That 70s Show Finale was Excellent

I watched the premiere of That 70s Show in 1998 and loved it. I followed it for a while, but when Fox moved it to Wednesday, it was difficult for my schedule.

A few years ago when I moved back into DC I started watching the show regularly, catching up with every episode in syndication. I loved the story between Eric and Donna. Kitty is WONDERFUL and a perfect wife for Red. Bob was a joyful dumbass. I miss Midge. I wished they had kept even more 70s references. I loved the first season the most.

I think the plot lines and motivations in the last three seasons were often painful, and the characters were too often reduced to their stereotypes (Kitty is a drunk, Fez is a pervert, Red wants to put his foot in your ass), but the shows were still funny. Topher Grace played Eric ever more annoyingly and weird. Everyone's hair changed.

SPOILERS AHEAD

But now at the end of the 8th season - if you forgive the clipshow flashbacks ugh! - the final two episodes tonight really tied everything together just right, begging forgiveness for past transgressions. Randy was mostly ignored and burned. Kitty wondered where Laurie was. Eric came home. I was so happy that mostly everyone was together again. (Did Fox hide that Topher Grace came back? I didn't see any hint that he was in the finale before it aired, but I didn't look for it either. Having him return made the finale almost perfect.) Nothing felt forced. It was real and natural. It felt like the second or third season again. It was just right.

Kitty's tour of the house was absolutely priceless, a joy to watch, and a gift from the creators of the show to the fans. The scene bookends Kitty's first scene in the series, carrying a hot tray through the dining room in the pilot while hosting a party. Never before have we been so intimate in the Foreman home. Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty was always a highlight of a great show, and brilliant in the final two episodes.

I will miss this show dearly. I feel guilty, like I'm the wife in "Fahrenheit 451" who has TVs for walls and her "friends" are the images she lives with every day. I cannot count nor do I care how often I've seen an episode, I'm gonna watch it again. And not in the background - I'm gonna sit there and absorb it. Every time, it's like I'm with a bunch of friends I never had.

Of course I'll have syndication and DVDs. That's what everyone was saying to console themselves when "Friends" went off the air. Still, it's not the same as hearing something new, laughing with the gang, and joining in the circle, knowing Eric, Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Fez and Jackie will be there hanging out in the basement, only a TiVo selection away. I take for granted that they're always there. The actors will go off and have separate lives, and today we commiserate with them. They'll do new things, and it will never be the same. The Formans and friends will live on into the 80s, but we will be with them only in our imaginations.

Pelosi on Meet the Press

I like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, I just wish she would answer questions directly. She looks nervous. She dances around things instead of just going in for the kill. Check out these twenty seconds of completely wasted airtime on Meet the Press, Sunday May 7, 2006:

Russert: ...Has anything (about the situation in Iraq) changed (since you declared we should not pull out)?

Pelosi: No.

Russert: Do you think it's secure?

Pelosi: No.

Russert: ...then why would you withdraw troops?

Pelosi: Because th-i-b, it's not, it-, Yes! I would withdraw them because on the strength of expert advice - and now you see the generals speaking out on this - eh-th-e-eh-nuh - so much time went by - it was a year and a half between those two statements - and what we have still had not seen was a plan on the part of the president. The president continued to dig a hole in Iraq. He refuses to come out of there and see the daylight, and know that there's a change. There are only two courses of action in Iraq. The president's - to stay the course and some other president sweep up after him - or what the democrats are saying - 2006 must be a year of significant transition in Iraq with the Iraqis taking responsibility.

Ugh! JUST SAY IT! Try this next time...

Russert: ...Has anything (about the situation in Iraq) changed (since you declared we should not pull out)?

Answer: No! And that's the problem. It's been two years since I made that statement and we have still not seen a real plan on the part of the president. The president continues to dig a hole in Iraq. There are only two courses of action in Iraq: the president's - to stay the course and wait for some other some other president to sweep up after him while Iraqis and American soldiers pay the price - or what the democrats are saying - 2006 must be a year of significant transition in Iraq with the Iraqis taking responsibility.

Later, when she says she supports public financing of elections, Russert asks:

Russert: Who's going to pay for that? Do you think the American Taxpayer is going to want to pay for campaigns?

Pelosi (matter of factly): It can be an add-on, or the American People can decide...

Russert: What do you mean add-on?

Pelosi: They can add on to (tax returns)

WHAT?!?

Try this next time. And be pissed!

Answer: American taxpayers are already being fleeced ten times over the cost of financed elections when Republican systematic corruption robs from the treasury of the American people. Honest elections leads to honest and financially responsible government. Tim, honest elections pay for themselves.