Midge and Bob Pinciotti

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The Pinciotti family: Donna, Bob, and Midge

Midge and Bob Pinciotti are two fictional characters on the popular Fox sitcom That 70s Show (1998). They are the loving, lovable but slow witted parents of the red haired tomboy Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon). Midge was portrayed by Tanya Roberts, and Bob was portrayed by Don Stark.

Because of their impaired thought processes, which leads them to be easily influenced by 1970s fads (particularly Bob, who sports stereotypically bad 1970s permed hair and wears gaudy polyester leisure suits), they constantly embarrass their daughter, Donna. Bob and Midge were high school sweethearts, and Bob fondly recalls the first time he saw Midge: "She was the tallest girl in biology class." Midge recalled that "Bob was the shortest boy, but what he lacked in height he made up for in shortness." It is hinted that Bob and Midge got married because Midge became pregnant with Donna while still in high school (which conflicts with the fact that Bob and Midge had an older daughter Valerie). Bob ran a local home appliance store called "Bargain Bob's", which is eventually run out of business by Price Mart.

Bob and Midge moved next door to cantankerous, overbearing Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith) and his sweet but troubled wife Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) when Donna was still a little kid. They both annoy Red greatly, particularly Bob, and Red makes little to no effort to hide his annoyance; but no matter how many times he insults Bob, Bob just smiles and laughs it off because he thinks Red is just kidding. From time to time Red does try to partake of male bonding activities with Bob, but is generally frustrated. Red doesn't seem to mind Donna - he may actually like her better than her parents.

Bob and Midge are somewhat risque with each other, even going so far as to have sex on the hammock in broad daylight where Donna used to read her Nancy Drew mysteries, which she saw and was very horrified over for some time.

Midge was the neighborhood mom Eric and his male friends fantasized about when coming of age. She is also unbelievably dimwitted, which often results in her being the butt of jokes.

Problems arose when Midge started expressing disastisfaction with just being a housewife, which Bob, being a somewhat old fashioned kind of guy, had difficulty accepting. They began to fight regularly and in the second season they separated but continued to live in the same house under the agreement that they could see other people, something Red and Kitty felt was a bad idea and encouraged Bob to "think hard" about. At Red's birthday, Bob and Midge brought along separate dates, but Bob got annoyed with Midge's date. Bob's argument with Midge led to a passionate tryst in their car. Eventually Bob and Midge reconciled and even went so far as to renew their vows.

When it was discovered that Donna had been engaging in sex with Eric, Bob's angry reaction to Donna losing her virginity before marriage was very similar to Kitty's upset feelings over Eric. Midge's reaction was to ask Donna, "So, how was it?".

In the early episodes Bob and Midge had a total of three daughters: Donna was the middle daughter, there was an older daughter named Valerie who was already in college and then there was a younger sister named Tina who appeared in "Eric's Burger Job". Both were quickly phased out and never seen or heard from again, leaving Donna as the Pinciotti's only daughter. This is a similar occurrance to what happened to Chuck Cunningham in Happy Days.

Bob has a strange obsession with the banjo. In one episode, he advises Eric to deal with a rival for Donna's affections by hitting him with a banjo, while in another he advises Red to help Kitty get over her menopause by "getting her a banjo". When a skeptical Red asks "A banjo, Bob?", Bob answers that "I can't hold a banjo and not smile." Red sarcastically replies that "you can't hold a potato chip and not smile." Bob then immediately proceeds to smile and agrees.

Tanya Roberts ceased to be a regular member of the cast in 2001. This eventually led to Bob and Midge's onscreen divorce and her leaving for California to "pursue a career on Broadway" (again showing her dimwittedness. She guest starred for a few episodes after that).

Bob Pinciotti served in the United States National Guard. Sometimes Red resents Bob when he gets to bragging about his service (in a fit of anger at Donna, Eric calls her a National Guardkid).

That '70s Show

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