'Freaks and Geeks' - what happened?! - appreciation thread

Oh man, did that scene when he wore that horrid outfit to school ever make me cringe! I guess I was most like Sam in that I was very young and delicate looking my freshman year, but luckily never wore anything that flamboyant. However, I did do the feathered hair thing and got made fun of a few times for wearing shirts that were too stylish for the rednecks at my school.

I agree that I don't you think you would have found an outfit like that in 1980-81, at least in my region (southern Illinois). But wide lapels and big collars were still available even though they were on the way out. I remember my best friend buying a horrible polyester suit with big collars for the spring dance.

One clothing trend they absolutely nailed was Nick's velour shirts. Those seemed to be in style for that year only...I had several in 1980, then wouldn't be caught dead in them the following year.

Kim Kelley's blue jacket was also dead-on. I remember several girls wearing similar coats at the time.

 

I was in fourth grade in 1980 and I had a bunch of velour shirts too! Starting around 1981 or so, Izod became very popular, as did shirts with wide horizontal stripes, and the colors pink, green, and powder blue were everywhere. Graphic print shirts, bold colors, and Members Only jackets were only a year or so away--and in a few more years, Vanns, Jams, and O.p.

Also, where were you living in Southern Illinois? I am from St. Louis and it's probably not news to you that a large part of the St. Louis metropolitan area is in Southern Illinois, so we were probably exposed to the same things--albeit I was a bit younger.

 

Thank you, sir!

 

Any word on the new DVD reissue? Supposed to be released on November 25. Just checked with a friend who is mgr. at one of the local HMV's. He says it's on hold. Doesn't know when it's coming out. We just recently finished watching the My So Called Life DVD set. We're now going through withdrawl and need something quirky to fill the void.

 

Well, I bought the regular DVD set of 'Freaks and Geeks' for my 16 year old daughter for Christmas. It was on her wish list and was THE present she really wanted. She's been watching it with me and my wife almost every night since Christmas. We're enjoying the commentary tracks and my daughter usually isn't interested in commentary tracks. I was going to buy her the Yearbook edition but that was way too pricey. Did anybody buy the Yearbook edition and if so what content are all of us missing? It's two more DVDs, correct?

What a terrific show...

 

It has something like 50 additional deleted scenes. Seeing as the deleted scenes on the regular DVD's are pretty awesome, I regret not buying the yearbook edition . . . still it is a bit too pricey!

 

I was watching Breaking Away the other day, which IIRC was shot in 1978 or 1979, and Izods (with smaller collars) and pink, powder blue, and green were everywhere. Surprised me!

 

How are the discs stored in the "yearbook" edition? Pictures anyone?

Thanks!

 

Not sure about the reissue, but my original yearbook edition stored the DVDs in individual soft sleeves which were then placed into slots diecut into the thick cardboard inserts in the back of the book.

 

Pretty good show, which peaked early and was not as strong toward the end, even with its early departure.

The main problem for me was the "Freaks". Lindsay was ANNOYING and she was a deal breaker in most shows. Linda Cardellini was the wrong choice for that role. Seth Rogan and Jason Segel's characters were spot on and they were cast correctly. James Franco's comic capabilities, as seen in Pineapple Express, were under-utilized.

The term "freaks" was a misnomer. I went to high school during this era, and this crew should have been called "stoners" or "burn-outs". There needed to be more pot references accordingly...The one show that highlighted this was totally stupid, with Linda Cardellini once again getting it all wrong...

The "Geeks" were uniformly good and I preferred their scenes.

The parents and most of the adult roles were weak, in my opinion.

The music? Brilliant! If a show references John Bonham in its opening episode, "No Language in Our Lungs" by XTC in a later one, as well as "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush, then it must be doing something right.

I think everyone in the show has done better work subsequently, but this series is definitely worth a rent and a watch.

For a truly funny read, check out Paul Feig's books "Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence" and "Superstud: Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin."

 

I wore Izod shirts with the wide horizontal stripes (rugby shirts) starting back around '77 or '78. I went to two different high schools (first one '77-80, then second '80 to 82). The first one being an all college prep public high, and the second being just a basic public high. Those Izods were everywhere at the college prep high school. At second basic high, I started to drop the Izods for some plaid flannel shirts left unbuttoned with a black rock concert t-shirt under it. I was glad to see both of these looks in 'Freaks and Geeks'.

 

Just finished a 20 hour marathon...amazing show

 

I think it's important to keep in mind that midway through the season, it was already deep in trouble and NBC was sharpening their ax. The later part of the season likely suffers because they were desperately trying to reshape it a bit to get people to watch it.

I personally don't think anything was wrong with Linda Cardellini (she's lovely) but her character was trying to be or do too many things at once. I wasn't getting her transition very well. Unfortunately, I think they may have simply opted to have her do everything in one season that she may have accomplished over an entire series' run, which is why the final episode felt so incomplete and rushed. Lindsay, the character, is a weak link - her function is to be the vehicle of change in the show, and therefore she basically winds up the main character, but she isn't the most beloved because she really wasn't the most filled-out or realistic character.

As you point out, the real highlight of the show was the three main "geeks." Those kids were perfect for those roles and those roles were perfectly filled out. These are the kids I knew and hung out with in school, and I bonded instantly with them on the show. The "freaks" were about perfect, too, except that Lindsay was involved with them, but their characters were pretty good representations of the stoners I knew of and saw in high school. They had a big job of transitioning Lindsay from geek to freak and still keep the audience liking her. That's pretty hard to do, and they failed because they erred on the side of keeping her likable for the sake of simplicity. In reality, she probably would not have been such a "good girl" like she was in the show, and the show would have been a drama instead. No fun. They did what they could in the limited time they had, I guess.

 

Received the regular DVD set for Christmas. We've been watching about 1 episode a week so far. Brilliant stuff!

Was also looking for another short lived high school show that was on in the early 2000s. Can't remember much except there was a family, a gorgeous daughter and a geeky brother. I do know though, it's not Life As We Know It the 2004-2005 ABC drama with Marguerite Moreau , nor is it NBC's American Dreams 2002-2005.

Any ideas?

 

I'm watching this show for the first time right now, having digested 12 episodes over the past few days, and am glad to see that it's living up to all the superlatives being drenched on it in this thread. Heck, I'd say it's better than Undeclared, and I loved that show!

Anyway, rather than gush I thought I'd harp on a couple of errors/issues:

- When they're playing "Asteroids" at Neal's house, the screen shows the arcade version, not the Atari 2600 adaptation. Come on, man! Makes me wonder if there was a licensing issue or something.

- In several episodes Daniel is shown wearing a t-shirt featuiring the cover of the Jealous Again EP by LA punk band Black Flag. I'm sorry, but there's no way a stoner guy from Detroit is going to be wearing a shirt plugging a then-extremely obscure hardcore punk band from California with only two EPs to their name in Fall 1980. Not to mention that such a shirt didn't exist until years later AFAIK.

 

miike,

re "short-lived high-school show"; could be "My So-Called Life" with Claire Danes...

 

i went to high school in illinois during the period covered by this show. i think this show occurs in michigan. the terms freak, stoner and burnout were all interchangeable in the midwest during this era. (maybe us romeoville, illinois folk were just forward thinkers)

 

Southern Illinoisan here from that era, and we didn't use the term "freaks". Terms for that segment of the student population were "stoner" or "pothead"...I don't think the term "burnout" was even in use in my area at that time, although I did start using it in college.

Ours was a pretty backwoodsy area, so we probably weren't clued in to the latest slang terms.

BTW, did anyone else have a school-sanctioned smoking area at your high school? We had one at least during my freshman year (81-82), and student smoking was permitted as long as it was done in that designated area. Of course, only the "stoners" hung out there...the "in" crowd did their smoking at parties and in private.

For some reason, though, smoking wasn't that popular, nor was pot. Drinking was the forbidden activity of choice for the mainstream crowd, and boy, did we ever indulge.

Anyway, one thing that was a little whitewashed in F&G was that the "freak" characters would have DEFINITELY smoked and done more drugs than portrayed on the show. It was sort of implied that they did, but network censorship likely forbade too much depiction of these activities.

 

In Western Canada, a common term for such kids was "skids". My social circles were between the skids and computer geeks; one of my best friends from my junior high/HS days was a dead ringer for the Harris character. He was a bit of a skid but also a real programmer geek who's probably making five times my income now.

My HS days: '85-'88, although junior high (grades 7-9 for those whose school districts only had two divisions) was pretty similar clique-wise.

 

Not sort of implied at all, the show made it pretty clear that Segel was a major pothead. One episode was actually devoted to him trying to be "straight" for one day, and dealing with what he felt was the boredom of not being high.

Of course, there's also the moment his source comes to the basketball court and announces, "The eagle has landed!" And Segel replies, "Hey man! I love the eagle!"

 

We had a smoking area called "the Patio". Cigaret smokers on the perimeter, pot smokers in the middle. I graduated in 1981 and the smoking area did not last much beyond that time.

And you are right about the amount of drugs consumed by real freaks at our school: much more than depicted on the show.

 

The series takes place during 80-81. The Daniel character shows interest in punk rock, including Black Flag, especially in one particular episode (I don't want to ruin it for you - watch the rest of the episodes). It may be a few months too early, but forgivable considering the producers/writers knew the show was getting the axe. They squeezed their ideas into the one and only season they had. It's a great episode with great music!!!

 

At my high school in the San Francisco Bay Area (80-84) we referred to the "freaks" as burnouts, and my personal favorite, dirtheads.

 

I attended high school in the mid-60s, some 15 years before the timeframe for this series. What struck me about the series that there are high school issues that transcend time.

 

I've now finished watching the series, and yep, that was a curious but cool episode! Can't believe a girl who looked like that could get a job in a convenience store circa '81, but whatever. And yep, I spot another anachronism! The ep takes place in winter-spring '81, but Daniel is shown listening to Black Flag's Damaged, which didn't come out until January 1982. Ah trainspotters, the bane of period piece producers!