Freaks and Geeks

I had heard this series bandied around by its fans like it was the greatest work of art in television history. It seems to inspire maniacal devotion, so much so that its fans bend over backward to praise anything with the Judd Apatow stamp on it (he was the producer, but not the creator, of this show). So, yeah, it had a lot to live up to. Somehow, despite all the praise it's gotten, it not only met my expectations, but wildly exceeded them. Freaks and Geeks is nothing less than one of the finest, if not the finest, television series that has ever been produced. Set in a suburban Detroit high school in 1980, the show follows the two titular groups (the Freaks being stoners, rockers, hippies and the like), both headed by a member of the Weir family. Lindsey Weir (Linda Cardellini) is a junior, a former smart, goody-two-shoes type of girl who wants to leave her past behind to hang out with the freaks, mostly because she's attracted to Daniel (James Franco). Unfortunately, he already has a girlfriend, Kim (Busy Philips). Also in the group are Nick (Jason Segel), who eventually falls for Lindsey, and Ken (Seth Rogan), a guy who hides behind biting sarcasm. Sam Weir is a tiny 14 year-old freshman who gets picked on constantly, as do his two best friends, Bill (Martin Starr) and Neal (Samm Levine). The show has a pretty even dose of comedy and drama. I teared up as much as I laughed, anyway. The scripts are just amazing, with the characters being some of the most fully-fleshed I've ever met on TV. Especially impressive is the fact that the writers don't make the adults in the show, the parents and the teachers, two-dimensional villains. Nearer the beginning of the show, I was thinking that the Weir patriarch, played by SCTV's Joe Flaherty, was a tad too jokey, but he gains depth with every appearance. Dave 'Gruber' Allen stands out as the school's hippie guidance counselor, again, never stereotyped. Even when he's pitted against the main characters of the show, he always comes off as an adult who is genuinely trying to help those children in his charge. The show features a wonderful soundtrack that rarely ever feels like you're just sitting listening to a classic rock station (this is certainly why the DVD set costs a fortune). It's a tragedy that the show was cancelled after just 18 episodes. I honestly never even heard of it until it was off the air. Every episode I watched, I got sadder, knowing the end was nigh. High school has never been seen with a clearer eye, written more honestly.

This show was without a doubt the BEST new show on Television. It actually gave a new meaning to television and introduced wonderful and funny characters. The cast is perfect and the writing and acting is so great, there was nothing wrong with the show, in fact it was about 10 times better than some stupid sitcoms still on TV (some not all). Bill Haverchuck, played by Martin Starr is probably my favorite character because he was a interesting and funny character. The only problem was that NBC didn't give Freaks and Geeks a decent time slot. It was so unfair.

Get the DVDs, you'll LOVE them!

Thank You

Why is it that all the best teen shows get cancelled way before their time? Maybe because the show is set in the 80's (where teenagers won't relate to some of the stuff back then). Or maybe because people don't look for smart acting anymore. Even if you were born after all that hippie - disco stuff, you should still be able to enjoy the show.

Personally, I don't think the show stood a chance. First, it was hardly advertised by NBC. Second, it was placed on a Saturday night. And third, it was taken off the air for a month or so and then brought back. You couldn't have any worse luck. Then when it came back on the air, they only showed a couple of episodes and decided to cancel it for good.

To sum it up - it was a good little show with terrific acting, excellent music, good clothes, great storylines, and a hell of a good try to stay on the air. Unfortunately, it didn't even survive one season. All I know is that I loved it and thank goodness I recorded most of the episodes.

Anybody who missed this show, you lost a chance to see what real television is about.

The show's creative team seems to have an eye for the high school experience and their vision transcends the setting. Freaks and Geeks is set at a Michigan high school in 1980 and the opening shot of the series sets us up for who the show will be about. We track across a football practice and up to the bleachers where a player and cheerleader are discussing how they love each other so much, it's scary. We linger briefly on this generic moment before moving underneath the bleachers to real life and a conversation about Molly Hatchet and Led Zeppelin. These are the Freaks. Then come the Geeks. They are three boys quoting Caddyshack, are bullied for it, and then saved by a girl. It's through these freaks and these geeks that we will relive the high school experience. Sure the names of the groups change, their lingo and the bands they listen to, but everyone can relate to the horrors and beauties of high school and the relationships that reside there.

So many characterizations about this period of life are presented through the eyes of characters that virtually no one was. The characters are either too smart, quoting Kierkegaard at fourteen and making their own label-worthy clothing, or they are perfect, as if everyone's capable of making the game-winning shot. Our story here is presented through the lives of Lindsey and Sam Weir. Lindsey is the oldest. She's a former "mathlete" and "that girl in English who got an "A."" However, dissatisfaction with her life and an attraction to the easygoing ways of Daniel Desario, the head freak, leads her to a new group of friends and a shift in direction. Her successes as a student and the perception of her as a perfect daughter have left her feeling empty. So she trades her plaid dress for her dad's old army jacket and forsakes the library for the smoking patio. But Lindsey's is not simply a story of "teenage rebellion." Her's is a journey into the genuine as she finds a home in the murky adventures of friendships and a real life lived.

Sam and his friends, Bill and Neal, are freshman, learning from the outset that "high school sucks." But their stories are not simply the ninth grade torture chamber they could have been. No, Sam, Bill, and Neal are redeemed by their acynical, wide-eyed approach to life and their affection for one another. This care they have for one another is refreshing and truthful. In one episode (The Garage Door), Sam suspects that Neal's dad is being unfaithful in his marriage. Bill reminds Sam that he has to tell Neal what he saw. There are no secrets. "Remember that time in science class when I tried to sneak out a fart and it came out a…poop? Do you think I wanted to tell you that?" Their innocence isn't simply an extension of their naivete, (well, Bill is a little naïve) but flows more from their trust in one another and willingness to be faithful. In "Smooching and Mooching," Neal and Bill discuss strategy for spin-the-bottle at an upcoming make-out party. Bill asks, "What if they don't wanna kiss us?" Neal replies, "That's the genius part of the game. They have to." "I don't know. I just don't want to see the expression on their face when they see that the bottle lands on me," says Bill, gently. The geeks are not understated, and yet never over the top. They get their friendship just right.

Freaks and Geeks also gives us two of the great television characterizations that I've ever seen, Bill, played by Martin Starr, and Nick, played by Jason Seigel. Bill is the anti-Eddie Haskel. He's brimming with authenticity and his laid back ways provide some of the shows greatest comedic moments. In "Girlfriends and Boyfriends," Bill gets to be study partners with Cindy Sanders, one of the cutest girls in school and Sam's big crush. At a study session, her getting up from a chair is accompanied by a noise that either came from her or from the vinyl seat covering. When she leaves the room he immediately switches chairs and scootches around on it to see if indeed the sound came from Cindy or the vinyl. (It wasn't the vinyl…) Nick isn't quite so self-assured. If he is wide-eyed, its because he's staring into headlights. In fact, there are times when he comes off as manipulative and creepy and yet there is a sadness in his character that I haven't quite seen before. He is afraid. In "I'm With the Band" Lindsey encourages him to try out for a local band and fulfill his dream of being a rock-n-roll drummer only to find that his skills don't quite match his passion for the music. In "Discos and Dragons" he finally finds something he's good at, disco, and yet it's revealed to the viewer that the disco will close within a weeks time. He's the friend that has to be taken care of. (Ken smashes Nick's guitar so that he won't sing an embarrassing love ode to Lindsey.) Yet he wants to be the spirit of the group. ("Laser Floyd is playing at the laser dome!") But Nick isn't simply sad because bad things happen to him. He wants to be a deep thinker, but can't scratch the surface of things and conventional modes of "finding your way" seem only to backfire. He has glimpsed his place in the world, and he can't bear it.

I just started watching this show lately now that it's on Fox Family Channel. I saw one episode before, where the kid is the mascot for the basketball games and all. I love this show! I think it's one of the funniest shows I have ever seen in my life. The characters are the best of almost any series I have ever seen as well. I especially love Haverchuck...he cracks me up. The show deals with kids who are sort of outcasts in high school in 1980, and what outcasts they are. You have the rebel sister and the dorky brother in the main family in the show, and they both will make you laugh. I think the biggest laughs come from Sam and his friends. They are sort of geeky, but they try their hardest to be cool, and they talk constantly about getting chicks and how hard it will be. In one of the episodes, they think Neal's father is having an affair, and Haverchuck says," I don't even know how you get one chick, let alone two." or something to that effect. This is a great show, and it saddens me to see that NBC screwed it up with it's horrible scheduling and promotion. The show deserved much more of a chance than it had, because it's one of the best shows to come along in years, but leave it to the networks to screw up a great thing.