Take 4 TV: Freaks & Geeks

Freaks & Geeks (1999)

What's Going On: This television cult favorite, that didn't quite make it through an entire first season, revolves around the lives of Lindsay and Sam Weir, students at McKinley High School in Chippewa, MI (a suburb of Detroit). Lindsay, upset over her grandmother's death, starts living life a little differently, leaving behind her studious ways and quitting the "Mathletes," and begins hanging out with the "freaks" (part slacker, part stoner) of the school. Her younger brother, Sam, is just trying to survive day to day as a freshman, avoiding wedgies, swirlies and dodgeball, together with his "geek" friends Neal and Bill.

Initial Expectations: I'd seen one episode a while ago, and didn't remember much about it, but when the series was finally released on DVD, there was a bunch of buzz surrounding it (it had been ranked #25 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Top Cult Shows Ever"), so I was looking forward to checking this out further.

Familiar Faces: This show had many familiar faces that I'd seen in other things. Linda Cardellini, who plays Lindsay, also played Velma Dinkley in the Scooby Doo movies (bet you didn't know that was Velma's last name, did you?). Her brother, Sam (played by John Francis Daley), also had a role in the comedy Waiting. Jason Segel (who plays Nick, the stoner/drummer), also plays Marshall in How I Met Your Mother. Sam's friend Neil, played by Samm Levine, also had a role in the recent American remake of the Japanese horror film Pulse. Seth Rogen (Nick's slacker friend Nate) has been in Anchorman and The 40 Year Old Virgin. There's even an appearance in one episode by a young Rashida Jones, who plays Karen in The Office. I also have to mention Joe Flaherty, of SCTV fame, who plays Lindsay and Sam's dad. And finally, and perhaps most notably, there's James Franco, who plays the main slacker/"freak" Daniel, and has gone on to star in the Spiderman movies, as well as Annapolis and Tristan + Isolde.

Things to Look Out For: Some interesting approaches to commentary tracks. Each of the 18 episodes (three per disc, six discs) has a commentary track (some have two), but there are several that go beyond the standard "director/actor" audio commentaries. One of the first episodes has an additional commentary track that features several fans of the show (plucked from the online discussion boards) who were brought in to discuss the episode, along with one of the actors. There's another track that is billed as "The Girl's" track, where four of the main high school females in the show hold court. There's also "The Parent's" track, where they bring in the parents of the main actors, and have them talk about the experience of having their children work on a television show. And then there's "The Teacher's" track, where several of the teachers from the show give commentary for an entire episode, in character.

Random Trivia: About halfway through the season, it was evident that the show was in danger of being canceled. The rest of the episodes were put on hold, while the creators wrote and filmed the final episode (which was written in a way as to serve as both a series finale if the show was canceled, and a season finale if the show would've gotten picked up for a second season). Several episodes later, it was canceled.

And I Quote: Neal: "The dance is tomorrow. She's a cheerleader, you've seen Star Wars 27 times. You do the math."

Curt's Take: Must See - Well, at least for any given episode, especially the first one. For the entire series, though, I'd give it a "Worth Considering." There were some laugh out loud moments, and the writers/actors did a good job of capturing high school life in suburban Michigan (something I've experienced first-hand). I think this series would fare better now, when TV audiences are willing to try out series that are perhaps a bit "different," but I'm wondering if the early 1980's setting somehow hurt it. Anyway, check out at least one episode if you have a chance, and give the rest of them a shot if you're as charmed by it as I was.