If you haven't seen this show, you should. Shows like 'Freaks & Geeks' are what tv should be, well written, entertaining and honest. Just 18 episodes long (fuck NBC), it joins elite company in the tv show pantheon of really good shows that were killed before their time, like Firefly (1 season) & Sports Night (2 seasons).
Most shows like this get ruined when the tv execs get involved and fuck things up, like showing episodes out of order, changing the night and times it was shown, etc. In a world before TiVo, not knowing where or when your show was on was a nightmare, and usually a sign that the show was on the way out only to be replaced by some crap show with former cast member of 90210.
I enjoyed the show for many reasons:
One, the music kicked ass and was the reason it took so long to be released on DVD. They had to secure rights to everything. From Black Flag and Joe Jackson to Buddy Rich and Rush.
Two, it depicted high school as I remember it, and how most of us remember high school. Stretches of akwardness laced with laughter and pain.
Three, it was well written and parts of it were unexpected. I've seen lots of tv and can usually guess what's going to happen in a show before the first commercial break. Much of tv is sterile and appears stamped out by a large cookie cutter machine. The ending of the series actually shocked me. Not shocked like hand from the grave at the end of Carrie shocked, but pleasently shocked. Plus this ending was better than what I was expecting.
Four, I have this 'thing' for high school cheerleaders and became infatuated with Cindy, the girl who would become Sam's girlfriend for like 3 episodes. I thought she was the hottest thing in the show until the final episode in which Linda Cardellini dances around her room to 'Box of Rain'. Hippie dancing is way hot.
God bless NetFlix for allowing me to see this, after watching all five seasons of Babylon 5, Freaks & Geeks was a nice change and a better show. (Only because of the 5th season of B5 was tacked on at the end and it felt that way.)
So rent Freaks & Geeks, better yet, buy it, you won't be disappointed and if you are then i will buy your used copy from you.
Friday, May 12, 2006
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2 comments:
Lane: I'm truly sorry, because I'd like to honor the agreement so that you can finally see Freaks & Geeks, but I have 140 movies &/or TV shows in my Netflix queue that (unfortunately) are somehow more appealing to me than Babylon 5; no offense to Babylon 5. I'm sure it's a great show and all. But I'm also pretty sure that it can't beat Freaks & Geeks which, as Ted's testimony supports, is one of the best shows ever. A modern classic. I would rate it up there with [*] as far as the best shows of the past 20 years are concerned. And that, I am sure you will agree, is saying something.
Ted: this may sound gay, but would you like to become "Netflix Friends" with me? It means we get to see each other's queues and ratings and some other stuff. It's actually a decent feature. If so, I can arrange it. One show that I have in my queue is called Undeclared, and I believe it was the brainchild of one (or both) of the creators of Freaks & Geeks, Judd Apatow and Paul Feig. And like its predecessor it was also unappreciated and quickly cancelled. I haven't seen it yet but the person who turned me on to Freaks & Geeks recommended it. Who knows; maybe you've already seen it. I haven't, but I'm looking forward to it.
Robert
* Listmania! The Top Seven TV Programs of the last two decades
1. Twin Peaks
2. Seinfeld
3. Freaks & Geeks
4. Six Feet Under
5. The X-Files
6. ALF
7. Lost
i did not critize B5. I said Freaks & Geeks was better and that was only because of the 5th season. If B5 had only lasted 4 seasons then it would be better than Freaks & Geeks, but it went 5 and dragged it down just a notch.
Lane you should rent Freaks & Geeks anyway, Claudia Christian makes an appearence as one of the Geeks moms, and even as a drunk mom, she's way hotter in this than B5.
Robert, B5 is worth it as well. The sustained excellence of seasons 2 3 and 4 (especially 3&4) make it a must. That any show, regardless of genre, could sustain such quality over 3 seasons make it a must.
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