That '70s Show's Don Stark Explains The Toupee Episode's Origins
As a whole, "That '70s Show" is one of the most iconic sitcoms television viewers have ever had the pleasure to watch. Complete with an engaging cast of characters, a groovy period-appropriate aesthetic, and an excellent blend of drama and comedy, it's no wonder that it accumulated eight seasons throughout its small screen tenure. Across those seasons, "That '70s Show" amassed exactly 200 episodes, and while just about all of them are enjoyable on their own merits, in the years since the show concluded, the cream has certainly risen to the top.
Looking back, a handful of "That '70s Show" installments have attained an especially high level of popularity among the show's fans. For instance, there's "Water Tower" from Season 1, which sees the gang attempt to paint a giant marijuana leaf on the local water tower, and there's Season 3's "Reefer Madness," which parodies the 1936 anti-drug film to hilarious effect. Of course, one would be remiss not to highlight Season 2's "Burning Down the House": the episode where Donna Pinciotti's (Laura Prepon) father, Bob (Don Stark), famously reveals that he wears a toupee.
As it turns out, the idea for Bob's big reveal in "Burning Down the House" didn't come out of nowhere. Here's where it came from, according to Don Stark himself.
Bob and Midge's relationship led to the toupee episode
In an interview with Fan Fest, Don Stark shed some light on the origins of Bob Pinciotti's toupee and how the "That '70s Show" episode involving the big reveal came to be. "When I started the show, I was heavy, and I had lost a lot of weight. So they wanted my character to really be that guy who hit the jackpot and was with Midge (Tanya Roberts). They came up with that [by doing] the wig, and that was a very funny episode," he explained during the 2017 chat, giving "Burning Down the House" some high praise alongside a few other episodes that he'd consider some of his favorites.
Regardless of his ability to grow hair, it was always a delight seeing Bob on "That '70s Show," hence why the character is so fondly remembered all these years later. Therefore, one would have to imagine that he's a shoo-in for the upcoming sequel series, "That '90s Show," from Netflix. After all, everyone from Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp) to Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and Leo (Tommy Chong) will make a return. Sadly, however, Stark has yet to be announced as a member of the cast (via IMDb). With Bob moving to Florida at the end of "That '70s Show," it would make sense for him not to pop up in Point Place, Wisconsin anyway.
Even if the minds behind "That '90s Show" don't find a way to finagle Don Stark onto the cast list, at least we have countless memories of Bob Pinciotti from "That '70s Show" to enjoy — especially his dramatic confession to wearing a toupee.