Ricketa

10/10

Spoilers

I'm sure most people reading this page wish the show wasn't cancelled. Here is an article from Vanity Fair that talks with Paul Feig about what would have happened with the characters next. Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) Paul Feig: I always figured something bad was gong to happen to Lindsay when she was out with the Dead. [The series ended with her ditching a summer-school program to follow the Grateful Dead with Kim Kelly.] I was hoping the second season would open with her being taken out of a concert on a stretcher while Queen’s “Tie Your Mother down” plays. That’s all I had. But I thought it would be interesting—she comes back, has completely lost the trust of her family; so she’s in even deeper having been really been outed as a problem. But there wasn’t a strong direction I had for her; I just knew she’d probably end up at some point in her twenties in Greenwich Village as a performance artist, and after that she’d probably become a lawyer—a human-rights lawyer. Sam Weir (John Francis Daley) Sam’s future was going to be drama club. Because that was my experience in school: I got deep into drama club. That was the storyline I was most excited about, because I was going to portray what actually happened to me. I thought he’d be more on the stage crew than actually performing, just because that was kind of interesting, the guys that were keeping it together from behind the scenes. But my drama teacher, who was one of the biggest influences on my life creatively, was an alcoholic, and over the course of my sophomore through senior year, she got worse and worse and started depending on me. I’d get called away from class under the guise of an emergency, and it would be her on the phone saying, “You’ve got to come pick me up. I left my car at the bar last night.” So I was really excited to get that going, this weird kind of taking-care-of-an-adult relationship, while he’s still learning amazing stuff from her, this tortured drama-teacher soul. That bummed me out the most, not getting to play that story out. Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine) Another burning desire I had was to get Neal into swing choir. Now Glee has taken it and run with it, but I always thought that would be a funny world for Neal to go into. There’s a weird little clique, and you have all these inside jokes, and all these kind of obnoxious performance things you bond with people over—I just thought he would really blossom in there and think he was kind of the king of the school. We figured it could be his outlet while his parents are going through a really horrible divorce. Since Judd had gone through that in his real life, that was kind of going to be his domain—telling all his tales from adolescence through that. Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) With his mom dating Coach Fredricks, Judd and I liked the idea of Bill slowly becoming a jock—that he turned out to be good at basketball and started to get into it, so that he was getting pulled a little more over to the jock side. Which would create an odd little rift with him and the other geeks. Because Martin is quite athletic in real life, and we were like, “Oh, let’s maybe play that out for him.” He works out a lot, Martin does, and at the beginning of the show he would come in with these giant biceps—we had to make him stop doing that. Daniel Desario (James Franco) Daniel’s such a drifter. I always liked the idea that eventually Daniel would probably end up in jail. [Laughs.] We were kind of, you know, taking him in this different direction. I wasn’t quite sure where that was going to lead. I knew it couldn’t stay in that world. I always liked the idea of: you go away for the summer and you come back and everybody’s kind of in a different place. But it’s hard to say with him; I think he had too many things pulling him in different directions. Having lost Kim, there would be a weirdness between them. But I wasn’t quite sure yet. Kim Kelly (Busy Philipps) I wanted Kim Kelly to be pregnant, but it wasn’t necessarily going to be Daniel’s. I thought this actually happened when she was out on the road with Lindsay following the Dead—that she shacked up with some guy, whether she was high at the moment or whatever, and comes back pregnant. That was another burning desire of mine, because when we were in high school there’d always be a girl or two who were pregnant, and it was so mind blowing. I thought it would be interesting with Daniel kind of around, and it’s not his, and it’s weird—and would he step up, since she doesn’t really know who the dad is, or isn’t really in contact with him? So maybe it was a chance for Daniel to become a young teen father—see what could have happened if we had a second season? And Kim and Lindsay—that would become a true friendship. Obviously they would have to have some back and forth and falling apart, but I like the girl power they had at the end of the last episode—they had both come through the fire in different ways and really bonded hardcore. Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel) I liked how we were kind of moving Nick towards having to go into the army, because of his badass dad. ’Cause that was a real option for so many people in my school—but he would be desperately trying to avoid it. But I was never quite clear exactly what direction we were going to go with Nick. Ken Miller (Seth Rogen) There was a guy I knew in school who was kind of Ken-like and he moved away to Hawaii; we were told he moved there just so he could smoke pot. I don’t know if that was the direction Ken was going to go. I always liked that we had set up that he had rich parents. But Ken’s such an enigma. I think he’s the guy that just kind of hangs around town. My instinct is we would have had the most fun searching for what his life would be. We liked to surprise people with Ken’s character—what was the thing you’d least expect he would do, or place he’d come from? I can completely see us loading him up with a lot of weird shit. I was sad we never got to show his parents, and God only knows whom we would have had him dating. I can definitely see a scenario where Lindsay would have tried dating Ken—that would be really funny. High-school romances are so flash-in-the-pan; there’s that awkwardness of having your ex walking around the school. Or, in my case, girls who turned me down but I had the awkwardness of them knowing I was into them and they had no interest in me. Millie Kentner (Sarah Hagan) We had actually thought about trying to turn Millie into a burnout at some point—“What? You’re what?” It would have been really fun to twist where she was going. I love changing people’s alliances. Because no one knows who they are or what they’re doing—basically they’re trying on different hats, different masks, if you will. Cindy Sanders (Natasha Melnick) We ended with Cindy as such a hardcore Republican. I liked her being a weird nemesis for Sam—I would have loved seeing them run against each other for student-council president. There’s nothing funnier to me than when the person you were in love with suddenly becomes this monster. You can’t figure out why you liked them. I think we would have had a lot of fun with Cindy. Full article at http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2012/12/paul-feig-season-two-freaks-and-geeks

khouryrt

10/10

"Freaks and Geeks" has always been billed as a cult series and I had to find out why. James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, JoAnna Garcia, busy Philipps, John Francis Daley, and even appearances from Ben Foster and Shia LaBoeuf? All the names we now know as grown-up stars, they started there, with Freaks and Geeks. High expectations in mind, Freaks and Geeks delivers. The reality of the highschool life and the teenage stage are depicted in such intricate and intimate details with the freaks, the geeks, the nerds, the jocks, the bullies, the parents, the teachers, and all the rebellion, the lies, the problems and the solutions that result from that. I was 14 in 1999 when the show aired, and let me tell you, I wish I can go back and tell teenage-me to watch it then. So many questions, internal struggles, issues, so many things would have been different, maybe easier to comprehend. Oh well, I get to rejoice and see this now, as an adult, and have intimate glimpses into my past, into things I had forgotten or got out of touch with. All I know is, I will make my kids watch this when they are 12.

anaisordxnez

10/10

This is honestly such a fucking amazing tv show! If only there were more television series like these ones that more people like me could relate to. I have related so much with Lindsay. I struggled with my identity for years and I still do. I still feel like I do not fit in with most people at my school. However, like Lindsay, I tried and I pushed myself to hanging out with the crowd that I knew I would have fun with. Lindsay said her friends didn't exactly drive her or inspire her to do anything, and that is how I feel with my current group honestly. I like to think they do, however, it is mostly just the similar interests we have that bring us together. For Lindsay, it was music, and I honestly believe that there's not enough shows that us individuals who enjoy rock music can relate to. Thank god for Freaks and Geeks because without it, I'd feel so unconnected. There are literally very minimal amount of tv shows like Freaks and Geeks. I can think of My So-Called Life, That '70s Show, maybe Skins?, maybe Dawson's Creek? That is it though. If any of you reading this have any other recommendations, could you please let meh know and make a girl happy, thanks :D P.S. I have already heard of Undeclared and it is on my list. Started watching it once, never finished it. I don't think it was as good as Freaks and Geeks to be honest..

deluxe3

0/10

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size? There's a bus in the parking lot." There are a lot of coming of age shows out there that focus on high school. Freaks and Geeks stands out with its hilarious depiction of 80's counter culture and its rich characters. Each character is really well crafted, from the the whacky school guidance counselor to the obnoxious gym teacher. The writing is also top notch. Clever situations and character interactions are abundant. If you're on this page, there are already some things you probably know. The cast and crew are absolutely stacked. A collection of soon to be discovered talent. Executive produced by Judd Apatow; staring Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and many more. The other thing you've probably noticed, is that the show was canceled after only one season. One of the few complaints fans have for this show is that there is not enough of it. You're not going to get a conclusion wrapped up in a nice bow, but it's a relatively light time commitment and well worth the watch. Are you calling my review irrational? "...Because I'll tear your head off, Daniel. I'll tear it off and I'll throw it over the fence." 9/10

fcsuper

0/10

Great ensemble cast and stories that captured high school life for the outcasts. Though the setting was supposed to be 1980-ish, the writing never quiet pulls that off. Believe it or not, something set in 1980 should feel more like the 1970's rather than stereotypical 80's. However, in the case of this show, it actually feels more like early 1990's high school experience. Even still, it's a great show that hits both the funny and the feels very well.