"That '70s Show" started as a slightly ribald, freewheeling look back at life in the 1970s. Point Place, Wisconsin could have been any small midwestern hometown, and Eric Forman (Topher Grace) could have been any well-meaning, underachieving teen struggling his way to success and happiness. His sandbox love affair with his childhood friend, Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), felt like the kind of romance that any teenager might find themself living through.

His friends — the goofy meathead Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), spoiled princess Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), rebellious and conspiracy-obsessed Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), and wannabe ladies' man Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) — felt like real teens living through realistic rites of passage. And yet, no other coming-of-age comedy could have put on a musical episode featuring Roger Daltrey, and no other program could have made the act of clandestinely smoking marijuana with your friends look like a work of art. That's just a short list of the many things that make the whole sitcom such a lovely thing to experience.

However, as mighty as "That '70s Show" was at its peak, it had a great fall, and one of the most classic late-series declines of all time for a sitcom. But pinpointing the exact whens and hows of its miserable slump into ignominy is quite a journey. In the case of "That '70s Show," it was a particularly ill-advised breakup between two of its main characters that officially had the series slapping on jet skis and jumping the shark.

Jackie dumping Hyde stalled the show's forward momentum

It would be easy to argue that "That '70s Show" jumped the shark when Topher Grace left the sitcom ahead of its final season. To compensate, the show brought in Eric's cousin, Randy Pearson (Josh Meyers), to fill in the Eric-shaped void that the character's early exit left (as well as give Donna a new love interest). Randy definitely doesn't improve Season 8 and his existence only makes the show's sharp decline even worse.

However, the implosion of "That '70s Show" began even earlier than that — specifically, with the Season 7 finale.

In "'Till the Next Goodbye," Jackie and Hyde's romance has reached the ultimate impasse. She's moving to Chicago, and all he has to do to get her to stay in Point Place is promise her a future. He resists doing so, even though he wants to. Disappointed, Jackie enlists her ex-boyfriend Kelso to drive her to Chicago. Hyde is inspired to go chase Jackie down to her motel room and confess his feelings. Unfortunately, as he does so, Kelso emerges from the bathroom in a towel, resulting in Hyde chasing him out of the room.