Season 1 - Episode 2
Originally Aired: August 30th 1998, Fox (US)
After a pretty stellar pilot episode, That '70s Show continued its good start with "Eric's Birthday". As Eric turns 17, he attempts to convince Kitty not to throw him a surprise party (to no avail), and Donna struggles with her newfound feelings for Eric.
The episode focuses on the "planning" of the party, Donna trying to find the perfect gift with "help" from Jackie, and then the party itself. All of the elements work well, we get the introduction of Eric's older sister Laurie (the object of Kelso's affections despite him being with Jackie), who we quickly find out isn't the wholesome little girl she'd have Red believe. At the end up, the adults leave the kids in the house to have their party, much to the chagrin of Kitty (who's horrible fantasy of what may happen in the house without her is one of the funniest parts of the episode) who then quickly becomes drunk as she sees her baby growing up. Donna gives Eric a scented candle, which he doesn't understand, but appreciates anyway, and the episode ends with the rest of the gang attempting to spy on the pair.
The comedy came very naturally in the early episodes of this series. "Eric's Birthday" is still a solid episode now, and the consistency shown in the early days was very much an indicator of what was to come.
*** 1/2
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