Freaks and Geeks

Freaks and Geeks, like too many shows with a lot of potential, was shown here in Australia in a ridiculous time-slot and never had the chance to build an audience of any size. Pity, cos it was one of the best shows to come along in years. In 1980 (when the show is set) I was around the same age as a lot of these characters, and to me it caught the flavour of the era authentically. Was I freak or was I a geek? What do you think? Across the board great writing, casting and acting. I think there's a few future stars on show here. Also cool use of appropriate music. Not just the predictable (Styx, Rush), also the unexpected (a track from XTC's "Black Sea"!). Shows someone knows what they're talking about! And any show that featured Kevin Corrigan AND Rushmore's Jason Schwartzman in the same episode HAS to be cool, right? Hope this re-runs one day...

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

Of all the shows I have ever seen, none have stuck with me quite like Freaks and Geeks has. To put it simply, the show was brilliant. Too bad it had to be canceled. The writing and acting was superb, I don't think anyone can say that they didn't fall in love with the characters. I mean come on, Bill? The stories each were well made and I found myself already anticipating the next episode. Kudos to Paul Feig. The story is centered around the two children of a middle class family as they grow and evolve in high school. There is the older daughter, Lindsey, a book smart, goody-goody, looking for approval and acceptance from the stoners AKA the freaks. Then there is the younger son, Sam, who is the stereotypical nerd of the early 80's. He is constantly in conflict between the popularity aspect versus his friends, the geeks. Over the 18 episode first and only season, the characters undergo many changes that almost any person can relate to somewhat in their high school years. The entire series is all about the self discovery of these two kids and their friends as they venture through high school and in my mind was too good for TV. If only HBO had gotten to it... Oh well... I do highly recommend buying the DVD because this show was beyond words in the excellence it displayed, thank you for one of the best years of television Paul Feig!

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.

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.