke-filled Wisconsin basement to America’s living rooms. The supporting characters — played by then relatively unknown actors Grace, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, Danny Masterson and Laura Prepon — fulfilled every “Me Decade” cliché. They sported polyester, adored Zeppelin and, of course, hated “the Man.”
While That 70’s Show experienced steadily high ratings in its first six seasons, viewership dropped to 7 million in 2004-05. The two biggest names (Grace and Kutcher) left the series before its final season to pursue film careers, though the cast reunited in the final episode, appropriately set on the eve of 1980. After eight years of doing the same old thing they did last week, That ’70s Show ended on May 18, 2006.