"The circle" camera technique used in That '70s Show was a way for the series to abide by Fox's censorship rules without crossing the line. The teenage characters at the focus regularly smoked marijuana on the show set in the 1970s, but the network forbade the depiction of teenage characters using drugs. Luckily, the show's creative team came up with a clever way to showcase when they did so: the group would sit in a circle as the camera swiveled person to person, imitating passing the joint.
Since it was the '70s, it wasn't uncommon for Eric, Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Jackie, and Fez to participate in smoking marijuana. To illustrate this behavior, the circle became a prominent element throughout That '70s Show's eight seasons. The location of the circle was primarily in Eric's basement, although the group was caught by his parents on a few occasions. In fact, the adults participated a few times on their own unbeknownst to the teens. The same couldn't be said about Tommy Chong's Leo, who often participated with the teens. The circle was also used for events other than smoking pot like eating, drinking, and arguing about a particular topic. The circle was also used as the setting for the credits in the show's eighth and final season.
During the circle scenes in That '70s Show, drug paraphernalia is never directly shown. The characters rarely referred to the drug as "marijuana" and "weed" and instead called it their "stash." Even though every young That '70s Show character took part in the circle, the series only featured the whole gang present just four times. The use of the circle was a pretty obvious method to depict what they were doing, but it actually served as the show's only option for including drug use.
That '70s Show Used The Circle Because They Couldn't Show Teens Smoking Marijuana
Fox wouldn't allow That '70s Show to directly show the use of marijuana on their network. The circle was the best way to bypass the censorship and still accurately depict bored teens living in the '70s. Since the details surrounding the circle were implied, the producers never broke any kind of rules when it came to censoring content. The immense smoke and change in character behavior were clear, but Fox had no reason to force the circle out of the show.
To pull off the effect of the circle, the team behind That '70s Show pumped in constant special effects smoke from a machine. The smoke used was strawberry-scented so that it wouldn't bother the cast and crew considering the amount used. A few of the cast members of the show also smoked cigarettes at the time so they assisted in the circle. They would hold their lit cigarettes low under the table to provide more smoke while filming the specific scenes. The filming technique was very successful, which was why it remained a common sequence in the series — whether Fox liked it or not.