\'Freaks and Geeks\' Review PDF

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An in-depth review of the 1999 comedy/drama series 'Freaks and Geeks'....

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‘Freaks and Geeks’ Review Created by Paul Feig Executive Producer Judd Apatow Cast Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr & Busy Phillips Genre Comedy-drama Release September 25, 1999 - July 8, 2000 Running Time 44 minutes Heralded the greatest television series to be “cancelled too soon” by TV Guide, a show that launched the careers of many young actors, such as James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. ‘Freaks and Geeks’ is one of television’s hidden treasures; a cult classic that was way ahead of it’s time, presenting us with real-life characters dealing with real-life issues. The characters rarely got their way which was refreshing to watch but this made it hard to attract the viewers it needed to survive on air.

Set in 1980’s Michigan the show follows the high school lives of siblings Lindsey (Linda Cardellini) and Sam Weir (John Francis Daley). Lindsey is a “mathlete” who is tired of being a good student so she decides to start hanging out with the “freaks” after developing a crush on Daniel Desario (James Franco). Sam is new to the school and with his “geek” friends Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine) and Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) they try their best to survive freshman year. As the series goes on we begin to delve more in to the lives of the other characters including: Daniel & Kim Kelly’s (Busy Phillips) on-and-off relationship; Nick Andopolis' (Jason Segel) troubles with his father; and Ken Miller’s (Seth Rogen) brief sexuality issues.

What sets ‘Freaks and Geeks’ apart from other high school dramas (and which inevitably turned out to be it’s downfall) is it’s accurate representation of reality. The characters are given real human personalities that aren’t glossed over or perfect, this meant that the characters do not always get their way and most of their conflicts remain unresolved. People are able to see themselves more in these characters than those of conventional television series. It is gold dust for people who are tired of the same flashy repetitive crap that usually braces our television sets.

Not only are the characters extremely relatable but the situations they are put in are still especially relevant today. Themes such as acceptance, unrequited love, drink and drugs, and even touching upon sexuality in episode seventeen ‘The Little Things’ are explored in tremendous and unique ways. One scene in particular that stood out for me is when Ken is deciding whether he is gay or not by listening to David Bowie and Linda Clifford records in is bedroom. This was certainly an interesting way to tackle such an issue. The whole cast performed exceptionally though out the whole series, even down to the very minor characters. It’s no surprise that a handful of them have gone on to have extremely successful acting careers. A personal favourite character of mine was

Mr Rosso (Dave Allen) every scene he appeared in had me laughing out loud, with his off the wall demeanour and hilarious words of wisdom.

Aside from the brilliant visuals that made the show what it is, ‘Freaks and Geeks’ also had an amazing soundtrack made up of 70s and 80s classics. From Billy Joel’s ‘Rosalinda’s Eyes’ to The Who’s ‘Squeeze Box’, every episode had me searching for songs to listen to again on Spotify. Not that I can say for sure, but I imagine that for viewers who grew up in the 70s and 80s these songs provided them with an enhanced feeling of nostalgia because they sure made me wish I grew up in such a time.

‘Freaks and Geeks’ fresh take on a high school television series, along with it’s clever plot lines and outstanding performances has earned the show a huge cult following even in this day and age. Although it didn’t perform commercially it has received tonnes of critical acclaim since, scoring an incredible 8.9 out of 10 on IMDb. Those involved with the show, including creator Paul Feig and executive producer Judd Apatow (who both directed and produced the movie Bridesmaids respectively) have gone on to bigger and arguably better things since its abrupt ending. It has left many fans wondering what if it never got cancelled?...