That '70s Show: Season 5

Five down, three to go. Only one of which is currently in the backlog.

How familiar was I with the season's various episodes?

I sound like a broken record at this point, but once again, I was very familiar with this season's episodes. I mean, I had no idea going into this little section of my backlog that I'd already seen at least a hundred episodes of this silly little show, but I had definitely seen almost all of the first five seasons in their entirety. How? In an age before DVR or On Demand or Internet streaming, I have no idea.

Were there any key ways in which this season was different from previous seasons?

This season finally addresses the fact that the kids are still in high school by making them contemplate colleges and graduate from high school. Hooray! Donna also spends most of it in a school girl outfit, which lent itself to an immediately tired running gag wherein all of the guys would howl and cheer when they saw her do simple things in said uniform such as crossing her legs or bending over to pick up fallen objects. On the bright side, this season more than any before it showed some significant character growth. Jackie, especially, kind of grew up a little bit after spending most of the previous seasons as the shallowest and most one-note of the main characters aside from Fez. The constant power struggle between Eric and his dad also came to a head for a lengthy arc. Oh, and Hyde had a beard briefly.

Any particular highlights or lowlights worth singling out?

First and foremost, 2003 Jessica Simpson. Not current mother-of-two Jessica Simpson. Not "mom jeans" failed country singer Jessica Simpson. We're talking Daisy Duke-wearing Newlyweds-era cover-of-Rolling Stone Jessica Simpson, who 14-year-old me thought was the most gorgeous woman on the planet at the time. To be honest, 24-year-old me revisiting her in 2012 wasn't nearly as blown away - but then, what 24-year-old is as blown away by any woman as any 15-year-old? Point is, Jessica Simpson - who has ironically long since been overtaken in the famously good looks department by That '70s Show alumna Mila Kunis (and probably even Laura Prepon too at this point) - was still one of the season's biggest highlights for me this season in her three-episode stint. That doesn't mean the rest of the season was loaded with lowlights. I can't even come up with a single lowlight, actually. It just means the season was even-keeled enough - par for the course, if you will - for 2003 Jessica Simpson to still be one of its highlights. Even in 24-year-old me's eyes.

Final thoughts on anything else relating to the season or series as a whole?

Something - my gut, my shady memory, I dunno - is telling me that this pretty decent fifth season is the last good one. I know Season 8 lacks both Kelso and Eric, and I know somewhere in Seasons 6 and 7 there are points where Fez dates Jackie, where Kelso has a baby with someone (Shannon Elizabeth?), and where Eric and Donna - despite ending Season 5 engaged and ready to move in together - break up again.

And that was Season 5, an enjoyable and light-hearted set of 25 episodes I'm glad I revisited.