2. Freaks and Geeks
Sep 25, 1999
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Rated TV-14
The universal experience of teenagehood as lived by the regular old freaks and geeks in a Michigan high school, circa 1980, is the subject of this wistful comedy-drama executive-produced by Emmy-winner Judd Apatow and series creator Paul Feig. Revolving around the lives of freak and geek siblings Lindsay and Sam Weir (Linda Cardellini, John Daley), the show includes the everyday fears, humiliations and little triumphs of adolescents past, present and, no doubt, future,too. For sophomore Lindsay, life is getting difficult. Jolted by the death of her grandmother, she dons her dad's old Army jacket and fights the one-girl battle of McKinley High. The allure of being a champion "mathlete" is losing its appeal, and her goals of college and career feel somehow irrelevant. She's alienated. Luckily, though, she's not really alone. Drifting away from her studious friends, she finds herself increasingly drawn to others like her, the "freaks" who ' refuse to accept the status quo. Among them are Daniel (James Franco), a friendly but also a dangerous guy who seems to like Lindsay, as does his bud Nick (Jason Segel), who dreams of stardom as a rock-and-roll drummer a la Led Zeppelin's Jon Bonham. Then there's Ken (Seth Rogen), an acerbic rebel, and Kim (Busy Philipps), a tough girl who doesn't go easy on Lindsay. Meanwhile, Lindsay's freshman brother Sam navigates high school like a mouse in a maze. Threatened at every turn, and attracted to an unattainable cheerleader, Sam faces his own set of obstacles. But he has good friends. Sure, they're "geeks," but so is Sam. There's Neal (Samm Levine), a wise-acre, sci-fi loving geek, and bespectacled Bill (Martin Starr), a classic looking nerd who's unfortunately not as brainy as he appears. On the homefront, Lindsay and Sam suffer through the good intentions of their overbearing mom (Becky Ann Baker) and their hardwired dad Joe Flaherty), who turns every teen issue into a matter of life and death. Unfortunately the show was canceled after only 12 episodes had aired, this was due to the poor ratings obtained. A fan-led campaign caused NBC to broadcast three more episodes in July 2000, but these would not be seen until September of that year when the cable channel Fox Family aired them in syndication.
