I’m a geek. And a MiSTie. And I’m dern proud of it. Therefore, it didn’t take much for me to fall in love with Freaks and Geeks. Once I actually gave it a chance, that is. I was going to watch it one time way back when it was actually being produced, but I wound up watching a Daria tape instead. This winter, though, I found out about the MST connections and soon had a new favorite.
The freaks really kind of irritate me. I like them. I really do. But they just… They’re the kind of people who prevent the rest of us from getting the most out of our education. But the one thing I’ve learned from Daniel and Co. is that these people are not fundamentally bad. I’ve led such a sheltered little life in a highly conservative home that I needed this show to demonstrate to me that people like Nick (Jason Segal) do want more out of life than just sex and drugs (even though these are fairly high priorities…). That people like Kim (Busy Phillips) actually do have an almost sensitive side. And that people like Ken (Seth Rogen) are really not much different than Daria, personality wise.
But what I really watch the show for is the geeks. Now, I’ve watched shows where the “geeks” are portrayed as sniveling morons (even Daria is guilty of this one). And I’ve seen shows with “geeks” as main characters in which they are shown as whimpish wannabes. But this show… This show paints a very real portrait of what life is like from our POV. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The dodge ball scene of “101-Meet the Freaks and Geeks” is the single most accurate portrayal of my kind ever. If my friends and I aren’t Sam (John Francis Daley), Neal (Samm Levine), and Bill (Martin Starr), no one is.
I used to claim that I attended Lawndale High. I now know that Lawndale High is a purely fictional land where everyone’s attributes are thrown WAY out of proportion. Nope. I go to McKinley. No doubt about it. Maybe this has something to do with my moving and regaining that bout of almost-self-esteem that I lost a while ago. But I know for sure that Lawndale is a part of my past.
In any case, my favorite characters from the show are Neal Schweiber, the geek with the awesome Shatner impersonation, and Ken Miller, the freak with the bone-dry humor. But between all of the members of the two social groups and, indeed, many of the other characters, as well (‘specially Mr. Lacovara ^_^ [“I want Dr. F to be *my* Biology teacher!” she squeals for the thirtieth time]), the only character that I don’t adore is Daniel Desario. And he even has his moments where I’m almost tempted to like him. There’s not another show out there that I can say that about.
Freaks and Geeks is a DreamWorks production and was created by Paul Feig. I'm afraid that it doesn't air anymore, though you can watch Undeclared, a show which is only a few cast members short of the college version of F&G, on Fox, Tuesday nights at 9:00 PM EST.
Thanks to the official page for the piccies.
