When this show first came out I loved it to bits, and was gutted when it was cancelled after just 12 episodes. It to me was the best high school show I had ever seen. All the characters and the acting was fantastic. Very realistic and authentic.
I often laugh out loud when I watch this show and that almost never happens. In real life I laugh a lot but seldom cry. When watching movies I cry a lot but seldom laugh. Bill on Cindy’s chair in Episode 8 had me laughing so hard I actually pulled a muscle in my stomach.
I was delighted to see it appear on Netflix, and I rewatched it over the weekend. Netflix actually has all 18 episodes, many of which I had not seen before. It was just as good as I remembered. Plus I could see several episodes that were new to me.
For a show that was cancelled after just 12 of the 18 episodes had been aired, it has had phenomenal cult success. It features on Time magazine’s 100 Greatest Shows of All Time list, has been named the Best School Show of all Time, and tops many other ‘best’ lists, including being named one of the best shows of the last 25 years.
One thing that is very unusual about this show is that it features all original music from that time – by the original artists, rather than the cheaper cover artists used by most other television shows. Securing the rights to use the original songs sung by the original artists used up a major part of the budget for the show, and especially for the DVD. But if you love music as I do, it really makes a huge difference to the authentic feel of the show.
While rewatching I was trying to figure out who my favourite character was. With a good ensemble cast (like Friends) it is very hard to pick one and so I almost could not decide. But I think my vote goes to Sam Weir played by John Francis Daley (who also played Lance Sweets in Bones). He is absolutely fantastic and that laugh and smile get me every time! Plus his facial expressions are hilarious! His dance in his bedroom with his Parisian nightsuit (episode 11) is brilliant!
Freaks and Geeks was also the first time I had ever seen James Franco act. His character resonated with me because the love of my life was a Daniel.
My Daniel and I met at school where he was the beautiful, partying bad boy sports star who did not excel at school, and I was the plain, chubby, teetotal, super-achieving nerd who was lousy at sport. He was my first love, my great love, the love I married. He was my first boyfriend, my fiancé, my first lover and later my husband. Despite being such an odd pairing, we brought out the best in each other and loved each other utterly, although our differences and circumstances over the years later caused us to split. He also looked a lot like Daniel in the show.
The cast then and now
