The Cast of That 70’s Show is Set to Reunite

Don’t get too excited, though, like I did when I saw the headline from EW. It’s not exactly what you think.

From EW:

EW has learned exclusively that the star of Two and a Half Men will join Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama for a That ’70s Show reunion during Fox’s 25th Anniversary Special, airing April 22 on the network.

Other shows being reunited on Fox will be 90210, Living Color, and the X-Files, among others:

Keenan Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans will also share stories about their funniest sketches from In Living Color during the two-hour special that will feature Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest and Steven Tyler from American Idol, Kiefer Sutherland from 24 and Touch, and Seth MacFarlane from Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad.

Previously announced participants include Christina Applegate, David Faustino, Ed O’Neill and Katey Sagal from Married…With Children, Calista Flockhart from Ally McBeal, Gabrielle Carteris, Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley and Ian Ziering from Beverly Hills, 90210, Patrick Warburton from The Tick, and Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and creator Chris Carter from The X-Files.

So, OK. No, it’s not nearly as grand as you’d think, and even though the show was completely epic, and like Emily said, a staple of many people’s lives (like my own, back in 2002 and ’03), I think Fox might be jumping the shark on “reuniting” the cast members who agreed to sign on for the special. How they ever got big-name stars like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis when they couldn’t get Eric Foreman (oh, right; that’s not his real name, but he *was* written out of the show in the last season because he wanted to “move on” with his “career” and that just went SO WELL DIDN’T IT, TOPHER GRACE) and Lisa Robin Kelly for, you know, whatever reason, is beyond me.

But don’t get me wrong: I’d love to see a ’70’s Show’ reunion. You know, maybe in a few years, when the show hasn’t been off the air for only four years. Maybe do a whole ten-year reunion where they all return to Point Place from wherever they’d been for the previous ten years and Donna and Eric could pick up where they abruptly left off and Jackie could rekindle some kind of long-lost romance with Kelso, but … I don’t know. The show kind of fell apart at the very end, so it could be tough reuniting them when things had changed so much in the later years.

And I’m sure you’re also wondering what Topher Grace has been up to, right, because we haven’t even talked about him here on Evil Beet since 2006. Well, he’s allegedly been hooking up with Olivia Thirlby of Juno and The Wackness, and has been editing Star Wars footage on a professional level:

Geek guy next door, Topher Grace, is well-known in the acting sphere, but he has recently shifted his focus from being the talent to the lonely man in the dark corners of the control room editing footage. What movie did he decide to cut his teeth on you ask? The Star Wars prequels.

Peter Sciretta from Slash Film had the pleasure of attending a private “screening” of Grace’s Star Wars remix. He not only used footage from all three prequels, but cuts from the original, music from the Clone Wars TV show, and dialogue from Anthony Daniel’s (C-3PO) audio book. He managed to condense the three movies into an 85 minute feature—quite a feat, but it helps that he apparently left the entire first movie on the edit room floor, save for the Darth Maul fight scene. Unfortunately, according to Sciretta, Grace’s version of the Star Wars prequels will never see the seas of internet piracy; it’s staying as a personal screening.

You go, Topher. Good thing you quit That 70’s Show. I’m sure it would have held you back, I don’t know, at least months.