That '70s Show

Has THAT '70s SHOW gone one toke over the line in its bell-bottomed trip down memory lane?

It's not like they haven't tried this before. In fact, 12 short months ago, Fox was ballyhooing the return of the '70s with its wacky new retro-com, Rewind. Viewers dutifully plugged in the lava lamps and braced themselves for perhaps the scariest artifact of them all: Scott Baio. But then, in one of those mellow-harshing TV-biz moves, the creatively troubled Rewind was canceled on the eve of its debut.

Well, choke us on a cloud of pot smoke if the smiley face isn't back. And this time (just so you won't go mistaking it for some '80s series) it's conveniently titled That '70s Show, a throwback sitcom about kids stuck in rural Wisconsin with nothing to do but sit around a cruddy basement and wear tight clothes. "It's teenage life told in the most honest way imaginable," says Fox Entertainment president Peter Roth. "We want to do for the '70s what Happy Days did for the '50s."

Funny, we don't remember Richie waking from an erotically charged dream to find Joanie remarking "Nice tent." But that's the kind of funky stroll down memory lane nostalgia buffs can expect. And far be it from Fox to sneak it past the squeamish. Not only did the show land the network's primo slot (between compatibly edgy Simpsons and X-Files), its audaciously early debut, on Aug. 23, showcased beer-stealing and doobie-smoking scenes. Based on the ratings so far (averaging a healthy 11.8 million viewers its first two times out), Fox has a modest hit on its hands. Then again, there was enough offense taken to the pilot's drug taking at this summer's critics press tour to foreshadow some potential backlash. "We were surprised by the criticism, because that was never what the series was about," says Roth. "But we took it very seriously and have had discussions at length with the producers." (Don't worry, Mom and Pop, the net also aired an antidrug PSA right after the offending pot scene.)

"We were severely warned," admits exec producer Terry Turner, who created the show with wife Bonnie. "We had to be true to the decade--otherwise I'm doing a show about bell-bottoms and strange hairstyles.... But that's as far as the envelope will go in terms of any drug references."

Ultimately, the producers hope to do with live action what their animated lead-in has been accomplishing for nearly a decade. "TV families are always so unrealistic, so sanitary, so stupid," says producer Brazill. "We don't want to do safe family issues. There are things about this show that'll have a little controversy, and if we can get away with it, we will." --Dan Snierson