So over the past few months, we’ve watched the entire television series Freaks and Geeks. It was a television show that aired 18 episodes back in 1999-2000. I remember not really catching it until the end when it was going away anyway. It’s really too bad that I didn’t watch it then and that it didn’t continue. In short, it’s a great series that’s a odd premonition what has now become established Hollywood names and relationships.
The series chronicles the experiences of a few groups of high schoolers in the early 80′s. It generally follows two cliques that each have one member from the same family that the series centers around. I think it was trying to become a Wonder Years for another generation, and I think it was actually better in a lot of respects. I can see why it failed though. I’m having a hard time putting my finger on it, but it just felt like it was one of those “ahead of it’s time” things that couldn’t sustain viewership. The fact that the episodes were an hour long also may have been a problem for some. I loved it.
Let’s start with the people you may now… The series features actors the likes of Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Jasn Segel and the producer of Jud Apatow (directed Knocked Up, produced Superbad and much more). And you can’t leave out Thomas F Wilson (Biff from Back to the Future) as the PE teacher.
The people you may or may not know are actors the likes of Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Becky Ann Baker, and Martin Starr who definitely stole the show for us.
There are a few notable cameos as well. Ben Stiller as a Secret Service agent seeking career advice from a hippie guidance counselor. Then there’s a very young Shia LaBeouf playing the injured school mascot. And a younger Ben Foster showing he had acting skills back then.
But the actors are just showing off great character development and writing. It brought back a lot of the awkward high school feelings without usually being too awkward. The 80′s production was also quite enjoyable, and very well done. There were a few story lines a little far out, but many seemed actually well thought out and decently plausible. I found a little more to identify with than most, but and that may be why the series failed. It’s not necessary to have been a freak or geek to enjoy the show… but it certainly helps.