Freaks & Geeks by AURaptor

TALK STORY

Freaks & Geeks

POSTED BY: AURAPTOR
UPDATED: Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:56
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VIEWED: 1750
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 6:46 PM

America loves a winner!

Got around to renting this DVD. A couple of comments after the 1st episode.

- I had no idea this show aired back in '99. I had heard OF the show, but quite frankly, never once did it hit my radar screen. Never saw / knew 1 gorram thing about it.

- Imagine my surprise when I see the show is set in 1980. I was a Freshman in HS then. Oh, the vivid flashbacks..... The comment about the Molly Hatchet t-shirt was especially funny as I went to see them in concert several times.

- Again, I'm taken aback at how long ago this show aired.....it's been 9 yrs now. Linda Cardellini is friggin' adorable. But I'm perplexted. When I see her, I'm thinking " Hey, she looks like the girl who played Velma,...maybe it's her younger sister ? ". But, alas..no. It's her. What's so amazing, she's 24 at the time of F&G, and she's playing a HS girl all of how old ? 14, 15 TOPS ? Whoah. Others I notice... James Franco, aka Harry Osborn. Busy Phillips, aka Audry from Dawson's Creek..and others.... incredible.

I gotta stop waiting so damn long to watch cancelled shows on DVD. This is freakin' strange !

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Friday, February 29, 2008 9:37 AM

NEEDY

The road to Hel is paved with good intentions

I realise I may be making enemies on a Firefly board for saying this, but Freaks and Geeks is, IMO, the greatest tv show in years

I didn't watch it on tv either (I think it aired here in 2000, but has not been repeated since) but heard a lot about it through others on different forums.
I checked out the IMDB listing and noticed it had James Franco of Spider-man in it (at the time, he was the only one I knew) so decided to give it a shot (downloading the 1st episode off the net)
I immediately fell in love with it, prmptly ordered a copy off of amazon (despite only having seen one episode) and devoured each and every episode.
Now it seems all the cast members have hit it big, the majority starring in Judd Apatow's movies
I'm still hoping one day we'll have a reunion movie to catch up with our favourite students.

Freaks and Geeks was real, unlike so many other high school dramas, it was at times hilarious, and it was heartbreaking. Even though I was born in 83, a lot of the drama could be identified with as a nineties student. I love this show to bits.

Oh and btw, look out for an uncredited cameo by a big movie star in the episode where George Bush visits the school

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Needy. Male Companion: Chosen One?
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http://needsalt.livejournal.com/
www.myspace.com/dicksquinty The World's Greatest Detective?

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Friday, February 29, 2008 1:39 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Said it before and I'm sayin' it again. It's strange to check out a show that's been off the air for nearly a decade. Every possible thing that folks have thought about this show has been said, over and over, by the time I'm watching these eps for the 1st time.

And I hate repeating what others have said as much as folks hate seeing me do it. Or near enough.

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Friday, February 29, 2008 1:50 PM

REGINAROADIE

I finally caught up with it a few years ago and absolutely loved it. I agree that it's totally weird to see all these actors that I recognize from other series and have gone onto bigger and arguably better things, but it's great to see them all together. I mean, this show is kind of the genesis of the genius of Judd Apatow and his repertoire.

And it also just captures what it's like growing up better than any other series I can think of. I always think of that one ep where they get into the car accident, and just that scene at the dinner table, when Joe Flahrety (Joe fuckin' Flahrety of all people) is giving Lindsey the talk. The talk that every parent gives their child when they've screwed up irrevocably. And just the look on her face, that look of "I've done something so awful there is no way I can get out of this". That was one of the high points in an already powerful series.

And Seth Rogen's relationship with Tuba Girl really shows the range of this guy. You only think of him as just the funny stoner guy, but when push comes to shove, he can really deliver the gravitas.

I dunno. You'd really be hard pressed to find someone who saw the show and DIDN'T like it.

Also, the DVD of it is incredible. There's at least one commentary for each and every episode. And as in depth as the commentaries are, there's tons of really funny stuff in the commentaries. I love how self-deprecating they are. Like in the pilot commentary, when Lindsey inadvertently causes the Ben Foster character to run and break his arm, they joked that the sound of the bone breaking was the sound of half of their already small audience switching the channel. I know Joss also does funny but informative soundtracks, but he's not really the self-deprecating kind of guy. He'd make fun of the suits before he makes fun of their inability to connect with a mass audience. Judd and Co. can make fun of themselves before anyone else.

On a side note, it also reminds me of the 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN commentary when they talk about how Catherine Keener wanted to be in the movie and they said "Why?" That to them, her being in the movie would be an awful career choice for her. Because with her last two movies, her leading men went from Daniel Day-Lewis to Sean Penn to Steve Carrell. Now, those two other guys maybe the best actors of their generation, but I doubt they can crack a joke like Steve. I don't think Day-Lewis has ever done a comedy, and Penn has no sense of humor, which is odd since he was Spicoli in FAST TIMES.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

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Saturday, March 1, 2008 6:07 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Just finished disc 1. First thing which comes to mind is how James Franco doesn't suck in this show, as I would have expected. Why ? Because F&G was before Spiderman, and I thought he gave very Hayden Christiansen like performances in those movies. Maybe not so bad in the 3rd, but still.

Busy Philipps is sooo Audry from Dawson's Creek in this show, it's not funny.

Per Wikipeida, I see Joel Hodgeson is a reoccuring guest star!!! I can't wait to see him again !
A minor critique...some of the scenes were either poorly edited or simply lacked anything. Dunno what it was, but here and there, a couple of moments it seems like the story just stops, the actors sit there and the camera still rolls on. Hope that's just early episode inexperience or something.

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Thursday, March 27, 2008 4:35 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Disc 2 - only 3 eps? Gyp! So far, my thoughts are focused on 2 areas.

Lindsay - what's her deal w/ Nick ? He comes on to her, she shoots him down because she's all hot over Daniel, who is dating (Psycho)Kim. Then , after Nick freaks out over his future, she's giving him a life saving kiss, but doesn't really mean it. Sure doesn't seem like she does.

The parents. I'm a big fan of Joe Flaherty, but Mr. and Mrs Weir seem, at times, too stereo typical. Guess it's hard to have them be too relevent in a show about teenagers though.

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Monday, March 31, 2008 5:53 AM

OPPYH

I love this show and along with Buffy, and Firefly, it is the best show in many years!!

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Sunday, April 13, 2008 7:15 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Up to disc 5 now, and I'm hating these last episodes. Not that they're no good, but they are getting better, and alas, these are the last few chances I'll have to enjoy 'new' Freaks & Geeks.

One of my fav eps so far is the poorly named 'Dead dogs and Gym Teachers'. They could have used any of a 100 different Who references , as the entire back story to the episode revolves around The Who and the gang going to see them on tour. As mentioned before, this show is set darn near enough when I was in HS, being 15 at the start of the 80-81 school year. And, as a big Who fan at the time ( and still am today ) , I went to a concert from that tour which was referenced to on the show. How gorram cool is that ?? Even better, I still have the ticket stub.

Wed JULY 9TH 1980 8:00PM

The cost of the ticket? $ 10.50

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Monday, April 14, 2008 7:45 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Must be the last person to find this out, but Mr Universe was in Freaks and Geeks! David Krumholtz plays Barry Schweiber, Neal's other brother who returns from college. Coolest thing...i recognized him nearly right away.

I just think that's shiny!

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:56 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Epilogue - Well, I finally saw the last episode. Sad to see it go, but for all that I liked about this show, it did have its weak areas. The writing, for one. Inconsistent and poorly thought out. Or maybe it was the editing, I'm not 100% sure. LIkely a combo of both, and no where was that best shown as in the last episode. So many disjointed plot twists and unanswered questions. I'm wondering when they knew the series was over, and they just sort of pieced together the last episode, to fill out their obligations. Lindsay leaving for the Dead tour, ok. But as for the other.....are you kidding ?

Where'd Nick come up w/this new disco crazy girl friend?? wtf ? And how'd his buddies have NO clue ?? Last we heard from Nick, he was gonna work at Mr Weir's sporting goods store, raise $$ and take drum lessons. So Nick's dad didn't allow that, so Nick ends up discoing in the bowling alley ? Bring back the drums, if I were his dad!

Where'd Ken end up w/ his g/f from the band ? All that drama in the previous episode, and then she's just out of the picture ?

And Daniel getting "sentenced " to the AV club to pay for his sins ? I can see that, maybe, but then he gets all buddy buddy w/ the D&D crowd ?

I'd have liked to see more of everything that explains , among others, why Lindsay went Dead touring instead of going to the U of M. I GET the whole " she's trying to find herself " bit, but still, somehow that just didn't sit too well.

Freaks and Geeks was good. Despite its flaws, it was able to touch that less talked about world where HS isn't a blast for everyone, and not everyone longs to relive the " good old days " , much of which were awkward, frustrating and down right harsh.

I think it could have been better, a lot better. But then it might not have been cancelled. Oh, wait.... FIREFLY was excellent, and it still got canned..so what do I know ?

Except that Freaks and Geeks had one of , if not THE best theme songs!

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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