If you ever thought that Firefly was an example of poor programme planning on the part of a network, you then have missed out on an even better series - Freaks and Geeks - which managed to garner the title of one of TIME magazine's best television series ever, and yet was cancelled after eighteen episodes.
Part of the problem lies in the series being slot into the lost zone of late evening/night screening. Why? Who knows. But due to perceived low interest in the series it was canned. Which is probably a good thing, because without that happening Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan might never had made the brilliant 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up (which remains the funniest film of 2007 in my humble opinion.)
What makes Freaks and Geeks so cool? Well, much the same elements that make Knocked Up so brilliant a film. Judd Apatow is the rare producer/director/writer who knows that a quality show is not made by one man, but by a whole group of talented people with a passion for the series. Rather than cast big names in the series, he pushed to get unknowns who actually fitted the roles. He got writers, directors and crew who were professional and creative.
This and his talent for finding the humour in everyday life guarantees that this is a consistently funny show. Freaks and Geeks doesn't try to win you over with its humour, the gags come fast and out of the blue - letting you either get it or miss it. Humour lies in realistic set ups, nothing is implausible - even when dealing with the more eccentric characters of the world.
Stand-out performances from every cast member along with wry editing and shot construction make the whole series just one memorable moment after the next.
Set in the early eighties, it tells the story of two groups of friends as seen through the eyes of Lindsay and her younger brother, Sam. Lindsay has grown tired of her academic lifestyle, and following her grandmother's death she tries to strike out and make her own way in life rather than follow the path laid out for her by her family. In doing so she befriends the "Freaks" of the school. The dope-heads and drop-outs. Despite her intelligence and success at school, she finds a common bond with them.
Sam, on the other hand, finds himself labelled a Geek along with his two friends Neal and Bill (two of the geekiest guys you could ever meet...) However he is madly in love with one of the school cheerleaders, Cindy.
Each episode gently follows from the last, cleverly setting up jokes that sometimes pay-off only two or three episodes down the track - while having a sympathetic and real approach to each character. Despite the initial stereotypical characters, we soon learn that they have a lot of depth to them. As Henley, my brother, pointed out - each episode looks at cliches of the high-school milieu and then takes it somewhere you didn't expect it to go.
Brilliant. Watch it. Love it.
Love and Huggles
Conan
Currently Reading: Sidereals
Currently Playing: Nothing
Mood: Loving the geeks...
Part of the problem lies in the series being slot into the lost zone of late evening/night screening. Why? Who knows. But due to perceived low interest in the series it was canned. Which is probably a good thing, because without that happening Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan might never had made the brilliant 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up (which remains the funniest film of 2007 in my humble opinion.)
What makes Freaks and Geeks so cool? Well, much the same elements that make Knocked Up so brilliant a film. Judd Apatow is the rare producer/director/writer who knows that a quality show is not made by one man, but by a whole group of talented people with a passion for the series. Rather than cast big names in the series, he pushed to get unknowns who actually fitted the roles. He got writers, directors and crew who were professional and creative.
This and his talent for finding the humour in everyday life guarantees that this is a consistently funny show. Freaks and Geeks doesn't try to win you over with its humour, the gags come fast and out of the blue - letting you either get it or miss it. Humour lies in realistic set ups, nothing is implausible - even when dealing with the more eccentric characters of the world.
Stand-out performances from every cast member along with wry editing and shot construction make the whole series just one memorable moment after the next.
Set in the early eighties, it tells the story of two groups of friends as seen through the eyes of Lindsay and her younger brother, Sam. Lindsay has grown tired of her academic lifestyle, and following her grandmother's death she tries to strike out and make her own way in life rather than follow the path laid out for her by her family. In doing so she befriends the "Freaks" of the school. The dope-heads and drop-outs. Despite her intelligence and success at school, she finds a common bond with them.
Sam, on the other hand, finds himself labelled a Geek along with his two friends Neal and Bill (two of the geekiest guys you could ever meet...) However he is madly in love with one of the school cheerleaders, Cindy.
Each episode gently follows from the last, cleverly setting up jokes that sometimes pay-off only two or three episodes down the track - while having a sympathetic and real approach to each character. Despite the initial stereotypical characters, we soon learn that they have a lot of depth to them. As Henley, my brother, pointed out - each episode looks at cliches of the high-school milieu and then takes it somewhere you didn't expect it to go.
Brilliant. Watch it. Love it.
Love and Huggles
Conan
Currently Reading: Sidereals
Currently Playing: Nothing
Mood: Loving the geeks...
3 comments:
Best TV show ever, except in the weeks that I think The Wire is the best TV show ever.
I'll loan you the deluxe set someday, it has loads of cool extras on it the normal collection doesn't. (Unless you're already looking at the deluxe set.)
No I'm watching the Veoh version - http://www.veoh.com
I'm hoping to get the series on DVD eventually though. :D
BTW the seventeenth Episode where Lindsay gets to ask a question of the Vice President of the US during a visit to her school, and where Sam breaks up with his girlfriend is probably one of my all-time favourites now! Freaking hilarious! :D
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