Why don't you try...Freaks and GeeksCoz I'm a freaaaaak. I'm a weirdooooooo. What the hell am I doing here? According to agent31, you should be watching cult TV show Freaks and Geeks... Ahhhhh,
school. What a wonderful place. A centre of learning, of hop-scotch and
play-time; of kids sitting around on the field, smiling and holding
hands as the sun shines…yeah, right. Sure, school is ‘aiiight from time to time, and if you’re lucky you might even make a real, true friend or two. But lets be honest – education is great n’ all, but for the most part, school royally sucks – with a capital S. As a result, it’s not surprising that so many movies and TV shows are written, songs wailed, and blogs dedicated to these formative experiences that we all have to endure in our lives; there is just so much drama there. Exam panic; bullying; popularity contests; school dances; makin’ out behind the bike sheds / bleachers - school is as rich a well for storytelling as there is out there. Perhaps it is no shock, then, that Judd Apatow – current darling of Hollywood; supremo of Anchorman, Knocked Up, The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Superbad; pals with the young group of stars known as ‘the frat pack’; and all round top bloke – first broke into the big-time with the poignant, often hilarious High-School set TV series ‘Freaks and Geeks’. Set in that most awesome of decades known as the 1980’s, and co-created with show-runner Paul Feig, Apatow offers a glimpse into the lives of brother / sister combo Sam and Lindsay Weir, their family and their eclectic group of friends as they go about trying to survive school, relationships and the horrors and joys of life. If you are emo, goth, punk, or generally just like to live life by your own rules, then you’ll no doubt be cheering Lindsay on as she transforms in front of your eyes from a shy, socially-awkward ‘mathlete’ into a fierce, free-thinking, combat-wearing bad-ass. Much of the comedy and the drama of the show arises from the conflict between those people she identifies with her old life – parents, childhood friends and the like – and her new buddies – the titular ‘Freaks’. Sam, on the other hand, wears his ‘geek’ credentials on his sleeve, and there is much fun to be had as he struggles, along with his lovably-dorky partners in crime Neal and Bill, to score with girls, to get into the most rockin’ parties, and to simply find a place in the universe. So far, then, so familiar. But ‘Freaks and Geeks’ is not your cliched, familiar high-school comedy – far from it. Whilst frequently laugh-out-loud funny, the writers really succeed in getting the audience to care about these characters. Their pain feels truthful and real; the casual cruelties of the school day are shown in a very matter-of-fact fashion (and are all the more brutal for it), and the adult characters are just as confused and troubled as everyone else – not the party-pooping squares typically seen in movies. Perhaps the fact that the cast are – gasp ! – actually the same age as the characters they play (no five-o’clock-shadow on these fifteen year olds), combined with the fact that the actors are physically spot-on (no beautiful people portraying geeks by getting a bad hair-cut on this show) explain why ‘Freaks and Geeks’ rapidly garnered a devoted cult-following. I may also explain why – unsurprisingly, in hindsight – the show never caught on with the main-stream public, and was cancelled after only 12 episodes had been broadcast. Fans of The Grateful Dead, 80’s icon Billy Joel, The Who, etc will find much to rock-out to as they watch the action unfold; the producers were adamant that they only use legit, proper music from the period, and the kick-ass tunes, combined with the glorious / hideous fashions of ‘the decade that style forgot’ serve to give the show a unique, outsider’s edge. The biggest hallmark of quality can be found in the writing, though; insightful, cheeky and fuelled by pathos, the show was rightly nominated for two Emmy awards for Paul Feig’s classy scripting, and – with a bit of effort and an internet connection – the show can now be tracked down on DVD – complete with the final six, previously unaired, episodes. The picture quality is great, the menus are odd and funny simultaneously, and several witty commentaries from the writers, actors and producers rival the episodes themselves for charm and humility; you can really tell that many of the stories seen on-screen were born from the awkward adolescent experiences of these real-life freaks and geeks. e-Mo Magazine is all about being unafraid to be who you are – living on your own terms and not looking back. It is rare in modern media to find a show made by people who feel the same way, with characters that are real and complicated and honest and messed-up all at once but Freaks and Geeks is that show. Check it out – your inner geek, or freak, will thank you. IF YOU LIKE THIS, WHY NOT TRY…… Arrested Development (TV Show, 2000, Imagine Entertainment) Teen Wolf (Film, 1985, Wolfkill) Veronica Mars (TV Show, 2004, Silver Pictures Television) Superbad (Film, 2007, Columbia Pictures) |
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