All Hail “Freaks and Geeks”
January 23, 2008
Kari and I just finished our last disc of this amazing TV show last night. I have to confess that I had tears in my eyes (not crying – just a little wetness) when I realized I had to say bye to these characters and their completely genuine world created by Judd Apatow.
Adolescence is characterized by the crazy yet extraordinary process of discovering identity and re-framing self image. I have to say that I’ve simply never seen this process portrayed as authentically and earnestly.
Freaks and Geeks is a period piece. It takes place in high school via 1980 and speaking as someone who was there – they nailed it. The nostalgia runs throughout the show, but it’s subtle. Unlike many retro 80’s movies (a.k.a. The Wedding Singer) Freaks and Geeks isn’t in your face with the “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” 80’s nostalgia. It doesn’t feel like you’re walking through an ”All 80’s” store in the local mall. It’s period pieces are subtle yet recognizable to those of us who lived it. I can’t remember how many times I would see a book, a piece of furniture, or a record album in the background of a set and think, “I had that!”
Unfortunately this amazing program was cancelled before I really knew it existed, and although I’m sad there’s not more of this show to enjoy, it may be a good thing and even somewhat poetic that it didn’t last many seasons. Think about it, there is so much change that occurs in a high school kid from the time they’re a freshman to the time they graduate. Who a kid is when they’re a freshman in high school is often way different than who they are by graduation. Freaks and Geeks is so authentic that to maintain it’s honesty these characters would have to change a ton. I guarantee you these guys would not remain geeks for four years. Look at how much their characters change and develop in the short course of this one season! See, for example, their first make-out party in the episode entitled “Smooching and Mooching.”
It’s really hard to find TV shows that I prefer to watch over movies, but Apatow and gang gave Kari and me a treat with this one.
“The number one thing I want to accomplish with this show is honesty. It just has to be an honest show.”- Paul Feig (series creator).
