Streaming on: Netflix
Episodes: 18
Time it took to binge: 1 weekend
Welcome to another installment of me getting graded to watch a TV show.
This next show is the cult classic Freaks and Geeks, created by Judd Apatow and Paul Feig, who would later make some of the biggest comedy films in the last decade.
The show revolves around high school siblings Lindsay and Sam Weir and their group of friends that constitute the namesake of this 1980's set series.
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| image via: themarysue.com |
Lindsay (played by Linda Cardellini, best known for portraying a hot Velma in the live action Scooby-Doo movies) starts hanging out with the cool, but underachieving students (played by James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogen in their breakout roles.) Sam, a freshman in high school, is a geek who is trying to survive his freshman year of his school with his band of equally dorky friends.
More than likely, you've probably heard of this show whenever someone talks about shows that were "gone too soon" and "biggest cult classics." I'm glad to say that the show lives up to the hype.
Freaks and Geeks is a show with a lot of heart. Even though the series is set in the '80s, all the characters are so relatable that it's hard not to root for them when they do things ranging from asking someone out on a date to the homecoming dance to seeing Lindsay host a kegger (that goes disastrously wrong, of course.)
Also, the show's writing was so goddamn fantastic.
Take for example the episode "Kim Kelly is my Friend," an episode that centers around Busy Phillip's character. She's Franco's on-again-of-again girlfriend whose only agenda, it seems, is to make Lindsay's life a living hell.
Kim is one of TV's biggest bitches, but this episode, a dark and scary look into her home life, managed to humanize her and made us feel sorry for her.
Most shows would've left Kim as a one-note villain. This episode managed to add layers of depth to her character.
Fun fact, this episode was deemed so dark that NBC refused to air it and it didn't see the light of day until reruns
Also, Lindsay and Sam's dad is one of the most hilarious TV dads ever, often saying stuff like:
"You know, there was a girl in our school, she had premarital
sex. You know what she did on graduation day? Died! Of an overdose. Heroin."
Also, a plot point of the show is everyone wondering why Lindsay, a gifted student who has potential as a mathlete, would suddenly hang out with such underachieving losers like she is now. The answer is a gut punch
It's a shame that the show got cancelled, but luckily those clamoring for more Freaks and Geeks got their wish. Sort of. The following year, FOX aired the college-set comedy Undeclared from Apatow, a spiritual sequel of sorts to Freaks and Geeks. Expect me to cover it eventually.
Tune in next week to see me cover season one of Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated! Or Top of the Lake. I still haven't decided. Let me know which one you prefer me doing.
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