Time's Up For Disco Decade

Sun Herald

Sunday May 25, 2008

Scott Ellis

As the final episode of That '70s Show goes to air this week, it marks the end of a chapter of television that brought at least three big-name actors to the spotlight.

Wilmer Valderrama, Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher all rose to stardom through their roles in the quirky sitcom, playing friends (and occasionally enemies) making their way through the decade of disco.

But the series also gave new life to a legion of older actors who had made it big in the 1970s then all but faded away.

Danny Bonaduce (of The Partridge Family), Tom Bosley and Marion Ross (Happy Days), Eve Plumb (The Brady Bunch), and rockers Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent and Roger Daltrey all passed through the series playing either themselves or someone remarkably close.

It was a fun ride, said Peter Liguori, president of entertainment for the Fox network as he confirmed the show's axing, and one which reminded viewers that, for all its quirks, the 1970s produced some of our best-loved programs.

"There are a lot of things about the '70s we'd like to forget - especially those involving polyester," Liguori said. "But this series has been a wonderful look back."

That '70s Show Finale

Thursday, 7.30pm, Seven

© 2008 Sun Herald

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