"Free Leia" is the second episode of the first season of That '90s Show.
Synopsis[]
Eager to impress her friends, Leia goes on a quest to find the perfect flick for movie night. Kitty and Red get to know their new neighbor, Sherri.
Plot[]
Jay, Leia, Nate, Nik, and Gwen smoke weed in Leia’s grandparents’ basement, each of them feeling different effects of being high except for Ozzie, who decides not to smoke. Leia says that she would get snacks, but forgets she was being asked for Raisin Bran.
Kitty tells Ozzie that she is bored with summer re-runs. Red walks in excited because he harvested from the garden. However, it is only one very small tomato. Leia walks upstairs, only to find out that there is no Raisin Bran. She overreacts, which makes Red ask her if she is okay. Red and Kitty talk to Leia as she is confused by the effects of the marijuana.
Nate, Jay, Nik, and Ozzie walk into Red and Kitty’s room, trying out different clothes. Leia walks in and says that she has never dared step foot in her grandparents’ room before they are quickly kicked out by Red. Kitty hands them all cupcakes on their way out, as Red tells Leia that since he had lived this once before, he would lay down some ground rules this time, such as no eating his food, drinking his drinks and no going in his room. Kitty tells Leia to invite her friends over for a movie night the next day.
Kitty opens the door, as a neighbor tells them that they had yelled at her kids. Red tells her that they deserved it. The woman says she is Nate and Gwen’s mother and her name is Sherri.
Choosing a movie, Leia is having a hard time choosing something not dorky. Asking for help, she finds Jay, who is startled by her. She asks him about a generic movie, which he ends up suggesting a name for. She says that “Clerks” is the movie she had in mind even though she had never seen it, but it was out. In order to get the movie, Leia writes down who had the movie.
Nate walks in with Red, telling him that he had found a small cucumber in his backyard, which Red says is big. Nate sits down and says he wants to talk about his flannels, saying he wanted one because his girlfriend really liked him with them. Red tells him to get out as Sherri walks in in a bathrobe and says that she would be showering there for the time being.
Kitty thinks it is crazy that Leia went all the way to someone’s house for a movie. They knock on the door and Leo Chingkwake opens the door, having a hard time concentrating from all the weed he had been smoking. Leia asks him about the movie, but he is not making any sense, so Leia tricks him into giving them the movie.
Back at her house, Red tells Kitty that his house is under attack since there were teenagers all over the place and their neighbor was in her bathrobe all the time. He asks her why she had opened the door to chaos once again, since all the dumbasses were finally gone. Kitty, however, says that things had been too calm and likes having Leia over for the summer. Kitty says that he likes his passion and “old Red”, saying that gardening was not his forte. They have sex after being turned on, and Sherri walks out, saying she wanted to leave a while ago.
In the basement, Leia hands Nate, Nik, Ozzie, Gwen and Jay a Raisin Bran, which does not seem to excite anyone. She plays the movie, but it turns out that it is only a recording of Leo talking about some of his life experiences. Leia asks if they have any fun stories to share, but Nate starts choking on the Raisin Bran until he is helped by Nik. Jay starts choking, and Leia leaves because she had wanted it to be a perfect night.
Leia leaves, followed by Gwen. Leia tells her she is a fraud since she had never even seen “Clerks”, and actually loves “Free Willy”. Gwen does not care, but asks why she had melted down before. Leia says that she feels like an impostor because they are all very close and cool, but Gwen tells her that she has a basement, adding that their town is boring and she actually found a bunch of people who do not fit in. Nate runs upstairs and tells them that he found weed.
In the basement, Leia hands Nate, Nik, Ozzie, Gwen and Jay all smoke weed and talk about how much they love “Free Willy”. When Willy jumps, even Ozzie gets very excited, which surprises everyone.
Nate thanks Red for the shirt, but he says not to make it weird. Nate asks if he can call Red “uncle” and is told to leave.
Sherri walks in in a dress, which makes Kitty wonder if that was really the dress she would wear to break up with her boyfriend. Kitty tries to motivate her before she goes.
When Sherri exits her house, she finds her boyfriend, who turns out to be Fez, laying on top of his car.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman
- Kurtwood Smith as Red Forman
- Callie Haverda as Leia Forman
- Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen Runck
- Mace Coronel as Jay Kelso
- Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate Runck
- Reyn Doi as Ozzie
- Sam Morelos as Nikki
Guest starring[]
- Wilmer Valderrama as Fez
- Andrea Anders as Sherri Runck
- Tommy Chong as Leo
Co-starring[]
- Rhett George as George
Trivia[]
- The movie Leia pretends to like and wants to rent is the 1994 indie comedy Clerks. While Leia assumes Kevin Smith is the star, he is in fact the writer and director who infrequently appears in the movie as a secondary character named Silent Bob.
- It's unclear whether Leia simply does not know the name Kevin Smith or has him confused with the late New Zealand actor also named Kevin Smith who portrayed Ares in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. Since the episode takes place in July of 1995 and he first appeared in these shows in, respectively, September and October of 1995, it's most likely the former.
- Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, who played Silent Bob's partner Jay, would go on to have recurring roles in the second season.
Goofs[]
- Cannabis loses potency over time. Realistically, it should be impossible for the gang to get any sort of high from a 15-year-old stash.
- During the circle, there is a noticeable edit point after Gwen comments that Red's old flannels are "so dope": her position and facial expression change the moment the camera starts turning towards Leia.
- During Leia's Kitchen Wall Hallucination, the HUD in her imaginary Donkey Kong video game has an on-screen Menu button, which would make sense for a smartphone game, but not for a console game in the '90s.
- When Leo opens the door, his house is filled with smoke. After the camera cuts to Leia and Kitty, then back to him three seconds later, the smoke is completely gone.