That '70s Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

That '70s Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 24, 2017

Mill Creek has re-released 'That '70s Show' to Blu-ray in new, more streamlined packaging. A/V specs appear fundamentally unchanged between this release and the previous box set, but there are some differences beyond the packaging, major and minor alike. Read on below for more information.

Old (left) vs. New (right).

For a review of the television show, please click here, and note that individual releases and reviews are available for both season one and season two

That '70s Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While the individual season releases (seasons one and two, at least) were presented with more breathing room and a higher bitrate, the previous box set crammed more episodes onto fewer discs and utilized a lower bitrate, but the differences in presentation were not drastic. Mill Creek has made use of the full series (lower bitrate) transfers for this set. Nothing has fundamentally changed at the macro level, but Mill Creek has directly confirmed that the following alterations on the video side have been made:

• Frame flashes in two episodes were fixed (episodes undisclosed).
• A new master for the season six episode "The Kids Are Alright," which was previously supplied in PAL.

For a general review of the set's video quality, please click here. Note that "new master" does not mean "new transfer" for "The Kids Are Alright." The images appear identical, and several comparative screenshots have been included in screenshot fields 8-13, with the image from the old release appearing first, followed by approximately the same image from the new release. The difference in this master and the old master comes in the episode's runtime. On the old disc, the episode runs 21:05. On the new disc, the episode runs 22:01.

That '70s Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This new box set contains the same audio presentation from the previous box set. According to Mill Creek, no audio changes have been made. For a review of the set's audio quality, please click here.

That '70s Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Here's where things get interesting. The first, and most obvious, difference between these sets is the packaging. The old release was housed in a box with a removable top lid and a felt-like slipcover. The discs came housed in small, almost cardboard CD case-sized fold-open sleeves with colorful artwork. It was not the most practical packaging, but it was fun. This new set ditches all of that in favor of a standard slip box and Blu-ray cases, not unlike the studio's recent full-series TV releases such as Quantum Leap and Airwolf. There are four cases, each housing two seasons. There are four discs per case, stacked two-by-two. Disc artwork has changed has well. The new case is a negligible smidgen taller than the old one without its slipcover, but with the slipcover they're essentially the same. They are both the same depth. The new set saves a little space in width, measuring right at 2 inches, whereas the older set measures at a hair over 2.5 inches. Comparative photographs are included.

The differences inside the box are twofold. First, Mill Creek has corrected the spelling of the word "episode" on the disc menus, which was misspelled on the old set on every disc. The studio has also removed the two bonus discs from the new set (reviews of those discs can be found here). Select episode audio commentaries carry over, and are included on a disc-by-disc basis.

That '70s Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In summary, the new box set is a bit more streamlined, contains new packaging and disc artwork, fixes a menu screen spelling error, removes a PAL master, makes minor corrections on two additional episodes, carries over general video and audio presentations, retains select episode audio commentaries, and removes the two bonus discs from the previous set. Prices are fluctuating at time of review, with the new set sometimes pricing higher, sometimes lower, than the older set at Amazon. Neither set is perfect. To get everything -- all the supplements and the fixed episodes -- would require owning both. The older set, despite some minor missteps, is still the better overall release. Its packaging is cooler, though admittedly a bit more impractical. It's a tough call. Fans who don't care about extras are certainly going to be better off with this new reissue, but even with the one shorter episode, the old set is, in this reviewer's opinion, the way to go. Either way, That '70s Show is a must-own on Blu-ray one way or the other. In general, video and audio are very good and the show is pretty great, too.