It’s freaky how great ‘Freaks and Geeks’ (1999-2000) still is

“Freaks and Geeks” (1999-2000, NBC/Fox Family) took TV from the Nineties to the Aughts as it chronicled kids moving from the Seventies to the Eighties. (The show takes place in 1980-81, but the Seventies are definitely holding on with disco, stoners, Lindsay’s army jacket and hippie guidance counselor Mr. Rosso.)

To state something that “F&G’s” legions of fans are well aware of: This show that put Paul Feig and Judd Apatow on the map totally holds up. No disrespect to their later work (especially Apatow’s), but it’s still their greatest achievement.

As with all one-season wonders, it’s painful to fans that it was here and gone so fast (18 episodes, albeit spread over a full year and two networks). But the pain is lessened because “F&G” is so timeless. It plays perfectly fine today as a coming-of-age story, and it doesn’t matter what age the viewer is. Inasmuch as we’re always at some point on our journey of figuring out who we are, “F&G” never gets old.

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The sweetest rebel ever

The main character is Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini), who is caught between two worlds: too cool to be a geek; too square to be a freak. Like all teen shows, “F&G” is about relationships, but it’s notable that Lindsay seems to date Nick (Jason Segel, in the first of the Overly Attached Boyfriend roles he mastered) because she feels she’s supposed to have a boyfriend.

Before that, she briefly crushes on Daniel (James Franco), but Lindsay has the Observer’s Curse. She sees how absurd the relationships around her are, and is hesitant to participate in the game. “F&G’s” theme song, Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation,” ostensibly represents Lindsay’s POV (although I also think of the other freaks). But really she’s trying to get to the point where she has a bad reputation to not give a damn about. She finally achieves that in a fitting final sequence, but before that she’s far more sweetheart than rebel.

The second main character is Lindsay’s kid brother Sam (John Francis Daley), who crushes on Cindy Sanders (Natasha Melnick). Her first name might as well be “Oh hi, Cindy,” judging by Sam’s standard flushed greeting. He thinks she’s the most amazing girl in the world … until the point where they are actually dating. He learns that Cindy finds “The Jerk” stupid, and ends up in the bizarre situation of knowing he has to break up with the hottest girl in school or he’ll go nuts.

Lessons are learned by everyone throughout the 18 episodes – including initial comic relief Ken (Seth Rogen), who meets sarcastic tuba girl Amy (Jessica Campbell) and discovers a feeling he thought he had been spared from: love.

Lessons learned

I learned a few lessons on this rewatch. One, “F&G” isn’t as much of a comedy as I had made it out to be in my mind. It’s one of the forebearers in the turn-of-the-century trend of hourlong “dramedies,” of which “Gilmore Girls” (which debuted one season after “F&G”) is perhaps the most famous. But “drama” is the key part of that combined word. Some episodes of “F&G” have no laughs at all; others have laughs only of the “That’s so relatable I have to laugh, rather than cry” variety.

Indeed, in a rare case when “F&G” purposely tries a comedic storyline – Ken thinking he might be gay when he learns his girlfriend was born a hermaphrodite – it doesn’t quite feel right.

Two, despite the central theme being reinvention (or simply “invention,” or learning to be comfortable with who you are), “F&G” features four consistent truth tellers who always are who they are. Interestingly, they are all stereotypes we’re supposed to chuckle at, but if you stop and think about it, these four always tell it like it is: Harold Weir (Joe Flaherty), the tough dad; Mr. Rosso (Dave “Gruber” Allen), the “cool” guidance counselor; Kim Kelly (Busy Phillips), the “mean” girl; and Millie (Sarah Hagan), the religious girl.

A third thing I learned by watching “F&G” now that I’m closer to the parents’ ages than the teens’: Bill’s mom (Claudia Christian) is a hottie! Martin Starr is now a good-looking guy, but let’s just say he hadn’t grown into his looks at the time of the show, so it’s initially a shocking casting choice. Gloria Haverchuck is a helluva good get for Biff from “Back to the Future” (Tom Wilson as Coach Fredericks).

A cast of future stars

And a fourth and final thing: This cast is freakin’ loaded. I don’t merely refer to the main cast, of which I haven’t yet mentioned Neal (Samm Levine), so good as the cultured geek who resembles a 50-year-old in a tiny kid’s body. (Bill is the gawky geek; Sam is what I’d call the Everygeek.)

Consider these stars or talents who appear in supporting roles: Ben Foster (as a mentally challenged kid), JoAnna Garcia (a cheerleader), Lizzy Caplan (a sweet gal who likes Nick), Riley Smith (a jock), Samaire Armstrong (a Deadhead), Alexandra Breckenridge (Lindsay’s rival Mathlete), Matt Czuchry (the rival school’s prankster), Rashida Jones (Sam’s bully), Bianca Kajlich (a punker), David Krumholtz (Neal’s older and cooler brother) and Shia LaBeouf (the Norse mascot before Neal takes over).

Certainly, the writing team is talented even beyond the two big names, including Mike White, Gabe Sachs, Jeff Judah and Rebecca Kirshner. And Jake Kasdan is the primary director – including of the pilot, where he wonderfully sets the tone. But on this rewatch, I realized “F&G’s” success comes from in front of the camera more so than behind the camera. The scripts are good, but they become great when filmed.

Maybe we should look at it this way. “Freaks and Geeks” was so smart about everything – writing, direction, casting, capturing the era – that it had to graduate after 18 episodes rather than stay in school. The talent could then spread throughout TV and film rather than being ultra-concentrated in one of the best teen TV shows ever made.

Here are my rankings of the 18 episodes; in parentheses are the episode number and the writer(s):

1. “Chokin’ and Tokin’” (13, Apatow)

The last episode that aired on NBC before a game show bumped it the following week (something I recall with pure rage) is, appropriately, the best one. It’s a great treatise on self-actualization. For all the bad things in their lives, the geeks are not fake at their core. And sometimes their heart-on-sleeve vulnerability does draw the interest of girls, as Sam and Neal get sympathy from cheerleaders Maureen (Kayla Ewell) and Vicki (Garcia) when Bill is hospitalized due to his peanut allergy.

Similarly, Millie — Lindsay’s holdover friend from her Mathlete days — is comfortable with who she is. She essentially gives a big sigh and helps ridiculous Lindsay through her ill-advised stoner trip while babysitting. But meanwhile, Alan (Chauncey Leopardi) can’t break free of his self-imposed role as a bully, even though he admits to Bill that he loves comics and sci-fi, and even though Bill grants him a heartfelt invite to the sci-fi convention to show the hatchet is buried. All told, this hour showcases the value of being who you are – but also the danger of being too rigid.

2. “Smooching and Mooching” (16, Steve Bannos)

The first of NBC’s three summer burn-off episodes sees the geeks quickly growing up. The butterflies of Sam’s first romantic encounter with Cindy are hyper-present, as is the awesomeness of the unexpected twist wherein Vicki kisses Bill in their “Seven Minutes in Heaven.” The writers got Cindy and Sam together sooner than planned because of the cancellation, but sometimes life comes at you fast, so it rings true.

This is Daley’s best performance, and I love how Sam’s confessions of being “scared” and “nervous” about going to a makeout party with Cindy are not met with scorn by his friends nor his sister. Director Kasdan smartly lets silences play out and holds on facial expressions (note also Lindsay’s shock at the hot mess that is her ex Nick). “F&G” has funny one-liners and great music, but this hour leans on neither (which isn’t to say the Bob Seger songs are anything to sneeze at).

3. “Pilot” (1, Feig)

The series launches with a perfect, and funny, visual: Cliched popular teens exchange sweet nothings in the bleachers, but we pan down to the subjects of this particular teen show. Lindsay is physically between the geeks (who are getting picked on by Alan) and the freaks (who are smoking under the bleachers).

The emotional swings are wild, but that’s what makes this hour so memorable and powerful. Kim’s bullying of Sam – a scene we didn’t see until the DVD release – is harrowing, and Lindsay’s reference to Eli (Foster) being “retarded” is shocking, since that word has since been outlawed by the PC police. Sam’s slow dance with Cindy is scary in a giddy way. But when both Sam and Lindsay (with Eli) cut loose to the fast part of Styx’s “Come Sail Away,” it’s joyous.

4. “The Garage Door” (12, Sachs, Judah and Patty Lin)

For 11 episodes, Ken had been the comic relief, delivering sarcastic one-liner gems. Here, he goes from Observer to Participant, and thanks to a great facial expression from Rogen, you can pinpoint the exact moment when Ken falls for Amy: She responds to his jibe about her Lonely Hearts Club band outfit with “looks like you ate them.” Campbell – who, sadly, died in 2020 — is possibly the best actress to have only six total credits (with “Election” being her other famous one).

The freaks’ romantic relationships are explored, capped with the best use of “Free Bird” in a TV episode, at the climactic laser show. All Nick can do is laugh as everyone is making up and making out and he and ex-girlfriend Lindsay awkwardly sit with an empty seat between them. Parental relationships are also explored, as Sam recognizes he has it comparatively good (Neal’s dad being a womanizer is the main geek storyline). He touchingly hugs his dad, who has bought him an Atari.

5. “Discos and Dragons” (18, Feig)

Some “Oh no, we’ve been canceled” finales cram too much in, others frustrate viewers by retaining the originally planned cliffhanger. But Feig gets the balance right as he again explores self-definition but to more pointed effect than previous installments. Especially great is the ending to Lindsay’s arc wherein she chooses to follow the Grateful Dead tour rather than attend the summer Academic Summit. The hard part is lying to her sweet mom (Becky Ann Baker), but the wonderful part is she makes her own decision and follows through.

But the writers’ love all their characters, so although Nick spectacularly blew it with Lindsay and still pines for her, now he’s suddenly dating cute disco-loving Sara (Caplan), who has long crushed on Nick. I hope he learns to like her back. As for Sam, he mulls his central question of whether he’s a “geek” or “just a guy” and decides that if Daniel can play Dungeons & Dragons and maintain his coolness, then he must be cool too. As Rosso said in “Looks and Books,” “If you think you’re cool, you are cool.” Good for Sam for giving this strategy a shot.

6. “Looks and Books” (11, Feig)

This episode makes me think of the She & Him lyric “We all go through it together, but we all go at it alone.” Everyone fumbles for their own identity, and no surrounding characters can help – but viewers can sympathize. Daley is again excellent as Sam tries to be cool via new hair and clothes in order to attract Cindy, but is mortified when students laugh at his fashionable (in Europe) jumpsuit.

Feig finds a nice way to do a “flashback” while retaining immediacy, as Lindsay temporarily returns to being a Mathlete. She wins the competition easily, then decides her instincts were right – this identity is not to her taste. In turn, this gives her more confidence in moving from geekdom to freakdom. Which isn’t to say the freaks are all comfortable in their own skin: In a memorable schoolyard chat with Dungeons & Dragons nerd Harris (Stephen Lea Sheppard), Daniel confesses to being insecure on the inside about being a bad student.

7. “Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers” (14, Apatow and Bob Nickman)

This is the best of the three relatively dark episodes that NBC disliked so much that it never aired them (Fox Family did, the next fall; the other two are “Kim Kelly is My Friend” and “Noshing and Moshing”). It’s a strong sequel to “Chokin’ and Tokin’,” again focusing on Bill and his mom – who is dating the gym teacher, to the latchkey kid’s dismay. As always with “F&G” – perception aside – it’s not comedic, but rather an honest and heartfelt story of a teen (very slowly) warming up to a potential stepparent.

Which isn’t to say there’s no humor. It’s a delight to see Millie almost become a freak, wearing ripped jeans and gearing up for a Who concert as she’s thrown for an emotional loop in the wake of her dog’s death.

8. “The Little Things” (17, Jon Kasdan, Apatow and White)

The second and last Amy episode is a rare attempt at sitcom-style raunch comedy as Ken thinks he might be gay because his girlfriend was born with both female and male genitalia. Rogen is so funny and Ken is unfamiliar enough with his own feelings that I’ll allow it, barely, although I wished Campbell would’ve gotten a better arc to play with.

The freak plot makes the episode memorable, but what makes it great is the geek plot of Sam dating Cindy. Fascinatingly, although not surprisingly in retrospect, he’s miserable! The fact that she thinks “The Jerk” is stupid is bad enough, but we also see she’s self-centered and not particularly nice. Cindy gets knocked off the pedestal in Sam’s brain, making this a good lesson for guys pining after the “mysterious” pretty girl.

9. “Tricks and Treats” (3, Feig)

After the pilot, the quality (relatively speaking) drops for a while, but this is an early standout. After Lindsay accidentally eggs Sam on Halloween in an attempt to fit in with her new friends, we get this perfect, melancholy exchange that sums up the series:

Sam: “Nobody thinks you’re cool, you know.” Lindsay: “Trust me, I know.”

This is a poignant portrayal of the threshold of being too old for trick-or-treating, and the general pressure to be some type of normal. Daley and Cardellini are both excellent facial actors, and we see how Sam desires to move from the “Star Wars” novelization to Dostoyevsky, and how Lindsay wants to fit in somewhere. They struggle, and we feel bad for them, as we’re supposed to.

10. “Carded and Discarded” (7, Apatow and Feig)

This “second pilot,” marking the show’s transition from ratings dead-zone Saturday to the potential bigger audience of Monday, is extremely sweet as the three boys welcome Maureen, who has moved to Michigan from Florida. They are wonderful hosts, and although all three crush on her, they don’t let it damage their friendships. And when Maureen finds her place with the cheerleaders, they let her go with grace. The freaks’ fake ID storyline, meanwhile, features my favorite Ken one-liner: “Who the hell is Jesus H. Garcia?”

11. “Noshing and Moshing” (15, J. Elvis Weinstein)

Although not as good of a reinvention-themed episode as “Looks and Books” nor the finale, it’s still affecting to see Lindsay smitten with Neal’s older brother (Krumholtz), who has gone off to college and shed his previous geek image. And to see Neal angry at his womanizing father (Sam McMurray), to the point of insulting him at a party via his ventriloquist act. More humor might’ve been nice here. Daniel’s attempt to reinvent himself as a punker is likewise more tragic than funny, although it’s capped with his wordless visit to Kim’s door, a fan-favorite moment.

12. “Tests and Breasts” (5, Nickman)

The geeks learn about sex via a porno filmstrip, and the horror on their faces illustrates the thin line between sex being appealing and gross. It’s touching that Coach Fredericks actually does his job well, taking Sam aside for a one-on-one talk. All of this is artfully done without audible dialog. Lindsay also sheds worries about sex when her crush on Daniel abruptly ends (and she can therefore be comfortable being friends with him and Kim). She realizes Daniel is full of crap when he gives his second (identical) woe-is-me speech in front of her: “Do you know how it feels to be called dumb – in sixth grade?” .

13. “The Diary” (10, Apatow and Kirshner)

It’s always sad when parents assume their kid is a stereotype. See “Buffy’s” “Gingerbread,” and also this solid episode. We see the harm in Kim’s mom (Ann Dowd) constantly putting the blame on her daughter rather than herself. Although it’s arguably out of character for Lindsay’s parents – especially Jean – to snoop in their daughter’s diary, it does show that parents’ lives aren’t a piece of cake either. It’s tough to know when to trust, and when to worry.

14. “Girlfriends and Boyfriends” (8, Lin and Feig)

“Seinfeld” once noted that it’s amazing that people pair up at all, and this is a more sober take on the issue. Even people who generally like each other are rarely on the same page at the same time. You can pinpoint the exact moment when Sam’s heart breaks and he realizes he’s just one of the gals to Cindy, who only has eyes for jock Todd Schellinger (Smith). It’s interesting to see how Lindsay desires a boyfriend in order to be cool, yet also isn’t nearly as into Nick as he is into her, to the point where it’s causing her stress.

15. “We’ve Got Spirit” (9, White)

I gave White credit for the two best “Dawson’s Creek” Season 1 episodes, not to mention my favorite films of 2002 and 2003. But his “F&G” work is – relative to the rest of the staff – not as strong. This is a pretty funny episode – even casual viewers will remember the Norseman mascot with its large head that’s creepily stuck in the uncanny valley. But White largely continues the themes from “Girlfriends and Boyfriends,” making it a rare case where the writers don’t embrace the opportunity to make each hour stand out from the rest.

16. “Beers and Weirs” (2, Weinstein and Apatow)

An obvious step down after the perfect pilot, this is nonetheless a solid hour for foundational character development. Lindsay crushes on Daniel and has no interest in the guys who actually like her (Nick and Neal); ain’t that how it goes? The amusing designated driver assembly outlines the freak/geek dichotomy nicely: The freaks sneak out of the gym whereas the geeks (notably Neal) take the messages seriously. For a “house party when the parents are gone” storyline, though, this one is right down the middle.

17. “I’m with the Band” (6, Sachs and Judah)

In one of his many classic one-liners, Ken notes that “space blows,” rejecting Lindsay’s suggestion of a space-themed name for their band (of which Ken, bizarrely, is the lead singer). I use “singer” – and “guitarist” and “bassist” – loosely, because this band is absolutely awful. Nick is by far the best, and even he’s terrible on the drums. This is all purposeful by the showrunners, but the rehearsal scenes are still tough to watch. On the geek side, though, Sam’s uncomfortableness at having to shower after gym class nicely and humorously illustrates a universal high school trauma – not merely one for the geek girls (as we know from “Carrie”).

18. “Kim Kelly is My Friend” (4, White)

This episode was infamously skipped over by NBC, and although I’m no defender of how the network treated “F&G,” in this instance it’s an understandable decision. It’s bizarre that the writers go in-depth on Kim so early (considering that Phillips gets “also starring” billing), although we certainly do see how bad her home life is, allowing us to sympathize with her. Even the “worst” “F&G” episode is not a bad episode. Overall, though, it’s super-grim and devoid of laughs, and I’m glad this style is an outlier among the 18 installments.

IMDb top 250 trivia

• “Freaks and Geeks” ranks No. 64 among IMDb’s top 250 TV shows with a rating of 8.8.
• It’s one of the highest-rated one-season wonders, although “Firefly” edges it out with an 8.9, good for the No. 30 spot.
• The highest-rated episodes are “Smooching and Mooching” and “Discos and Dragons,” both at 9.2.
• The lowest-rated is “Tricks and Treats,” at 8.2.
• The follow-up Feig-Apatow joint, the half-hour college comedy “Undeclared” (2001-02), sits at 7.9 – respectable, but well outside the top 250.