Point Place, Wisconsin, May 17, 1976. Nerdy teenager Eric, who smokes weed with some classmates in the basement, is in heaven when his dad Red decides to hand him the keys of his flashy Vista Cruiser, at the price of extra chores and forbidding him to take it out of town, knowing that won't be obeyed anyway. The gang, which just adopted foreign exchange student Fez, is excited about a Todd Rundgren concert- Jackie uses her female charms to make sure skirt-chaser Michael Kelso would take her too.

Eric is turning 17 and made very clear he wants no more childish 'surprise' party and a cassette player, not an outdated 8-rack player, but ma Kitty is as subtle as a herd of elephants preparing exactly what he dreaded. To make it worse, Eric's nasty sister Laurie, in college, is home and makes the gang boys' heads spin, Kelso even imagines her to be madly in love with him. Pa Red cheerfully gives Laurie the keys to his new car plus $30, Eric nothing except that damned 8-track and his usual chores, while barring the only escape route from Kitty's eternal baby-party; Red does drag Kitty to the neighbors, but she keeps worrying about her 'baby boy'...

Point Place is buzzing when it's announced that President Ford is coming to town. Meanwhile, the guys want to do something to show their opposition and decide to go streaking.

Donna keeps beating Eric at games, which isn't very good for their relationship.

Eric gets a job at Fatso Burger and can't spend time with Donna, who's planning a party at the end of the week.

The gang finds a keg and decides to throw a party in the pool of an abandoned house.

The gang decide to go to a disco. Hyde can't dance and secretly gets lessons from Kitty.

Fez's host parents think the group has a bad influence on him and Eric and Donna are going to a drive-in movie.

Laurie brings a friend home for Thanksgiving which could be a problem. When they arrive it turns out that Kate is hot, and Eric has a hard time controlling himself, much to Donna's concern. Meanwhile Bob offers Red a job.

Red's overcritical mother goes to church with the Foremans, torturing Kitty, who has just quit smoking.

Eric starts hanging out with his rich chem lab partner, Buddy, and they become best friends, to the chagrin of Fez and Hyde.

It's Christmas and Eric wants to give a party in the basement, with beer.

The gang goes on a ski trip, without Kelso.

When Eric scratches the Vista Cruiser Red takes it away. Luckily Kelso is able to borrow his cousin's car, or so they think... Meanwhile Donna and Jackie are starting to think more about sex and Midge begins to take feminist-classes.

Kitty makes Red go to a wrestling show with the gang. Jackie becomes a door mat for Kelso. Midge convinces Kitty and Laurie to join her at "therapy."

This episode is Valentine's Day. Eric wants to give Donna his class ring, but Hyde wants to tell her how he feels. Eric takes Donna to a restaurant and she gets drunk. Hyde and Eric have words and come to an understanding.

Kelso passes out when Jackie tells him she might have gotten pregnant; Midge learns about Jackie and decides to put Donna on the pill.

It's career day and the gang spends a working day with their parents.

Eric rents a hotel room for prom night, but the mood is ruined by howling children; Hyde takes Jackie to the prom out of pity because Kelso went with Pam Macy.

Eric, Hyde, Fez and Kelso go see Star Wars and become obsessed with it. Red's boss Milbank returns to town. Eric fights his son David, whose butt he once kicked in elementary school, for moving in on Donna.

Hyde convinced the gang it would be cool to paint a pot weed leaf on the water tower and dares Kelso to take crazy risk to fix the failure, till Michael makes a fall and badly hurts his arm, then Fez who falls but is alright. Jackie semi-nurses Kelso and makes him realize Hyde is no real friend, to little avail. When Eric seeks medical advice from his nurse mother, he gets traumatized by accidentally walking in on his parents making love. The unsavory idea even gets Laurie's sympathy, yet he rather lets h-them thinks he's on drugs then come clean until that's done form him.

Hyde meets a girl who asks him to go to New York with her.

When Grandma Forman dies unexpectedly the Formans have to deal with the loss. Eric goes to a bar, Kitty cooks, Laurie thinks of her inheritance, and Red has to deal with his over-emotional brother.

While riding in Eric's car, Kelso has the brilliant idea to go skinny-dipping at the reservoir, but all their clothes get stolen, so the basement gang goes to the Hyde home to borrow his and his mother's clothes so they'll have something to wear. Jackie catches a cold from the reservoir, and ends up in bed. Midge's Feminist Warriors - which no other husband puts up with - keep making her crazy, yet member Sharon actually proves an old-fashioned caring housewife at heart when she finds good provider Bob feeling neglected. Red felt with the car plant about to close down, money is too tight even to afford pork chops, yet Kitty and Eric implicitly expect him to play "Santa Claus" for home-wrecked Hyde after his mother abandons him.

Eric's love of Hyde for doing his chores turns to hate when his parents start liking Hyde more than him; Hyde changed from a conspiracy but to a total bore.