That '70s Show Fans Wish This Character Was Never Added To The Cast
For any sitcom that runs longer than a few seasons, a certain phenomenon begins to take place. In many instances, beloved characters will leave due to the actor wanting to pursue other opportunities. There begins a notable dip in quality, and fans have no problem letting their opinions known when a show reaches that point.
While everything is subjective and open to interpretation, many fans seem to be in agreement that for "That '70s Show," the series went downhill the second Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) left. They both brought something irreplaceable to the sitcom, with Eric being the likable everyman while Kelso functioned as the comic relief. The show just wasn't the same without them.
While getting rid of two prominent cast members was always going to be a tough pill to swallow for fans, it was made even worse with the inclusion of a new character designed to replace them. Many fans didn't take kindly to the new addition, as evidenced by a detailed Reddit thread.
Fans unanimously declare Randy the worst That '70s Show character
Redditor u/emilyyk96 kicked off a poll asking people who their least favorite character added to the series throughout its run is. There were several options to choose from, including Casey (Luke Wilson), Mitch (Seth Green), and Big Rhonda (Cynthia LaMontagne). They all earned themselves a decent number of votes, but the most popular (or least popular depending on how you view it) character by a wide margin is Randy (Josh Meyers), with 90 out of 177 votes. That's over half for a single character, so it's obvious there's no love lost between fans and Eric's replacement.
The thread contains numerous comments from people explaining their choice, with u/ManiaMadnessYT writing, "The reason I didn't like Randy wasn't because of his character (well a little), I found him funny sometimes. But I didn't like him cause they just didn't need him on the show. It was kinda pointless adding him on there."
It's a common sentiment among "That '70s Show" fans. In fact, on Screen Rant's list of actor replacements who destroyed the show, Randy took over the top spot. It seems that Randy served as a constant reminder of what fans had lost when Grace and Kutcher left the show. Perhaps the series would've been better served by focusing on the remaining characters instead of attempting to shoehorn a new person in there.