That '70s Show (TV Series) It's a Wonderful Life (2001) User Reviews

It's a Wonderful Life (#4.1)

[ComedyFan2010 · 7/10 · 8 January 2018]

Eric wishes that he would have never been with Donna. An angel comes and shows him how it would have been if they would have never had their first kiss that night. At the end Eric is glad he had Donna and lost instead of never having had the time with her.

It is not as funny as most of the episodes. But it is a pretty good idea to remember their relationship. Wayne Knight was great as an angel. It seems that Eric's misery also worked very well for Big Rhonda which is a good thing. I liked how Eric decided that he is glad he had a relationship with Donna not because of what he saw what the future would be like but because he remembered all the good moments the two had.

Anow, let's get back to "reality" and have some truly funny episodes

A genius twist on a classic idea

[maximumcool · 10/10 · 3 June 2018]

*SPOILER WARNING but since the episode has been out for 17 years at the time I'm writing this......*

This is probably my favorite episode because of how they end it. Sure, we get to see how things would have changed if the characters had made different decisions, and that's a lot of fun. There's some solid jokes and Wayne Knight is just great in this role. But what changes it from a good episode to basically my favorite is the ending where it's not fear or horror at the alternative timeline that makes Eric decide to keep things the way they are, it's the memory of all the good times they had and his still-continuing love for her. It's just a sweet spin on the old idea and makes it a great episode.

Adding insult to injury

[el_monty_BCN · 2/10 · 11 November 2008]

After the disaster that was the break-up at the end of season three, I felt that this episode sadly only made things even worse. Donna is supposed to have prompted the break-up because of her fear to a long-term commitment to Eric, but in this alternate world she has no qualms about tattooing Hyde's name on her body, and eventually marrying him. What are we to understand then? That she is only afraid of committing to Eric, but not to another, more adventurous man? This is extremely wrong, because a) it represents a savage humiliation of Eric's character, of the not-funny kind (Isn't this the main character? Aren't supposed to LIKE this guy?); and b) it is a betrayal to the love story we have been following for three years, because it implies that her love for him was never as deep or passionate as what she would be able to feel for another. Which, again, makes absolutely no sense, from what we have seen in previous seasons.

I know some might say "man, don't take it so seriously, the whole thing is just a Scrooge joke. Eric is BURNED! Ha ha". That is, obviously, a Kelso reaction. We are supposed to be above Kelso's level (or else how could we laugh at him?). The pain and the humiliation cannot be ignored so easily. It may be a comedy, but the writers had decided to introduce a very dramatic turn in the life of a character we care for, and they should have been more thoughtful about how they were going to deal with it. You cannot build a connection between a character and an audience for three years and then expect that same audience to laugh at his extreme misery as if it didn't matter.

Funny, but one of the weakest of Season Four

[jellyneckr · 28 May 2006]

In the end of Season Three of "That '70s Show", Eric (Topher Grace) broke up with Donna (Laura Prepon) when she refused to wear the promise ring that he gave her. A dumb move by Eric and a dumb move by the writers. The beginning of Season Four found Eric whining and being depressed over the break-up, a plot line that got old real fast. Trying to turn something that could have been overly dramatic comical, 'It's A Wonderful Life' takes the idea from the title movie and attempts to get laughs from seeing what life would be like had Eric never kissed Donna. Some of it is sort of funny although it is only semi-amusing and the concept has been done to death not only in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but also in several other films and television series. As in most episodes in Season Four, Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) have the best moments.

This episode was one of the weakest of Season Four, one of my least favorite seasons of the show. By this time time, the program was beginning to show its age. It's obvious the writers were trying to find ways to change the show and keep it going, most of which didn't work for the better. The show should have ended after Season Six. 5/10

Kelso at the Reunion

[tmntcoots · 5/10 · 12 October 2008]

When Eric is shown the future with the Angel, he is present from the 1970s to the 1980s. He is shown what it would be like if he'd had never loved. In the future, Kelso loses his job as the highest paid weather man to selling mattresses for Eric. Seeing the future, Erics final destination of his dream is 10 years further in the future at the Class Reunion. Kelso lets himself go. He had gain weight, looking round with a belly poking out, and wearing a tight pink shirt, tucked in to show he has an outie bellybutton that's distinctly poking through the shirt. From previous shows I do believe Kelso had an innie bellybutton. How was it possible for an innie to become an outie?