"That '90s Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of That '90s Show, and first episode overall.
Synopsis[]
Donna and Eric spend the Fourth of July at his parents’ house in Point Place, where their daughter Leia makes an impression on the other teens in town.
Plot[]
At Kitty Forman’s Kitchen, she dances while Red walks in and joins her in dancing. They hear a car outside, so Kitty rushes to open the door only to find her son Eric having not had a chance to knock. The couple greet their son as Leia, his daughter, greets her grandparents. She walks into the bathroom as Kitty mentions how excited she is for the Fourth of July weekend. Donna walks in carrying a cooler and three bags, thanking Eric sarcastically for helping.
At dinner, Kitty mentions how she had missed Eric, while both her and Red tell Donna that they had only read the review of her new book, which disappoints her. Kitty wishes Donna would call her “mom”, but the latter is hesitant to do so. Eric mentions he is now an adjunct professor at the university and his class “The Religion of Star Wars” is very popular. Red expresses his disapproval, while Leia says that she is going to shoot some hoops in the driveway. Eric tells his father that both he and Leia will be going to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama (most likely run by NASA), which clearly does not excite her. Kitty notices this and suggests that her granddaughter needs space.
Outside, Leia hears a girl singing next door from her mother's old house, so she walks to the bedroom window and is caught by the girl, who calls her a creeper. Leia apologizes and says that she has a bootleg from Chicago, which she says she will get for the girl, whose name is Gwen. In her room, Gwen and Leia talk about their hobbies. Leia says that she is part of the debate club, which makes the girl say that popular people suck. Gwen teases her brother Nate by playing music loudly, which makes Leia laugh.
Kitty tells Eric that she feels sad when he leaves, while Leia walks into the kitchen, greeting and saying goodbye simultaneously until she is stopped by Eric, who catches a nose ring on her. Eric has no idea who Gwen is, so Leia says that she is their neighbor and has an older brother as a chaperone. Eric says that she can go, but he wants her back before fireworks. Red feels for his son, but adds that “payback’s a bitch.”
At Gwen’s house, Ozzie cheats at Uno. Gwen tells Leia that both her and Ozzie had met in detention after he told his math teacher that his wife was cheating on him. Nate comes downstairs followed by his girlfriend Nik and a boy with great news. Jay sits next to Leia, who gets nervous by him. Nate says that while parked, someone mistook them and thought they were there to pick up a prepaid keg, which they took with them. However, they still need a tap.
Eric and Donna are playing cards around the kitchen table with Red and Kitty. Donna feels a little weird about it, as Kitty says that she is having fun. Red tells them they are “upstairs people” now, as Donna acknowledges that she did not think it would happen that soon. Eric is a little drunk as they play cards and Donna still reluctant to call Kitty “mom”.
Ozzie is impressed by how difficult it is to open the beer as Nate hits the keg. Leia says that they should go back to Mamma’s to buy a tap, but Jay says that it is not easy to do. Gwen and Nik are calm, as the former mentions that Leia should buy the tap because Mamma does not know her. Leia agrees to do it, but Ozzie points out that Leia would get carded.
Leia walks into Mamma’s store as a pregnant woman and tries to buy the tap. Mamma realizes that she is underage and is about to call the cops, however, Leia asks how she would explain selling a keg to teenagers. Mamma says she did not do so herself, but Leia points out that she's still legally liable and would lose her liquor license if the police get involved... or she could just sell the tap to Leia and everyone enjoys the holiday. In the end, Leia gets the tap, which makes Gwen proud. She tells Leia that she should stay, and even though Leia is hesitant at first, she wants to be best friends with Gwen.
Eric says that he wants to treasure his time with Leia, but he is not able to because she gets in so much trouble. He is surprised when Leia walks in and with beer. Donna is also in shock, while Red and Kitty watch in delight. Leia says that she had a great time and wants to stay with her grandparents for the summer. Donna encourages him, while Eric is in disbelief and says that she cannot stay.
Outside, Eric is joined by Donna sitting on the hood of their car, who tells him that Leia is ready to be trusted and she can stay with her grandparents. Eric cannot believe that his daughter is growing up, but Donna comforts him.
After that, Eric goes downstairs, where he finds Leia laying down on his parents' old couch. He tells her that after giving it some thought, she should stay. Leia apologizes, and Eric hugs her, saying that he would miss her.
As Erik and Donna prepare to leave, Kitty, Red and Leia say their goodbyes, while Eric says that while he is gone, he wants Leia to hang out with her friends in the basement as much as possible, which angers Red. When she leaves, Donna finally calls Kitty mom.
Kitty says that she would give Leia’s friends snacks, as her granddaughter walks in with Jay, who says his last name is Kelso, which Red cannot believe. Michael shows up, saying that he is very proud of his son for being much smarter than himself. Kitty greets Michael, who hugs her before telling Red that he needs to watch Leia’s intentions with his son. As he prepares to leave, Jackie Burkhart hurries in and tells him they need to get going. Michael and Jackie tell them that they are on their way to get remarried for the second time. Kitty somewhat objects to Jackie wearing a white dress suit as it's not her first wedding, but Jackie explains that they'll be more likely to get better gifts. Reminding Michael that they're in danger of running late, they quickly leave.
Kitty tells Red that she would be going to the supermarket, while he complains.
In the basement, Kitty welcomes Leia, Ozzie, Jay, Nik Nate, and Gwen to their basement, as Red tells them the ground rules. Jay thanks Kitty for allowing them to use her basement, but phrases it weirdly, which makes Jay ask him what is wrong with him.
The teenagers look through old stuff, and Gwen finds a bag, saying that Leia’s grandmother had “hooked them up”.
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
- Reyn Doi as Ozzie Takada
- Sam Morelos as Nikki Velasco
- Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate Runck
Guest starring[]
- Topher Grace as Eric Forman
- Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart
- Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso
- Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti
Co-starring[]
Trivia[]
- First appearance of Leia Forman, Gwen Runck, Jay Kelso, Nate Runck, Ozzie, and Nikki.
- Premiered in January 19, 2023, almost 17 years after That 70s Show series finale aired.
- Eric and Donna are married now and have a daughter, Leia. They live in Chicago, Illinois.
- Kelso and Jackie are getting married for the third time (despite their on and off relationship and the fact that Jackie had previously rejected Kelso’s marriage proposal in "Misfire") and have a son together, Jay.
- This episode starts off as July 3, 1995.
- Leia is named after the Star Wars icon character Princess Leia Organa, since her father is still obsessed with the franchise.
- It is revealed that Gwen and her family live next door to the Formans in the Pinciotti’s old house.
- When Leia comes back to her grandparents’ house an upset Eric calls her "Leia Tatooine Forman"; however Donna reminds her husband that their daughter’s middle name is Anne, (which also happens to be both Kitty and Laurie’s middle names) Eric responds that he never agreed with that concession regarding her middle name.
- In this episode Eric, Donna and Leia come to visit Red and Kitty during the 4th of July weekend.
- It is revealed that Eric is a college professor that teaches "Religion of Star Wars" and Donna is an author. Additionally Red and Kitty stated that even though they never had the chance to read Donna’s book, they have however read the review of her book.
- It is revealed that Kitty’s mother Bea died of unknown natural causes sometime between the 80s or the early 90s. Additionally Betty White who plays Bea herself died on December 31, 2021, just only 17 days before the actress’s 100 birthday.
- During her visit to Point Place, Leia meets Gwen, her brother Nate, and the rest of her friends Jay, Ozzie and Nikki. Throughout the day Leia helps Gwen and the others get beer. Later that night the whole gang decides to spend the rest of the 4th of July watching the fireworks and hanging out at the Water Tower just like how Leia’s parents and their friends used to do when they were young.
- Eric and Leia were originally going to a space camp in Huntsville, Alabama for the summer however Leia isn’t entirely interested. Later on after Leia meets and bonds with Gwen and her friends Leia decides to stay with her grandparents and to spend the entire summer at Point Place. Leia even confesses to her parents of her desire to have the summer adventure and tells them that she doesn’t want to go to the space camp. While Donna gives her daughter her blessing and Kitty so happy of Leia wanting to stay, Red (due to the fact that he still doesn’t want teenagers to hang out at his house) and Eric were not thrilled even when Eric refuses to let Leia stay, causing her to rebel against him. Later that night after he and Donna have a discussion about their daughter’s happiness and the fact that Leia is growing up Eric changes his mind and decides to let Leia stay at Point Place for the summer.
- It seems like the town didn't deem it necessary to repaint the water tower in almost twenty years, as the tags the gang made in the original show are still visible, though washed out.
- The Runcks' (formerly Pinciottis') house has been expanded with a basement since the original show ended: in "Tornado Prom" Bob and Joanne came to wait out a tornado at the Formans' specifically because they didn't have a basement of their own. Here, the house has one, albeit much smaller than the Formans'.
- The box with the Candy Land board game where Gwen finds a bag of weed is the same one the old gang frequently used to hide their drugs after Eric gave up on using it to hide his money. At one point, Red and Kitty were even aware it was used as a stash after Fez accidentally gave it away in "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Goofs[]
- After Kitty greets Eric by, as he puts it, "motorboating" him, he spends the rest of the scene with a visible spot from her makeup on his shirt.
- In her first scene, Leia excuses herself for a bathroom break and leaves the scene through the kitchen door. Unless the Formans had a new bathroom installed, she should've headed upstairs (as seen in "Going to California").
- Gwen's (formerly Donna's) room is on the first floor, despite having been on the second floor in the original series (as mentioned in "Eric's Drunken Tattoo").
- In the scene where Nate tries to open the keg, Gwen is missing her nose ring.
- The bottom of the "Michael + Jackie" tag can be seen on the water tower, despite Fez having accidentally turned it into "Michael + Fez" by painting over Jackie's name in "That '70s Finale".
International titles[]
- French: "Pilote" (Pilot)
- German: "Die 90er Pilotfolge" (The '90s pilot)
- Italian: "That '90s: Pilot"
- Spanish: "El primer episodio de los 90s" (The first episode of the '90s)
- Ukrainian: "Пілотний епізод" (The pilot episode)