#table draft

[thestupidhelmet]

Guess who bought the early (or maybe even first) draft of the That '70s Show pilot script. 👀👀👀

[thestupidhelmet]

Table Draft “Pilot” #11

Key:

Table Draft = TD

Revised First Draft = RFD

Aired Pilot = AP

This is the end ... beautiful friend(s).

Above are significant differences in the TD from the AP. Not only can Jackie sing well in the TD (in the series, Jackie is known for her inability to sing), but Hyde also acknowledges Jackie's good singing and -- most importantly -- Donna admits that Jackie is "one of us." The TD version of the pilot establishes Jackie as officially part of the basement gang. In the series, this won't happen until "Cat Fight Club" (2x25) when Hyde invites her into the circle.

Above, Eric's growth in self-confidence from the AP continues to be absent in the TD. He becomes quite anxious at Donna's suggestion about driving to Chicago -- with Donna alone.

The TD ends with a huge difference in tone from the AP. Donna, rather than simply kissing Eric because she "wanted to know what it would feel like" -- much more hesitant, unsure, teenager-y and, quite frankly, endearing -- it becomes part of Donna and Eric's struggle for control in their relationship along gender lines. Eric believes he should have all the control because he's "the man". Donna disabuses him of this regressive idea yet again and asserts her equality and agency.

In the series, what I described above is explored, but it's integrated into Donna and Eric's otherwise loving relationship. It's not the focal point; it occasionally becomes a point of contention with deeper roots.

"Battle of the Sexists" (1x04) is the first episode to explore this dynamic between Eric and Donna, but it's approached far differently than the TD pilot. Donna gets advice from her mom essentially to let Eric win to protect Eric's sense of manhood. She fails at her first attempt and kicks his butt in table hockey. She's obvious in her second attempt when they play one-on-one basketball, and Eric calls her out on it.

Then Kitty calls Eric out on his false belief that Donna winning at times means he's less of a man. She counteracts his own feelings that have been exacerbated by Hyde, Kelso, and Fez's validation of them. Kitty tells Eric that she and Red play for fun and don't keep score of who wins or loses

This wisdom gets through to Eric, and he's able to let go of the idea his value is tied to whether or not Donna, a woman, beats him at sports. This results in Eric and Donna having a playful reconciliation, a basketball game that turns into behavior reminiscent of their childhood antics. At the end, Eric asks, "Who won?" Donna says, "I wasn't keeping score." Eric says, "Cool. Me neither."

This episode has an emotionally satisfying arc, where Eric and Donna's love and respect for each other ultimately overrides all else (with help from Kitty).

Then Red tells Eric that his basketball performance "was pretty sad," and that, "I'm gonna teach you how to play basketball. We've got four hours 'til your bed time. And we're gonna drill, drill, drill." This dialogue (and subsequent follow-through) reveals where Eric got his regressive ideas of what makes a man.

[thestupidhelmet]

Table Draft “Pilot” #2

Key:

Draft = TD

Revised First Draft = RFD

Aired Pilot = AP

Above, Bob foreshadows a later line that's both in the TD and AP. Here, he talks about time being a cheater; he's clearly having a midlife crisis of some kind (subtextually). Bob also makes clear Donna and Eric grew up together from practically infancy.

Donna doesn't warn Eric about her dad's hair in the TD, which is another point of connection the AP.

More details about the Formans' cars in the TD to set up Eric getting the Vista Cruiser.

@that70sshowgoldencouple and me when we read our scripts to each other: "The Florida room? What the heck is that?" And we both thought of The Golden Girls.

In the TD and RFD, Eric wants to buy the Vista Cruiser from Red.

Note that two of the beers are warm. Two are cold. It's foreshadowing.

Important to note: Hyde uses a Shakespeare expression. "Anon! Eric enters bearing brews and news!" This is the first of two lines that characterize him as having a significant interest in literature and a level of academic intelligence and interest.

Donna gives the two warm beers to Hyde and Kelso while keeping a cold one for herself and giving the other to Eric. This establishes subtly that she and Eric have a closer bond.

The cold opening in the TD doesn't have Hyde hugging Eric in pride, Donna saying Eric is suddenly more attractive to her, and it doesn't end with Eric's friends toasting to him. The TDd doesn't connect the characters to one another or to Eric in an emotionally significant way. Nor does it demonstrate that Eric snagging those beers is a major victory for him. The basement has a dedicated chain for beer can pull tabs, meaning this event is nothing new. So it doesn't give Eric the same internal conflict as the AP does.

The TD cold opening also doesn't establish clearly why Eric is T7S's main protagonist. Without his AP internal conflict and his friends' appreciation and admiration for his bravery -- and the gender lines drawn between Donna and her three male friends -- the TD really puts the cold in cold opening.

[thestupidhelmet]

Answer (Possibly) Found to Long-Time Zennie Question

Over the years, I been asked many times why Jackie trusts Hyde, particularly in "Kiss of Death" (2x20) when she goes to him for comfort over Donna and Eric. Nothing in the text (the show suggests) a reason why. He's not helpful to her in "Ski Trip" (1x13). Rather, he essentially tries to get rid of her so he can be alone with Donna.

Key:

Table Draft = TD

Revised First Draft: RFD

Prissy (aka @that70sshowgoldencouple ) and I talked in the phone today (we've been friends for fifteen years) to compare my Table Draft of the T7S pilot to her earlier Revised First Draft of the pilot (hers was completed a month before mine). We had a lot of fun, and now onto our discovery.

In the TD, Hyde explains that he's taken Fez under his wing to teach him "[Americans' strange ways." This line isn't in the RFD. Regardless, Jackie learns Fez is a foreign exchange student and says in both drafts, "What did we trade for him?" (Exact wording is from the TD.) Below, you'll find what follows in the TD.

What Jackie's response, That is so like you," refers to is ambiguous. Does she mean Hyde's insult or the fact he's helping Fez and believes"no one should be without friends"?

The RFD removes this ambiguity. Below, you'll find the earlier version of what follows Jackie's question, "What did we trade [Fez] for?"

Both the RFD and TD of the pilot reveal that Hyde's compassionate heart and desire to help the vulnerable was an original part of his core characterization. On the show, these aspects of him become part and parcel of his core starting in "Prom Night" (1x19).

Further, the RFD and TD reveal that Jackie's been around Hyde long enough to recognize that helping people is part of his nature.

Despite that the show doesn't depict Hyde as such until "Prom Night," so it's not technically in the text, Hyde's initial characterization and Jackie's knowledge of it may well have left an imprint on the show's creators and original showrunners.

Jackie having witnessed Hyde's compassion toward others who need it would create an implicit trust in him when she needs help and support.

This post's theory is a viable explanation to the question, "Why does she always [go to Hyde]?" It also -- gratifyingly, I must admit -- matches my headcanon. Maybe it's my author instinct. Regardless, the TD and RFD depict Hyde with his compassion heart intact.

[thestupidhelmet]

I've read through the Table Draft of the pilot It's going to be some days before I can take pictures of each page so you can read it. But I'm going to give a rundown of my initial thoughts.

Key:

TD = Table Draft

AP = Aired Pilot

--The title of the show is still Teenage Wasteland.

--In the TD, Eric is grounded strongly in his "the man is the man" attitude that is more subtly developed in the actual show over many episodes. In the AP, Eric is grounded in overcoming his lack of confidence that Donna inspires him to do.

--Donna and Eric's relationship in the TD is combative and about control, created by tension over Eric insisting on traditional gender roles and Donna demonstrating that she won't be beholden to them. Quite frankly, I found them both obnoxious during their interactions.

--In the AP, Eric and Donna far more emotionally connected. The focus is on the beginning of their relationship's transition from friendship to romance.

--Donna isn't obviously viewed as "one of the guys" in the TD. She even seems to be somewhat of an outlier except where Eric is concerned.

--Kelso is more prominent in the TD and written as the third most important of the friend group.

--Jackie's characterization is more complex and savvy in the TD. She's accepted as one of the group -- by the group -- to the group's despair because they realize she is one of them by the end of the episode (i.e. belongs).

--The TD heavily implies that Jackie's and Kelso have sex abd often.

--Reading Jackie call Kelso David was bizarre, lol.

--Fez's first scene (at The Hub) in the TD is later than in the AP. Hyde directly states he's taken Fez under his wing to teach him the ways of American life. In the AP and show, this fact is shown throughput S1, not stated.

--Jackie's response to Hyde when he says the above about Fez in the TD is, "You would," and they have more antagonistic interaction in the TD than in the AP.

--Jackie's and Donna actually have a scene in The Hub's girl's bathroom, and it's significantly characterizing for both of them (individually and for their dynamic).

--A scene exists between Jackie and her father, which is a payoff to a dialogue exchange in the TD's cold opening.

--When Bonnie Turner said in an interview that she, Terry Turner, and Mark Brazill didn't know who Hyde was when they first began writing the show, she wasn't exaggerating. MB, of course, intended to use Hyde as the romantic foil to Eric in regard to Donna, since this was him rewriting what happened in his high school days. But ...

--In the TD:

Hyde's conspiracy-spouting in the circle is more extreme.

Hyde is characterized as being literary minded. He has two lines in particular that would make many English Lit majors recognize as him as a kindred spirit.

Hyde and Eric's connection and closeness is barely hinted at in the TD. In the AP, it's explicitly established in the cold opening.

Hyde is characterized as a typical mid-1970s casually homophobic teen. 😬 Eric and Donna are characterized as the opposite. Hyde is essentially told to shut up when he uses a certain word twice (not starting with F) to explain to Fez why the gas station guy (Randy) brings a male date to the concert.

--Speaking of Randy and his date, their stage directions in the TD are much more affectionate and intimate than what we see in the AP.

--A bumper sticker on the Vista Cruiser in the TD reveals Red voted for Nixon. That doesn't contradict Red feeling Nixon betrayed the country. The TD makes clear the Vista Cruiser has been rusting in the garage for years.

--Eric, Donna, Kelso (with prompting), and all work to refurbish the Vista Cruiser in the TD. They remove the Vista part on the side of the car so it officially becomes The Cruiser.

--Kitty and Red are not that prominent in the TD. They have a few scenes, but Kitty's personality is clearly a product of Debra Jo Rupp playing Kitty as somewhat cartoonist because we're seeing her from Eric's perspective (she said in an interview this was her understanding and made the acting choice), and the writers liked that performance so much they made it her actual characterization.

I don't think the show would've gotten past the pilot had it remained the TD version. Eric and Donna's dynamic in the AP is the heart of the show. Their dynamic in the TD isn't endearing but abrasive. Donna and Jackie have more chemistry (not romantic, character-wise) in the TD than Donna and Eric.

When I post the pages, you'll make your own judgements, of course. Surprises exist that I didn't spoil.

[thestupidhelmet]

It has arrived!

And it’s the table draft.

And I’ve read through the technical pages at the start. One scene from the draft before this one is marked as deleted with no other details.

And I’ve just read page 1 of the actual script and holy hell. 🤣

Enjoy that essentially non-informational teaser.

[thestupidhelmet]

Table Draft “Pilot” #1

Key:

Table Draft = TD

Revised First Draft = RFD

Aired Pilot = AP

Hey, everyone! I've taken pics of all the Table Draft pages of the T7S pilot, and it's time to start sharing. First, however, I want to explain some basic differences between the TD and the Revised First Draft @that70sshowgoldencouple read to me. I'll also comment on specific, significant differences between the TD and RFD underneath certain pages and ones I wish to discuss between the TD and the aired pilot.

The RFD has a longer cold opening that includes a scene that appears before the one in the TD. It adds very little despite some humor, so cutting it for time makes sense.

The RFD also has TD scenes that appear later in the RFD than the TD because it has some small extra scenes that add little.

The RFD and TD both have dialogue exchanges that aren't in the other draft. Or scenes that are constructed slightly differently but are ultimately the sane content.

The RFD describes the characters' appearances in detail because the show hadn't cast anyone yet when the First Draft was written (obviously). Casting must've been done with the RFD. A month later when the TD was complete, casting was done. The TD includes a cast list and a schedule for E V E R Y T H I N G (including all the promo photos).

The RFD and TD have slight differences in certain lines of dialogue. The TD tends to tighten the dialogue and eliminate redundancy.

Now onto the TD! Be sure to read the stage directions, or you'll miss half the changes between the TD and AP.

Above, Hyde's first line to Donna signifies that she's not "one of the guys" but seen by the guys as her gender despite being part of the friend group. This is just the start of that distinction the TD makes vs. the AP. The RFD makes this distinction in its first scene, too, as well as Hyde's line. So by the time the RFD gets to this scene, Donna's been defined and othered by the guys through her gender twice.

Below, the TD continues emphasizing a distinction between male and females.

Above, the script Donna indicates that Jackie and Kelso are having sex already. It won't be the last time the TD affirms this as fact. T7S may have changed this from fact to fiction after MK was cast since she was the only minor at fourteen. And the fact becomes fiction in Fox's first order of more episodes after the original short season (for 1998, when 25-26 episode was the norm) where "Grandma's Dead" was the original season finale.

Another interesting note is that Hyde's line, "I love that boy!" about Eric is the only indication of any real connection between them in the TD. The RFD doesn't even have that line. In the AP during this moment, Hyde gets somewhat physically aggressive with Eric in a strangely intimate way and gives him a combo pep-talk command.

[thestupidhelmet]

Table Draft “Pilot” #8

Key:

Table Draft = TD

Revised First Draft = RFD

Aired Pilot = AP

Below is a scene between Jackie and her father. It's unchanged from the RFD. Jack, like Bob, was originally intended to be a recurring character on the show. Paul Kreppel (Jack's portrayer) is in the promo pictures taken for season 1's press kitm

Above, Jackie mangles Todd Rundgren's last name a second time and in a different way.

Above, the scene demonstrates Jackie being savvy about getting more money from her father than she actually needs. This whole scene between them is also the payoff for the earlier scene where Eric and the guys tell Donna that boys can't just ask for money from their dad's like daughters can. The RFD and TD pilot's gender divide focus is wrought through the entire episode.

Above, Kelso is talking about the car after all the work everyone put into refurbishing it.

Above, the differences in the exchange here from the AP is glaring. Instead of Donna helping Eric screw up his courage vs.his obeisance to Red, the scene depicts the friction between Eric and Donna for control, with belief about gender roles being the driving force.

Jackie is established earlier in the TD to take control unapologetically. Her conversation with Donna in The Hub's bathroom highlights their different perspectives. Eric, though, doesn't even hear Donna's, "It's your decision." He accuses Donna of "talking [him] into [driving him into Milwaukee]" when Kelso's the one who actually tries to influence him a sentence earlier.

Eric's terrified of being an emasculated "slave to a woman," Donna in this case. She's not ordering him to do anything; she's trying to build him up, yet he reacts irrationally from fear.

Changing their gender-focused combativeness in the RFD and TD to a loving, sympatico bond in the AP was the right mood. Eric is not a sympathetic protagonist in the TD. He's frustrating and obnoxious. Donna, rightly, isn't taking his crap.

The RFD has this scene. It's about two lines of dialogue and adds nothing. Cutting it for time made sense.