Nearly every episode of That '70s Show starts with the opening titles proceeding the teaser. Due to numerous cast changes throughout the series' run, the opening sequence has gone through several incarnations to accommodate them, most notably the last season.
Season 1[]
The first season opening was of the song "In the Street," by Alex Chilton and Chris Bell of the band Big Star, sung by Todd Griffin. The lyrics were:
The same old thing, we did last week
Not a thing to do, but talk to you Whoa yeah!
The video accompanying the song was of the teenage main characters driving in Eric's car and lip-synching the theme song together as the credits would roll over the dashboard from under. The position of the passengers and driver would alternate every two lines.
At the conclusion of the opening, a shot of a 1970s-style Wisconsin license plate (black letters/numbers on a yellow background) is shown with the year in which the episode was taking place in the bottom right corner. During this time, Danny Masterson yells "Hello, Wisconsin!"
This table shows the following transitions.
Line | Seat positions (from left to right)* | Credits |
---|---|---|
Hanging out, down the street | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Jackie, Kelso and Fez |
Starring Topher Grace Mila Kunis/ Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson |
The same old thing, we did last week | Front row: Kelso, Jackie and Eric Back row: Hyde, Donna and Fez |
Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderrama/ Debra Jo Rupp |
Not a thing to do, but talk to you | Front row: Eric, Donna and Fez Back row: Hyde, Kelso and Jackie |
Kurtwood Smith/ Tanya Roberts |
Whoa yeah! | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez |
Don Stark |
Season 2[]
The opening for the second season sparked notable changes from the first. Firstly, the theme from then on is performed by the band Cheap Trick and the last line of the song is replaced with the phrase "We're all all right!" which is repeated twice.
Secondly, the adult characters are now featured in the opening video along with Lisa Robin Kelly who joins the main cast this season. The scene alterations now happen every one line.
Line | Seat positions (from left to right) | Credits |
---|---|---|
Hanging out | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Jackie, Kelso and Fez |
Starring Topher Grace Mila Kunis/ Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson |
Down the street | Front row: Jackie, Kelso and Laurie Back row: Eric, Donna and Hyde |
Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson/ Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama |
The same old thing | Front row: Eric, Donna and Fez Back row: Laurie, Hyde and Jackie |
Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama/ Debra Jo Rupp |
We did last week | Front row: Kitty, Eric and Red Back row: Donna, Hyde and Fez |
Debra Jo Rupp/ Kurtwood Smith |
Not a thing to do | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez |
Kurtwood Smith/ Tanya Roberts |
But talk to you | Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Midge and Bob |
Tanya Roberts/ Don Stark |
We'll all alright! | Front row: Eric, Donna and Fez Back row: Laurie, Kelso and Jackie |
Don Stark |
We'll all alright! | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez |
Lisa Robin Kelly |
Season 3[]
Season 3 uses the opening from the previous season, until "Dine and Dash" when a totally new opening is used for the remainder of the season following the departure of Lisa Robin Kelly. In this version of the opening, there is a very slight transition during the lines Not a thing to do and But talk to you. The camera is also angled lower, making the front passengers' bodies less visible under the dashboard.
The widescreen remaster used for the Blu-Ray release and shown on Netflix replaces this opening with an edited version of the previous one. The two segments where Laurie sat in the back have been digitally edited to remove her, leaving a conspicuous empty seat every time. The segment in which she drove is replaced with a new segment with Bob, Eric, and Red sitting in the front (this is the only time Red can be seen singing in the opening).
In "Too Old to Trick or Treat, Too Young to Die", the opening had organ music accompanying the main theme and the credits were in a Halloween-style font.
Line | Seat positions (from left to right) Original version |
Seat positions (from left to right) Remastered version |
Credits |
---|---|---|---|
Hanging out | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Fez, Kelso and Jackie |
Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Jackie, Kelso and Fez |
Starring Topher Grace Mila Kunis/ Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson |
Down the street | Front row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez Back row: Hyde, Eric and Donna |
Front row: Bob, Eric and Red Back row: Fez, Kelso and Hyde |
Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson/ Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama |
The same old thing | Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Midge and Bob |
Front row: Eric, Donna and Fez Back row: Hyde and Jackie |
Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama/ Debra Jo Rupp |
We did last week | Front row: Kelso, Fez and Hyde Back row: Donna, Eric and Jackie |
Front row: Kitty, Eric and Red Back row: Donna, Hyde and Fez |
Debra Jo Rupp/ Kurtwood Smith |
Not a thing to do | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Fez, Kelso and Jackie |
Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez |
Kurtwood Smith/ Tanya Roberts |
Not a thing to do | Front row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez Back row: Hyde, Eric and Donna |
Tanya Roberts | |
But talk to you | Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Midge and Bob |
Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Midge and Bob |
Don Stark |
But talk to you | Front row: Eric, Jackie and Donna Back row: Fez, Kelso and Hyde |
Don Stark | |
We'll all alright! | Front row: Kelso, Fez and Hyde Back row: Donna, Eric and Jackie |
Front row: Eric, Donna and Fez Back row: Kelso and Jackie |
|
We'll all alright! | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Fez, Kelso and Jackie |
Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez |
Season 4[]
The departure of Tanya Roberts after the third season and the addition of Tommy Chong to the main cast this season called for an entirely new opening, but still retaining the style from the previous two seasons.
In "An Eric Forman Christmas", a Christmas themed-version of the theme song is used in the opening.
Line | Seat positions (from left to right) | Credits |
---|---|---|
Hanging out | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Fez, Kelso and Jackie |
Starring Topher Grace Mila Kunis/ Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson |
Down the street | Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Eric, Donna and Bob |
Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson/ Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama |
The same old thing | Front row: Eric, Jackie and Donna Back row: Fez, Kelso and Hyde |
Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama/ Debra Jo Rupp |
We did last week | Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Bob |
Debra Jo Rupp/ Kurtwood Smith |
Not a thing to do | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Eric, Kelso and Jackie |
Kurtwood Smith/ Don Stark |
But talk to you | Front row: Eric, Hyde and Leo Back row: Kelso and Fez |
Tommy Chong |
We'll all alright! | Front row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez Back row: Hyde, Eric and Donna |
|
We'll all alright! | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Fez, Kelso and Jackie |
Season 5–7[]
The opening at this point only witnessed minor alterations due to the departure of Tommy Chong (until his eventual return) from the main cast at the time he was sentenced to jail, but remained mostly unchanged. This version was used for the next two seasons onward.
In "Christmas" and "Winter", the same music used for the opening of "An Eric Forman Christmas" is used here, along with the credits stylized in red, snowy letters and holly around the actors' names. In Winter, the bumper above the license plate is covered in snow.
Line | Seat positions (from left to right) | Credits |
---|---|---|
Hanging out | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Fez, Kelso and Jackie |
Starring Topher Grace Mila Kunis/ Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson |
Down the street | Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Eric, Donna and Bob |
Aston Kutcher Danny Masterson/ Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama |
The same old thing | Front row: Eric, Jackie and Donna Back row: Fez, Kelso and Hyde |
Laura Prepon Wilmer Valderama/ Debra Jo Rupp |
We did last week | Front row: Kitty and Red Back row: Bob |
Debra Jo Rupp/ Kurtwood Smith |
Not a thing to do | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Eric, Kelso and Jackie |
Kurtwood Smith/ Don Stark |
But talk to you | Front row: Kitty, Donna and Jackie Back row: |
|
We'll all alright! | Front row: Kelso, Jackie and Fez Back row: Hyde, Eric and Donna |
|
We'll all alright! | Front row: Hyde, Donna and Eric Back row: Fez, Kelso and Jackie |
Season 8[]
The final season opening sees a major change from tradition. With the departure of Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher from the series, the opening was reworked to feature close-up shots of each of the actors lip-syncing a line of the theme song as the camera rotated the circle to each cast member, each one mimicking one line as their name appears below. True to himself, Red doesn't utter his line; he just looks at the camera and rolls his eyes.
The shout "Hello, Wisconsin!" is now played over Chong's segment instead of the license plate while Leo looks up in wonder. The license plate then appears while the music fades out. This also means that the season 8 openings are slightly longer than the rest.
This opening exists in three variants:
- The first one is used exclusively in "Bohemian Rhapsody". Josh Meyers is not featured and Tommy Chong performs the last line. His segment also lasts longer.
- The second one is used from "Somebody to Love" and "Stone Cold Crazy". Josh Meyers now appears between Kurtwood Smith and Don Stark, leaving Tommy Chong with no line to lip-sync to.
- The third one is used from "Long Away" onwards. It is almost identical to the second one, except for Debra Jo Rupp's reshot segment showing off Kitty's new haircut.
The final episode omits most of the opening sequence and instead only shows the license plate shot. But the Netflix version did include the opening sequence.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" variant[]
Line | Character | Credits |
---|---|---|
Hanging out | Jackie | Mila Kunis |
Down the street | Hyde | Danny Masterson |
The same old thing | Donna | Laura Prepon |
We did last week | Fez | Wilmer Valderrama |
Not a thing to do | Kitty | Debra Jo Rupp |
But talk to you | Red | Kurtwood Smith |
We'll all alright! | Bob | Don Stark |
We'll all alright! | Leo | Tommy Chong |
Episodes 2–21[]
Line | Character | Credits |
---|---|---|
Hanging out | Jackie | Mila Kunis |
Down the street | Hyde | Danny Masterson |
The same old thing | Donna | Laura Prepon |
We did last week | Fez | Wilmer Valderrama |
Not a thing to do | Kitty | Debra Jo Rupp |
But talk to you | Red | Kurtwood Smith |
We'll all alright! | Randy | Josh Meyers |
We'll all alright! | Bob | Don Stark |
Leo | Tommy Chong |
Trivia[]
- The order of the teenage cast members is done alphabetically by their surname. This is not done for the adults and additional cast members (Laurie, Leo and Randy).
- The ending titles of both the first and last episode of series is a variation of the Seasons 1–7 openings with the titular six singing "Hello, It's Me" by Todd Rundgren.
- Holiday-themed variants aside, the order from the most frequently used to the most rarely used versions of the opening titles is as follows:
- The version that debuts in season 5 is the longest-serving, having been used in 75 episodes across three seasons.
- The version that debuts in season 2 is next with 38 episodes across one season and a half.
- The season 4 version is used in the season's 27 episodes.
- The season 1 version is used in the season's 25 episodes.
- The third version from season 8 (after Kitty's hairstyle change) is used in 17 episodes.
- The version from the second half of season 3 is used in 13 episodes.
- The second version from season 8 (after Randy's introduction and before Kitty's hairstyle change) is used in 4 episodes.
- The first version from season 8 (before Randy's introduction) is only used once and is unique to the episode "Bohemian Rhapsody".
(the following information only pertains to the first 7 seasons)
- Some recurring elements appear in every version of the opening titles:
- During the line "not a thing to do", Donna always places both hands on the dashboard.
- Fez is visibly nervous/focused on the road and barely sings when he's the one driving.
- Except for one version of the Season 3 titles, Red never sings.
- The opening of the British spin-off series Days Like These is extremely similar with the six teenagers singing while driving Eric's car, only with more transitions, the theme song is "Days Like These" by Asia and the cast's voices are heard instead of them lip-synching.
- Kitty, Kelso, Bob and Midge are the only characters to not drive the car.
- Midge is the only character to never be seated in the front row. Bob is only in the front row for one segment in another version of the third season opening.
- Kitty, Red and Leo are the only characters to never be seated in the back row.
- Kitty and Red are never seated in the back row. Red is always the one steering the wheel whenever he appears.
- The first and last segments always have Hyde, Donna and Eric in the front row with Jackie, Kelso and Fez in the back. In these parts, the front row always has Eric operating the wheel with Hyde to the left and Donna inbetween them. The order of the people in the back row do change until Season 3.
- Eric operates the sheering wheel for the most individual segments in all versions than any other character.
- Eric and Fez are the only characters to operate the steering wheel in all seasons the car opening is used. Red operates the wheel in every season since the second. Donna operates the wheel every season since the third. Jackie operates it starting from Season 5. Laurie operates it in Season 2 and the first half of Season 3. Hyde and Leo only do so in Seasons 3 and 4 respectively.