Freaks & Geeks

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GAH YOU NEED MORE SPACE AROUND THE SPOILERS THING SINCE I PICKED OUT ONE WORD

― Be sure to Loop! Loop, Loop, Loop. (ex machina), Friday, 28 May 2004 17:06 (nineteen years ago) link

Definitely over-reacting about the Ben Stiller episode. What's wrong with Sam dumping the cheerleader? The character of Cindy Sanders is handled very well throughout the series, culminating in Sam's realization that his attraction to her has nothing to do with her personality. "Will popcorn make this movie funnier?"
The conversation between Ben Stiller and Mr. Rosso was funny.
The hermaphrodite storyline yeilded some strong narrative moments, such as Seth Rogen's hyper sensitive anger when Nick says "high guys" to him and his girlfriend. I found the conclusion to this angle, to be geuniely moving.
Overall, one of the strongest qualities about the show is its sense of morality.
The episode when we meet Kim Kelly's horrific family did bother me more than any of the others. Their seems to be a cruel, cartoonish classicism in the portrayl of the Kelly family, and the rest of the freaks, not present in any of the other episodes.

― theodore fogelsanger, Friday, 28 May 2004 17:38 (nineteen years ago) link

yup. the lazy, broad characterizations really bugged me because the show is so smartly written. i laughed, but most of it was very cheap humor. you're better than that, guys!

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 28 May 2004 19:27 (nineteen years ago) link

My main complaint with the Sam / Cindy breakup is that their relationship had been building for so long and then the writers totally hotshotted the ending. It seemed to me like the kind of story arc that you might want to wrap up in two seasons or so and then they just end it as soon as it has come to a head. Also, I had a lot of trouble with her sudden change in character. It is understandable that she is young and would be prone to sudden turns, but I still felt like it was cheap and not faithful to the way the story had been developing. The whole "I only liked you because you were attractive" moral is pretty bogus in my opinion because there was a quite a bit of time spent on Sam liking her because she was also nice to him and seemed to have her head on straight. Mind you, I also watched the episodes where they are dating back to back ... and I haven't seen the last episode. But I really doubt that it would change much for me.

I will admit that knives are out for Ben Stiller. I was just afraid watching every episode that he would pop up as a 'favor' to Apatow and when he did, it bothered me. Plus, I don't find him credible as an actor so I think that his acting style contrasts highly with the other much more believable actors.

The hermaphrodite storyline is just so bizarre. It also seems highly contrived to me since their relationship pops up again in this episode and guess what? She's a hermaphrodite. OOPS! So funny.

I guess my main complaint is that it seems like they packed an entire second season into the last few episodes. Maybe they did that because they knew that the show was going to be cancelled and wanted to at least get their storylines on the screen, but to me it feels rushed and corny in a way that didn't fit with the previous episodes.

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Friday, 28 May 2004 19:37 (nineteen years ago) link

If I can recall the commentaries correctly, Apatow and Feig I think mention how their knowledge of imminent cancellation affected the writing of the last few episodes. So I think you have a point.
It's sad to think about what would have resulted had the show been given the kind of life it deserved.

― theodore fogelsanger, Friday, 28 May 2004 21:49 (nineteen years ago) link

http://ffmedia.ign.com/filmforce/image/ms200455-01_1083738358.jpg http://ffmedia.ign.com/filmforce/image/jfd2004428-01_1083738051.jpg

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/511/511505p1.html
http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/509/509708p1.html

― JaXoN (JasonD), Saturday, 29 May 2004 07:02 (nineteen years ago) link

I loved this show!

― Ian Johnson (orion), Saturday, 29 May 2004 07:15 (nineteen years ago) link

is anyone freaking out over the commentaries? Sam Weir's voice is like super fucking low. i can't even tell it's him

― JaXoN (JasonD), Saturday, 29 May 2004 07:17 (nineteen years ago) link

Been watching 2-3 episodes of this every night, thanks to the box set. I think my favorite aspect of the show is how they take characters that were initially presented as jokey caricatures (e.g., Millie, Coach Fredericks, Alan the bully) and then humanize them. It shows a respect towards the characters not granted by most TV shows. Despite it being almost a cliche, I love the scene after Alan puts Bill in the hospital by putting a peanut (to which Bill is allergic) in his sandwich, when Alan breaks down and tells a comatose Bill that he's mean to them because they never let him hang out.

I wish there were more Lindsay/Sam scenes where they interact without the parents around, there's a warmth there that seems really natural. Pretty much my favorite scene so far in any episode is when Sam is freaked out from finding out that Neil's dad is having an affair, and he asks Lindsay whether she thinks their dad could have an affair. The dad walks up in his undershirt, boxers, and dark socks and says "Did someone say my name?" The kids look at him and just start laughing, mostly from relief.

― NA (Nick A.), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:38 (nineteen years ago) link

Still haven't gotten up to the dreaded Ben Stiller episode. But I like "Kim Kelly is My Friend," mostly because Kim Kelly is my favorite of the main characters.

― NA (Nick A.), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:38 (nineteen years ago) link

I rewatched the Stiller episode and I was overacting (like usual) but not much. I listened to the commentaries as well and it is true that they mention how they knew that they were going to get cancelled and wanted to get it all out before that had happened, so that takes a bit of the edge off. Either way, great show.

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:47 (nineteen years ago) link

Why does Ken's girlfriend just disappear right before the last episode? I mean, wasn't the point at the end of the next to last episode that he realized he really did love her and didn't want to break up?

We've started watching them again with commentaries. Watch out world!

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:22 (nineteen years ago) link

I think that they mention in the commentary that the hermie episode was the last one that they worked on, but I may be mistaken.

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:26 (nineteen years ago) link

oh so yes, and tell me sam isn't a little queer blossom waiting to happen.
-- Geoff (pissingintherive...), August 22nd, 2001.

This makes me laugh everytime I open this up.

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:27 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh yeah, so we watched the dreaded Ben Stiller episode last night, and dude, you were totally overreacting. I mean, Stiller is lame and all, his brand of comedy totally doesn't fit in, but he's in like maybe three minutes of the episode. AND I really like the Ken & Amy storyline about her being a hermaphrodite, though the part where he thinks this means he's gay is kind of lame (eg, the joke of him listening to disco, then rock, to see which he likes more is lame, though Rogan's acting makes it pretty funny).

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:32 (nineteen years ago) link

Dean is otmfm about ... well, everything, honestly, but especially the Ben Stiller episode. I didn't think you were overreacting at all; Stiller, like him or hate him, really can't play anyone except "that guy Ben Stiller plays," and if that guy fit in with Freaks and Geeks, he would have been there from the beginning. The scenes stick out like a sore thumb pricked by the voodoo needle of suck.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, Stiller's appearance is enough to ruin anything for me. Still, the idea of the bodyguard breaking down suddenly and then ken's initial reaction (like you mentioned, NA) came off as unusually corny for such a great show. Also, I hate Ben Stiller. His evil presence is always enough to remind me that all good things must come to an end - i.e. humanity.

(xpost - tep i love u and i kiss u)

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:37 (nineteen years ago) link

What I've learned from the commentary so far: The actor who plays Harris showed up at a blind casting call and they loved him so much that they created the role of Harris for him. However, he is Canadian, so they had to go through all this legal hassle (including getting members of the cast to write letters to various officials saying he was the only actor who could play the part) to get him to California. He didn't arrive until they were already filming the pilot. But it was worth it, because Harris rules.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:53 (nineteen years ago) link

What the fuck, I am the worst writer ever.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:54 (nineteen years ago) link

Harris? Who is that?

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:59 (nineteen years ago) link

The guy who always gives the geeks advice, with the wispy moustache. He's the dungeonmaster in the last episode.

― NA (Nick A.), Friday, 4 June 2004 20:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh, ok. He reminds me of this kid Mario who I went to high school with, so my brain has never made any attempt to learn his name. That guy is great. Apatow actually mentions in his Onion AV Club interview how he prefers to mold a character around the actor and not vice versa, which is probably a key to his success (relatively speaking, as most people would think him fairly unsuccessful).

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Friday, 4 June 2004 21:01 (nineteen years ago) link

That kid was undoubtedly my favorite of the geeks (although Haverchuk stood out from around the time the prank calls started -- which is also around the time my complaint that the geeks blended together and weren't interesting subsided).

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 4 June 2004 21:24 (nineteen years ago) link

i'm pretty sure that the deadhead girl lindsay befriends in the last episode also played anna, one of seth's girlfriends, on the oc. so that's two rounds of annoying for her. really... why was it decided to send kim and lindsay out on the road with the grateful dead??

― lauren (laurenp), Sunday, 13 June 2004 15:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Because they thought there wound be a second season...

― TheNewJMod (JMod), Sunday, 13 June 2004 16:40 (nineteen years ago) link

six months pass...

release the undeclared box already!

and freaks & geeks is awesome u r all tep.

― cºzen (Cozen), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 10:48 (nineteen years ago) link

geeks better than freaks.

my box set arrived today, what a package! thirty commentary tracks, old adverts, outtakes, audition reels, deleted scenes, well packaged etc.

the hermaphrodite episode is done reall well actually, a lot better than I thought it would be. in fact I think the only ep that's stuck in my craw was 'kim kelly is my friend'. all that running about and arguing in the weir's house is too far-fetched and not even very useful.

― cºzen (Cozen), Friday, 24 December 2004 16:02 (nineteen years ago) link

oh yeah ben still does stick out like a sore thumb but it's not for the whole episode anyway (where jeff rosso becomes an absolute hero, imho) (even though he has been pretty awesome throughout the season) (so well written) ('acute'). one thing I've noticed, and then rationalised to myself as necessary and 'on theme', linda cardellini has this weird gravity, I don't know, she's like a black hole and its opposite.

― cºzen (Cozen), Friday, 24 December 2004 16:07 (nineteen years ago) link

here's an article about the show from flowtv.org:

http://idg.communication.utexas.edu/flow/?jot=view&id=508

here's another:

http://idg.communication.utexas.edu/flow/index.php?issue=Volume%201,%20Issue%203&searchbyline=Heather%20Hendershot&jot=view&id=465

― cybele (cybele), Sunday, 26 December 2004 01:37 (nineteen years ago) link

release the undeclared box already!

I saw an e-mail/posting from Apatow that the DVD company had authorized funds for them to start clearing music last summer, so maybe spring/summer '05.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Sunday, 26 December 2004 01:43 (nineteen years ago) link

So I got this box set for Christmas, and I'm watching it all for the first time. Does the editing ever get any better? Or am I doomed forever to watch 10 second reaction shots after each line?

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Sunday, 26 December 2004 01:45 (nineteen years ago) link

three weeks pass...

did this get better for you, melissa?

― cºzen (Cozen), Sunday, 16 January 2005 00:18 (nineteen years ago) link

i just watched this whole series! it rules

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 16 January 2005 00:21 (nineteen years ago) link

I actually haven't finished watching it because I found the first few episodes so trying. I'm sure I'll get to it sooner or later.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Sunday, 16 January 2005 00:23 (nineteen years ago) link

high five slocki!

― cºzen (Cozen), Sunday, 16 January 2005 00:23 (nineteen years ago) link

I watched the first seven episodes over break in a single marathon stretch.

― Remy IS THE Snush (x Jeremy), Sunday, 16 January 2005 01:35 (nineteen years ago) link

i was pretty much mainlining them last week

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 16 January 2005 02:13 (nineteen years ago) link

You can always regift it in my direction, Melissa.

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2005 03:40 (nineteen years ago) link

the ben stiller stuff really pales in comparison to how bad the last episode is. it just ditches EVERYTHING! i guess it kinda makes sense cuz on the commentary they're talking about how they shot in advancce, anticipating being cancelled. but nothing that happens really follows any of the characters' arcs at all. a fucking DEADHEAD?!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 16 January 2005 07:26 (nineteen years ago) link

but you know what rules? "that bill murray is a wiseass!"

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 16 January 2005 07:28 (nineteen years ago) link

also the "the jerk" stuff = brilliant

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 16 January 2005 07:29 (nineteen years ago) link

"he HATES these cans..."

― cºzen (Cozen), Sunday, 16 January 2005 11:02 (nineteen years ago) link

"actually laughter is the best aphrodisiac. get a woman laughing and you have a woman loving."

― cºzen (Cozen), Sunday, 16 January 2005 11:04 (nineteen years ago) link

hahaha yes

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 16 January 2005 17:27 (nineteen years ago) link

harris I love you.
haverchuck I love you.
schweiber I love you.
weir I love you.
gordon crisp I love you!

― cozen (Cozen), Sunday, 16 January 2005 18:51 (nineteen years ago) link

My girlfriend had never seen this until last night. We watched the first two episodes and about half of the third before we got too sleepy. What a great show; the ability to be both so serious and so funny at the same time is really admirable, and I (as I assume many of you do) identify with the characters WAY MORE than the characters on the average sitcom.

― Ian John50n (orion), Sunday, 16 January 2005 19:58 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm so sad that I have only 6 episodes left, after watching 6 in a row this weekend. The norseman head had me in hysterics for 10 minutes. Plus, Nick Andopolis will you marry me?

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 03:31 (nineteen years ago) link

Leee, give me a few weeks to get through the episodes and the set can be yours (for a small fee :P).

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 08:55 (nineteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Quick question -- was a kid from "Trekkies" in "F+G" I swear.... fuck!

― he does guitar with his mouth lmao mint (ex machina), Monday, 7 February 2005 09:39 (nineteen years ago) link

No, the TV was off, that was your reflection.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 16:19 (nineteen years ago) link

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