The Velvet Rope

Original Airdate:	October 12, 1999
Writers:	Joshua Sternin, Jeffrey Ventimilia
Director:	David Trainer

Eric, Donna, Hyde and Fez go to a club in Chicago, and Eric finds himself alone and on the wrong side of the velvet rope while all his friends are inside having a great time. Inspired by a photo of a glammed up Bowie, Kelso lets Jackie put make-up on him and outfit him in one of her mother's dresses.

Red confidently goes off on his first interview for a new job, but he's disheartened when he discovers that many of his former co-workers are interviewing for the same job. Bob and Midge are exploring yoga and tantric sex, and Donna believes they're losing their minds. She insists that Eric take her out of town immediately, and Kelso suggests that they all go to a hot new club in Chicago. Jackie reminds Kelso that her parents will be out late that night so they'll be staying home and "studying". Kelso, without a clue, grudgingly goes along with the plan but complains that he never gets to have any fun. At Jackie's, Michael cheers up when he realizes that Jackie really isn't planning to study, but within a few minutes they're wondering what to do with the rest of the evening. Jackie, seeing a photo of a glammed up Bowie in a magazine, talks Kelso into letting her put make-up on him. Donna shows up at Eric's looking ultra-hot, and he's blown away. At the club, there's a crowd of people waiting to get in. The bouncer lets Donna in immediately, leaving Eric, Hyde and Fez on the wrong side of the velvet rope. Eric tries slipping the bouncer a ten, but it doesn't work. Donna comes out, and Eric pretends that they were already in the club but accidentally went outside and were forced to get in line again. As the night wears on, Fez does an elaborate disco dance move that impresses the bouncer, and he gets into the club. Later, Hyde expresses some righteous political outrage, and the bouncer is moved to grant him admission. Eric finds himself alone on the sidewalk with the bouncer and a couple of other losers. Back at Jackie's, Kelso loves the way he looks in make-up and allows Jackie to persuade him to put on one of her mother's dresses. At Eric's suggestion that he probably has never been excluded from anything, the bouncer re-lives a painful kindergarten experience and feels guilty enough to let Eric go in just as Donna and the others are coming out. Back at home, Eric asks Donna why she wants to be with someone who can't even make it into a club, and Donna sets him straight on what's important to her in a relationship. And Mr. Burkhart discovers Jackie and Kelso (still glammed up) dancing in Jackie's bedroom and tries to strangle Kelso.

"Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads
"Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees
"Walk On The Wild Side" by Lou Reed