That '90s Show has barely been announced, and it's already proven unfaithful to the Donna Pinciotti portrayed in That '70s Show. Played by Laura Prepon, Donna was always a fiercely independent woman despite entertaining an on-again-off-again romance with socially awkward next-door neighbor Eric Forman (Topher Grace). In fact, Donna's fierce devotion to feminism often put her at odds with her image-is-everything best friend, Jackie; her flighty mother, Midge; and her potential mother-in-law, the more traditional Kitty Forman, Eric's mom. Yet, That '90s Show decided to trample on the very characteristics that set Donna apart from many of the women surrounding her.
That '90s Show is a direct follow-up to That's '70s show, set 15 years after the Forman family and their charismatic friends bid adieu to the 1970s in That ‘70s Show's series finale set December 31, 1979. That '90s Show centers around Eric and Donna's daughter, Leia Forman, who visits her grandparents (played by returning stars Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp) during the summer of 1995. Once there, she befriends a new generation of Point Place, Wisconsin, teenagers, all but certain to bring the shenanigans to Red and Kitty's doorstep. Or, more likely, their basement.
While this is an undeniably promising premise, the fact that Eric and Donna already have a teenager by 1995 feels somewhat out of place. Donna wanted to see the world and refused to be tied down. She even broke up with boyfriend Randy, who arrived after Eric left, because she knew he'd hold her back. When Donna and Eric rekindled their love for one another in That '70s Show's finale, they had their whole lives - and the entire world - in front of them. The last thing Donna seemed to want to do as she rang in the 1980s was get pregnant and settle down.
Donna getting pregnant immediately after That '70s Show flies in the face of everything she seemed to want for herself. Donna's father and mother, Bob and Midge, were high school sweethearts, similar to Eric and Donna. The series heavily hinted Bob and Midge became expectant parents before finishing high school, seemingly motivating Donna to not follow in their footsteps. Underachieving Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) becoming a father soon after high school only underscored Donna's reasoning. In fact, of all her friends, Donna would have been voted least likely to be a mother in the 1990s - which may very well be the point, as it's certainly within the framework of the That '70s Show universe to throw a wrench in Eric and Donna's plans.
Hopefully, Donna hasn't lost everything that made her Donna when Leia Forman arrives in Wisconsin to visit Grandma Kitty and Grandpa Red. Maybe Leia's on her own because her Mom and Dad are in Asia protesting for women's rights ahead of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. If Hillary Clinton's speech insisting "Women's rights are human rights" on September 5, 1995, inspires Donna to join a movement against oppression, that would be very 1970s Donna. And it'd make for an excellent excuse for Donna and Eric to delay their return, allowing for Leia to extend her stay in Point Place on That '90s Show.