Revisiting FREAKS AND GEEKS - Page 2

I am enjoying it quite a bit, though not more than 48.5% as much as I loved Freaks and Geeks. I just want a one page summary from Apatow describing where the characters would have ended up if the show was given another three or four years. I need closure, damnit!

He's my favorite character on the show by far and definitely in my Top 5 all-time favorite TV characters. Every thing he did, down to him just smakcking his lips, was hilarious. It says something when 90% of the outtakes feature him. I didn't realize he was the beard guy in Knocked Up until a friend mentioned it. That actor is awesome.

She was definitely the hottest of the "geek crushes".

Her episode was so heartbreaking, because the geeks knew that she would never be in their circle again.

I thought the finale was a perfect ending.

For a show with an 18 episode run, it was a perfect ending. But, I don't think 18 episodes was the perfect length for Freaks and Geeks.

While I would have loved 10 more seasons of Freaks, it really didn't leave much in the air. It wasn't like it ended on a cliffhanger, like Models, Inc where Carrie Ann Moss wakes up in a South American sex trade situation. Feig and Apatow knew what was coming, so they did the fans a service by having nearly every character come to some sort of resolution. The only one still up in the air was Nick, who would probably blow his brains out when disco finally went belly up. For everyone else, it was pitch perfect and stands as some damn fine television.

Nah, Nick would be in a skinny tie and hairspray in a couple of years.

Sadly enough, I picture Nick totally becoming a junk bond trader and having an ulcer by the time he hits 30. He'll occasionally pass a drum set while wandering the strip mall, but he'll never play again.

I wish we could've seen all the ideas Feig had set up for season 2. With Sam Weir growing something like a foot after season one, they were going to have him start becoming mildly popular; Bill would deal with his mom marrying the PE teacher; Neal's parents going through a messy divorce; the payoff of Lindsay's Grateful dead aftermath.

And any excuse to see Jason Segal dance again is fine by me.

...

A bond trader? Why, because everyone who held down a job during the 1980s worked on Wall Street? I see the post-high school Nick as a guy with some authority in retail, like the manager of a copy place (like Segal's Undeclared character, who exhibited similar streaks of charming codependency and misdirected ambition).

I recieved the 'Freaks and Geeks' box set as a gift this summer and just finished watching all eighteen episodes. That was one of the best seasons of television I've ever seen. From the pitch perfect casting to the wonderfully realistic scripts I was hooked. There is such a void now that I have finished this that I think I'll start watching the episodes with commentary.

I'm sure the series will play well for any generation (my oldest son caught an episode and wants to watch the entire series now), but as a guy who was a teen in the 80's it was bittersweet to watch.

Favorite episodes are: The Garage Door, Noshing and Moshing, Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers and Discos and Dragons, but all the episodes were damn good.

'Undeclared' is next up for me. Well, that and 'Dexter'.

To be honest, if we were to slap the 1980s Wall Street designation wouldn't it be Neal doing that?

And speaking what could've been, one only wonders what would've happened to Franco's character.

Anti-Semite!

Kidding. You're totally right. If anyone is going to end up in prison because of junk bonds, it's Neal.

Nick may not have the brains that Neal has, but he would totally end up falling for the easy-money aspect of the job. I can see Nick as a salesman of some sort, because he is very good at buttering up people to get them to do what he wants (when he was crashing at the Weirs, for example.) Having eventually come to terms with the fact that his musical talent isn't all that great and disco is indeed dead, he would turn to a job that he could actually excel at.

At least, in my own version of Season Two, this is what could have happened.

Sorry to bump, but I had to profess my love for this show. I finally got to see this after finding it for cheap (16.00) at a used record shop in my neighborhood.

All I have to say is this: I wish I could go back and slap 1999 me (and everyone else, apparantly) for not watching this. You guys are all right for pimping this show.

And for somebody that never watched it in it's first run it's jarring to see so many faces looking so young and fresh. It made me realize how long ago 1999 really was.

And yes, I agree with DaveB. I'd rank this up there with Spaced, Arrested Development and Buffy for great television of the last ten years.

So, how does Undeclared stack up?

"Undeclared" is more like Apatow's recent movies. It's not as sharp, but you'll like it plenty.

It's also only a half hour show (~22 minutes) which makes its one season run even shorter relative to Freaks and Geeks.

Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of Undecleared, except when Jason Seagel was on screen. I may have to give it a second try as I found out that the episodes on the DVD's were out of order or something. Freaks was a much, much better show all around in my opinion.

Yeah, it's odd. The DVD order is the same as the network broadcast. But the Network ran them out of order. I don't understand why the order wasn't corrected for the DVD's.

UNDECLARED isn't in the same league as FREAKS but it has it's moments. It's definitely worth seeing.

I honestly think the 30 min format really kept Undeclared from being better. Other than Baruchel, I always felt the other characters also lacked any kind of strong chemistry (Rogen felt out of place there, like Apatow just threw him in to give him a spot).

Though Segal was awesome, as he always is.

I wasn't particularly pleased with Undeclared, particularly with the preposterous episode numbering system that I couldn't be bothered to fix on my own (Netflix doesn't lend itself to jumping around from disk to disk).

The show didn't really work as slapstick, but the characters had zero room to breathe with a thirty minute format. Unlike Freaks/Geeks, in which everyone, even the unlikable bully, are given some depth, most of the characters in Undeclared felt flat.

It was almost as though they specifically tried to make the Freaks/Geeks concept more marketable (shorter format, more obvious humor, simpler storylines) but ended up gutting quite a bit of what made it special.

Two recent things resulted in me rewatching Freaks & Geeks over the weekend.

One was a recent viewing of Adventureland. The other was a random opportunity to talk to Dave 'Gruber' Allen (Mr. Rosso) over the phone for 20 seconds. I literally blanked for a moment when I heard Mr. Rosso on the other end of the phone.

It's a silly thing to say, but I literally forgot how great this show is. My first viewing of it must've been rushed, because there were a lot of things I forgot about. But it had come to the point where my appreciation for the show was more academic than emotional. Was really glad to get myself fixed in that regard.

Scenes that really hit me this time:

Sam's breakdown upon seeing the Atari that his parents got for him.
Alan's apology to Bill (and his reluctance to join them at Comic-Con).
Bill's breakdown in the car after go-karting.

Really, pretty much anything involving Haverchuck. I loved Starr's limited screentime in Adventureland, and my desire to rewatch F&G was mostly to see him again. Whoever said that Bill Haverchuck is Napoleon Dynamite done correctly was on the money. How great is Haverchuck? So great that no random moron can even hope to imitate him since Starr's performance is so much more than schtick.

EDIT: And some doodles I did as I watched the show...

Undeclared is far more an out and outright comedy. Although Charlie Hunnum is in there and well....you can't complain about that

I'll preface this by saying I didn't read through this thread to avoid having anything spoiled, but didn't think it was necessary to start a new thread altogether.

Regardless, I recently set up my Netflix queue so that Watchmen was in position one and Coraline in position two. Of course, when it came time for Netflix to ship my next disc, both those flicks were listed as "Very Long Wait". To my dismay, Netflix shipped something which I'd queue'd about two years ago: "Freaks and Geeks" (Disc One). I had never seen the show before, but wasn't really looking forward to watching it.

Last night, I popped in the show with the thought that I'd watch the pilot episode. Well, HOT DAMN!!! Four hours later and I'd mainlined the first three episodes, as well as the promos, audition tapes and some audio commentary. I'm a sucker for high school stuff. I'm a sucker for '80s stuff. But this? This went above and beyond the call. I'm completely in love with this show and I knew it from the first seconds when the camera swooped underneath the bleachers. Bittersweet. Hilarious. Heartfelt.

I can't wait to get Disc Two.

Mattioli, you're in for a treat.

Anybody else think Nick's GF at the end (Sara) is utterly hot? Like... yeah... ?
Also I love how he compliments her necklace early in the series. Foreshadowing and shit.

Mattioli, if you're that crazy about the 1st disc of the show... hahahahahaha... it only gets better!

And Ryan? Yes. Sara is utterly hot. I think her name's Lizzy Caplan. She was in Mean Girls and Cloverfield, I believe...

I guess she takes THEM out in True Blood, too...

Yeah, the show just gets better and better. One of the best ever made.
Plus, if you're not already, it might make you a fan of The Grateful Dead.

I really highly recommend Paul Feig's books Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence and Superstud: Or How I Became A 24-Year-Old Virgin. Very much like the show but a little dirtier and more personal. Some of the things that have happened to Feig are so incredibly embarrassing and cringe-worthy, I have no idea how he was able to become a normal adult. They're hilarious and have more anecdotes that I can relate to than I'd like to admit.

And Caplan is in Party Down, as well. She's hot and funny and the show's great to boot.

I've spent much of the work day resisting the urge to just order the box set from Amazon (through CHUD, of course).

Oh, and I love the doodles. You're channeling Don Bluth or something.

If that ever happens, please end me.

Incredibly great show, and probably the best thing anyone involved in it is ever going to do.

Thanks!

Just order the set! Isn't the price pretty low on it now? It's well worth it.

I see your assertion and raise you Seth Rogen in Pineapple Express, sir. More to the point, I agree that it's the best television any of them will ever do. But as far as film goes, the last 3 or 4 years has proven that those responsible for the show (creators and, to a lesser degree, actors) were not one-hit oneders.

Freaks and Geeks is better than anything they've put out since (and yes, they've put out some great stuff). And it's good enough that I think it will stand the test of time. Just my opinion.

Couldn't agree more on its durability. I just think some of the movies (Pineapple Express and Forgetting Sarah Marshall in particular) have a shot at doing the same.

ETA: And thanks, nooj, for the new wallpaper.

Adventureland is better than Freaks and Geeks, but not by much.

Jason Segel drunkenly singing the muppets theme in FSM might be better than F&G... but then again it might be better than anything: air, food, life etc

And my love affair continues...

I watched Disc Two last night and was once again blown away.

"Kim Kelly is My Friend" was both heartbreaking and hilarious. The dinner at Kim's house was sort of terrifying, but I found myself laughing at Lindsay's predicament. Nick taking all of the Weirs' fruit rollups was a nice touch, as well. And I loved that Karen Filipelli was terrorizing lil' Sam... It amazes me that NBC decided not to air this episode the first time around.

"Tests and Breasts" was just about perfect. I love Daniel's manipulative, sociopathic tendencies. The Geeks' collective reactions to the stag film were pretty classic. Tom Wilson displays an acting range that reaches beyond Biff Tannen. As an added bonus, the episode has my favorite moment of the series so far: Lindsay's reaction to Daniel's repeated "Track 1, Track 2, Track 3" speech. Just awesome.

"I'm With the Band" displayed some pretty amazing acting from Segel, although it also displays him pulling some pretty ridiculous faces, as well. I couldn't help but think of the Muppet's Animal as he played the drums. Yet another heartbreaking episode, however, as it's basically about a kid realizing that he may suck at the one thing he loves most in the world. The Geeks' subplot was the stuff of greatness, as well. In fact, it may contain a scene that challenges my above-referenced favorite moment: Sam running through the school halls with a giant blue dot over his nether regions. I almost died when he runs out of the school and makes that little skip/jump before cutting back towards the building. Awesome. I can't wait to see the emotional fallout from the Lindsay-Nick kiss. Oh, yeah... and Locke's dad!!!

Side note: I thought I read somewhere that ABC was doing an update of "The Wonder Years" set in the '80s. How is there any possibility that it won't be a cheap knockoff of "Freaks and Geeks"?

Sadly, it ending up as a cheap knock-off of F&G would be preferable to it becoming anything like the reboots of 90210 and Melrose Place.

On the topic of Locke's dad... I saw the guy in person once! At a video store. This old dude was renting some DVDs, and I found myself unable to stop glancing at him. He was so familiar. The guy obviously took note of the fact that I was stealing glances at him, but he gave me nothing. At some point, he smirked. And when that smirk sent a chill up my spine is EXACTLY when I realized who it was! That asshole!!!!

I would love to get a picture of myself with him.

Neil's reaction to the porno is great but kind of really gross. I also love the fact that they're all hiding their boners.

Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 is outstanding.

Last night I saw one of the funniest things I have ever been witness to: Bill Haverchuck testing whether Cindy's chair caused the farting noise or Cindy herself. Sweet lord.

That Cindy is certainly a crafty one.

That scene has some resonance for me, because in junior high, I literally thought my mom was the only female I knew that farted. Until I heard a girl in class behind me ploop one out. I turned around in shock and the girl kinda shrugged and smiled.

That scene--and Sam's disbelief after Haverchuck tells him the story--is also greatness because it ties into the scene in the preceding episode, "Carded and Discarded", where the Geeks talk about how part of being in love is being able to fart in front of your significant other.

I always found it fascinating to compare Freaks and Geeks to My So-Called Life. Both are amazing portrayals of youth, yet the come at it from opposite angles. Nearly every character on Freaks, despite their flaws, remain likable, even the characters that should be the least sympathetic. The opposite happens on Life, where Nearly every character, despite any likable traits, remain unlikable, even the most sympathetic characters.

Update: Jason Segel singing "Lady" is one of the greatest examples of cringe humor I have ever seen. Both versions of "The Office" could learn a thing or two from it. Equally awesome is Linda Cardellini's reaction when he tries to hold her: "So, do you want to make out or something?"

I like the show fine, but a lot of my inability to love it comes from the fact that I don't really relate to it. However, I've found that to be true of a lot of movies and shows that depict high school as a rigid class system. Maybe it's because I went to a Catholic High School, or maybe it's because I was just ignorant, but my high school experience was not at all like that. There were cliques of friends that hung out, but it wasn't divided into "cool kids, goth kids, nerds, jocks, stoners, etc", and never once felt like it was segregated into "popular" and "unpopular" crowds. There were "popular" and "unpopular" people, but that was usually based on merit (nice, friendly people were popular, douchebags were not) and the groups always blended into each other freely.

Talking to both friends who went to and didn't go to Catholic School has made me come to understand that this is an experience unique to private schools, and probably had a lot to do with the fact that we all wore uniforms and pretty much all were white.

It's still a good show with some GREAT episodes and characters (I fell in love with Linda Cardelini, but my inability to relate stops it from reaching that "All-Time Greatest Shows" level that it seems to for everyone else.

Ripoll, I went to a public high school, but it sounds similar to your experience that there wasn't, for the most part, a rigid class system. For my part, though, it doesn't hurt the show because (and I'm quasi-paraphrasing The Breakfast Club here) I've been the jock, the geek, the freak, the bully, etc. I can identify--at least to some extent--with everyone on the show.

Only one episode in, I hope this gets better.

Okay, I'm startin' to wonder about you people.