That '70s Show: Season One

If there's one thing That '70s Show proves, it's that idiocy knows no temporal bounds: this inexplicably popular sitcom would be indistinguishable from just about every other sitcom airing today were it not for the bellbottoms and shaggy 'dos. This four-disc boxed set collects all 25 episodes from the debut 1998-99 season, in which a gang of basement-hanging-out adolescents stew in tedious teen angst--mostly worrying about how to acquire sex and beer--while their moronic parents vacillate between willful ignorance of their offsprings' shenanigans and cartoon-ish over-involvement in their lives. The writers go overboard with the pop-culture references--disco, streaking, 8-track tapes...no inconsequential item of kitsch is forgotten--and simply don't know when to stop: a school lunchroom conference inexplicably morphs into Da Vinci's The Last Supper. Surely, this series will be remembered only for launching the career of the breezy, buoyant Topher Grace...though it also foisted the painfully untalented Ashton Kutcher on us as well, and for that it cannot be forgiven. DVD extras include a fluffy "making-of" featurette, promotional TV spots, and a lame trivia game. Optional. (M. Johanson)