Not Accurate Portrayl of the 1970s...

[Meade]

I dont think this show is very funny, but besides, that I don't believe its accurate about the 70s at all

I was born in 1979, so Im really not familiar with the 70s , but my family was. And its not really accurate. I know its just a comedy. But for one thing- the guy's hairstyles were even longer back then. And they wouldn't all be smoking pot. That was not something everybody did back then. Only really bad kids did that sorta thing.

Most families were far more conservative than the parents portrayed on the show. Its just totally unrealistic. I think that to have a great comedy you have to have at least an element of truth or authenticity. Kids just didnt act that way back the 70s. I think this show is repulsive.

[Dr. Thong]

I'm not a big fan of this show, but I've seen enough episodes to comment that it's the seventies filtered through the nineties. It's a seventies-type show with a nineties attitude.

And the pot smoking is pretty real. A lot of kids back then (as now) hung out and smoked pot together. Hell, some of the parents probably were as well...especially the ones who'd been hippies in the previous decade.

I just don't think the show is funny. Just my opinion.

[TripperFan]

This one I can definitely comment on as my tweens and teens were during the 70s. The show started off quite accurate with the decor and dress. Yes, the guys' hair was more like Kelso's in the beginning, long bangs parted in the middle and the "shag" or layered style. However, as the series goes on, the styles don't quite fit with the year (I know, I'm picky on my realistic representation).

As for the pot smoking. Pretty accurate. If you had a group of friends, they either did or didn't smoke up. So if this group smokes pot, the whole group would. Pot was VERY prevalent in the 70s. You'd often smell it on the street or in parks even! And it was ALWAYS present at a rock concert. If anything, the cops would turn their heads on the pot smoking at a concert, but you couldn't get away with any form of alcohol. It sure is different these days. I don't like it either. I'd rather choke on the pot smell than have the clown next to me disturbing me in my seat getting up and down to grab another beer, dance and then end up puking all over his seat and the ground next to me. Happened to me last year at a Bon Jovi concert (thankfully near the end of the show). Disgusting!

And it was right on with the parents. Parents were into "cocktails" (a trend that started in the 60s) and cheese fondues big time. lol
It's actually the parents I like the best. Very much my upbringing (the father's "kick in the ass" thing).

I run hot and cold on the show really but overall, it's not that bad.

[Mr. Television]

I always enjoyed the show. Sometimes I actually forget it's the 70's though. lol Yea the styles and everything was pretty accurate...the long hair. There was pot smoking. I knew kids that smoked pot although I never did. I grew up in a military town so I can imagine it was even worse elsewhere. I was only a young teen by the time the 70's ended so I have no first hand experience about the concerts. I know that disco was prevalent in the late 70's. I remember listening to it every morning when I got ready for school.

[70s show watcher]

even though i was a child in the 70s i still remember alot about the decade and it is a fairly accruate portrayl of the 70s my older sisters had a best friend who was almost like donna complete with red hair deep voice and laid back manner i also knew someone who was alot like midge in fact i see little bits of people i have known all my life in the cartrchers from pointt place i guess thats one reason i like the show so much . well that and anytime lisa robin kelly appers on screen

[Retro4Life]

Honestly I have only ever watched a couple episodes of this show and never found it very funny. For me, the characters were too "canned" and stereotypical, and you could usually see the joke coming a mile away.

As to the portrayal of the era, I was 15 and a half when the 70's ended. There was pot smoking at my high school and elsewhere but I really don't know how much because I didn't do it. I will say that when I went to college from 82 to 86 there was TONS of pot smoking (again, not by me), so maybe my small town was just behind the times.

My folks weren't really comparable to the parents on the show, either as they were older and really products of the 40s more than the 50's or 60's.

[Marvo301]

It's not an accurate portrayal of my life in the 70's but then I wouldn't expect it to be. I grew up in a very conservative home. The hairstyles and furniture do seem authentic to me though. Especially in the earlier seasons.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...was about as "accurate" in presenting its era as "HAPPY DAYS" was in portraying the '50s and '60s; they just used the artifacts and clothing styles of that time period as a "backdrop" in telling their stories.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by TV Knowledge Fan

...was about as "accurate" in presenting its era as "HAPPY DAYS" was in portraying the '50s and '60s; they just used the artifacts and clothing styles of that time period as a "backdrop" in telling their stories.

And with Happy Days, even that went away over time. Just watch some of the later season episodes, with Chachi wearing feathered hair and a denim jacket and Joanie with her permed hair. They look like they belonged on....That '70s Show!

[McGillicuddy]

I agree with those of you that think it started out pretty accurate the first few seasons. The time frame for this 8 season show is confusing. When it premiered, it was 1976, as there were references to the Bicentennial. Eight years later, it still had to be the '70's (thus, That '70's Show), where as the long running 1950's Happy Days, moved ontro the sixties.

[Ignatowski]

For me it was pretty damn accurate. I was born in '63 so my grade and highschool days were the 70s. The sets for sure were reflective of the 70s, all the way down to the pull tab chain in the basement--we had one of those all the way around the basement haha. The pot smoking for sure, at least in my circle was around alot. My brothers and sisters were hippies and my parents were strict but also very cool (honest). Sounds like an oxymoron I know but they knew when to be strict or when to just chill and discuss whatever happened etal. The clothing at least to me seemed pretty accurate and I think for the most part the hair was as well,especially Kitty and Laurie!! My aunts hair was the spitting image of Kitty and of course Laurie was trying to be like a Charlies Angel and many of my female relatives including my sister had hair like that.

Sooooooooooo for me, yes it was accurate portraying the time period, more in the beginning of the show as others have mentioned.

[Killarney Rose]

I really enjoy the show. I found that as with most comedies, the the first seasons were better than the last ones.

I was a teen in the 70s- graduated at 17 in '74, so I remember it well. The kids on the show and the things they do remind me a lot of me and my friends and the things we did back then. I wore that Farrah do, and have frequently seen laurie and jackie wearing the same top or outfit I had back then. I think it's pretty cool.

It's a sitcom- it isn't going to be 100% accurate in the details of the period. Yeah, they stretch it sometimes, but for the most part the styles and trends and characters are close to the way things were IMHO.

I loved it when Kitty ate Hyde's special brownies....

It's one of my favorite shows and I watch it often.

[born2late]

Having been a teen in the 70s, I can relate to a lot of what I see on the show, and the stuff the gang did....trying to get beer. The clothes and hair was pretty accurate. It's wasn't 100%, but it was close enough, especially the early episodes. I loved the 70s. Great music, great tv shows, and custom painted vans!

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by born2late

Having been a teen in the 70s, I can relate to a lot of what I see on the show, and the stuff the gang did....trying to get beer. The clothes and hair was pretty accurate. It's wasn't 100%, but it was close enough, especially the early episodes. I loved the 70s. Great music, great tv shows, and custom painted vans!

I think so too, pretty accurate ! I was a teen in the 70's as well.

And the post about kids not smoking pot back than!! WHAAAT!!!! Oh yes they/we did!!! (I think kids smoking pot got common around say 1967 or so, the summer of love ) ! Parents/ older people were very into cocktails, they were more naïve and I guess buzzed from the booze, they didn't
't realize the kids were getting high.

[Torgo]

I was a child in the 70's, my oldest sister was in her teens. Pot smoking was definitely around, and it wasn't just the "bad kids" doing it.