Freaks and Geeks

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NBC (ended 2000)
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Show Summary

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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.moreless
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Episode Guide

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S 1 :  Ep 18 Aired 7/8/00
S 1 :  Ep 17 Aired 7/8/00
S 1 :  Ep 16 Aired 7/8/00
S 1 :  Ep 15 Aired 10/17/00
S 1 :  Ep 14 Aired 10/10/00

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Fan Reviews (82)

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  • The best canceled-after-18-episodes show ever.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By pudgebyrd722, Jul 15, 2011
    NBC couldn't be more stupid after canceling Freaks and Geeks after only one season. The cast was great, with a lot of up and coming stars like Jason Segel, James Franco, and Seth Rogen. The cast was so great, I believe if anyone other than the original cast of "That '70s Show", this cast of teens should of played the kids in "That '80s Show" with the season taking place in 1980-1981.

    The story revolves around the Weir family, with fresh meat Sam being part of the "Geeks" and elder sister Lindsay trying to fit in with the "Freaks" after trying to shed all her memories of being a mathlete and what not.

    Sam was a innocent character, although he always created awkward situations for himself and I kinda got annoyed as his childishness. His main friends are Neal Schwieber, a kinda funny guy with a rich dad and thoughts that he isn't as geeky as the rest of his friends, and Bill Haverchuck, is tall for his age, kinda slow and talks emotionless, but really I thought he was one of the funniest, if not, funniest characters on the show. They are sometimes rounded out by the overweight Gordon Crisp and also somewhat emotionless, but nonetheless hilarious, Harris Trinsky.

    The "freaks" are Jason Segel as Nick, a stoner, (who quits later on in the series to impress Lindsay) and an owned of a 29-piece drum set, something he wants to become famous for one day. There's James Franco as Daniel, a funny, cool guy who has an on-and-off again relationship with Kim, a sort of "tomboy" with crazy parents. There's also sidekick Seth Rogen as Ken, who's unbelievably sarcastic but eventually finds love in the school band's tuba player. Lindsay, trying to fit in, tries to fit in with the crowd but pulling things off such as stealing her parents' car, and causing destruction on Halloween.

    Anyhow, I really love most of the characters, (I don't know about Sam) and even Mr. & Mrs. Weir - Harold and Jean, are pretty funny and enjoyable. Freaks and Geeks was a wonderful show and it was a shame it only lasted a season.moreless

  • Why was this cancelled? WHHHHHYYYYYY????? MINOR SPOILERS BELOW.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Kashmir621, May 27, 2011
    Lol for being melodramatic, anyway to the show. Freaks and Geeks is about main character Lindsay Weir and brother Sam Weir. Lindsay is becoming a sophomore, and Sam is becoming a freshman. Lindsay is a shy, very intelligent girl who's life changes dramatically. Her grandmother dies and she starts questioning morals and everything, she turns over to a new side, the Freaks. The Freaks are a gang of big under-achievers and spend most of their time rebelling, smoking, and causing trouble. One of the main themes of the show is how her life changes when she turns to this new clique.

    Sam is a small, shy, nerdy, confused boy who is somewhat of an outcast to the most of kids instead of his friends. He starts out with a big crush, the sweet cheerleader Cindy Sanders. He has many problems throughout the series, trying to get a date with Cindy and his cold hearted bully who picks on him and the rest of the geeks.

    The Geeks are part of Sam's clique. The Geeks are 3 (later 4-5) kids who do work, are outcasts, don't have many friends, and play D & D. Friendly to each other and others, they don't get in much trouble and try to follow the rules as much as they can. The 2 other main geeks are Neal and Bill, Sam's best friends. The 4 other main freaks are Daniel, Ken, Nick, and Kim. Daniel is a burnout, Nick is a striving artist, Ken is a sarcastic underachiever, and finally Kim is Daniels girlfriend, spends most time having sex and fighting with Daniel.

    Now that I've explained all the main characters, let me tell you more about the show and its themes until it's cancellation. I'll try not to spoil it as much.

    Contrary to it's high school theme, it's actually realistic! Surprise, huh? There are barely any realistic high school comedy-dramas, and this might actually be the only one. Each episode of it is a realistic view of high school back in 80's, themes are peer pressure, drugs, education, and so on. Every main character has their very own episode, focused on just them. We learn about each main characters more personal life every step of the way. Not every episode is just about the central character, Lindsay.

    Characters change and learn lessons throughout the series, it explores and deals with serious issues.

    Not only does it have a great plot and story, it also has a rockin' soundtrack too. Mostly classic rock, songs played on there were released when the time takes place, or are big hits by that time. At least 2 songs are played within every episode, it really is a nice addition.

    I loved pretty much every aspect of the show, so much spot-on realism, and a great ability to balance out the drama and comedy. I will never forget about this show, as it is one of my biggest favorites.moreless

  • One simple, random comment from Judd Apatow was all it took to kill my enjoyment of the show.

    5.5
    "Mediocre"
    By hypercritic, Sep 21, 2010
    I never caught "Freaks and Geeks" when it aired, despite raves from family and friends. I caught part of an episode and was suddenly intrigued. I borrowed the DVD collection and began watching it obsessively. "Freaks and Geeks" appeared to be one of those rare cult-classic, cancelled-before-its-time shows that actually deserved real attention. The whole team had really captured the discomfort and awkwardness of high school. Clearly the show's demise was premature and unfortunate.

    As I watched the DVDs I delved through all the extra features and read the DVD booklet. I came to a short section where creator Judd Apatow answered questions he received from fans. One question was what was going to happen to the characters. They set up a great cast, and since it's really the characters that drive a show (as opposed to the premise), it was the characters that the fans were interested in. Apatow's reply was "anything you want to happen would happen." This comment wasn't wry or ironic; it was rude, callus, and frankly just plain stupid. This killed my love of the show.

    Why would Apatow say this? Why would he insult the intelligence of all the fans of the show? His response might as well have been, "Who cares?" Or rather, "Why do you care?" A writer or producer with any real love of their medium would have eagerly told fans all the secrets they'd never get to or explained where they wanted the series to go. I suggest this because other producers of other cult shows canceled "before their time" love talking about their shows in interviews, on blogs, and especially on DVD sets. This was the place to share the love with F&G fans, and Apatow screwed up.
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  • This show failed to capture my imagination. It lacked the quality to grip me to my screen. The show did, however, touch on the teenage issues we all go through, and it handled them well.moreless

    2.2
    "Terrible"
    By NakedSuperman, Sep 21, 2010
    This show failed to capture my imagination. It lacked the quality to grip me to my screen. Whilst there were some funny moments, this show didn't make me wonder what happens next or keep me glued to the screen.

    The show did, however, touch on the teenage issues we all go through, and it handled them well. A viewer could easily relate to issues brought up in the show, but would get more spending the time watching a couple of episodes of Saved By The Bell instead.

     To some viewers, this show might be a much needed piece of entertainment and to others it would be a waste of an hour. Like the old saying goes; One mans trash is another mans treasure.
    moreless

  • I wanted this show to be good

    5.4
    "Mediocre"
    By urban_lenny, Sep 21, 2010
    After all the hype I heard about Freaks and Geeks, I decided to check it out, long after it had been taken off the air. I wanted so badly for this to be a great show, even for me to lament the fact that it had been cancelled.

    I just didn't. Something wasn't comfortable about the show - it could be that I hated most of the characters on it except for Lindsey and Sam and no matter how good the writing is, a show will never last if the characters are not likeable. That, and I never wanted to see Busy Phillips/Kim Kelly's sneering face again. Ugh.

    Generally, the show was okay, something I'm glad that I've seen just so I know what it was, but something that the hype seems overrated for.moreless
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ensemble cast, essence of youth, for the nostalgic, fresh faced teens, growing up too fast

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