Originally written in 2009 as a retrospective review, of sorts, and destined for an old friend's cinema/TV blog (which never saw the light of day), I decided to dig up this piece on the inimitable Freaks and Geeks now that it's available on Netflix UK and Ireland.
Cult status is hard won. Long-running television series such as
Friends and
Lost,
while hugely popular, could never be referred to as 'cult TV shows'.
Paradoxically, this could be due to their very success and familiarity. Yet, while there isn’t a TV viewer over the age of 18 who wouldn’t know the lucrative
X-Files TV series, it relishes in cult status, even while remaining very well-known, as well having spawned two best forgotten movies.
As such, it seems that cult status is something earned; cult shows
deliver something more, are never comfortable with cheap laughs or
hastily-drafted storylines and often tap into seldom heard social wants.
Cult TV is a veritable labour of love and is adored in return.
Though later appearing in Time magazine's 2007 '100 Greatest Shows of All Time' list,
Freaks and Geeks originally suffered a quick cancellation and a mere 12 of 18 episodes aired while on NBC during the 1999/2000 season.
Prompted by a fan-led campaign, NBC broadcast three more episodes in
July 2000; the last three would not be seen until September of that
year, when the cable network Fox Family Channel aired them in
syndication. The complete series was later released on DVD and promptly
snapped up by the show's multitudinous fan base.
Countless online references and emphatic declarations of adulation later,
Freaks and Geeks
continues to enthral its still mourning supporters, while finding new
converts thanks to the brilliance of the internet. To know it is to love
it.
Created by Paul Feig (nominated for two Emmy Awards for writing the
show's first and final episodes) and produced by the now ubiquitous Judd
Apatow, the short-lived 'period teen dramedy' followed two unique
groups of teenagers dealing with life in high school during the 80s.
Enthralling and humorous was the show's thoroughly informed depiction of
high school years as experienced by the outsider strata of the
education system. Indeed the show’s tagline rang all too true: "It's
1980 and this is what high school was like for the rest of us."
While still indulging in the attractive 'jock and cheerleader' world on
occasion, it was used to highlight but another element of the system
that the show's protagonists questioned. Yet, this questioning was not
just an added facet of knee-jerk, alternative student politics, but an
introspective interrogation of moral and social values.
The show concentrated on siblings Lindsay and Sam Weir, and their
two highly different, yet similarly ostracised, groups of friends who
comprised 'the freaks' and 'the geeks' respectively. Both attending
William McKinley High School during the 1980-1981 school year in the
town of Chippewa, Michigan, a fictional suburb of Detroit, we witness
their struggles with acceptance, drugs, drinking and bullying, peppered
with just enough razor-sharp comedy to save it from deteriorating into a
preachy daytime talk show.
Lindsay (Linda Cardellini) and Sam's (John Francis Daley) groups of
friends were populated by actors who have gone on to become household
names, appearing in popular films such as
Superbad,
Forgetting Sarah Marshall,
Pineapple Express and the
Spiderman movies.
The 'freaks' were comprised of Daniel Desario (James Franco), Ken
Miller (Seth Rogen), Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel) and Kim Kelly (Busy
Philipps).
Franco, Rogen and Segel have appeared regularly in recent works by Judd Apatow (the show's producer), such as
Funny People and
Knocked Up. Clearly, Apatow's work owes a lot to the
Freaks and Geeks formula and its particular presentation of comedy and character.
The 'geeks' saw Sam joined by Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine) and Bill
Haverchuck (Martin Starr), and on occasion, the rotund and instantly
likeable, Gordon Crisp (Jerry Messing) and geek guru, Harris Trinsky
(Stephen Lea Sheppard). Recently, Starr was excellent as Joel in
coming-of-age comedy drama,
Adventureland.
Though bolstered by proficient writers and an obviously strong cast,
the show's focus and lasting strongpoint was Lindsay, an endlessly
attractive and enigmatic mix of intelligence, daring and tomboy good
looks. Seen later in
ER and the
Scooby-Doo live action
movies, Cardellini is most fondly remembered as green army
jacket-wearing Lindsay Weir and has immortalised both herself and the
show as a result. Indeed, it is safe to say that every male fan of the
show has been searching for his own Lindsay Weir since first spying that
smile in the opening credits.
Deeply upset by the death of her grandmother, Lindsay is plunged into
a realm of reassessment. Once the school's prized champion 'mathlete',
complete with college and career aspirations, Lindsay now wanders from
class to class in McKinley until she encounters and is adopted by the 'freaks', much to the discontent of her parents, Harold and Jean (played
flawlessly by Joe Flaherty and Becky Ann Baker), and the bemusement of
nerdy and religious former best friend, the well-meaning Millie Kentner
(Sarah Hagan).
Even though Lindsay's time with the misunderstood 'freaks' introduces
her to their world of skipping class, rock 'n' roll and
experimentation, it leads her to unique, moving moments of realisation
and ultimately, the pursuit of her own happiness and dreams.
The show's genius and poignancy was buttressed by a varied and
brilliant period soundtrack and is another element that has ensured its enduring appeal. Most memorable is the show's opening sequence
set to the rousing "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
Songs by Van Halen, Deep Purple, Santana, KISS, Rush, Cream, Madness,
Alice Cooper, Journey, The Moody Blues, Queen, The Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Black Flag, David Bowie and Grateful Dead followed the 'freaks' and 'geeks' through victories and mishaps during the series.
Purchasing the rights to use these songs required much of the show's
budget and became an obstacle in releasing the show on DVD. Thanks to
Shout! Factory, a music and video company specialising in comprehensive
reissues and compilations of classic and sometimes obscure pop culture,
Freaks and Geeks was successfully brought to DVD with all of its music thankfully intact.
Profoundly human, tender and astute,
Freaks and Geeks still
stands head and shoulders above the majority of today's languid and
quick-hit TV offerings. It's not surprising that its creator has since
directed episodes of some of the most worthwhile contemporary TV shows,
such as
Arrested Development,
Weeds,
30 Rock,
Parks and Recreation and
Mad Men.
Inimitable, emotive and unforgettable, an internal void yawns once
that final episode draws to a close and Grateful Dead’s "Ripple" lulls
you into an immediate nostalgia even before the credits cease rolling. Watch it all again. You know you want to. They don't make them like this anymore.
